The @GothamWriters Friday Night Write-in

Dark, chilly, foggy, drizzly Friday night and where was I? Heading to the Gotham Writers' Workshop office for their Friday night write-in. And I was not the only one. The elevators were sprinkled with other attendees rushing for the write-in they were taking advantage of. There were at least 2 classes participating in the evening's write-in and probably a dozen or more attendees in each room. My room was as bare as it gets. White walls, whiteboard, gray tables structured together in a square reminding me of grad school workshops. Gray plastic chairs. Heat on high so that it was stuffy and opening the window even a crack brought in ALL the noise from 8th Avenue even from 14 stories up. We clustered together, some consistent visitors to the workshop chatting with friends, others newbies, and all ready to write.

How it goes

About 6:35 our facilitator Melissa introduced herself and set up the rules. She comes in, gives a prompt, we write for 15 minutes and then she comes back and there's the sharing portion of the evening (no pressure though).

First prompt: Freeze. Do with that as you will or not, just, you know, write.

So there's a lot of scribbling going on and you're also allowed to bring your laptop if you like. Get the mind percolating and go for it.

Fifteen minutes goes by pretty fast. I've done write-ins with friends where I was not feeling it and a third of the way through gave up and started jotting down To Do/shopping lists. But, I was on to something by practicing setting a scene rather than doing characterizations. So I went for it. And next thing I know Melissa returns to say "One minute" then "Finish up your sentence" and then "Time's up." And she's sitting in this stifling room and there is wailing coming from the streets from an ambulance.

Sharing

Melissa encouraged that there's no "critiquing." We're listening to what others read and offering positive feedback of what we liked and what stuck out to us. With the caveat not to say "I wish there was more" because that can be a kind of double-sided review of "I like this so much but..." Nope, none of that.

So there was that initial period of silence and hesitance but that broke down as volunteers emerged. We listened and many of us commented positively and noticed specific styles people had and also how literally or figuratively they took the prompt.

Break!

This is when you're to mingle. There are some snacks. Lots of sweets I saw and figured this would happen during my sweets hiatus. There was white and red wine and some seltzer and for about 20+ minutes you could get cramped in this meeting space or try and spread out into the room or out in the hallway. It was a bit difficult to network but overall there was lots of talk of "I just wanted to try and get things down." Or "This is one of the few times I get to write." "It's a good environment for me to start what I've been thinking about." And new people getting an idea of what other write-ins may be like from those who frequent Gotham Writers' offices.

Part Deux

And repeat. This prompt is: Held Breath.

Get back to the writing. And....you're done. This really does go fast when you're in a kind of stasis with your writing.

(Room's still hot by the way.)

Several people read and there's a bit of levity in the air and not as much hesitance. People have chatted, gotten to know each other a bit more. Are more willing to share and also to speak. There's a bit more closeness in the room as attendees listen to each other's work and the "only positive" atmosphere can really be empowering, as one attendee said, so that you feel good about pursuing your writing with no drawbacks or critiques. It's a shame it ended at that point because you could feel some who had hesitated initially were breaking down and might have shared with another go-round now that some invisible barrier had been broken.

And you're off! Back into the world, smacked in the face as soon as you leave the building because you're between Penn Station and Time Square and the sounds hit you, while the drizzle enshrouds you, and you feel a bit lighter at getting something down on paper and able to enjoy your evening/weekend.

Thoughts

Write-ins in general can be helpful. Depending on your mindset/mood you can get a lot down or you can organize material or you can go off on some tangents and find kernels of something good amidst some not-so-good lines. The Gotham Writers' Workshop Write-in is $20 for the time, a bit less than 2 hours. And happens in Manhattan as well as in Brooklyn weekly.

I think one of the most helpful aspects of the write-in for attendees is the feedback portion and sharing. Especially if you're starting out and very hesitant about your writing. Getting encouragement on what works can aid in centering you and pushing you forward. As someone who is consistently critiqued and critiquing for others it was nice to latch onto the good while not also mulling over how to present what may need work. Shutting off that aspect of the process and focusing on what is there, what is working, what is relevant and not editing just creating can be a very enlightening and freeing experience. Also, there's the networking aspect if you don't have that writing community or any community, while also investing in you to make yourself write for a specific amount of time. (Like I said, the room is bare, no distractions, no wifi, nothing but you getting in the way of the written word.)

