by Joan
I was all set
to participate in NaNoWriMo. Then life intervened. Several years back when I
was ready to start a new story, I began in November and wrote about 30,000
words. I’m not a fast writer, but thought I could benefit from some added
motivation. Last year I was revising a manuscript and didn’t want to start
something new.
I’ve never
loved the idea of cramming words on a page because I have a hard time moving on
from a sentence if I know it sucks. I’ve always been one to revise as I write,
then edit and revise some more. But a few months ago I started researching and
sketching ideas for my next novel, so the timing was right this year.
Karen Harrington ran a wonderful post about her own NaNoWriMo experience and encouraged writers to go for it. Then I read a FaceBook post from Caroline Leavitt. “Writing
is not typing!” I thought that was wise, too. And so, as
always, there are no “shoulds” in writing, only that each writer must do what
works best for her or him.
I’m spurred
on by Karen’s encouragement and the excitement of this idea that is a story
only I could tell. I have a voice in my head that I seem to have met a long
time ago. A voice that has been hiding, waiting to grab the keyboard. I’m
letting her go. For the first time I’m leaving blanks and highlights everywhere. Names,
places, games, lots of details that will emerge from further research of the
time period. I’m allowing myself to write quickly and not everything is in
order. As the scenes come to me, I write them.
I began to
tally my November words. On the 7th, my 89-year-old mother fell, broke some
ribs and punctured a lung. I moved up my Thanksgiving flight and extended my stay in Maryland and
slept next to her in the hospital during those first days. The most writing I
did was to jot questions for the doctor or punch out a few texts to family and
friends. “She’s confused and in pain,” or “hospital is so understaffed.” There
were some bright moments: “Today my mom said, ‘for some reason, all of a sudden
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a big hit again.”
She was
transported to a rehab facility on a blustery cold day and is slowly learning
to use a walker again. Because of some cognitive issues, she might not get back
to living as independently as she had been. She’s still a fall risk. One day
she was caught using her tray table as a walker. 
I’m writing
most days and have managed to write about 12,000 good words. She’s telling me
snippets of her life I’ve never heard before and I’m writing them, too. I’ll
never know if they’re true or a product of painkillers. I won’t get to 50,000
words, but I’m spending time with my mom who likely won’t be around to see any
of my books published.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. And how’s your NaNoWriMo going?
