building castles with my writing blocks

November is a time when writers are encouraged to overcome their blocks. First was NaNoWriMo. The National Novel Writing Month in which people agreed to write a fifty thousand word novel in one month. It's do-able, but only if you just sit down and write without letting your inner critic have a say in the matter. It's totally OK to write fifty thousand really bad words. (but you won't. There are bound to be some brilliant things that get discovered after you have finally thrown out all the garbage.) It gives you experience with writing to deadlines and with taking your writing seriously. If you actually DO get your novel written, (Even if you have written, "I can't do this," twelve thousand, five hundred times.) you are invited to a big NaNoWriMo party with others who have succeeded. I hear that these are pretty astounding parties. I've never gone, though I have written a novel in a month. (I was sitting with my mom and daytime TV is mind-numbing, so I got in two thousand words a day and revisions over one long August.)

And now is the NaBloPoMo for bloggers. I can't participate in this one because I know I will be unable to post on Mondays or Wednesdays, and the rules stipulate that you post to your blog every day. But it's a great exercise even if I can't do it. (Skiing is great exercise, too, and I'm never gonna do THAT!)

What I have is marketing block. But I have promised myself a lottery ticket each time I mail off three query letters to agents and/or editors. You can't win if you don't buy a ticket is my motto for November.

Great suggestions for the presents for DH. I'm gonna go with them!

T&PW gave him a welding unit one year, and he has enjoyed it thouroughly. In fact, the son of a friend is asking for welding lessons now. Seems he crossed a fence with the family car and the fence needs repair.

Other great gifts have been a quilt I made for him before we were married, two gold coins I sold my diamond earrings to buy (I don't care for sparkling stones, and the earrings were a relic from my first marriage.) and a weekend at the beach that turned out to be incredible. (A warm, calm weekend in mid-November? We lay in the hot tub with the waves breaking wildly in front of us and a full moon rising behind us. It was amazing!!) Nothing I can count on duplicating now. And the problem with buying tools is getting the right tools. Much as I love yarn, I don't want $50 worth of acrylic, and he doesn't want just any old implement of destruction to plug in and make noise with. Though maybe, if I could find a flame-thrower . . .