If you find you may be having a hard time simply getting started and need a push (while also knowing you cannot give yourself that push without some external factors at work) than I'd suggest the write-in. Twenty dollars is a good investment for a couple hours--a solid 30 minutes of writing and also a good 20 minutes of listening. Believe me, being able to listen to other people's work is as helpful as writing.

I'd like to thank Dana Miller and Georgette for inviting me to participate in the write-in! 

Fave Reads 2013 Edition

This year I read some books that disappointed by authors I like, but I was also introduced to some fab reads by new and established authors, and am very much looking forward to a new year of new books as well as new characters and worlds to get immersed in. Bring. It. On. Literature. My standout reads read in 2013 (not necessarily published in 2013) are as follows and are in no particular order:

• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (2013): A friend lent me the ARC for this one. Holly was a big draw at BEA this year and this was my introduction to her writing. It's one of the first YA books I've read with vampires. Yes, the first. I have to say the standout characters in Coldtown definitely make this a solid standalone book to the fantasy arsenal while showing a narrator making mistakes, reflecting on her life and losses, and willing to do what it takes when she realizes what she truly wants. The alternate POVs and narrative voice that goes from Tana to the company she keeps is enthralling from page to page.
• The Best American Magazine Writing 2012 (2013): Since I was introduced to this anthology reading the 2009 collection I have made it a point to read each year's anthology and enjoyed this one with the variety of journalistic perspective from those taken advantage overseas and attempting to gain justice to those just trying to get by to race as it stands for Asian Americans in the U.S. Nonfiction brings a truth to our lives that we don't normally see/hear about and every year this collection engages and increases my knowledge and thirst for more knowledge about what goes on not just around me but in the world.
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012): This was the book that almost everyone I know has read and enjoyed or partially enjoyed, but the fact is everyone was talking about it. So of course I read it to see what the hype was about. I enjoyed it, even knowing an important fact about the story I enjoyed the utter despicableness of these characters and people willing to do whatever it was to get what they felt they deserved. I get that some people would be turned off because it's about "privileged White people" in a way, but it's not because these people were on a pedestal and then promptly had that pedestal kicked out from under them to reveal their truest selves. And that, was enjoyable to see play out.
• This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz (2012): Yes, Diaz is a genius. Yes, Diaz has a great style. Yes, Diaz's latest collection is good, very good. And yes this is one of the few literary books I read this year by a writer I admire that did not disappoint, but had me like him even more. My favorite story of this collection was the "Pura Principle." Diaz shows characters at their worst and also shows people fighting day by day to survive and admittedly has some people come to terms with who they are through others problems and faults. Junot is a great artist and a respected person and I look forward to whatever else he contributes to the literary cannon. I don't care if it's a haiku.
• Tampa by Alissa Nutting (2013): Another hyped up book because of the content mainly. This book is about a female pedophile. This book may make you cringe and throw the tome away. This book may make you feel a lot of things but it will make you feel something. The prose is directly from Celeste. A well off, beautiful, and yes conceited woman who knows who she is. Celeste knows her desires are bad but she doesn't give a damn and she goes after them with so much force you are thrust into the craziness of her situation and mind for the full ride. Nutting's success is in getting you in there and understanding Celeste. Not liking Celeste or relating to Celeste but understanding her need and that's what makes this book successful. I have not read Lolita. And there's been extensive comparison of it to this book but I think Nutting did something on her own here and the fact that it's a woman in 21st-century America may make people biased but hey it's not like there aren't other books with similar subject matter out there.
• Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie & Clyde by Jeff Guinn (2010): This was a bookclub pick so I may not have found it had it not been on our list. But I am glad I did. Guinn reveals the true Bonnie & Clyde to be hapless, lucky (and unlucky in their demise), unorganized, flashy criminals who are villainized a heck of a lot more in their death than they were in actuality. Accidents resulted in their infamy but really they loved their families and just couldn't get a break. That's not to say they, mainly Clyde and his gang, didn't do bad things and people didn't get hurt. But when push came to shove they were not cold-blooded killers as portrayed in film and even in the miniseries that came out late last year. It's good to have extensively researched material like this to provide a glimpse of reality to characters who were real people.
• The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (2013): As far as series go I'll admit that I am getting kind of tired of them. BUT, 5th Wave for me was a standout that got me excited again because of Cassie and Zombie. The gradual reveal of how the waves took down society and how each of these characters lost their families, the feeling of kids being brought up for killing and rage. So many things keep you interested in what the larger war will end up being in this book that I wanted more and I wanted it ASAP and I will gladly, but impatiently, wait for the next two books in this trilogy. Keep up the good work, Mr. Yancey!
