If They Were Songs

each one is a little different
having its own
strengths and challenges

some just show up
whole and ready
and want to be left alone

others need to be trimmed a bit
so eyes can see
and ears can hear

still others just need more
structure and support
a guiding hand

some play the cello
others the oboe
some a drum kit without cymbals

some lead off the album
some end up as b-sides
some never make it past a demo

some are serious
some are silly
all are sound

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to the prompt at We Write Poems to "write a poem about writing a poem".

NaPoWriMo Day Twelve

a  breaking window is dramatic
arms splayed, shards flying

what was just whole
now unmistakably broken

and we just watch the fall
in slow motion

all the tumbling surfaces caught
by the light - a dark beauty

it doesn't happen to the protagonist
it happens to a supporting character

(spoiler alert)

John Locke, before he was lost,
being pushed through an eighth story window
by his father

Julia McNamara crashing face first
through the plate glass window of a sliding door,
brain befuddled by painkillers and wine

there are cuts, signs of external pain
to reflect the hurt inside

a fractured heart, the refraction
of love's pathways, which should be

straight and true, but light,
like love, is both a particle

and a wave

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to the prompt to write about a broken window at Big Tent Poetry.

Nursery Rhymes

Holy Moley lived underground,
and he had faith in above.
So his thoughts did resound
that life was guided by love.

* * *

Nowy Cowy was very zen.
Live in the moment did he.
The eight-fold path he walked
and sometimes rested beneath a tree.

* * * * *

These two short poems, posted for Monday, were written in response to a prompt at NaPoWriMo to write a nursery rhyme.

Sunday

So, I'm not going to post a poem for today.

I have stuck to the challenge and have written at least one poem every day, but I'm not satisfied with some that I have written. For example, the one about writing a poem "about something that happened 15 years ago" from Big Tent Poetry. I wrote a poem to that prompt, but I'm not going to post it. It's autobiographical and personal in a way that won't appeal to anyone else. It can just sit in my poetry journal. And, frankly, it's just not a very good poem.

Writing a poem a day has not been the challenging part about NaPoWriMo, the poem-a-day challenge, whatever you want to call it. So far, I've had plenty of prompts and other ideas to get me started and I have written a poem a day. And no one's going to judge me or criticize me because I didn't write a poem every day. I'm challenging myself to write a poem a day, but I've also given myself permission to be happy with writing 30 poems in 30 day, which I'm well on the way to doing because I've often written more than one poem in a day.

The first day of April was a day I was off work on Spring Break, and then we had a weekend. I had three days to get a head start on writing poems. I think I wrote six poems over those three days.

What's challenging is the quality issue. Last year, I was more nervous about posting poems on this blog and as comments at Poetic Asides, where I got started with this poem-a-day thing. But then partway through the month I got over myself and began posting poems. And the community of people reading and writing poems that I have encountered has been positive and supportive. So, this year, I had no problem posting poems. And yet, there's still some part of me that won't let some poems see the light of day. I'm not saying that everything I've posted is good; I know that some are better than others, but they're good enough for me to put out there for others to read.

I did post a poem for Saturday before I left for the weekend, but it was one I had written the day before. I did write a poem Saturday, but I'm unhappy with it, so I'm not going to post it as Sunday's poem. I even worked on it more on Sunday, but it's still not there - and I'm not sure it will ever be. It's a response to the prompt from Big Tent Poetry to write a poem "with lungs in it".

And then, Sunday night, after getting home, I ended up writing four poems. So, I think I just needed the time away, to let things percolate in my brain for a bit. Because, the words just flowed, and now I have a couple of short poems ready to post for today, Monday. I've got another that I need to let sit for a day, but which I will probably post. And the last is one that needs some work, some structuring, and may be worth posting.

So, thanks to everyone who has been reading my poems. I've read some wonderful poems myself so far this month, and I'm having a great April filled with poetry.

And I will get caught up on reading and commenting on poems. I was so tired last night after writing, that I didn't even go online.

define dancing

i know he's heroic and all
but i imagine Clark taking Lois
dancing after dinner

he'd hold her tight
and they'd slow dance
on the clouds

so that when he set her down
on the balcony
of her high-rise apartment

the hem of her dress
would be damp as if
she had walked on dewy grass

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to the musical ekphrasis prompt at NaPoWriMo.

