September 30, 2009

NaNoWriMo, take 2



In 2008, I first heard about NaNoWriMo. Via BookCrossing of course ;)
Got all excited and decided to join, but my NaNoWri month came & went and I didn't write a single word for my novel-to-be. Scared to fail, I ended up blocked.

What I'm talking about?
NaNoWriMo is about writing. A novel. In one month. 50.000 words.
This is what nanowrimo.org says:
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.



Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.


Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.


Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.


As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.


In 2008, we had over 120,000 participants. More than 20,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

Well, my BookCrossing friends did it again: talking about NaNoWriMo made me want to join and try it again. My account turned out to be still active and now it's updated. I'm in!
Let's see if those writing juices will flow in November...

September 22, 2009

BikeCrossing?


I'm rather sure we did *not* stick a note like this to Albert's bike yesterday!
Sigh...why do our bikes get stolen so often?

September 19, 2009

All Pigs, More Equal


Check out the animations on this site: (click here!)
(click on one of these words: Disabled / Sex / Sexual preference / Religion / Race / )

Kathelijne & the Greens rule!

September 17, 2009

Brat!


Mail from Portugal!
Oh, what a joy to open the mail when you find something as gorgeous as this inside!
Remember the Summer Gift Giving? One of my wishes was a long shot: a biker/rock style shirt or something hand made for Noah. Now look at these! Marcenda managed to combine those two qualities in this design! *me, impressed*
Not just a pretty print, the cute brats were hand stitched (is that the right word?) onto the shirt. And the hairdo is just the same as Noah's current punky red hair, like it's made for him. Haha, actually it *is* made for him! Thank you so much, Marcenda!
For more work by Marcenda, take a look at her In The Bag blog...inspiring!

September 14, 2009

A day at the zoo

Last week we visited Burger's Zoo in Arnhem, a zoo we both hadn't been to in ages. Had a great day! We were amazed by the new aquarium and the Desert was lovely. Over all the animals have lots of space and their habitats look wonderful. I felt kinda cripple without my old camera so I didn't focus very much on shooting pics. But here are a few:


September 10, 2009

Autobiography in 5 short chapters



In her letter, my BC friend hakkalina, mentioned this poem. With the help of Google, I traced the original text and I just háve to share it, it's so beautiful and SO true. I think I've managed to reach chapter IV and it feels like chapter V is almost within reach...


by Portia Nelson

I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V
I walk down another street.

September 9, 2009

Autumn!

Hooray, Autumn is coming closer!
I know most people hate it when the days shorten and Summer is fading away, but yours truly can't wait for Summer to be over. I really enjoy this time of year. Feels like I can finally breathe again. Yep, I'm weird, but if you've read my blog before, that's old news to you :p
Maybe it's got to do with being born in September? Who knows?


Today it's rainy and I'm thankful I can stay indoors. Maybe I sound a bit more normal if I tell you that most of the time I prefer curling up on the sofa to getting soaked in the rain?
Anyway, the mailman transformed a plain rainy morning to one with a smile: delivery from a fellow BookCrosser! Familiar handwriting and the stamp is from Hungary...yippee, hakkalina mail! She surprised & spoiled me before with a wonderful Summer Gift Giving parcel full of joy, so noticing this mail came from her was already good for a smile on my face.

Opening the package, a wonderful scent filled the room: this is definately the scent of Autumn! Cinnamon, oranges...hmmm, me like!

The biggest surprise: 2 Puschkin books!!! One in Russian (easy reading, with lots of pictures, but I can't understand a word of the text^^) and one in Hungarian. How wonderful!! My collection grows and grows, I'll take a picture of that special shelf in the living room soon.

But it wasn't until exploring the rest of the package to figure out *why* hakkalina sent me this (besides her being a very nice person^^): Autumn RABCK exchange, I must have been her secret pal! What a lucky match :)
Stickers, soap, address labels, another book, chocolate, a puzzle, tea, apple snack (ooh, she must have seen me buying dried apples last week, such a delicacy!), a wooden decoration leaf and another wonderful letter...wow, I'm overwhelmed...

THANK YOU HAKKALINA!

September 4, 2009

:)

Turned 32 today and I'm happier than I've been in a long, long time. Some say life starts at 40, but it feels like mine is starting right here, at 32!
Finally, one of the theme songs in my life doesn't only match the sad parts; I can finally sing along the whole song without skipping the refrain :)



I kept the right ones out
And let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy
to see me through all my sins

There were times in my life
When I was goin' insane
Tryin' to walk through
The pain

When I lost my grip
And I hit the floor
Yeah, I thought I could leave
but couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired
Of a livin' a lie
I was wishin' that I
Would die

It's Amazing
With the blink of an eye
you finally see the light
It's Amazing
When the moment arrives
that you know you'll be alright

It's Amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer
for the desperate hearts tonight

That one last shot's a
Permanent Vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey not a destination A
nd I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't liten to all that righteous talk
I was out on the street,
Just a tryin' to survive

It's Amazing
With the blink of an eye
you finally see the light
It's Amazing
When the moment arrives that you know
you'll be alright
It's Amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer
for the desperate hearts tonight