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (2013): More hype! More deserved hype! E&P as it's been affectionately known as was something I heard spread through wildfire via Twitter from book bloggers and avid readers who loved this book. And Rainbow is so sweet and has such a nice Twitter presence, and that cover!, so I bought the book and totally saw what everyone else did. Eleanor & Park is a love story that takes place in the 80s between a red-headed girl and a biracial boy trying to find themselves in high school and thus find each other and love and heartbreak and so many things! It's a tender story that anyone can relate to on so many levels between Eleanor hating her body and hiding it to Park feeling like his family doesn't understand him and rebelling and each of them losing a lot in that time period they find each other. Such a sweet and compelling read I urge you to delve in.
• The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (2013): 2013 was a good year in YA as far as I'm concerned and as you can see from this list. Maggie's sequel to The Raven Boys had me staying up to reread sections and going on Twitter to ask who else read it so I could discuss and Maggie herself saying "I read it." And me gushing how much I loved it and went back to book 1 to see her subtle hints. Well played, Maggie. This book follows Ronan primarily and while he was a sullen, angry man in book 1 you learn why in book 2 and see so much potential for heartbreak with him and others as the story careens to it's last two books. Man, I am getting ready for heartbreak myself but with Maggie's literary style and way with characters I think I'll enjoy the ride.
• Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan (2013): Long-listed as a finalist for the National Book Awards in Young People's Literature Levithan wrote a beautiful and elegiac story with a chorus of deceased gay men to a younger generation in this story that winds separate lives during one event that feels huge for these teenage boys. It's just beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful. For some it may be too "preachy" or too "hopeful" I think we need more books like that done this well. Not everything should be dark. And I should know, I write a lot of dark stuff.
• Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed (2013): This is the collection of questions and responses from when Strayed was Dear Sugar for the Rumpus. If you've heard Cheryl read live she has a soothing, maternal voice that you want to just have her hug you and promise everything is okay. She maintains this voice in Tiny Beautiful Things but also hits you with some realness and tough love as well. Her experiences really aid in understanding her responses and in fact make her one of the most perfect people to have been Dear Sugar for her thoughtful and careful responses to serious and sometimes not so serious questions, but all are reflective and will lead you, they did me, to really sit and take her advice to heart and learn from it.
• Icefall by Matthew Kirby (2011): I had the ARC for this middle grade novel for a bit and finally delved in and enjoyed it thoroughly. Icefall follows a group, some we'll note are Vikings, as their world comes to war but is narrated by eleven-year-old middle child, Solveig, who does not know her place in her family. Her older sister is the pretty princess to be married off and her younger brother is heir to the throne, but what is Solveig's place in her family? Kirby does a great job of keeping up the tension and building the mistrust of those Solveig cares for and is unsure of resulting in some surprising results. Interspersed with the action of hiding in ice while awaiting news from her father are the stories told by the Storyteller who has a role in not just being entertaining but building morale. It's a really good coming-of-age novel that shows growth of a character and the realization of close ties.
• Ayiti by Roxane Gay (2011): I was mainly amped that I got to meet Roxane Gay at AWP let alone get a signed copy of her first book. This is a collection of stories and you know I love my collections but Roxane does different styles with each not just telling you actions with prose but giving you poetry or lists or sections/scenes like a screenplay, journalistic versions and so forth that succinctly get into the minds of these characters and their experiences. I read all of Ayiti during my train ride home from Boston and have to say the standout to me that had me smacking myself with "How the hell did she do that?!" was "You Never Knew How Deep the Waters Ran So Cruel So Deep." That is a story in LIST form. Read it. Fantastic.
• The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2012): It took Harbach 10 years to finish this novel and it was well done in that time. Fielding isn't about baseball it's about people. It's about being scared of growing up. It's about failure. It's about realizing your limits and not taking it seriously. There's a robustness to Fielding and the characters in this text that makes it standout as a debut and may also be considered, by some, a coming-of-age novel for the collegiate characters it follows. I think the main female character of Pella could've been given a bit more in terms of strength but she carries herself and grows into herself and Harbach shows that growth, in a way. I love Schwartz. Love him. I want to date him and marry him. That's rare in fiction.
• Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande (2002): This was the first book I read last year in full and it was fantastic, and scary. A National Book Award Finalist in Nonfiction, Gawande writes about why and how physicians can make mistakes. He's a doctor writing about how things can happen, how illnesses can be overlooked, how much residents push to try and be taken seriously but will often be passed over by experienced doctors who can still make the tiniest of errors that can be quite costly. I was into this book from page 1 to the acknowledgments and want to read everything by Gawande now.