As I was reading poems, I was listening to my writing playlist, which includes a number of soundtracks. "Define Dancing" by Thomas Newman from the Wall-E soundtrack came on and caught my attention. Then I flashed on that scene in the movie, which got me thinking about the hero dancing with his love.

Only Twenty-two

In 1753, Governor Dinwiddie trusted
Major Washington to deliver a letter
to the French commander who had occupied
the Ohio territory in dispute.
Not only did Washington return,
but he prepared a full report
of the situation, including a map
with the locations of the French forts.

The Ohio Company had begun construction
of an English fort at the junction
of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.
Washington, now a lieutenant colonel,
was sent in 1754 to complete and defend
this fort. But before his detachment
could reach the fort, the French had captured
it and renamed it Fort Duquesne.

Washington continued his march, and parleyed
with Indians he encountered. He was unable
to convince any to join the English.
On May 28, he attacked and captured
a small French force, thus starting the war.
Finding their advance position dangerous,
he and his men hastily constructed
what they called Fort Necessity.

The French advanced on the English
and a skirmish ensued. There were losses
on both sides. Washington knew
they could not successfully defend
their position. As he prepared to surrender,
he was killed by a French musket ball.

What if George Washington had been killed
at the start of the French and Indian War?

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to yesterday's "what if" prompt at Poetic Asides.

Addendum: Process Notes. The first three stanzas are historically accurate. It's in the fourth stanza that it becomes hypothetical. I've long been fascinated with Washington's military prowess in the American Revolution, but it was here in the French and Indian War (Seven Year's War) that he learned so much that he would later use, as an American, against the English. To the best of my knowledge, the time he surrendered Fort Necessity is the only time he ever surrendered in a military campaign. That seemed to me a logical place to play "what if".

The Father

thing number two wants lasagna
thing number one wants pizza
i feel like thing number zero

i'm hungry too, but i feed
the boys first, and feel guilty
that i called them things

i didn't say it out loud, but
it's at that point i realize
i've misplaced my patience

milk in the cupboard
cereal in the refrigerator
it must be around here somewhere

maybe i can cook some up
find it again in the zen
of mise en place

the feel of the blade
cutting the carrots into brunoise
the blade dulling by molecules

the tiny chimes the carrots
make as they fall
into the stainless steel bowl

i'm putting the third bite of my
dinner into my mouth when
thing number two asks for dessert

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt at Poetic Asides to write a poem about a type of person.

A Poem by Billy Collins

I just got an email from Barnes & Noble, and they had a link to a poem by Billy Collins, Memento Mori, from his new book of poetry, Horoscopes for the Dead. Just thought I'd share it in the spirit of National Poetry Month.

The Art of Making Fire

The scientists gave up and
began praying to Prometheus.
Give us fire, they pleaded.

Unto mortals, he replied,
the gift of fire
I have already given.

We want to power
the planet, they explained,
with star fire, with fusion.

That art I cannot teach,
Prometheus stated.
That is the realm of the gods alone.

But it is cold and dark,
they begged, and the light
will feed the green plants.

You have more than enough,
he replied, for your needs.
Your wants you must temper.

Then silence he gave them,
for he had answered
their prayers with wisdom.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt to write about the art of making fire at We Write Poems.

I wrote this a couple of days ago, but am posting it as today's poem. I haven't written a poem yet today, but it's only 6:15 a.m. here on the west coast.

What Do You Make?

What committee of goofs
decided that professional
baseball players should make
millions of dollars a year?

What concord was reached
in a thirtieth-story conference room
that corporate CEOs should
make more than baseball players?

What apathy was invoked
so that public school teachers
make just enough to eke out
a living above the poverty line.

Baseball players are mere
entertainers.  They hit a ball
with a piece of wood
and run around a rhombus.

Corporate CEOs supervise making
a profit. They don't do anything but
make decisions that prove
avarice is the root of all evil.

If you know what
a rhombus is, odds are
a teacher is responsible.

If you know right
from wrong, you can thank
your parents and teachers.

