This Blog is on Sabbatical

Well guys, I hope you have a nice month of November...I'm taking the month of November off from blogging to stare at a whole lot of blank pages!!! Yes, this is exciting stuff...

As you know, I recently discovered that November is National Novel Writing Month, a time when crazy people around the world join forces and let their laundry and dishes pile up and try to write an entire 50, 000 word novel in 30 days! And, crazy fool that I am, I'll be one of them!

Obviously, this is going to be HARD. I think the hardest thing for me is trying to find the time to sit down and write 1667 words a day! There is no way I can even write every day, which means I'm going to have to write even more than 1667 words a day on some days...

In order to achieve this extreme goal, I've decided to give up all of the following for November: pointless emailing, Facebooking, random phone conversations, random texting, blogging (sorry, guys!), excercise (woo hoo!!!), TV (unless I've achieved my daily 1667 word goal), going out to dinner or the movies (ha...that one makes me laugh because I can't remember the last time I did that anyway...), and shopping, online or otherwise. The only exception will be Twitter, since I plan on updating my progress on there (check the right hand column for my updates if you want to see how I'm doing...) Also, I've decided to keep mothering for the month. Seems like the right thing to do. :)

I know that to many of you this sounds like a really stupid idea--and very masochistic--but you know what? It's only one month. I like challenging myself and I'm not afraid of embarrassment, so why not, right?

Anyway, wish me luck! And, if you are a masochistic aspiring writer like me, feel free to join me and add me to your buddy list on the NaNoWriMo website! (My ID is ktheblogger.) Good luck to all the NaNoWriMo's out there, especially my buddies: T., Tamara, Fatscribe, Margo, my friend, A., and my sister, S.--I hope all of you are NaNoWriMo winners!

Remember to visit my last post here for tips and tools to help with the competition.

Thanks and see you in December...:)

WTF!

(Alice does NOT look like she's going to a tea party if you ask me.)

For this inaugural episode of WTF!, I'd just like to share with you my one annoyance about an otherwise very fun holiday...Halloween.

Why, why, are all the Halloween costumes for women so SLUTTY?

WTF!

I just don't understand it! I mean, I am certainly not one to judge. Nor am I a prude. I think women should wear, do, and think whatever they want! Being girly and all, I am certainly all about being as glamorous as one can humanly be. I love the frills, makeup, heels, and all things super-girly! On occasion, I think it's perfectly normal for women to want to vamp it up and be a little sexy...

But, please, for the love of God, can we have some more options??? Especially if we just want to go trick or treating with our kids and not go, say, turning tricks? I would just like something fun to wear to greet the toddlers that might come by ringing our doorbell for candy or to attend our town's Halloween parade.

What are all of us suburban moms supposed to do this Halloween? I certainly can't answer the door to the sweet, innocent neighborhood children donning this:

( Do you have to be Snow White's wicked step-mother to find a decent costume??? I mean, really!)

The last couple of years I've managed to get by by just creating my own costumes using the stuff I already had.

Here is the recipe for one of my great costumes: bohemian skirt + bohemian top + gold flats + head scarf+ all the costume jewelry I own = Gypsy.

And, no, it didn't look like this:

(You have GOT to be kidding me...!)

Here's another great costume that I wore last year: ruffled white shirt + black crop pants + boots + cheap iParty accessories = Pirate.

This pirate, on the other hand, makes you want to say, "ARRGHH!":

Anyway, you'll be happy to know that after wading through a whole bunch of nearly pornographic Halloween websites, I was finally able to find something cool yet appropriate for Halloween this year. Check it out:

I will NOT be frightening the little neighborhood children...What a relief!

Happy Halloween!

Becoming a Writer

Those of you interested in writing must read this amazing article in Oprah magazine. It was written by Junot Diaz, the author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao...I promise, it's well worth it--very inspirational!!!

Gearing up for NaNoWriMo

Yesterday I was reminded that there are actually some people out there who read this blog on a regular basis and who wonder why I haven't posted anything in many days. (I know...shocking!) Believe it or not, some people really look forward to my posts...

My neighbor Winnie has her inlaws over this week and I ran into her very charming mother-in-law at the bus stop yesterday (and actually today, too). She happens to be a big fan of this blog (no joke!), going so far as to recommend it to some of her friends, and even wondering why I haven't written in quite a few days.

