Nanowrimo idea 10-27-12

Autowrite 10/27/12

Off to NaNoWriMo for the month of November. Planning on being much more serious this time about putting forward a compelling story--oh forget the compelling--just put a story out there. I’ve got the the general premise:

House painter Shirkie Stevens finds himself in precarious positions both on and off a ladder as he works with a crew of miscreant painters who, despite themselves, manage to do good. Shirkie is learning the ropes but gradually becomes the crew's "top rung reacher," a distinction that often results in death defying feats of "git 'er done" heroism. Although the crew smokes copious amounts of pot at every turn of the day, it has a reputation for finishing houses as promised and on time, while Lester the boss is content to stay aloof. It isn't until Myrtle and Sherman, a homeless couple, come into their picture that each of the crew begins to realize the trajectory of his own life, and Shirkie for the first time begins to grasp the meaning of gravity.

This was written in the spirit of the NaNo project: no reflection. I wonder if what I can get out there will be of any value? I did make use of the opportunity before to write the skeleton of a story that can very well fit in with the story of the above premise. It’s been several years since my house painting days, but I feel I have plenty of material for a novella or novel. I’m excited about getting started with this, especially as a means for kicking myself in the rear to write more.

On the note of writing more: I’m close to putting the blog on line, but hesitant. Uploading the autowrites I choose to make public, I realize that so much of my focus is on my own attempt at doing more with my writing. All rather pathetic, really. I have to question why it is I’m motivated to make all this available to the public. I think it has a lot to do with the confessional. That I feel it necessary to keep exposing the parts of my life which are most vulnerable to critique is telling. I guess at some level I feel that if I don’t put myself on the line, I’ll never get anything done.

And I am getting stuff done. I have a growing body of short stories under revision; I have a novel under my belt (almost); and I have a bucket load of new ideas for stories and novels. Stuff is happening. It’s just all happening far slower than I prefer.

I need to find space in my daily life that will enable me to write with the energy that I have in the morning. I often feel very rushed in the morning, a pressure to get something down in the hour that I have before work. After work, I have very little brain left for writing, so an hour per day isn’t nearly enough. Hoping that NaNo this year will help me discover a reserve of writerly energy that has been illusive and inaccessible for large potions of my typical week day. 

Finally, I received a response from the Sleuth. He is working on procuring FBI records of the M&C case. My communiques with him have cooled somewhat, due I think from my own slow responses.