Other notable reads for me this year were Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward (2013), The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins (2012), How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr (2011), Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh (2013), and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (2013).

Happy reading all!

Week-long social media hiatus: Hits & misses

As mentioned in my "I'm not doing NaNoWriMo" post in November I decided to try a one-week hiatus from social media and parts of the web. This meant NO (absolutely none) Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google +, YouTube, or Goodreads and any other social media I may have inadvertently downloaded on my iPod or use as a time-wasting source. This is what happens when you get off social media and things start getting real...

Day 1 (Sunday): Did freelance work for the majority of the day and drafted a new YA novel idea. During blank moments the urge to check Facebook/Twitter was immediate, but held out. Checked email periodically to see updates on dinner with friends that evening, visited the MTA Weekender (a necessary resource in NYC now), posted edited files to project manager on shared server, and checked restaurant webpage for a sudden change in dinner plans.

Day 2 (Monday): First day at work during the hiatus, a place where I cannot turn off the wifi. Cheated for one second by checking Milk Truck's status on Twitter to see if they were in my neighborhood. Alas, their truck was in the shop. Checked email and got a good amount of work done for a short work week. Composed many tweets in my head. Saw pumpkin choco chip cookies I offered to donate for Pinay in Texas's online bake sale auction got sold for $30!

At a reading my friend Erin participated in that evening took pictures and wanted to share/post them, but could not. Also wanted to note quotes of passages at reading and tag the mini Ragdale reunion we had in NYC. Two friends have asked "How are you doing?" (in terms of my abstaining from social media) as though I had the look of someone going through withdrawal.

Erin kept saying, "She has 20,000 tweets!" at an after party for the reading and I kept rebutting "It's only 18,000."

Day 3 (Tuesday): Watched CBS This Morning and saw a story about a company using Beastie Boys songs without permission and then suing the Beastie Boys for misogynistic lyrics which had NOTHING to do with anything! (Note this has since been resolved.) Had all these thoughts about copyright infringement that I'd like to tweet about and post in support of artists who've had a lot of stuff jacked from them over the years. Laughed at my own tweets to myself.

While sorting through edits in a manuscript at work thought of more barbs about the frustration I had with an author who plucked images from the web and inserted them into her manuscript without noting permission. Hashtag #workwoes kept popping into my head.

Checked personal email a bit more than usual out of habit of checking something. BUT, maintained momentum with work and did not check Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, or Twitter (despite an email that noted a new follower). Wondered how many Buzzfeed and Thought Catalog links I was missing that friends may be posting.

In Ned Stark voice "Winter (storm) is coming..."

Day 4 (Wednesday): Last day at work for the week. Got more work done but was itching a lot to quickly check Twitter or FB even with a tight deadline looming for early December. What were people doing for Thanksgiving prep?! I had to know. Instead, I had ramen and scrolled through NY Times frontpage online.

Did Thanksgiving prep and, again, wanted to post the recipes I was making but did not. Cleaned apartment and started food items for guests on Thanksgiving.

Day 5 (Thursday): Thanksgiving. Spent three hours combing through Door Buster sales and ended up buying a new laptop. This is what happens when I do not go on social media. I purchase things. Things I need but still... Jotted some ideas down for the new YA novel idea. Still itched to update the new book I'm reading on Goodreads. And it seems every site I went to for shopping (Sony, Samsung, Dell, Microsoft) asked me to visit their Facebook page for more details. Bastards.