Teachers don't make a decent wage.
Don't kid yourself that they do.
However, they do the most important work.
They make a difference.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt at Poetic Asides to write a serious poem.

Agitation

my world is prodigious
blue and wide and fluid
not that dry, brown stuff
you go on and on about
it's just dirt - it has no depth

you've harried it to the point
of sterility, so you have to
leave fields fallow to recover

what should be omnipotent
is instead just docile

I don't mean to come off
sounding supercilious but
who do you think you are
naming our planet earth
sounds like your preconceptions
talking again

you should be more like me
go with the flow, as we say

(I almost said down here
but that would just feed
your misguided superiority complex)

but now that I mention it
when I look up at the sky
your world pushing down on mine
I see the way the sunlight speckles
the surface, the way the light
itself journeys into our world
from yours, auroras that constantly
shimmer and dance during the day
and then I find I pity you
and your small, flat, dry world

* * * * *

This poem was inspired by a wordle created by Brenda Warren.  Thanks, Brenda. I also used the prompt idea from Big Tent Poetry to write a poem "as though you are a fish".

Modern Epidemic

A messenger was tasked
to warn the populace
of the epidemic
of terrorism.

He succeeded.
People were afraid.
The plague spread.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to Messenger, prompt 261, at Sunday Scribblings and Epidemic, prompt 162, at One Single Impression.

Lune

With their riches,
lobbyists are loud and persuasive.
A democratic republic?

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt at Three Word Wednesday using the words: loud, persuasive, and riches.

The form I have used is a variant of the Lune, which I learned about at Poetic Asides.

Without Me

There would be a slow decay
of the soul. Children would wake
and not want to play.

On faces, dread and dismay
would appear. The ground would shake
and buildings would tremble and sway.

Fire would sweep fields of hay.
Fish would abandon the lakes
for land on which they couldn't stay.

My absence, you wouldn't say,
for I'm a lovable rake,
is a thing you'd wish for any day.

* * * * *

This poem is my tongue-firmly-in-cheek response to a prompt at Poetic Asides to write a poem in which you imagine the world without you.

Postcard a la Rondel

I'm wishing you were here.
I miss you when you're gone, you know.
It's only off to Grandma's you go,
but at home it seems more austere.

Without you, there's a little less cheer,
along with toilets that don't overflow.
I'm wishing you were here.
I miss you when you're gone, you know.

No worries about talk you'll overhear,
peace and quiet we'll have, although
I'm anticipating your return hello.
I can't wait for you to reappear.
I'm wishing you were here.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt at Poetic Asides to write a postcard poem.

Still Life on Balcony

Because he knew I liked classical,
my boss gave me tickets to go hear
a performance at the Herbst Theater.
They were good seats, but I didn't
care for the contemporary classical
music they were playing that night.
At the intermission, I stayed out
on the balcony. I was too moody
for a glass of wine, so I sipped
my carbonated water and squeezed
the wedge of lime to flavor it.
As the others went back inside,
Pavlovian dogs responding to the chime,
I walked over to the stone railing,
and stared out over Van Ness.
The moon, almost full, loomed large
just over the dome of City Hall.
Then I realized I was not alone.
A man stood looking out as I had been,
his hair was mostly gray, cut short,
and he himself was trim and fit.
I swear it was Neil Armstrong.
I could feel my face flush in the cool
evening air, too cool for obscuring fog.
No, it couldn't be. Why would he be here?
A dozen questions fought for supremacy
in my mind. Do you still fly?
Were you scared on Gemini 8?
How did it feel to be the first man?
I looked from the moon back over
to the man. Was it really him?
And then I remembered
what I had read about him.
He was shy, reticent. Warm once
you got to know him, became his friend.
He was not aloof, but even
the other astronauts said they
didn't know what he was thinking.
And weren't a man's thoughts private?
I realized how much in temperament
he and I were alike. Would I want him
to come over here and ask me
what I was thinking? No, I wouldn't.
And then he walked past me, heading back
to the theater, and we just nodded silently
to each other as he passed. I looked back
to the moon and the distance there seemed less,
as the gulf between me and others
also seemed smaller, one that could be crossed.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt at Big Tent Poetry to write about "standing on a balcony with someone you've read about in the paper".  I don't read the paper, but I am reading A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin.

