Because I don't already have enough online commitments, I decided today that I needed a Tumblr account.  Awhile back I added the "Inspiration Gallery" to my website with the idea that I would keep photos of things that inspire me to write there.  However, I found it limiting and didn't post there nearly as often as I had originally planned to.  After exploring Tumblr more thoroughly than I have in the past, I felt that it might be a more suitable venue to host the things that inspire me to write.  For starters, it will allow me to more easily upload music and videos as well as photos.  I may even just put up a word or a phrase.  I want it to function more as a list of writing prompts than anything else.  

The photo above is what I chose for my first post because when I look at it, I think of at least half a dozen different story ideas. I don't know if anyone else will find my collection of writing inspiration useful or not, but I encourage you to stop by and browse through if you ever feel like you're battling the block.  After all, even a muse can use a little assistance now and again.  :)

Once I have posted all the photos currently in my Inspiration Gallery here at Happy Writing!, I will remove them from this site, but at this point, I just plan to upload something to my Tumblr account no more than once a day, so that will be down the road.  

I hope you all are full of inspiration!

Happy Writing!

Di

I am still contemplating whether or not to try Nano-ing again this year or not.  But in the meantime, I am keeping uberbusy with activities of both the writing variety and the non-writing variety. I know what you're thinking. . .  non-writing activities? Is that even possible?  The answer is yes, but they aren't nearly so fun. :)

However, even though I am undecided on the Nano question, I have found a lovely little site that might help those of you who have decided to go for it.  Or even those of you who might just be struggling with getting the words on the page.

Write or Die by Dr. Wicked is a tool that gives writers a little extra motivation for not straying from the page they are writing.  You set a word goal, a time limit, the level of consequence, and the grace period you desire.  Then you begin typing.  If you stop to ponder, it will either gently remind you to get back at it, or it may come up with an even more devious consequence, depending on your chosen settings.  (Warning:  Use the Kamikaze Mode at your own risk. . .)  It's fun to play around with and could potentially be a very useful tool for those writers who are struggling to reach a writing goal.  If you find it really useful, there is even a desktop version you can purchase.  

Happy Writing! (And whatever you do. . . don't stop!)

--Di

With October upon us  and already almost a third of the way through, there is one question on the minds of many writers.  Will I be sacrificing my November in order to join that crazy writing marathon that is Nanowrimo?  I am sure many of you have already decided one way or another.  I, however, have not.

The fact that I am even considering signing up again is a testament to either my insanity or my poor judgement when it comes to time management.  I mean, how many writing related goals do I still need to tackle this year?  That novel I finished this summer?  Yeah, that is still waiting to be edited.  That novel I wrote in 2008?  That's the one I am mere inches away from having a third and close to final draft of.  Oh wait, what about that brand new novel that I gave in and started working on a few weeks ago?  Sure, I'm only on Chapter 2, but my writing partner actually threatened to strangle me if I didn't deliver more soon.  If you come here with any sort of regularity, you may have noticed that 2011 has been a pretty light year for me publication-wise.  This would be because I haven't been nearly so diligent as I should have been with revising and submitting my short stories.  Granted, I have been focusing more on novels, but still.  Plus I haven't been writing nearly as many new short stories as I normally do.  Again, the novels have been commanding my attention, but short stories were my first love as a writer and I think straying too far away from them would make me sad. . . like I've lost touch with my roots.

So, clearly, I have enough on my writing plate to keep me wholly occupied from now until many Novembers from now.  But yet, I am still tempted.  What the heck is wrong with me?

On the other hand, having 30 days of forced writing focus might not be such a bad thing for me either.  Perhaps a compromise is in order.  I've been batting around some ideas for an alternative Nanowrimo project.

1.  Revise a short story for every day in November.  (Yes, I actually do have that many short stories sitting in my "To Be Revised" folder.  Don't judge.  It took me a few years to get comfortable with the whole idea of revision.)

2.  Write a new short story for every day in November.  (I tried this last year and actually had a good run of it for about 16 days.  Then life happened and I've spent the last 11 months trying to forget that I publicly failed to reach my goal.  Maybe a second -- successful -- run of it will make me feel better.)

3.  Revise the novel I finished this summer in the month of November.  (This actually seems both realistic and practical, and even appropriate seeing as I actually wrote 30,000 words of this novel during Nanowrimo 2006.  But would it be as fun as creating something new?)

4.  Write 50,000 NEW words on my already started current WIP.  (This sounds like a good idea in theory, but this new novel is a whole new genre for me as a writer and I am a little intimidated by the world building involved.  I'm afraid a marathon run of it might create a mess I won't have the energy or will to clean up, which would be sad because I REALLY like where this new one is headed.)

Or maybe I can do some sort of combination of 1, 2, and/or 3.

What do you guys think?  What would you do if you were in my position?  Or would you just throw practicality to the wind and jump in feet first to the fun and insanity that is traditional Nanowrimo?  For that matter, are you going to be Nanowrimo-ing this year?

Whatever your answer is to the October question, I wish you happy writing!!

--Di

Today, after a bit of a hiatus, I am back in one of my favorite coffee shops and working on some actual writing.  It feels good, like I am returning to a much loved job after an unexpected leave of absence.  I think in the coming weeks, I am going to be able to get back in the groove of regularly blogging and writing and have some fun posts planned for the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, for any Conversing with Cats fans out there, my catterific little fuzzy muses have returned from their hiatus as well.  Feel free to pop on over and see what kind of cattery they have been up to while I get back to my novel.

Happy Writing!

--Di