T-Minus 20 Days to NaNo

I'm surprising myself. I'm getting psyched up for NaNo (National Novel Writing Month, or NaNo WriMo) and I already know I won't succeed. I'm not a pessimist. I didn't succeed either of the past two years I started NaNo novels, and I have even less time this year. I don't need to be an Antactic researcher to know it'll be a cold day in hell before I finish 50,000 words when I'm lucky to get five hours of sleep and four or five hours of family time per day.

Novel writing includes a lot of sacrifice. I'm willing to do that. Indeed, I've done that. But this year, not quite as much will be allowed.

Still, I'm getting psyched. Why? Because I've got Twitter friends who are encouraging me. Many of these are part of the online community of writers at AgentQuery, which is probably my favorite writing-related site, but I've also come across other NaNoers. Some of them even follow me through my work-related Twitter account, which is kinda cool.

I'm eager to get started, though I'll admit I'm of two minds about what to write. I could easily get back into my work from last year, which requires much more than another 50,000 words, especially since I only got about 15,000 written last year during NaNo and far fewer once December hit. (And virtually none after the closing days of the year brought me two bundles of happiness and poopy diapers.) But I also could return to writing funny stuff (well, funny at least to me.) And like many who've been treated like a cat toy over the past year, I could use a couple laughs.

Perhaps I'll post updates on Twitter like this: Fell asleep on the train again while writing 30 words. It's 30 I hadn't written before.

Regardless, I know that I need to get back into my writing. My girls deserve it.

Good luck fellow NaNoers. The most grueling days are before us. Keep your pens, pencils, and minds sharp.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Real Man

Ok, this is old news by now, but I still think the whole Shakespeare portrait story was pretty cool. To think that such a painting was simply hanging in some wealthy family's home boggles my mind and makes me wonder what else is out there, waiting to be discovered.

I'm not expecting anyone to find the Holy Grail — neither literally nor metaphorically — but it would not surprise me to read about a long lost writings by Mark Twain or Emily Dickinson. I bet there's the equivalent of another few dozen clay pots full of Jesus-era writings tucked inside a long-forgotten cave or tomb in Israel somewhere. It's happened before, so why not again? Again, I'm not expecting new gospels or major discoveries, but neat old stuff. An autographed original of Milton's Paradise Lost, perhaps?

Historical discoveries help counterbalance contemporary idiots like "Octomom." (Note to the Newsweek reporter: No, we weren't wrong. The woman's insane.) I'm not convinced the world needed her right now. Wait until the economy recovers, Octomom, before you look to capitalize on your 14-strong brood. (I'm confident most literary agents understand she's not going to have an audience for a memoir.)

I look at the face in that portrait of the man we believe to be Shakespeare and wonder what he'd blog about, who he'd follow on Twitter, what he'd think of contemporary society.... The man in the portrait appears to be of his time; I'd expect Willy Shakes to be a multimedia superstar today. Writer, producer, actor, director ... a veritable Roger Corman. ;-)

I'm a Full-Fledged Twit

Or is that Tweeter? I've started to tweet, come follow me @elephantguy68

And if I've posted that incorrectly, I'll update it. This 21st century social-networking communication is still a little new to me.

UPDATE: I'm gathering up lots of new followers on Twitter, which I greatly appreciate. For those who're new to tweets, I'll be sending out info that I find interesting to readers, writers, and other literate folks whose IQs are at least above 100, and I'll let people know about the posts I place here in my little corner of the blogosphere.