NaNoWriMo 2013

OK people, this is the year, I WILL COMPLETE NANOWRIMO! Sorry for the yelling :), but I need a bit of fanfare, something to get me motivated...to put it simple, something to put my butt in gear.  I have known about NaNoWriMo for probably about 5-6 years and with it commencing on my birthday, November 1st, I thought for sure this was a sign....the universe was telling me to finally write my novel and NaNoWriMo was to be the vehicle to drive my novel out of my mind and onto the page.  Well, 6 years and 0 Novels later I am remiss to say the Universe may have given me the sign, but I clearly ignored it, until now.  

Having registered for NaNoWriMo yet again, I am looking for a few good buddies, "won't you be my Buddy?' I am going to need the proverbial "kick in the keester" every now and then, so if you have a brand new pair of steel-toe boots that you are dying to break in, follow my blog and my Facebook Page where I will be posting my daily word count...OK, maybe not daily, but at least 2-3x a week.  I will make every effort to post daily, even it is just a picture of me about to throw my laptop through a plate glass window! 

What tools do you use to assist you with NaNoWriMo?  Do you have a book? A teleportation device to take you back to November 1st? Anything? Please someone, anyone, throw me a bone! :) I intend on using the following book that I have had for many moons, but have yet to utilize, First Draft in 30 DaysBy Karen Wiesner.  I am praying that this book, prayer and a lot of caffeine I will come out of the month of November the author of a Novel. 

What will I do Today to further my writing journey

Some of the ideas given in The Writer Mama include looking at your current roles in life and drawing inspiration and writing material from those roles.  For some reason I have always had a negative connotation with "roles" because I equate them with stereotypical roles that are placed on us, unwilling, due to or circumstances, situations or merely by birth.  As a single African American mother, I am bombarded daily with sting of the stereotypic welfare mother, 4 kids by 5 different men, a leach on society; sucking up resources so that I can stay at home all day watching Soap Opera's and eating Bon Bon's purchased with my food stamps, of course.  Well, while I cannot say that  have never been on assistance, I can say that I have utilized it as a crutch, to get me over a bad point and not as a way of life.  Although I am presently unemployed (through no fault of my own) I am collecting unemployment and I am working on controlling my own destiny by following my passion and writing and living a creatively authentic life that will allow me to support myself and my children.  So while I have to overcoming my own issues with wording and stereotypes.  I am happy to feel as if I am making progress, even by writing this blog I am working towards my ultimate goal.

I have also been wondering, can you start on the current day, when you start reading the Simple Abundance book? Looking through my bookcase I found this book and while looking through it I got to todays date it talks about your home and The Personality of Your Home and as I look around the blank walls in my dining room & living room I can say that my home does not reflect the warmth that I desire. This house is drab and boring (am I drab and boring? I hope not) but the underlying message of this entry and the book is gratitude, being grateful for what you have, in the now.  I can honestly say that even with it's drabness and boring color I am grateful for every wall (boring color and all).  So today I am going to look at my home as my haven and incubating cocoon, protecting and nurturing me until I am ready to blossom into my full potential.
As for my writing exercise; I am going to do as Ms. Katz recommends and look for magazines that are in my  target audience and also scour the newspapers for inspiration.  Until tomorrow and another day of writing ensues.