Yes, I know, there have been a lot of posts from me today. Probably because the negativity and cynicism in my workplace challenges me to rise above them, and I do that by tapping into my creativity and writing myself free of what promises to drag me to hell. I promised I would keep you all updated on my progress with NaNoWriMo, or for those who have just started following A New Yorker in Oslo, the novel writing challenge called National Novel Writing Month. I didn't make it to 50,000 words by November 30th, but I did make it to 33,000 words (about 121 pages and counting). In other words, I'm getting there, and I will definitely finish my novel and publish it. Why? Because I think it's good. I will show it to a few other people before I do. What have I learned from it all? That it's fun to write. But that it's hard work too, especially when you get writer's block for a few days or when you sit and write for five hours at a time with no breaks. Writing can become obsessive, creative, frustrating, depressing (when you get it wrong), and exhilarating (when you get it right). And only you really 'know' the exact moment when you get it right. Little wonder that editors and authors develop such intimate relationships. I can only imagine one other person who might understand where I was when I was writing---and that would be an editor.
But what I learned about myself when writing my characters--that was the best of all. It's all true what published authors say--you get to know and like (or dislike) your characters. You get to know about the people who are buried deep within you. The characters you thought you would be able to write 'well' are the ones who end up disappearing into the woodwork, and the ones who emerge front and center are the characters who really live in your subconscious and who have been clamoring for a chance to climb out and test the waters. So I let them. They directed me in how to write them. Well, I had a few ideas of the situations I wanted to put them in, but I let them do the talking for me. And that seemed quite natural somehow.
Anyway, once I finish this novel, I will start on another, and also on a screenplay that I will be collaborating on with another woman. So we'll see where that takes us. One place it will take me intellectually and emotionally is far far away from the demoralized workplace I frequent each day. And thank God for that.
