If you don't keep up with me on Twitter, you probably have no idea what I've been up to since last time I blogged. I haven't fallen off the edge, yet anyway.
I have been trying to get my meds on track (a track...any track...hopefully the right track...) to get my depression under control. Winter as you know if you live in the US stretched on way past its welcome this year and we have only begun to finally see some of spring this past week or so. Spring and new med levels have given rise to another mixed state I am working through. It ain't fun.
Meantime, I've been writing.
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| I was writing in April! Woo hoo! I also went to an art show and wore my cool Steampunk hat! |
That's right, I've been writing! Actual words! Short stories and flash fiction and poetry, actually (one short poem a day for National Poetry Month in April).
I signed up for CampNaNoWriMo, with the distinct plan that I would not allow myself to write high word count days (and I held to that, with the exception of the day I hit like 7700 words in one day before I could make myself stop). I was going to try an experiment: could I retrain my brain to write in installments instead of my usual manic (seriously, Bipolar mania) bursts of 10K minimum days which usually resulted in my hitting the 50K word goal in less than a week (5 days is about par for my course) and frying my brain, my eyes, my joints...my everything.
The answer was, for short stories, yes, I could do it. I still don't know if I could do it for novels, though. And I still think I write better when I'm manic but that's another blog post.
I set my goal for the month at a modest 10K and ended up with 50,289 words total by April 25th.
One of my short stories turned into a 19K word novella (novella is defined by Google as 15K words or more so it qualifies in my book...ha! In my book! That's funny) and it was one I got so wrapped up in that it doubled in word count from 7 to 14K words overnight.
It's a story I've wanted to tell for a long time and didn't think I ever would, and I hope I've done it well. After it sits for a while then goes through an edit, I might let a few friends read it if they're interested. But I've no plans to publish it. In fact I've no plans to publish any of the stories I wrote this month with the exception of maybe tweeting some flash. Why? Because I wrote them just for me, to see if I could do it, and I doubt they'd interest anyone else.
Something that IS interesting other people, however, is the new Twitter chat I've just started! It's called #writersRX and it is a chat for writers who struggle with chronic illness of any kind (or multiple kinds, all are welcome). This chat takes place Monday evenings at 7PM Eastern time (we are on Daylight Savings right now so don't forget to adjust for that).
Our first chat last week was a lovely success, I could barely keep up with all the tweets! I am hoping it will continue on this way. It was a warm, welcoming atmosphere thanks to friends who came and brought other friends with them along to chat. I truly enjoyed it.
Would you like to be able to discuss writing with folks who know what it is to struggle day in and day out to just do the things that healthy people can do? Then you should stop by #writersRX and see if it suits you.
I hope to keep it a bright, inspiring event that people look forward to and enjoy while they're there. And there's no pressure, no one is asked to disclose anything about their health to attend the chat, and the rules of the chat prevent anyone seeking/offering medical advice so no one will try to convince you to try the latest fad thing coming down the pike. Also, no spamming (though I do allow folks to tweet a personal link at the end of chat).
I really hope to see you there tomorrow night! Once more, that's on Twitter, Monday evenings at 7PM Eastern time #writersRX. I tweet the chat questions using my regular @februarygrace handle. Looking forward to chatting with you!
xoxo
bru