NaNoWriMo 2019 & My “Oh! So Tired”

I planned well for this year’s NaNoWriMo. I created a detailed list of goals to tackle. I began months ago working on building my writing and reading  stamina so that I could handle three hours a day of reading and writing. I even thoughtfully restructured my schedule between work and home so that I would be able to manage the  new writing regimen.

What I did not plan on was the level of weariness I was going to come into this season carrying. I am tired not so much physically but emotionally. While I now have the working space to plan in a longer nap every day, I am realizing that this is not just about getting the physical rest my body craves. There is a work to do in the midst of all the writing and reading.That work has to do with facing some emotional issues and coming to terms with them. I have to let some things go to gain peace. I have to change my expectations regarding certain things to come, and I have to allow some people to walk away as I realize I cannot fill their expectations of our relationship. I have to give up what I cannot control and embrace what I can control. Honestly, the list of things I can control is turning out to be rather small.

I think part of NaNoWriMo this year may be about far more than just writing the next great American novel. I think it is about something far closer to home. I am beginning to feel like God planned all this in advance so that I would be able to come to terms with  the monumental changes which have taken place in my life over the last 2 years. Strangely, until the beginning of this month I was not even really aware that I was having a struggle with these changes. Fancy that.

 

NaNoWriMo 2019 Day 2 On Day 3

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Life sometimes feels like a dance competition to me. If that is so, then NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)  is a quick step in the middle of a much longer bit of movement.

I have come to this challenge in years past unprepared and extremely unintentional. Usually I  have given up by about Nov. 4th. So getting past tomorrow is goal number 1 this year.

In years past I said, “Let’s just try this and see what happens”. Of course the old addage held true: “If you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it.”

This year I am approaching the work with a plan. It actually started exactly a year ago, with a word from the Lord about some changes that I had to make with how I spend my time. The changes seemed a little extreme to me, but with a year of prayer and consideration under my belt I know they are worth making.

The confirmations about this restructuring have been many, but a fellow blogger, John Eli helped me see that the time is now for this work to be done.

This is the month I will launch into the finish of my book Pork Chops With the Sentinels of Azatan. I know…I know… this month is supposed to be about writing a new work, The truth is I already have two new books in draft form and the outlines of four more in the hopper. I don’t need new material right now. What I need to do is finish something. So that is what I am going to do. Maybe it is not the traditional path that NaNoWriMo prescribes, but it is the plan that God has ordained and confirmed at least five ways from Sunday!

So the writing goes on! Updates soon.

 

NaNoWriMo 2019

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Me writing

I have five coffee cups on my desk. I think that is enough. I am stocked up with plenty of Dark Magic (my favorite coffee blend).

I am ready to get back to the task of writing.

These last three years I have managed to keep the door to the writing world opened…just. This year though, God has shifted some things for me as NaNoWriMo and my birthday month begin. So I am moving that door on its rusty hinges until it stands wide for me.

HERE WE GO!

Razors

Image result for Sad man

Glance in the mirror

Morning stubble’s reflected mask

Raccoon’s eyes moor the darkness.

 

A broken vow

makes it a day for sad songs on Youtube.

I sigh. The mirror fogs.

 

I am a lump.

So I sparkle coffee-stained teeth.

Mint and aluminum phosphate smack the smell away.

 

My razor hides for hours the stubble

Which signals sorrow.

All these signs that say I still miss you.

Three Line Tales: Down Is Down

Sonya at ONLY 100 WORDS has challenged us to write a three line tale from this photo prompt.

My story is below. To find other stories you can follow the underlined link.

DOWN IS DOWN

by JE Lillie

Some say, “It doesn’t matter where you’re going as long as you have the right attitude.”

Other say, “As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else where you end up doesn’t matter.”

I say, “Down is down and no amount of pretending will ever make it up.”

Cuppa’ :S.K.W.P. 85

I haven’t played this challenge for a little while but I felt like practicing a little poetry this week and so here is THE SECRET KEEPER’S WEEKLY WRITING CHALLENGE #85

The challenge words this week are

(5) Words: | SCORE | SLEEP | FREE | CALM | ESCAPE |

and I will be writing in the Shadorma form.

Cuppa’

by JE Lillie

Away sleep!

I will escape you!

Free my eyes!

Life awaits.

Free me my bittersweet muse!

Ahh! Scored a cuppa’!

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Now please take yourself over to the Secret Keeper’s lair to see how others met the challenge. Click the underlined link above.

Share Your World Feb. 27, 2017

It’s that time of the week which I set aside to SHARE MY WORLD.

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Share your world is a challenge hosted by Cee Neuner. In the challenge she asks five questions and in sharing our answers we, her contributors, share our worlds. Check out the underlined link above to see how Cee’s other contributors answered. The weekly questions and my answers are below:

Ever ran out of gas in your vehicle?

