How a weekend with my girlfriends saved me


I had just really started thinking about blog ideas and posts and topics and such when it was time for my annual weekend away on the Oregon Coast with several of the coolest -- and I'm not talking cool-just-because-they-are-my-friends, but cool in a dude-if-you-don't-think-she's-cool-you're-psychotic kind of way -- women on earth. I have been in a long, dark teatime of the soul for several years now. I have not been very open about this with anyone outside the inner sanctum, but it's been tough. Suffice to say I've questioned... well, everything. And that weekend, it all came out.

My weekend started with approximately 8 hours of non-stop talking with my very best friend ever. We've been friends for 30 years now. By the time the other ladies arrived at the beach house, we were just getting warmed up. By the time Friday night rolled around and everyone started sharing, things were getting personal. I vomited all of my emotions all over the room, and my friends picked up the pieces. I shared with them that all I really wanted to do was write fiction -- fantasy -- and they told me I needed to. More importantly, they told me that if I didn't, it was okay with them.

Now, I have this kind of support from my husband. Don't misunderstand. He has said similar things to me over and over again for several years. He is the most fantastic supporter of all my crazy nonsense ever. But it took the girlfriends to drive the points home. I don't know why. A girl thing, maybe...?

And so, I came home from that weekend and started mulling over ideas for a book I've had in my head for a few years now. I plinked around, and then my Facebook friend and real-life cousin (or something) Kay said she was taking the NaNoWriMo challenge. If you don't know, the challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I decided to join her.

I crossed the 50,000 word mark on November 10.

And then I kept going.

Right now, I've finished the first draft. I'm working on the second draft, and it's moving fast. I've chopped, cut, pasted, rewritten, and moved pieces to a file I'm calling "bits and extras." I might need them for book two or some additional backstory somewhere. The current word count sits at around 104,000 words. Not sure if it will go up or down or stay the same. It's fantasy; as yet, it's untitled.

My friend Lyne challenged me to blog about this, and several people have followed my Facebook posts about this adventure, so I decided to spew a few thoughts here. I hope you enjoy reading about my crazy foray into being a "real" writer.