I Love Poetry More Than I Thought

I started writing poems in high school.
It was for a creative writing class,
not because I was some moon-eyed teenager
in love. I was a misfit then as now,
and my poems brought me a tenuous
acceptance from my peers.

Then, in junior college, I studied
literature intensively and took a poetry
writing class with George Barlow.
More acceptance. My writing ability
wasn't a fluke.

When I transferred to Cal, I applied
for a writing class with Thom Gunn.
I was rejected. Hurt, angry, I wrote
poems in solitude.

I entered the full-time working world,
not studying and reading poems. I wrote
when inspiration came to me.
There was the sestina I wrote
while manning the reception desk
from 5 to 6, when it was quieter.
At another job, on my lunch hour,
I used the tugboats I watched
working out on San Francisco Bay
as an extended metaphor.

And so it went for many years
until I began teaching. I used
ideas from Kenneth Koch and taught
poetry writing to my students.
And when the opportunity came,
I was ecstatic to have a published poet
from California Poets in the Schools
come teach my students to write poems.
I wrote poems too. And I named
my blog after a poem one of my students
wrote that was published in a CPITS anthology:
Sadly Waiting for Recess.

Then, I discovered NaNoWriMo and in 2009
I wrote a novel in thirty days.
Hungry for more, I wrote 30 poems
in 30 days the following April.
Then another novel in November.
And now it's April, time for this misfit
to write poetry again.

Acceptance from my peers
wasn't a fluke.
Poems in solitude
as an extended metaphor.
Sadly Waiting for Recess
to write poetry again.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt from Poetic Asides to write a "what got you here" poem.

A lot of my poems are not this personal. This is autobiography in verse form.

I cannot speak highly enough of California Poets in the Schools.  And I love this quote from their website so much I have to share it here as well:

"Listen to these young poets and you'll discover the voice of the present and hear the voice of the future before the future is even here." - Phillip Levine

NaPoWriMo Day One

Why is it that boys going through puberty
are so self-conscious about getting undressed
in the YMCA locker room? They keep
those white towels around their waists, even
as they step into their briefs or boxers.
I'm not sure they've completely toweled off.
Aren't they uncomfortable pulling dry clothes
over wet skin? I know I would be.
The near-acrobatics each will go through
so that no one else sees his penis.
And yet, they are almost always there
with a friend. Why doesn't one of them
change in one bank of green lockers,
while his friend can undress in another?
They could both relax a little if they were
apart, but they stay together, tense.
I would find the whole thing mildly amusing
if it weren't for the fact that they're so
brazen when they're fully clothed,
talking to each other on the way out,
oblivious to the fact that others can hear them.
There was one time I was waiting near the exit
for my wife to join me after our workout,
and heard two boys, walking by together, talking,
and I was shocked, when one said:
That's so gay.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt at Big Tent Poetry to write a poem about "getting undressed somewhere besides the bedroom or bathroom".

Articles

The was giving A and An a hard time
No one can be the greatest without me

Nobody says a greatest
or an awesomest

No, that's true, said A
while An rolled her eyes

You may be the superlative
but we're positive and comparative

We're helpful in ways
you could never be

Besides, how often does anyone
reach the peak and actually need you

The was slightly crestfallen
but that did not slow him down

It's not just that, he said
pointing at the book and the apple

True, said An, but there are many
books and apples, reaching out

for A's hand - We work together
while you're always alone

Yes, said A, you're so definite,
boxing yourself in, so limited

For everything you can do
we can do too more openly

An said, pointing at a book
and an apple sitting on a table

But, said The, you're always nearly
You're never quite exactly

A started to argue back
but An put her finger on his lips

There's no point, she said
It's just his nature

And they strolled off together
an arm around a waist

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to two prompts. The first is Unlimited at Writer's Island and the second is Nearly (#260) at Sunday Scribblings.

