#6 What to Read

A coming-of-age YA and psychological thriller

from Elizabeth Wade on Etsy

Hello my friends.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are full of pie and gratitude.

I am happily full of both (the best part of black friday is choosing which pie to eat first for breakfast).

And now it’s the last week of November (how?) and also the last week of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). With three days to go, we are sprinting to the finish line! Did you give it a try? Is it a someday goal?

The NaNo challenge is to write 1667 words every day in the month of November, and by November 30th, you’ll have your 50,000 word novel! BOOM.

We could list all of the reasons it can’t be done, why we don’t have time. It’s the middle of a holiday, for one! True true. Or we could say yes we can.

The phone being the first order of business: hide it, turn off notifications, bury it deep in the earth for a couple of hours a day and there you go: 1667 words.

If writing a book in a month had a recipe, it would include:

*a dream

*some resolve

*a pinch of discipline

*heaps of creative juggling while writing in parked cars or a waiting room (my setting today)

Here’s what you leave out (besides the phone): the demons that taunt you to stop.

It can be a minute-by-minute fight inside your head. BUT SILENCING AND PERSEVERING through the chatter is possible because the demons are not the boss of us.

And every once in awhile, like those rare moments on a run when you crest the hill after a steep climb and find the flow and nothing is hurting…wow.

Finally, you can let go and let God…or something that feels like it.

Like I said, it’s rare, which is why it’s so valuable - and so good. That rarity is enough of a thrill that you’ll keep climbing that hill. ie: writing that draft.

It’s a habit. And imagine if we consistently showed up for ourselves? Imagine if we believed the things we told ourselves we would do?

I struggle with this on the daily, in a hundred different ways.

The rough draft will be rough and have dozens of loose threads, typos, plot holes and characters named Brian who are suddenly named George three chapters later, but who cares, bc WE HAVE A ROUGH DRAFT and the magic of the premise is still there.

Last week I listened to the always-inspiring Ruta Septys say, “I tell myself that I’m not a writer - I’m a rewriter.” Which pretty much sums it up for me. Of course, to rewrite, you must have something to rewrite.

I heard Ann Patchett say that she cannot move on to another sentence unless the one before it is just right. I have a lot to learn from Ann Patchett, but my first 50,000 word draft in one month? I have to get it on the page - and quickly - before I lose my nerve.

And knowing that first draft is going be rough clears the way to write free and wild. There’s no time for editing or criticizing oneself into a deep dark hole of self-doubt. It’s only about getting the words on the page. Because remember dear writer: your stuff starts out just for you. And we are on our own side. RELENTLESSLY.

So that’s exciting.

Hey. I’m on your side, too. RELENTLESSLY.

Are you writing?

Amy ❣️

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Book Recommendation:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by

Sherman Alexie

is a fantastic read. It’s read widely in schools across the country, and it’s banned plenty of places, too. In my mind, it qualifies as one of those *essential* pieces of literature. I will be thinking about it for a long time. BTW, it won the National Book Award in 2007, which is a really big deal. Is it a true story? Kindof. Our hero, Junior, is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. A determined Junior leaves his troubled school and home life “on the rez” to attend an all-white local high school “where the only other Indian is the school mascot.” How does he get to school and back? He hitchhikes or walks the twenty miles.

It’s funny, heartbreaking, and wonderfully written. I really loved it. Thank you, Sherman, for persevering through the first draft and the second and the ones after that.

Part-Time Indian is another terrific example of ONLY YOU CAN WRITE THAT STORY (something else Ruta Sepetys speaks and writes about).

*after posting this, I received a message about Alexie and the allegations against him + his own statements that he has caused harm to women. You can read about it on NPR. This is incredibly disappointing as I found this book so moving. I am now conflicted about championing his work in any way - including a social media post and writing about it here. I am disgusted by his behavior and do not condone in any way. I will always stand with and believe women. Do I even keep this post up, promoting his work?*

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley) was written in 1950, the same year my father was born (73 years ago), and was turned into a superb Alfred Hitchcock film in 1951. It’s lost none of what Paula Hawkins calls the “power to disturb.” Two men, successful architect Guy Haines and Charles “Bruno” Anthony, meet on a train one night. Bruno (a mentally disturbed alcoholic) has a fiendish proposal: he’ll murder Haines’ estranged wife if Haines will murder Bruno’s father. The hypothesis: under the right circumstances, ordinary people are capable of extraordinary crimes…it’s a page-turner written with incredible skill!

Another read I will be thinking about for a long time (wondering what you and I are capable of…)

That’s all she read in November (bc I was writing 1667 words a day and EATING PIE and being grateful).

What did you read?

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Behind the Scenes:

Submissions Wanted: If you love middle grade and YA literature, the School Library Journal is seeking guest posts.

Reading: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. Coincidentally, I just found Barnhill’s 11/23 NYtimes Opinion piece entitled Rebuilding Myself After Brain Injury, Sentence by Sentence.

Watched: NYAD on Netflix. Based on Diana Nyad’s death-defying swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, in her 60’s. A true story starring Jodie Foster & Annette Benning, I’M INSPIRED and will never say I CAN’T or IT’S TOO LATE ever. again.

Watching: Gilmore Girls with Paige (2nd time) and Suits with Gregor (1st ever, we’re in season 2. Megan Markle is good!)

Face Wash: Juno & Co. Cleansing Balm. I have very dry skin; this is so nourishing. Obsessed. Just thought you should know :)

Cover Image: Watercolor painting by Elizabeth Wade!