Made kick ass Thanksgiving meal and the best chicken I will ever make in my life thanks to recipes from Fine Cooking magazine and could not post them! You know what they say. If there are no pictures/tweets it didn't happen. But trust me it did!

Watched more episodes of Orange is the New Black once guests left.

Day 6 (Friday): Sugar overload. I have a cake and a pie so come over if you would like any please!

Anywho, wrote for several hours in the morning until afternoon. Really did want to check FB and Twitter to see what people were doing the day after Thanksgiving but abstained, of course. Kept clicking back on Google Chrome and staring at the screen not knowing what to do besides check email, even though no one is sending emails!, and then would log off again to go back to writing. Made cookie dough for Cookie Takedown, couldn't tweet about it. Wrote some more. Did freelance work. Watched more Orange is the New Black. 

Day 7 (Saturday): Exercised, went shopping for more cookie supplies for online bake sale and Cookie Takedown. Made shrimp fried rice. Ate more pie (seriously people I have lots & cake so come over). Updated my blog post. Wrote for a few hours. And did more freelance work.

And, yes, the urge was still strong to check Facebook and Twitter. Even got an alert from Twitter that Kelly Lynch (the Kelly Lynch from L Word and Curly Sue!) favorited a tweet of mine that she was mentioned in saying she's hot! Good God what is going ON on the internet right now?!?

Misses: I wonder if I really did miss social media or if I just instinctively go to it when I want a break, or an excuse for a break. As in, I can no longer hold my attention on certain tasks for long periods of time and thus search for a reason to divert my attention. It's an interesting thing to consider.

I did miss hearing about my friends lives though. Admittedly, I have become reliant on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads to update me on my friends' lives/interests/birthdays. And I do love the Twitter community I have connected with over the past few years. Whether it be work irritations, family obligations, new events like babies and weddings, or just a link that we can relate to or media news I did miss interacting people about funny comments or shared concerns. So yeah, I missed y'alls. :-)

Realizations: I realized I advertise a lot of my thoughts and my day online. I mean, a crap load. I didn't think 18,000 tweets was a lot until I thought about it after Erin said it. I mean DAMN that's a lot of tweets for 3 years. It's not Maureen Johnson high but still.

I post a lot of pictures of food I make and whenever I have, what I think, is a witty thing to say I quickly sum it up and post before it leaves my head. But now I had to let that thought fade from my mind or perhaps use it in my writing in another capacity.

Being offline forced me to get stuff done with none of my regular distractions and I was interested to see I didn't go to other sites like NY Times or BBC News and read voraciously to spend time but just kept checking email and then went back to work or watched TV or read one of my magazines. It seemed I was searching for quickie ways to distract me and things that weren't too "heavy."

Benefits: I got stuff done. I forced myself to focus more without the rest of these social media aspects as a deterrent. It was like it was 2003 again and I didn't have a lot to take me away from projects outside of human interaction (phone calls, talking to co-workers). I was forced to be productive again and with the holiday it was helpful as I had a couple extra days off to cook, bake, write, and do freelance so I didn't feel like my time was so sparse. I got writing tasks done that I may not have completed had I been on Facebook detailing my steps for making Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday or if I had discussed the sugar coma I was in and shows I was watching on Friday. Nope, I worked and did stuff around the apartment and got to bed at a reasonable hour to get up and do it again.

Overall Thoughts: Would I make this a regular thing? Yes. Because I was productive. Because it forced me to focus. Because not being on FB, Twitter, Goodreads, YouTube, Google +, etc. was not the end of the world. It did keep me from knowing more about what people are up to or more about events or deadlines and such but those are things you can catch up on, especially if you subscribe to digests and other webpages and simply call/email/write people. Would I completely remove myself from all social media? No. It is useful in various ways especially for me as a writer and food blogger. To extricate myself from social media would not be helpful to me building a community and audience for my interests in writing and food blogging.