Musty Minutes

I was seven when my father
first began to teach me
how to make wine

Adjusting the must of the wine
was critical for a nice dry red
which is what he liked to make

The acidity had to be just right
and he showed me how to test
it and balance it if it was off

Then we'd monitor the sugar level
with a hydrometer and ensure
the degrees Brix were twenty-two

I had seen my mother make
a simple syrup in our kitchen
but father said this was not cooking

Wine was not just an extraction
from the must, but life itself,
just as the yeast was alive

And we warmed the must
to pitching temperature
so the yeast would thrive

We watched the must for a few
minutes, the bubbles rising,
the yeast working their magic

In those minutes, I began to learn
about what we had to do
and what we chose to do

* * *

This poem was written in response to Prompt #47 Musty Minutes at We Write Poems.

Spring Break

Don't get me wrong,
I'm not some college kid
wearing primary colors,
a tropical bird flashing his crest
to attract a mate,
full of beer and no worries.

Sure, I'm free of work
and preparation for a week,
an elementary school teacher
with no students to teach,
free now to read books
not intended for middle grades.

I'm free to watch documentaries
on NetFlix not about American history,
unless that's what I choose,
because I'm free to decide, not hindered
by contracts or standards or dull textbooks,
I can challenge myself to be better.

I'm free to sleep in, my alarm turned off,
free to drink my coffee slowly,
savoring it, not slamming it down
as I rush out the door, hitching
up my courage to face another commute,
free to stay out of the car all day.

But am I free from responsibility?
No, there are clothes to wash,
meals to cook, dishes to clean,
dry, and put back in the cupboards,
and my son's home with me too,
so I'm free to be a full-time dad.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to Prompt 128 to write a spring poem at Poetic Asides. I also incorporated the idea of "free" from Sunday Scribblings.

Spring Song

yesterday's rainstorm was not
an example of spring showers
what we abundantly got
was rain for hours and hours

the earthworms were out and happy
from their burrows damp and wet
even the trees were less sappy
the sparrows in nests were all set

the snails made a break for the side
of the walk oh so slowly
though I stayed dry and warm inside
my mood was all so lowly

the windows were sheeted with rain
so things outside were a blur
I wouldn't want to be a drain
with that I think you'll concur

so I'll try to lift up my mood
and sing a small silly song
I'll cook up some warm comfort food
setting things... at least not wrong

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to Prompt 128 over at Poetic Asides to write a spring poem.

car in shop

there is nothing occurring
just so-so - for there is time

the good today was short
and enough - more or less

tomorrow's service - will that
be enough - just a short time away

I can tell you are a mechanic
quick with wires and mesh

what instrument is your means
to fix the sensor - your department

while I censor the fix - and the waiting
words are my means - my morning

contrast something today
patiently - precise

I have waited for enough
the happier son sent

to the time department
while I write difficulty

later coming my posts
care and updates sold

a quick thanksgiving
that hours will be enough

coming for going
entirely waiting

finding the cause
for the waited day

somewhere an hour back circuit
not finding it in words either

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to a prompt to mix things up a bit using Poetry Toys at Big Tent Poetry. I ended up using the cut-up feature at Language is a Virus. I took one of my own blog entries, ran it through the Cut Up Machine, and then wrote the poem above. I'm not sure how successful the poem is, but it was fun to write using a technique I've never used before.

"it's hard to pull my gaze away"

it's hard to pull my gaze away
from her face
those tears

she was a young woman
when Revolver came out

she's gone now
and yet still here
not a ghost
but a reminder
of pain caused
by another
absent now too

maybe that's why she's forlorn
because he left her
the sudden filling of her heart
with young love and then
the emptiness

I remember her face now
every time I see the moon
rising in the morning sky

* * *

This poem was written in response to Prompt #46 for a Street Art Poem, inspired by the artwork of Rone.

Brotherhood

I fell in love with a girl
from the other village
I was out with my brothers
sowing their fallow fields with salt
She was out with her sisters
sinking arrows into our sheep
We hate them and they hate us
I was supposed to rise into love
with one of my own, to belong
But I loved the way the light
gleamed off the sweat on her skin
her skin that was the wrong color
I wanted to sneak off at night
to hold her in my embrace
and look at the stars and listen
to the stories of her elders
the false myths of their sky heroes
and the pagan gods they believe in
My righteous passions would fill me
and I would conquer her, invading,
my sex touching her sex
the two others meeting as they should
But I told my brother of my love
and now I scrawl these traitorous words
on my cell wall in my own blood
which my brothers will spill tomorrow at dawn.