Isn't that so sweet??? I'm really flattered that she checks in here to see what I'm up to. (Even Winnie doesn't check in that often, unless of course I write about her...don't worry, W., I still love ya!) So, I would just like to offer my heartfelt thanks to wonderful Millie for reading my blog...you really made my day!

Anyway, my apologies for abandoning all of you wonderful readers for such a long while. I have been so preoccupied with my upcoming National Novel Writing Month event that I really can't seem to concentrate on blogging for you. (In order to participate, I will also have to shut down this blog for November...my apologies...but I'll be back with lots to tell!)

As you may recall, NaNoWriMo is a contest that challenges participants to write a 50, 000 word novel in a month and starts this weekend (Nov. 1st). I'm so excited! I have pretty much been trying to prepare for the event ever since I signed up last week. And, I've also managed to draft 4 other friends to do it with me so I'll have some buddies to help motivate me throughout the month. I really hope I can do it!

The way I see it, even if I don't crank out 50,000 words, whatever I do write will be more than I have now, so it'll still be worth something. (Unless, of course, all of the writing I produce is total CRAP, in which case I will have just wasted a month of my life!!! Let's try not to think about that, though.)

Anyway, the planner that I am, I've been scouring the internet for tips and tools I could use for NaNoWriMo and I've decided to post them here so I can have a spot that I can go to for reference throughout the event. Plus, maybe it'll help some of my NaNoWriMo buddies out there.

Check it out:

Tips for Winning NaNoWriMo

Tips from Veterans

How to Plot a Novel on Index Cards

The Single Most Powerful Writing Tool You'll See on One Page

Character Questionnaires

Word Counter

Online Stopwatch

The Thirty Six (Plus One) Dramatic Situations

Write or Die

Save Yourself From Writer's Block

Affirmations for Writers

Inspirational Quotes for Writers

More Inspirational Quotes for Writers

Oh, and of course, the NaNoWriMo website has lots of tools and inspiration!

That's what I have so far, but if I find more indispensable stuff, I'll definitely add it to this list, so check back soon! Oh, and try not to procrastinate for 2 hours looking at all the cool stuff I posted above...:) Get to work--that novel isn't going to write itself!

Inner Life

Automat, 1927, Edward Hopper

The following is a guest post written by blogger Elizabeth Bradley. You may find more of her terrific writing at Elizabeth Bradley Fiction--Bits & Bytes. Enjoy...


"Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world. No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination." – Edward Hopper

INNER LIFE
By Elizabeth Bradley

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, we are all the center of our own universe. We can’t help it. Maybe Sister Theresa felt differently, but most of us aren’t of her ilk.

While engaging in artistic activity, whether drawing, writing, knitting, glassblowing, painting, sculpting, quilting, throwing pottery, sewing, gardening, scrap booking, designing, what have you; we make a conscious decision to elevate ourselves. We become creators.

Creativity is intricately tied to our inner lives, and what we choose to create is our means of expressing our unique individual gift to the outside world. It’s up to us to hone our skills, to bring them up to the level where we are capable of clearly presenting what we have to say, to de-muddy the waters, and clarify that which needs to be articulated through our distinct art.

Beware—seeking to reach the highest level of your personal creativity will present a lifelong struggle. You will be required to fight off insecurities. Persevere. The task is to bring your vision to life because you don’t have any other choice. You are creative, you have something to say, you are compelled to share that interior dialogue with others, and you are qualified because you are the only one that can tell your particular story.

Attention, Aspiring Novelists!

One of my bloggy friends just told me that November is "National Novel Writing Month". Apparently, there is an entire organization of (possibly crazy) people who commit themselves to writing an ENTIRE NOVEL in the month of November! Anyway, you know me--I'm just that type of crazy person--I am actually thinking about shutting down the blog for November and trying it out! But before I do that, I thought I'd give you guys the opportunity to check it out and maybe consider doing it too! Here's an official press release I found on the "NaNoWriMo" page:

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH:
THE LARGEST WRITING CONTEST IN THE WORLD!

No Judges. No Prizes. Winning Manuscripts Deleted. Appeal Remains a Mystery.

Oakland, Calif. --- http://www.nanowrimo.org/ --- August, 2009 --- There are some who say writing a novel takes awesome talent, strong language skills, academic training, and years of dedication.