However, I would, and hope to, regularly take breaks from social media. Perhaps one week every month to get the full sense of being productive. It may wean me away from social media slowly or teach me to prioritize better. Realistically, you can find any distractions be it on the internet or in life. You can clean every nook and cranny in your house rather than writing that tense scene in your book. You can go out with friends instead of doing freelance work. You can binge on TV. You can shop on ebay and Amazon.com or other sites (like Powells.com or Bookish.com) or read news sites and food blogs for hours on end. But for me I realized that I continuously was on Facebook and Twitter when stuff needed to get done and it seemed a problem. Not a horrible problem but still something I needed to be in more control of. So was it hard? Yes. Habits die hard. Was it worth it? Yes, as any experiment will help you learn more about yourself.

My NYC Midnight Submission, 2nd Round (Flash Fiction)

Well, a whirlwind weekend with lots of outings and freelance work resulted in me drafting a quick story and editing said story and not liking the story but submitting it anyways. My luck is usually when I feel good about a piece the judges don't give it a good score, but when I dislike it I get a decent score. So we'll see if that trend continues on with this round. Didn't score great on my first round action/adventure entry. So we'll see how the genre of horror fares for me. Genre: Horror. Location: Outdoor music concert. Object: Animal crackers.

I let the animal crackers guide me on this one. I present...

"Jibber Jabbers Live!"

I check my buds to make sure they are stuffed well inside my ears putting as much of a barrier between me and the overly excited mass of kids surrounding me. The toddlers cover up almost every inch of green in this park. Several feet away my parents lift my little sister high in the air as a flag for me to wave at. They’re excited to see me work my first job. But more so they’re excited to see the Jibber Jabbers live.

Kids love the damn Jibber Jabbers. They seem to be the only thing to settle them down. The Jibber Jabbers appeared on TV two years ago and parents couldn’t live without them. I tried watching with my sister once but after a few minutes the noise, well music, made me twitch. Had me rubbing my ear against my shoulder to get rid of a scratch. But my four-year-old sister was stone with a smile on her face. She clapped to the auto tunes and the fuzzy red, yellow, blue and white creatures that looked like a bear with a giraffe’s neck and a cat’s face. It was all pretty disturbing to me but my parents, all parents appreciated the Jibber Jabbers because they provided sixty minutes, without commercials, of child-free time.

I give a limp wave to my parents and sister before adjusting my Jibber Jabbers cap. The wind is non-existent thankfully so the tri-colored tassles don’t fling in my face—hitting me in the eye, nose, making it to my mouth—unless I move my head too fast. I’m wearing a yellow shirt for the Jibber Yowza.

I’m on the outskirts of the crowd surveying to see if there are any spots on the lawn. I’m surrounded by cackling, sniffling, burping, crunching on animal crackers while trying to talk spit and crust flying into the air, hyped up kids ages four and up.

I turn back to my family and see my mom motioning for me to take out my buds. I shake my head. No way I want to hear these kids in stereo. No. Freaking. Way. They encouraged me to take this job. It got them discounted tickets and am also learning responsibility. Yeah great, I say seeing a woman on a blanket near the stage change her child’s diaper…in public.

I inhale big regretting taking this job. Management wanted teens mainly because we have the energy to deal with the kids. That anyone between the ages of fourteen and eighteen (with working papers) can deal with loud noises and children who pee anywhere and everywhere. Hey, we’re young only way to go is up!

A couple of burly, thick guys in black that remind me of secret service on TV are a barrier between the people and the stage. These guys are the only dark spot. Like any kid is getting beyond that wall of black.

The static hum increases. It buzzes in my ear and seems to be sneaking inside, coiling itself past my ear drum into my brain. I stick my finger in my ear like I want to shake it out.

I hear a bleep and the stage lights up even with the sun. I blink rapidly but look away unable to take the sun and the ultraviolet green from the arena. I stare into the audience. My sister’s face is super round and glistening in excitement with mom and dad on either side of her.

Once the announcement starts up the crowd goes crazy. Screams and screeches abound with wild clapping. I stuff my earbuds in more, while the sound isn’t completely cancelled out it is dulled a good amount.

I keep my back to the Jibber Jabbers. There’s another usher near me, Robert, who’s staring at them. He sticks his tongue out while mimicking hanging himself and I laugh. The kids that can walk get to their feet and gyrate to the beat pulsing around me.

