NaNoWriMo Day 1 - And So It Begins

I'm off and running!  Armed with goggles, mask, and gloves and with the window open for ventilation (brrrr), I removed the old moldy letters from the freezer and began to transcribe.   My daughter called me Darth Vader when she saw me in my getup -- guess I missed dressing up for Halloween by one day!

At this point, my focus is just to get all the letters transcribed.  Once I get them all typed, then I can cut and paste to get a definite chronological order and try to fit the letters in that have no dates whatsoever.   I know I will have to do some editing of the letters to only leave in pertinent information relevant to the story, but for now, I am totally enjoying the language and historical references and can't imagine cutting anything out.

Of the two letters I worked on today, Grandma mentions a "tent show" with a clown...did she mean a circus?  She also talked about a trip she took on a train and getting "pinched" 15 cents for a sandwich.  The dates on today's letters were January 1926 and July 1927, and given the context of both, I have a lot more questions than I do answers.  I shared the letters with my mother and she could fill in a little information about certain names, but not much else.  The suspense is definitely going to push me to work on this project as often as time allows.

That being said, when I post my daily/cumulative word count, just know that those are words transcribed and not necessarily words I have written.  So while I may not be holding true to the National Novel Writing Month's intention, I am accomplishing MY goal of getting Grandma and Grandpa's story retold.

WORD COUNT = 2,285

NaBloWriMo Day 31 - Random Status Post Thursday

So on this Halloween/last day of October to wrap up National Blog Writing Month, the post on my news feed this morning was as follows:

"If you were a booger, I'd pick you first :)"

Is that supposed to be a heartwarming sentiment?

No, it's snot!!!!  Hahahahaha!!!!!


I will miss writing random crap everyday, but it has been a great primer for National Novel Writing Month. Time to get down to some serious composing.  Today, I plan to set up my writing space and organize my notes from the writer's retreat I attended a couple years.  Grandma and Grandpa's letters are in the freezer (a technique I read about to stop mold from growing on paper), and then I will head over to NaNoWriMo to create my novel specs.

Check back in the days and weeks to come and follow my progress as I post about my novel writing experience.

In the meantime, I will leave you with some parting shots for the day...

I may have over estimated how much candy I would need for beggar's night!

Just one of seven jack-o-lanterns we will light for tonight's festivities.

Look up and be prepared!  You never know what might be lurking above.

NaBloWriMo Day 30 - A Foggy Day to go to Town

The dense fog advisory was supposed to expire at 9 a.m. today.  At noon, the advisory was extended into "sometime" this afternoon.

The fog did not keep us from our planned field trip, however.  We were going to learn the art of rug hooking today at Ewe and Eye Woolens and Such.  Marge and Beth were wonderful instructors and very knowledgeable on the craft.  After learning the technique, I was hooked!!

Cabin Coffee for caffeine and Flat Pie and Red Eye for Margherita pizza concluded our morning field trip.  Even though the drive home was still foggy and drizzly, we spotted a most unique yard display on the way...

...and we thought, "Hay!  Isn't that cute?!"

NaBloWriMo Day 29 - Are We There Yet Part 2

...continued

"I did a serious, hard look at why I wanted to take on the NaNoWriMo challenge and what I wanted to accomplish and came up with the following:"

NaNoWriMo is the motivation I need to write a novel (in just one month).  I can track my progress and get inspiration and support from fellow writers.

But why do I want to write a novel?  I had to break this down.  I definitely want to improve my writing skills. But do I need to write a novel to accomplish that?  Do I want others to read my work?  What do I have to offer that hasn't already been done that someone else would WANT to read?  My life story?  Parts of it maybe, but certainly not in its entirety!  As I asked myself these questions and pondered possible answers, I got down to the heart of the matter, and I realized it WAS the heart of the matter that mattered!!  I wouldn't be here today had my parents not gotten together and they wouldn't be here if their parents hadn't gotten together and so on down the ancestry line...which brought me to my reason for participating.

I have in my possession the letters my grandparents exchanged from the late 1920's during their courtship.  Five years ago when my grandmother passed away, I acquired the shoe box of correspondence that contained two surprising family stories. Upon reading a few pieces of the contents when the box was found, the stories began to unfold.  One of the stories was actually known by all of the family, but the other had been kept a secret--grandma had taken it to the grave (or so she thought).

Because of the age of the letters and the manner in which they had been stored, their fragile nature and mold spore content made it hard for us to continue to read them further...not to mention, they were not in chronological order making the story hard to piece together.  As the oldest grandchild, I was given the task of scanning/preserving the letters somehow.  I attempted this process by first trying to get the letters in order.  This was difficult due to the fact that grandma and grandpa rarely dated their letters to one another and the postmarks are mostly faded and stained making them unreadable.  Another attempt I made was just trying to read through the content to put them in order.  I had to work in a well-ventilated area with a mask on because the mold was getting to me pretty bad.  Scanning them didn't seem like an option since they are virtually falling apart.  I soon became frustrated and quit the project storing the box away.

