Resolved to Write

I have participated, before, in Nanowrimo. I have 4 novels, none of them completely finished, with at least 50,000 words each written in them, but, as I said, none of them are completely finished. I would find myself getting to that last 5000 words and then realize that I wouldn't be able to make it to the ending that I had planned, and instead write the ending with my last 5000 or so words, leaving a big gap where the rest of the writing should have been. So, while I have completed Nanowrimo 4 times, I have not yet written a novel.

I am resolving myself to write. New Year's resolutions are often broken so quickly, and me without my deadline nor my chatroom full of cheerleaders, I fear I am setting myself up for disappointment. But what I do have is my own resolve, and a very close knit bunch of friends who are also writers, who are willing to help me in this endeavor.

This is how I'm going to do it:

1. I resolve to wake up every morning and write three pages of drivel just to get it out of me. During these three pages I will a) plan out my day b) vent about yesterday c) plan and plot. These three pages (also known as Morning Pages thanks to Julia Cameron) will be the small petty child that I am inside letting it all out, so that she doesn't bother me for the rest of the day while I attempt to be an adult.

2. I resolve to work my hardest at my job, and let that be a joy to me again, not an obligation, but a responsibility that I continue with pride. My students deserve better than I have been. I will not rush out the door to be on the computer unless I have a class that evening, but that is only on Mondays and Fridays (for now).

3. I resolve to be offline completely by 6pm every night so that I can have dinner in a timely manner and be upstairs and writing by 8pm. From 6-8 is Kevin's time. My friends will understand that my husband comes first in all things... and won't feed my addictions.

4. I resolve to write from 8-1o every night, not stopping to gaze out the window or day dream. I have a desk upstairs and a reason to use it. I will create worlds and characters that I truly can fall in love with and write every day.

5. I resolve to write one poem every day during my healthy lunch, which will be packed and ready to eat. This will keep my mind healthy.

6. I resolve to walk for half of my prep period, and spend extra time after school if I need it to grade and lesson plan. I will not waste this time, but instead check in on other teachers and visit my department chair and the library daily, as well as check my mail and talk to counselors and the psychiatrist about students that need help. (I may possibly get to know the office staff a bit better, as well as our new principal.)

7. For the other half of my prep, I resolve to read good literature, not Harlequin romances which do nothing more than give me a reason to escape my life. I need to use my gift for literary analysis to make my world better, not leave it.

So, this will be my resolutions, starting tomorrow... for now. I'm going to go eat chinese food and chocolate cake.

Lollipops and kisses!
TLW

Tabula Rasa

I start today not as the English teacher that I once was, but as the writer I am becoming. I am clearing away the debris of a past lifetime, looking not at the broken and twisted path that has led me to the place I have come to, but instead look forward to that golden shining valley of what I can become. I am, of course, going to pull my friends along with me and make them start publishing thier works too, because it's no fun to be in the limelight all by yourself.

Maybe it is time to really blog, really work on what I want to write, post passages of really well written stuff, and talk about what I am learning as a writer. I learn something every day, I think of new things every day. The only thing you won't find here is my work, but you may find links.

Speaking of links, I got confirmation today that I am going to be published in the online erotica magazine "Clean Sheets" (and if I knew how to do one of those nifty little HTML things where I could put a link in here, I totally would), but just google search Clean Sheets and go check them out. They were one of my favorite places to go when I was interested in having something fun to read. They asked me if I wanted a link for my bio, and so I created this blog to give them something to link to. I'm still not sure how often I'll use it, but it does seem to be a good place to put my ramblings about writing... and maybe some poetry I don't think I will ever attempt to get published.

Hope to see you around!