Robert bobs his own head and then, suddenly, he’s frozen. I’m about to ask if he’s okay when my eyes dart sideways and notice I’m looking at a sea of little mannequins. The kids are statues. The adults are moving, freaking the hell out in fact. I face the guards to yell at them about the kids, but the men aren’t solid like before. They’re jittery masses with their arms twitching along with their mouths, blood seeps from their noses and veins pulse in their necks like snakes with a big old heartbeat.

My heart pumps hard and fast as I take it all in and see a mother’s eyes bleed, her pupils going black. The child in her lap is motionless and staring ahead at the Jibber Jabbers.

I dart into the audience heading straight for my sister and parents when my dad clutches his neck. I’m too far away, other people shivering and falling around me as I watch my father ooze blood from not just his eyes and mouth but from his skin like he’s sweating the stuff. I fall beside him and mom in her fold out chair. Mom slides off her body limp with my sister in her lap dazed. I look at the stage for the first time not wanting to take in anymore of the bleeding parents young and old. When I see the Jibber Jabbers they’re in a row, fuzzy beings of red, yellow, blue and white. I always thought they were just people in a suit. A hot, big suit but one of them, Jibber Yowza, smiles exposing jaw upon jaw like a shark. Wet, scaly lips close over the teeth. I can’t hear what is said nor do I want to when its large orbs lock on me noticing I’m one of the young people not comatose and not bleeding like the adults. I don’t take out my earbuds. I grab my sister and run like hell, making animal crackers dust under my feet.

You #NaNoWriMo, I'm Taking a Break

'Tis that time of year again. When writers all over choose to accept the challenge to write a novel or what-have-you that amounts to (at least) 50,000 words in a span of 30 days for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo). Madness? To some. Inconvenient? Perhaps. November is the official start of the holiday season. And for those with families, in school, or just in general trying to write period can be hard fought without the deadlines. However, deadlines work for many people. Just sayin'.

This year it's been difficult for me to balance my creative, professional, and personal life. In the end 2 out of 3 of these things got more focus with me often saying "I'll catch up on writing later." I've written a bunch: for Fiction Femme Fatale every month, for my blog bi-weekly (if not more) as well. I wrote and rewrote query letters galore and have edited in long stretches or small snippets. Not a week goes by that I don't write something. But in terms of my short story Collection? The headway made isn't as much as I anticipated.

I was considering NaNo. I'd like to focus on revising my Collection OR drafting a contemporary YA book with a male protagonist. I've had the new YA idea since late last year. But, now that I am finished with one YA book do I want to pursue another or really stick to one major project along with several shorter stories/essays on the side?

The upside is that when I was sick of the Collection I went to my YA sci-fi book and vice versa. But now that the YA sci-fi book is out for querying it's mainly the Collection. And I need to consider how I can utilize my time well for either work. I'd like to think that this is the time for me to pull up my straps and steer this Collection to where I've wanted it to be since its inception. Yet a new project with no set guidelines on where to revise or edit or finesse it is a bit more fun in terms of letting go.

Either way I do plan to write. Many December deadlines loom that I must fulfill and frankly if there's time I should utilize it. But this did get me thinking about time management. And a fellow writer Courtney had a month where she went offline. Yup, completely offline with some rules. No social media or internet and barely checking email. While I can't not check email daily because of my full-time job and my pending freelance projects I am thinking it's time for me to make November a Break Month. Meaning NO social media primarily. I'm going to start off with a week of no social media (no Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, etc.). After that week of going cold turkey I'll set in other barriers such as looking at Facebook twice a day and Twitter twice a day and such. Not repeatedly checking for more information. I'll be limiting my internet use to specific sites (no Buzzfeed or HuffPo as easy distractions). No, I'll be looking more at NY Times, Washington Post, and BBC News. Without FB or Twitter it'll be easier not to look at all these random lists people post online.

The goal for me in November is to prioritize. Maybe I'll end up writing/revising 50,000 words inadvertently for NaNoWriMo. Maybe I'll just do a lot of freelance work. Or I may do a crapton of baking. But my goal is to use less time online just wasting time because it's easy. If I'm going to waste it I won't waste it looking at a screen but going outside, baking, reading, and more than hopefully writing. My goal for November is not just to write but to find a method that makes me get stuff done with as few distractions as possible.

So, happy writing whether you do NaNo or not. Either way I hope your days are productive.