Recently my daughter asked me if I had any dreams for her life. The context of the conversation clued me in to her actual meaning. She wanted to know what I wanted her to be when she grows up, but since she is super awesome pre-teen she is obviously already grown up, so phrasing the question that way would have been silly.
My sincere response was that I just want her to be happy. This prompted a big roll of the eyes and a "Mother, every mother has a dream for their child." I knew everything there was to know about parenting when I was her age, too, so I played along and reassured her that this was my only and honest answer. She gave a long-suffering sigh and gave up. Clearly, I am hopeless.
But, really, once I gave up on trying to weave together a plan for my life with the threads of other people's expectations, and then took the further step of being willing to dream a ridiculous dream . . . everything just started making more sense. I'm content with my life for the first time ever. I don't necessarily want one of my kids to be a writer, just because that's my dream. And I don't particularly want one of them to be in law enforcement, just because that's my husband's calling. I wouldn't mind either of these things, either, as long as it's really their dream. I see it as my job to help them figure out what they were really created to do, not to foist my own ideas onto their life path.
But first, we've got to make it through Junior High. I'm accepting referrals to a good support group for mothers of middle schoolers . . .
Today is Day One of 75k in 46 Days. To reach my goal of a complete 75,000 word rough draft in 6 weeks, I've set my daily quota at 1700. This builds in a little cushion, since there will certainly be bad days.
At my elbow, I have my favorite novel-writing references. These are:
Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey
When I get stuck, I will also be referring to Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method, as I've found his ideas to be extremely helpful in the past.
One lesson I learned from my last NaNoWriMo experience was, cruel though it may be, time spent in necessary but non-writing tasks (i.e. research, outlining, character work, etc.) must not excuse me from my daily quota. So, even if I spend two hours working on the novel but have not written a word, I am not done for the day. *Deep breath*
With that in mind, here is my task list for the day:
character sketch for Lead - Done
Three act outline - Done
1700 word Chapter One - Done
Fortified with my favorite java beverage, I am diving into the zone now.
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