* * *

This poem was written in response to the prompt at Poetic Asides to write a poem in response to another poem. I wrote this poem in response to "The People of the Other Village" by Thomas Lux.

not

why do we have to speak
of what is not? to talk

of a nation indivisible
when it has been divided

and many would argue
we are still separated

from each other, that we feel
incomplete, as if we weren't whole

but we are inseparable
because to divide by one

is to get what you started with
we are the solution

and the problem, but only
because we make it so

* * * * *

This poem is in response to the prompt "Inseparable" from Writer's Island.

National Poetry Month is approaching

So, here it is March 19, 2011, and I'm already anticipating writing a poem a day in April. I'm not the only one. I just did a Google search and located an article entitled "Thinking Ahead to National Poetry Month." And another one entitled "10 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month."

And I already found a post from Robert Brewer on his poetry blog about the upcoming Poem-A-Day Challenge.

I'll be looking around for other sites that will be posting prompts as well. I'll take any inspiration I can find. There are several prompts from last year at Read Write Poem that I didn't use. I didn't know about their site until April was nearly over.

I'll have spring break off from work this year during April, so that should make some of the writing easier. (You know how lazy we teachers are, only working nine months out of the year and getting every holiday off, not to mention a week for spring break and the two weeks we get off in December. I hope all my friends at Fox News won't be confused by my sarcasm.)  I'll also be working on cleaning up my novel from last year's NaNoWriMo so that I can send off for my free proof copy.

We've already finished our sessions with California Poets in the Schools, but I'll probably teach some more poetry writing lessons during April. My students have been working hard to get ready for the standardized testing again this year, so I think writing poems will be a good way to de-stress. And I want to get back to reading a poem a day during the month, to get back to my Poetry 180 project for elementary school students.

Which led me to a blog I've not seen before, but which I'm glad I discovered: 100 Scope Notes.

NaNoWriMo Day Thirty

Today is the last day of NaNoWriMo 2010.  It's been a blast!  I won again this year, which makes two years in a row.

I didn't write at all yesterday.  I was just riding on a natural high after validating my word count and being over 50K.  But today, I did write.  I'm so close to the end of my novel, I didn't want to lose all my momentum.

I didn't write this morning, just after work.  I wrote 1,968 words today.  I validated my word count again at the NaNoWriMo website, and I'm ending this year officially at 53,117 words.

Now I just have to finish my novel.  After that, I'll take a couple of days off just to read, then I'll start some basic proofreading to get it in shape to send off for my free proof copy from CreateSpace.  I'm very excited about that.  There's nothing like getting your novel in book form like that, except maybe actually finishing 50,000 words in 30 days.  I'm very happy now, but I was downright giddy last summer when my proof copy of my first novel arrived in the mail.  I'm ready for that feeling again, but right now, I'm just so happy to have won again.

Tomorrow, I'll probably be depressed that it's over for another year.

Word Count Widget:



My Month:

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty-Eight

I won!  I crossed 50K today.  I even validated my novel at the NaNoWriMo website and got an official word count of 51,149.  And I'm not done.  I'm definitely in the last chapter.  I'm almost done.  One crucial scene to write and then some epilogue-type stuff and then I'm done with this first draft.

I wrote more today than I've ever written in one day.  I wrote 4,240 words today.

And I cut out some 600 words I wrote the other day that I had added to my word count.  I was in such a foul mood last Tuesday that I couldn't write after work.  I started writing about what a bad mood I was in and why.  I kept that as part of my novel and my word count, even though I had no intention of keeping it in the novel.  I cut those words out today, and I feel much better.

I hope to finish tomorrow, and then I'll take a break for a few days.  Then, I'll start doing some clean-up, just fixing typos and obvious spelling and grammar errors.  I might do some sorting into chapters and the like, maybe moving some scenes around.  Then I want to send my novel off to CreateSpace for my free proof copy.  I procrastinated last year and didn't make the deadline for my free proof copy, but I'm going to get one this year.

