My NaNoWriMo Story
I wouldn't call this collection of over 50,000 words a book. Not yet, anyway. I read it last week (for the first time!) and I'd say that I have 118 pages of ideas, characters and conversation that need a little something more to tie them together. There were parts that made me laugh with myself and parts that made me laugh AT myself. I'd been avoiding reading it because I thought it was all garbage, but I was surprised to find that there are some good, promising sections in there.
One thing that was certain was that the story really needs to be narrowed down in focus. It was very apparent that I was still finding my voice and trying things out all the way to the last page. Which is fine, honestly! That's part of the process. For a long time though, I felt like I was done with that particular story and that I didn't want to put in the work necessary to make it something better.
But now I'm starting to feel differently.
After I finished the last page, I had a desire to keep working on it. I've always felt unsettled about how I left it and unsure of how to tie things up. It had a bleak ending with no real message, at least not a positive one. And that's not how I roll, you may have noticed. I'm pretty dang optimistic. So as I sat there trying to figure out what to do with it, I realized that it is not over yet. I realized that I can't leave my characters stuck in the troubling situations I put them in.
So I'm not done with them yet. In fact, I think I may only be halfway through telling their story. And I think some people I felt were main characters need to take a few steps back while some of the background and "filler" characters, per se, need to have the light shined on them a little more.
Lucky for me, my dear friend Clare, who was with me every step of the way on my initial NaNoWriMo journey and who I had the pleasure of meeting face to face in June, sent me this great gift that I think will help me figure out where to go next.
With this book in hand, I'm going to see if I can't figure out where Taylor and Maddie (my two main characters) end up next. I'll let you know how it goes :)
A Blog Series
A while back, I did a blog series called Faces of Homeschooling. I wanted to know what life was like for other homeschooling families and I thought it would be fun to share these little "interviews" with the 3 people who read my blog. I had a lot of fun with it. Now I want to sort of take that idea and expand on it.
I am fascinated by people and what they do. Not just what job or career they have, but what the inner workings of their days look like, how they spend their time, how they got to where they are, and where they would like to go next. I would love to interview people and share what they do with others.
In fact, while brainstorming this topic, a book I used to read my girls popped into my head. The story was about a cow who is tired of living on the farm and looking for a new place to belong. She runs into many animals along her journey and asks them, "Who are you and what do you do?" as she tries to discern where she will fit in best. I feel like I am at a point where I personally have an idea of how to answer those and that makes me all the more curious how others would respond.
What experiences have shaped you, how do you spend your days, where are you headed?
Those questions will be the inspiration behind this new blog series when I get it rolling. I think an interview format is best and I can see this being suitable for video rather than text. I would love to talk to a wide variety of people, representing different ages and experiences. I think talking to different people and sharing what their lives are like can create an opportunity for empathy and understanding.
If this sound like something you (or someone you know) would like to be a part of, please leave a comment. Everyone out there has something to share. On the flip side, if you have a burning question for people in general, please share it with me. I have some ideas but I'd like to cast the net wide.
A New Name
Finally, I am wondering if it might be time to rename this space. Too long, didn't write was a name I chose because I've historically had trouble finishing things that I start. But in November, I wrote 50,000 words of a story. And I have thousands more to go. So that would fit under my old heading of Too long, DID write. Anyway, a rebrand seems right. I'll be brainstorming where to take this. Let me know if you have any thoughts.
