A little of this, a little of that…

So here I am, back again in the blogosphere spouting off nonsense to the meager crowd of my friends & family who are willing to read something I’ve created.  As you can see from the previous post, it has been a long time since I’ve graced these pages with my words and no, I still have yet to figure out WordPress.  Fortunately for me I have a group of highly intelligent friends and family who ARE familiar with WordPress that can decipher it for me.

NaNoWriMo ’09

November 1st marks the start of the National Novel Writing Month, known to us word junkies as NaNoWriMo. From the 1st until November 30th, the goal is to write 50,000 words, a 175 page novel. Because of the intensity of the time limit, that means NO editing, NO tweaking, ALL risk. And all this from scratch. I know that some do a detailed outline in the month of October, as I usually do, but this month I’ve forgone the pre-planning, and am seeing where the story takes me.

Make plans to visit me in the psychiatric ward on December 1st after my mental breakdown. Please and thank you.

So let the writing begin!

M

Day Six: The Vacation Finale

Boooo, Saturday came entirely too soon.

We were up at 9am to shower and pack before check-out time. Had to make sure the kids don’t forget anything in drawers, closets or under bed. I really will miss the hotel room (including that wonderful jacuzzi tub!!) and the time spent away from Lakeland. In a few days we’ll have to go back to our jobs and the daily grind, and every part of me is screaming, “I don’t wanna!”

Welcome to My World

Thanks to my wonderful husband and Mickey from SomaCow – you can find them both on twitter: RSilva5 and SomaCow respectively – I am happy to announce that http://www.MontineSilva.com is now up and running!

Okay, linked to my blog, but it’s still live. I have a presence on the web. It’s daunting, but inspiring. I suppose. We’ll find out!

Things to come here:

More of my ramblings. Duh.

Remote blog from Disney, Florida. In three weeks, we will be embarking on the Silva Family Adventure: The Silvas invade Orlando! For one full week, all seven members of the Silva Clan/Lakeland branch will be staying in Orlando, and I am fully prepared to blog the journey. It’s going to be a great time, and a writing exercise for me. I’m excited, and so ready to take a break from work. This will be the first time that I’ve taken a full week vacation from work that was not related to our daughter’s health.

Expect that to be followed up with at least one blog post about how behind I am at work and wishing I were back on vacation.

That is all you get for right now. If I don’t get any actual work completed, then I’ll stress the entire time we are gone, and I don’t want that. I want to enjoy our time.

Ciao!

M

Anatomy of a Writer

Oh poor blog, how I’ve neglected you. I’m ashamed of myself, and will understand if you are more than a little grumpy with me.

I have a lot of writer friends, both in the ‘real world’ and online socially. I surround myself with them to focus, inspire and motivate myself to keep scratching that itch. And as I interact with them more, I realize there is something that the majority share in common. Something that has to happen before the words will flow.

I call it the Writer’s Crutch.

Write Right

It is damn hot outside. Temperature today in the upper 90’s and dry as hell. Where is a coven of water witches doing their naked rain dances when we need them?

That is not what this about, though. Maybe later.

No, this is about failure, and the fear of it.

I hate this feeling, this feeling of uncertainty in regards to my writing. There is a persistent nagging feeling of not being worthy enough to finish the story. I think that part of the reason is that I’m having a hard time finding the groove when real life keeps interrupting. And I understand that it is supposed to – I work full time Monday through Friday, with a wonderful family and supportive husband that need me. I’m unable to sit down when the mood strikes and fully commit to the story. I’ve planned for such, which is why Synnove will not be fully released in final draft until late this year and only after I’ve let a select few rip into it with gigantic red pens and slice away at my heart…

Do I have what it takes to climb the tower?

I’m used to having bizarre dreams – I have an overactive imagination, and it gets worse when I haven’t written in a while (the Beast doesn’t like being ignored), though this is hardly the case as of late.

