Hi. I just received an email from HQ saying the backlog of pep talks has over a 24 hour wait. So I'm posting our first Regional pep talk here. Hope it inspires you. And I hope you have a great expierence this November.
Dear Writers,
I am sitting in front of my computer anxiously awaiting the hour that begins my favorite month. November is almost here. I’m watching Ghost Hunters Halloween Live Countdown, and enjoying the calm before the storm.
You are about to undertake an amazing act of creativity. You are ready to begin your novel. And by taking this step you are demonstrating great courage. By putting yourself out there so that you are vulnerable to whatever your characters have in store for you. It is an amazing feat of trust.
I have spoken with countless people who tell me that they have a story in them, and that I should be the one to write their story. But I just smile and shake my head. When they hear my response they don’t know quite what to make of it. It is simple advice that I pass on from one of my writing mentors. The best person to write the story inside of you is you.
You knew it was coming, and here it is: the act of writing a novel is very similar to the act of surviving a zombie attack. Week one which is swiftly approaching is the moment where you actually realize there is something wrong out there. That everything you’ve thought you’ve felt: the fear, the anxiety, the hairs sticking straight up on the back of your head, they’ve all been warnings to you. Omens that say to us something is about to happen. Something big. And whatever it is, it’s coming at you fast.
Week one is the frantic pace to get yourself away from the oncoming hordes. You gather people to you that you hope you can trust (your characters), gather your supplies (your NaNoWriMo Hipster PDA, plot cards, laptop, and goodies) and find a safe shelter to hold up in for the night (your home or writing sanctuary).
Robert Frost has a poem that I have cherished for fifteen years, and I consider it my honor to share it with you.
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
You are the traveler, the zombie slayer, the ninja of your life. And it is up to you to take the first step on your journey to becoming the novelist you have always wanted to be. And here is your chance, dear writers, to make the difference you want to see in your world. I wish you luck, and thank you for letting me be a part of your journey.
Best wishes for novel writing success,
Trilli/Darlene
ML, Tacoma :: Pierce County Region, Washington state
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Trilli
ML for Tacoma/Pierce County Region
Forums Moderator: Plot Doctoring
3,457 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 10 40
Not sure why exactly, but here's the song that went through my head while I was reading that. lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff_rNhmJ570&feature=related
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100,086 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 18 27
One of my favorite quotes about writing a novel:
"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand." George Orwell
When in question about the ability to harness that inner demon which pushes me to continue my pursuit of the sense of satisfaction that comes from completing a task such as this, I always find that becoming lost within the pages of the manuscript and taking a vested interest in the outcome of my characters brings about the next plot situation with alacrity and resolve.
56,439 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 21 37
that is my most favorite poem of all time. since i was about 11 or 12 when i first heard it i have loved. that alone was the pep talk i needed thank you :)
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37,180 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 22 40
I never imagined that I wanted to go down the road with the zombies on it. Now I say, bring it on.
. . . Later I will probably run away and hide.