Not true. All it really takes is a deadline – a very, very tight deadline – and a whole lot of coffee.
Welcome to National Novel Writing Month: a nonprofit literary crusade that encourages aspiring novelists all over the world to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. At midnight on Nov. 1, 150,000 writers from over 90 countries – poised over laptops and pads of paper, fingers itching and minds racing with plots and characters – will begin a furious adventure in fiction. By 11:59 PM on Nov. 30, tens of thousands of them will be novelists.

NaNoWriMo is the largest writing contest in the world. In 2008, over 120,000 people took part in the free challenge. And while the event stresses fun and creative exploration over publication, more than 30 NaNoWriMo novelists have had their NaNo-novels published, including Sarah Gruen, whose New York Times #1 Best Seller, Water for Elephants began as a NaNoWriMo novel.

Around 18% of NaNoWriMo participants "win" every year by writing 50,000 words and validating their novels on the organization's website before midnight on Nov 30. Winners receive no prizes, and no one at NaNoWriMo ever reads the manuscripts submitted.

So if not for fame or fortune, why do people do it?

"The 50,000-word challenge has a wonderful way of opening up your imagination and unleashing creative potential like nothing else," says NaNoWriMo Founder and Program Director (and ten-time NaNoWriMo winner) Chris Baty. "When you write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both. Also, it's a great excuse for not doing any dishes for a month."

If you would like more information about National Novel Writing Month, or would like to talk to participants from NaNoWriMo chapters in your area, please visit our website at http://www.nanowrimo.org/, or contact press@nanowrimo.org.

Well, I hope all you aspiring writers go and check it out. As they say, "nothing ventured, nothing gained"! Please do let me know if you decide to sign up. It would be great to have some NaNoWriMo buddies!

Beautiful India

(photo courtesy Flickr)

Sometimes I get very nostalgic when I think about India (like yesterday, Diwali). I haven't been back since I was a teenager, over 20 years now. I'm not sure when I will go back, though I have it in my head that at some point I must take my (genetically Indian, but otherwise American) children there. I am not even sure what we would do there. We have no close family there to speak of any longer and our trip there would be no different than any tourist's trip, save for maybe knowing a few people here and there of my parents' generation.

While there, I also know that we will be a novelty: an Indian family that looks and sounds unlike other Indian families there. We will be treated as foreigners, bargained with and duped like foreigners, laughed at, admired, and marveled at like foreigners.

Oh, but some strange part of me longs for India, in a way that I know my children won't, in a way that even my parents cannot relate to. They grew up there and miss some parts of India, certainly, but they came here to leave the other parts behind. I don't know and can't relate to what they wanted to leave behind. I cannot fathom or imagine it.

But in my mind, instead, I see all the other things we've lost, the things that slowly, slowly I lose every year, and am losing with the next generation, and will be lost in generations in the future. Sometimes I feel like I am foolishly clinging to the last threads of my culture while the entire world is trying to move ahead. The slow erosion of my culture is a painful thing to watch. I imagine in generations ahead of this that we will be wholly American and not at all Indian, except for maybe having some part of us (a great, great grandparent maybe?) to have been Indian. And while I am so proud to call myself an American, some part of me also mourns the Indian that is slowly perishing to become the American.

It is a myth to think you can retain your own culture while living here and becoming an American. For the first generation or two, yes, but after that, slowly, your native culture is diluted and the culture that takes its place is very different than the culture that exists in the native land.

As an example, Native American Indians are not like Native American Indians of the past. Italian Americans are not like Italians from Italy. The Irish, the German, the French, the Chinese, the African are not at all like the natives from those respective lands, unless they just arrived. After a while, they all cling to small tokens of their culture, but not the entire essence of the culture.

I see it happening already. I have learned as much as my parents could teach me (which is less than they know) and I will teach my children as much as I can teach them (which is less than I know) and they will teach their children as much as they can teach them (which will be less than they know), and so on and so forth, until almost all is lost.

I do, however, take comfort in knowing that Indian culture, unlike some other cultures that have met a sadder fate, will go on in the world somewhere. Our language will still be spoken, our foods still cooked, our native dress still worn, our dances will still be danced, our religion and philosophy still read and understood. It will not become extinct. And it will be there for seekers, Indian or not.

And maybe, just maybe, one of those seekers will be my great, great, great granddaughter or grandson someday...

How wonderful that would be...