Well...

...it's time to get the box back out!  Grandma and Grandpa's story needs to be told--if for no other reason than just for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren to read.  It needs to be pieced together now while there are still family members around to fill in the gaps.

I will persevere as I preserve and finish what I started five years ago.  The challenge of National Novel Writing Month and the goal of writing 1,667 words a day through the month of November is totally doable and will provide the drive I need to power through the transcribing, sorting, and writing of their story.

I will attempt to keep this blog updated with daily word counts and snippets of storyline to hold me accountable to my goal.

I am now getting excited to begin and need to get busy on my character sketches and plot...it has a wonderful ending! :)

NaBloWriMo Day 28 - Are We There Yet? Part 1

Only three days left of National Blog Writing Month 2013.  I am pleased that I was able to achieve my goal of writing everyday for a month through this online blogging experience...even if some of the days didn't amount to much.

What did I learn from this experience?

I learned that setting goals is essential in order to stay on track--(not just in writing).

I observed whatever you want to write about has probably already been written about and is readily available on the internet so you better have a unique spin to your story.

I found purpose and intent filled my days as I developed story ideas and topics in preparation for writing my blog.

In reading other bloggers' posts...

...I discovered places I want to visit like...Long Beach, Washington and Missoula, Montana.

    ...I fell in love with Gregory's smile.

        ...I was in awe of Vanessa's strength and grace.

            ...I became inspired by Rebecca's courage and tenacity.

                ...I got acquainted with Gabe and Gigi's story in the book "My Message is C.L.E.A.R" and feel I have a greater awareness for those living through adversity.

                    ...I laughed at Aaron's vlog and appreciated his quirkiness.


As October closes and I reflect on the writing and the momentum I have gained this month, I look forward to continuing the routine through the National Novel Writing Month exercise beginning November 1 and ending 50,000 words later on November 30.

I find myself more closely examining my goals for this writing exercise as I think about some wise words I heard from actor/writer/producer Judd Nelson.  This past weekend, I attended a film making initiative meeting held in conjunction with the Iowa Independent Film Festival where Judd Nelson was an honored guest.  When asked a question about writing a screenplay, Nelson gave two solid points:

1. Start small. 
2. Be honest with why you are writing.  

"...theater is for actors, film is for directors, and books are for writers."

Whether you are writing to tell your own story, to better your craft, or to seek fame...it doesn't matter the reason, as long as you are honest with yourself about your reason.  If you are honest, that will be the driving force that gets you through the project with a successful end result.

Don't start out with an infinite number of characters.  Start with one character in a room with one idea and build from there.

His points really resonated with me, and I did a serious, hard look at why I wanted to take on the NaNoWriMo challenge and what I wanted to accomplish and came up with the following:

(to be continued)...

NaBloWriMo Day 27 - Jack or Lantern

we was up to our elbows in pumpkin guts.

the neighbors must've thought we was nuts.

ain't a light on now in the whole dern place.

'cept what's comin' from the holes in they face.

NaBloWriMo Day 26 - Amazing Things

I promised I would write about amazing things and that's what I intend to do...

There is something amazing about being on the set of a movie for the first time.  We all watch movies, but how many of us get the amazing opportunity to experience being on a set for the actual filming, let alone getting to be in a movie as an extra?  My daughter and I had just such an opportunity in the Spring of 2012; and last night, we enjoyed our 4 seconds of fame as we previewed the rough-cut of Garner, Iowa at the Iowa Independent Film Festival.  We portrayed coffee shop patrons (which is a huge stretch for me--NOT).  My daughter, the drama queen instructed me:  "Whatever you do, Mom, don't look at the camera!"  It was an absolute thrill to see ourselves on the screen--if only for a few seconds.  The bigger thrill, however, was getting a behind-the-scenes look at film making and getting to interact with some of the actors and crew members.

The painstaking and tedious process of getting the lights and cameras just right before shooting a segment; and then the many, many takes to get all the camera angles needed for one scene lasted for hours and boiled down to a few short minutes after editing.  I am in awe at the skill involved in editing and adding in sound. What seemed disjointed and awkward at some points during the filming as we watched through the director's monitor, came together flawlessly and cohesively for each scene in the movie.

The talent and genuine concern and care for getting the story right and the characters believable was heartwarming and it definitely came through in the end product.

It truly was an amazing experience and one we will not soon forget!