I had lost this blog. Literally. I couldn't remember the URL or the password. Yeah, I know. I'm kind of lame that way.
But then I gave my email address to a google group and it suddenly appeared. Of course, by then I had started another blog. So I guess I'll skip back and forth, letting this one tell of my creative side. The other I'll continue to use differently. (If I can remember the password to that one. Lame. I know)
I recently moved to the Portland Oregon area. It's lovely here! Though, I hadn't expected this many frosty mornings already. I'm told that this hasn't been a typical season. I'll go with that and continue to be hopeful that there will be no snow to contend with.
Our new place is also a new experience for me. Instead of the traditional suburban single family home with a long list of DIY projects to tackle and a yard with a garden, we now live in a two bedroom condo with a balcony overlooking the light rail train tracks. Still sort of suburban, but really more of an urban feel. Evan can walk to the station and take the MAX to work. And BONUS: it's fairly new. There aren't many projects in this place. Oh sure- some painting and some organizing and decorating... but no walls to tear out or anything like that. Besides, I've left all my tools back in Colorado with Katie.
For me, this has opened new opportunities for creativity. We have an area upstairs- not so much a room as an expanded hallway/landing. I call it my Creativity Loft. An IKEA Expedit shelf has been installed for fabric, yarn, scrapbook and crafting supplies. I have a bookshelf full of wonderful books, and a desk which can serve as a sewing or crafting table. I haven't used it as such, though. Right now it is home for my laptop. My creative energies have gone into writing.
November is NaNoWriMo month. The goal: write a 50,000 word novel in a single month. I was a winner last year- the first time I participated. It was a great way to actually get me writing. All those years of learning about writing and attending conferences and thinking up plots and writing ideas in notebooks..... and it all came down to actually sitting down and writing. Go figure.
November 2012 was a good year for writing. I started my novel, Science and Sorcery and was able to get in 50,000+ words. And then December came, and without a crazy goal and daily progress checks to keep me going, I stopped writing. There was so much else to do, and my creative energies went back into my house and the DIY projects there.
But 2013 has brought a whole new experience for me. I can put more of my time into creative exploits of the writing kind. I picked up my novel from last year, created a new file (Part 2) to keep my word count fresh, and went at it like crazy! I finished NaNoWriMo 2013 with a word count of 56,616 words! Winner 2013!
I wasn't able to finish the novel, though. So while I'm taking the time to blog, I'm also spending time thinking about what to write, and continuing daily writing. I may not be putting in 2,000 words a day. Sometimes it's less than half that. But- I am writing every day. I'm getting closer to finished.
Of course, then comes the not so creative, sometimes frustrating, and often mundane task of editing and revision. And then I'll have to find beta readers (and a thick skin, prepared for criticism).
And then, if all goes well, I will have the courage to prepare myself to submit it for publication. (and all the rejection letters. I have to be realistic, here. I love what I've written, but can't be guaranteed that anyone else will)
I have a path ahead. But more than that, I have made time and a space for myself to pursue that path, and a lot of other ideas waiting for me to give them life as well.
Write on!