But last night, my insecurities were the star of the show. The setting was one I’m familiar with somewhat: a busy town square, nearing dusk, shoppers and pedestrians milling about. I don’t know what it is about this scene that it keep reappearing in my dreams. The more that I tried to concentrate on the people around me, the more of them that turned into people on my Twitter.

NOTE: A very strong indication that I’ve spent too much time there recently, especially if it is now invading my dreams. Another vice, crutch, addiction – whatever you call it – will have to go.

The Book Stockpile of 2009

Because we all know the apocalypse is coming, in one fashion or another, and I want to be prepared with something to spend my days until I either a.) waste away from radiation; b.) get eaten by a zombie/abducted by aliens, etc or c.) die of old age. And so the book stockpile came to be.

Between audiobooks, e-books and dead-tree books, the stockpile should at least take me into 2010 without be going mad, and I’m always adding to it.

So what is in the stockpile so far, you ask?

Audiobooks:
Ancestor by Scott Sigler
Antithesis by J. Daniel Sawyer
Eden by Phil Rossi
Erotica a la carte by Philippa Ballantine
Fried Green Zombies by John Allen
Gearheart by Alex White
Jack Wakes Up by Seth Harwood
Weather Child by Philippa Ballantine

Kindle E-Books:
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt
The Bounty by Beth Williamson
Bridge of the Serpent God by John Peter Drummond
Catastrophe’s Spell by Mayer Alan Brenner
Codex Alera: Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Codex Alera: Academ’s Fury by Jim Butcher
Codex Alera: Cursor’s Fury by Jim Butcher
Concrete Jungle by Charles Stross
Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels
Dark Becoming by Marcus Mebes
Fire-Tongue by Sax Rohmer
Geek Mafia by Rick Dakan
Geek Mafia: Mile Zero by Rick Dakan
Halo by Tom Maddox
His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
(Finished the entire Temeraire series a week ago and LOVED it!)
The Infinite Sea by Jeffrey Carver
Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf
Neptune Crossing by Jeffrey Carver
Trail of Space Pirates by Carey Rockwell
Spell of Intrigue by Mayer Alan Brenner
Star Dragon by Mike Brotherton
Strange Attractors by Jeffrey Carver
Sunborn by Jeffrey Carver

Dead-Tree Books:
The Road by Cormac
Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress
Common Sense by Glenn Beck

To Be Added:
Tim Dorsey

M

>Conficker, Rain and Writing

>If anyone is interested in it: A test to check for the Conficker Virus. My mother is in IT and kindly keeps me up to date in the latest threats to PCs, so I can ignore them.

And outside its beautiful today. No, the sun is not shining, but the rain is one of the best features of Florida. It washes away all the Ben-gay and sun tan lotion so we can start anew tomorrow. Inhale the freshness!

Today, my writing books have finally shipped. My trip to Barnes & Nobel Saturday night was a bust – spent close to an hour scanning their shelves and not finding a single book I needed (or even one that I wanted), when I could have been listening to Prime Time Geek , washing dishes or more importantly, writing as I had planned. The night left me frustrated and unfulfilled, but now the clouds of despair are lifting and there are pretty flowers and oh look at the cute wittle bunnies….

Ahem. So yes, tonight I’ll write, finish the chapter. Its a rough – very rough – draft. I’m not surprised that I’m so rusty after not writing anything of particular interest in quite a while. I can only hope it’s like riding a bike (I expect to fall down many times.)

EDIT: Books are in route, according to UPS and will be here on Thursday.

>One down, so many to go

>I had a good night – didn’t go to bed until sometime before 2am, but the fatigue is offset by the fact that I completed the first chapter last night. Hurray! I’m content with how it came out, not saying that I won’t completely restructure it during editing, but it was enough to work with. It was a hard chapter to write, not only because it was the first, but because of the story line itself. It is an emotional beginning.

But now, oh yes now I can delve into the heart of it. Tell the story I came to tell in the first place.