Tag: Darla

  • National Novel Writing Month

    I can’t believe November is here again already.  Are you ready for a challenge, fellow writers?  Now is the time to dust off your keyboard and start on your novel.

    “What’s that?” you ask.  “A novel?”

    Well, yes.  All that’s required of you is that you abandon all excuses and just write as fast and furious as you can.

    At the end of November we’d like to see you having accrued fifty thousand words toward a WIP.  It might be finished at that point and it might not but the effort is what counts.

    That said, I’m going to go back to my work in progress and try to crank out the requisite 1,600 words in a day to start meeting my goal.  Happy writing!

  • Thursday Thirteen

    It’s Thursday again.  Want to read something random for a little diversion?  Just click below:

    Darla M Sands

  • Thursday Thirteen

    To celebrate Thursday, come join us for a list of thirteen things…

    Darla M Sands

  • Thursday Thirteen

    Welcome to the celebration of thirteen random things.  Click below to read…

    Darla M Sands

  • Wiley Wednesday – Writing Quantity Over Quality

    As the month of October quickly slips along, I’m left to contemplate participation in NaNoWriMo. That is shorthand for November’s National Novel Writing Month. It’s actually a worldwide affair during which writers of every conceivable genre scramble to put out 50,000 words toward one story in thirty days.

    This is no minor feat, demanding an average of over 1,600 words every day. Last year I count myself blessed to have succeeded. The resulting manuscript still needs work, as I set it aside in favor of other projects and then life in general. Still, I did it!

    Dogged persistence isn’t the only requirement. A big part of the process involves turning off the inner Critic. That alone is no easy task. Another is ignoring the desire many of us have to edit what is on the page instead of continuing to write. Edit in January or February after the pressure is off and you’ve stepped away from the project for a time.

    Finishing fifty thousand words in thirty days requires each author to focus on simply spooling out the story rather than worrying over the quality. This is key to completing a tale under any conditions, let alone increasing the rate of production.

    So, write instead of editing. Write despite any murmurings of an inner critic. Just sit down and write.

    Have I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year? I honestly can’t say. First, I need to figure out what to write! It’s great fun, though, and provides an opportunity to meet writers online and in person at various events or through the website.

    If interested, you should definitely check it out. Instructions for participation are simple, and then you put fingers to the keyboard and get busy. It’s that simple, if not exactly easy.

    Write, right?!

  • Thursday Thirteen

    Here we are again toward the end of the week. Click below to check out our contribution to this weekly event.

    Darla M Sands

  • Scrabbling for Life

    Having become recently hooked on playing Scrabble via an android mobile device, I realized that there are many similarities between the game and life.

    To find success and happiness folks need a balance of luck and skill. You need to pay attention and follow the rules. If you find yourself unhappy with your lot, you can gamble in making a change much like throwing away letters from your options in the game. The trick is that one needs to be willing to end up in a worse situation.

    But enough about life in general. This blog is about creative living. And that, blessedly, has no rules outside of still paying attention and definitely opening your mind.

    As for the game, I like to play Scrabble because I love words. Writing is understandably my favorite creative outlet. Fortunately, writing is very different from the game. There is no limit on the number of words or letters available to play. The trick is about putting the letters down more than having either luck or skill.

    Much can be said for other forms of creativity. I hope you’ll find yours and go have some fun. You might very well change your life for the better while you’re at it.

  • Thursday Thirteen

    Join in today’s meme with a read and a comment!

    Darla’s Sand Castles

  • Thursday Thirteen

    Want a break from your day? Enjoy our Thursday tradition.

    Darla M Sands

    Lucius Antony

  • Darla’s Diversion

    September Takeoff

    Rose tinted dawn shines
    Flames glow, riots of color
    Hot air balloons soar