Never. I think I am way to paranoid to run out of gas. I am constantly checking the gauge. I don’t usually fill up until the low fuel light goes on, though, unless I am on a long trip and then I never let it get below a half tank.

Which are better: black or green olives?

I like black olives best.

If you were a great explorer, what would you explore?

OK. I am going to take a flight of fancy here. I am going to be an explorer of the dimensions beyond ours.

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Quotes List: At least three of your favorite quotes?

Here are three from a book I am currently reading entitled, THE WAR OF ART, by Steven Pressfield

“…fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.”

“The working artist will not tolerate trouble in her life because she knows trouble prevents her from doing her work. The working artist banishes from her world all sources of trouble. She harnesses the urge for trouble and transforms it in her work.”

and while this last quote is not really my favorite I thought it was pretty insightful concerning the difficulty of being an artist.

“You know Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen and moved to Vienna to live and study. He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts and later to the school of architecture. Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement but I’ll say it  anyway; It was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.”
Optional Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? 

I am grateful that this week I have been ploughing through some of the writing assignments my publisher has given me. I am grateful to have a plan that prioritizes my writing time in place. This next week I am looking forward to working that plan again.

 

Sacred Rush

This is the latest of the poetry I have written. I am getting ready to display several poems and perform in a poetry reading this weekend.

Sacred Rush

By JE Lillie

Haibun Poetry

Spring begins

Tulip’s blood sprout

Breathes the moment.

red and yellow Longwood

I awake and the scent of the new morning hangs but briefly in the air. In the refreshed dark I stretch and say good bye to my waking dreams that meant more with my eyes closed.  They seemed so important but are quickly fading with the sound of perking coffee. That sound more than desire beckons me forth into the scarlet dawn.

Summer heats

The garden’s cool soil.

Red rose drinks.

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“Just one more cup.” I say stroking my dripping god. He dispenses renewed hope one cup at a time and I wonder if I haven’t missed something. The phone rings. I cringe and know I love it still.

“It’s for you.” Says the secretary.

 I always knew it was.

Fulfillment comes in “Hello” as I release the crimson hold button. I feel guilty about that somehow.

Fall winds make

Carmine leaves drop like tears.

Rake and hide.

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I go down “to nap”, but I just lay in the silence and love that place where nothing happens for once.

 I think, “Was I made for this or something more?”

The sign over my bureau says , “Take time for the quiet moments because God whispers and the world is loud.”

But the sign is red so I don’t take it seriously.

Snow freezes.

Ruby lights shine in windows.

Quiet blankets.

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 The night has returned. My meetings are over.  I am to bed. Facebook is still going strong and the world never sleeps, but my phone is nearly dead.  I plug it in and check the alarm. The seasons of the day are done and I am cold at heart. Spent from the sacred rush I wonder when I will believe the Words in red and embrace a different Spring.

The Door Of Hope: Friday Fictioneers 7-8-16

I haven’t been able to participate here at Friday Fictioneers for a while but I am glad to be back! This is the space hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This is the space where 100 authors (or so) share 100 words (or so)  and 100 stories (or so) all concerning one photo.

Here is this week’s photo:

Here is my story:

The Door Of Hope (100 words)

By Joseph E. Lillie

 

The chain burned her ankle. Niri knew it would leave a scar. 

She ran sending her senses forth. She could feel the door, had felt it since she entered the city with her masters.

Her keen ears could hear the men behind her.

She caught sight of the blue door to the Summer Lands. She was at the threshold. One push and the door gave. She fell in.

Her foot lay outside the door, stuck. The iron could not pass.

“Owen of Noy, help me!” Niri cried.

A crystal blade materialized at her side.

Niri grasped the hilt and sliced.

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Good news! My debut novel will be coming out sometime this fall. If you are interested in joining my mailing list for updates just fill out the mailchimp popup on this site. Should that not come up e-mail me at pjlillie.1@juno.com and we can work from there.

Coming Soon…Pork Chops

My debut novel with Author Tracy Lee Karner will be coming out this fall!

Pork Chops With the Sentinels Of Azatan…is a coming-of-age story about a misfit boy named Honey, a comic-book super-hero obsessed dad who abandons him, and a new-age flighty mother who is often oblivious to his needs. It combines humor and tragedy under the themes of forgiveness and grace, and is set in Massachusetts in the 1970’s.

For those of you who might think that title is a bit quirky, just remember how much I like quirky things!

It is going to be a fun read so jump on board by joining my e-mail list…

At the moment my MailChimp pop-up is not working properly so just leave me a comment down below and I will send my e-mail your way so you can send me yours.