Book

I Failed NaNoWriMo & I’m Not Sad About It

December 4, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs 6 Comments

I failed to write 50,000 words in the month of November.

If you are not familiar with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it’s where people all over the world commit to writing a novel in 30 days – or at least 50,000 words of a novel. I made it to 35,668 words, shy by just over 14,000.

And I am not sad about.

It’s 35,668 words that I probably would not have written if I hadn’t participated.

Why I Didn’t Finish

There are close to a dozen reasons: some good, some bad.

One is that on day 30, I finally picked up “Gone Girl” and read it straight through in a 6-hour car ride when I could have been typing.

One is that I had a co-worker in town from NYC and we had double the meetings for two days (no lunch-hour writing) and a work dinner one evening.

And one (big one) is that I accepted a new job offer. In fact, you can see the moment my numbers started to fall off:

Failing is a Great Feeling

Honestly? 35,668 words is a great place to be: the plot is really coming together (I should have made an outline, but that is another blog entirely). The characters are slowly taking shape as “real” individuals in my head – and on the screen. And I am feeling the itch to write again – not the “I should probably write today” feeling, but the “I cannot stop forming this paragraph in my head and I need to get it written out STAT” feeling. It’s a great feeling.

I might have failed at NaNoWriMo, but I didn’t fail in rediscovering once again that I love to write.

I might have failed at NaNoWriMo, but I realized that I can fit 1,000 words into my day most days, if I learn to shift my priorities.

I might have failed at NaNoWriMo, but I now know that I can write a novel, if I just sit down and put in the work.

I’m slowly learning that most of life is all about progress, not perfection. It’s about being a [even slightly] better version of yourself the next day, and then the next, so that each little success adds up into a bigger one.

What is something you’ve failed at recently, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise?

Empty Shelf Challenge: September 2014

October 2, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs 2 Comments

September was a busy month, despite the fact that I am supposed to be slowing down and savoring life. Well, I did some more savoring, but life hasn’t slowed down any. Makes me wonder how I was doing even more before…

Here is what I read in September as I continue the #EmptyShelf challenge. It’s pretty basic: starting December 23rd, you empty one shelf of a bookcase in your house completely. Hence, “Empty Shelf.” Then, through the entire next year, you fill that shelf with the books that you read.

We’ve finally unpacked all our boxes, but I have even less shelves than I used to. I still don’t have a dedicated shelf for the challenge, and at this point I am guessing that I won’t by the end of the year. It’s still been a neat way to keep track of what I read, so I am going to keep calling it the Empty Shelf Challenge.

Here is what I am tackling next.

To read what I’ve read this year by month:

January // February // March // April // May // June // July // August

Here’s September’s line up:

43.) One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com by Richard L. Brandt – While Brandt is obviously not a fan of Amazon, this book gave an a great overview of Bezos and the inception of the company. If you just want a general idea of how the company got its start and because a mega-corporation (all while never turning a profit), this is a good option.

44.) The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown – So, so good. After reading Daring Greatly last month, this was a good follow up, discussing different ways we can focus on letting go of perfectionism and really living life as we are meant to life it. I like here writing style better in Daring Greatly, so start with that one.

45.) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – This is one of my favorites. I was feeling out of sorts on a Sunday, so I sat down with this and read it cover-to-cover, staying up well past my bedtime to do so. Worth it.

46.) The Truth Seeker (The O’Malley Series #3) by Dee Henderson – The O’Malley Series is one that I read as a teen. It’s Christian fiction, which is not something I usually read because of the bland characters, but the O’Malleys all have vibrant personalities and cool jobs. It’s fun to re-read these now, just some light fiction for days when my brain needs to rest.

So … what did you read this month?

Story in Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

August 28, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs 3 Comments

I just finished The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente.

I love that title.

It is a charming, whimsical, delightful fairytale full of the best kinds of charters: ones you would never be able to dream up on your own. The story is about a girl named September, a dragon who is not a dragon, and a Marquess who has imprisoned most of Fairyland because she is in a foul mood. I recommend that you go pick up a copy and immerse yourself in the story at once.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“The Green Wind frowned into his brambly beard. “All little girls are terrible,” he admitted finally, “but the Marquess, at least, has a very fine hat.” – p. 3

“All children are heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb tall trees and say shocking things … Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one.” – p. 4

“Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.” – p. 26

“That’s how you get the future: You mix up everything you did today with everything you did yesterday and all the days before and everything anyone you ever met did and anyone they ever met, too.” – p. 32

“And it’s the wonders I’m after, even if I have to bleed for them.” – p. 36

“She sounds like someone who spends a lot of time in libraries, which are the best sorts of people.” – p. 55

“Temperament, you’ll find, is highly dependent on time of day, weather, frequency of naps, and whether one has had enough to eat.” – p. 104

“He was still too shy to suggest anything without wrapping it up tight to keep it safe.” – p. 115

“We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.” – p. 194

“… No one is chosen. Not ever. Not in the real world. You chose to climb out of your window and ride on a Leopard … You chose to face your own death, not to balk at a great sea to cross and no ship to cross it in. And twice, now, you have chosen not to go home when you might have, if only you abandoned your friends. You are not the chosen one, September. Fairyland did not choose you – you chose yourself.” – p. 205

What made this a good story? Each sentence gave way to a more clever and more beautiful sentence next. Valente took words literally and made them come alive by their own definitions. She stacked them up into paragraphs that make the reader smile.

What could have made it a better story? Honestly? Nothing. I will buy this (and its sequels) and read it again and again and again.

What do you think? Have you read anything by Valente? And if so, did you enjoy it?

P.S. If you liked this, you will probably enjoy The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Update: I read this book a second time in November 2015 and it was just as magical.