NaNoWriMo Update

Day Twenty-Five

That would have been Thanksgiving.  I only wrote 512 words on Thursday.

We finished packing up food for Thanksgiving and clothes for our stay in Santa Rosa in the morning, then drove to Santa Rosa.  It was a pleasant drive.  It was a beautiful, clear day, hardly a cloud in the sky.  And no fog anywhere near the Golden Gate Bridge.  Traffic was also light, being a holiday and all, so the drive was more pleasant than normal.  Getting through San Francisco and past Petaluma can be tiring.

Anyway, had a lovely Thanksgiving meal.  And then I retired to my grandmother's bedroom to write.  I only managed the aforementioned 512 words.  Then I took a short nap.  We ended up watching the Galapagos documentary that my uncle brought over.  The visuals in that are spectacular.  I fell asleep during the third episode.

Day Twenty-Six

Black Friday.  For some reason, we decided we would actually venture out on the most dangerous shopping day of the year.  We went to REI, because my wife wants a new jacket for Christmas.  And, of course, we went to Toys R Us, which is right next door.  We didn't have much luck.  REI didn't have my wife's sizes in the two jackets she was interested in, and we didn't find any good deals at Toys R Us for the toys our boys want for Christmas.

We also drove over to Home Depot, trying to find 99 cent poinsettias.  They were sold out by the time we got there.

But I did write.  I wrote in the morning, which I've done most days this month quite successfully.  Then another session in the afternoon, and a final one in the evening.  I wrote a total of 1,861 words, for a total of 44,831.

Day Twenty-Seven

Our last day in Santa Rosa.  We decided we'd drive home today after having lunch.  One, we just didn't want to stay all day.  Two, I don't like driving home when it gets dark, and double so when it's raining or has been raining.

Lucky for us, the rain let up as the morning got closer to noon.  Traffic wasn't bad, either.  It was good to get home.  It's always good to get away to Santa Rosa to visit with my grandmother, but it's always good to get back home again.

I wrote in three sessions again today, one early in the morning right after breakfast, one a little later in the morning, and then one this afternoon after we got home.  I wrote 2,075 words today, for a total of 46,906.

I just have 3,094 words to go.  I might finish tomorrow.  If not, I'll finish on Monday for sure.  Tuesday's writing, then, will just be icing on the cake.

If you look at my calendar wordcount widget, it looks like I didn't write at all on Thursday and Friday.  I did write both days, though I certainly didn't make the 1,667 word count goal for Thursday.  They show up as red because I did not log on to the NaNoWriMo website to update my word count.  My grandmother does not have internet access, and I was not going to go out somewhere with WiFi to update my word count with my laptop.  How do I know how many words I wrote?  I used a different file on my Neo for each day, so I could track each day's word count, and then my total in Word once I transferred my writing over to my laptop from my Neo.  Wait!  There's a word for that.  Yes, I'm a little anal-retentive.

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty-Four

Today was not such a good day, either.

We took our car in to the shop last Saturday.  Two hours later, they told us there was nothing wrong with it.  The lights coming on in our instrument panel were caused by a short in a sensor.  They would order the sensor for us in a couple of days.  Sure enough, they called on Tuesday, and I called back and made an appointment for this morning to get it taken care of.

I thought it would be quick, so my eldest son and I just waited in their waiting room.  An hour and a half later, the service rep tells us the car is ready.  Then he seemed to have some difficulty finding it.  Then I see him track down a mechanic, and they've got the hood open.  I suspected then that things were not going to go well.

Sure enough, the new sensor worked fine, but sent back the same error message.  The short was occurring somewhere else, in some mesh of wires that they want to replace.  That, too, has to be ordered.  Which means I have to come back again.  And this time, they need the car for six hours.

Right now, I hate Honda.  I hate our CR-V.  I hate the dealership that sold us the car.  And I hate everyone in their service department.  What I have been given lately, is not service.  Or, to be more precise, it has been service, but it's been lousy service.

Apparently, my time is not valuable.  It took them two hours to tell me it was a short in a sensor.  Nothing mechanical, nothing complicated.  A simple short in a circuit somewhere.  Then, it took them an hour and a half, while my son was not waiting so patiently, to install that sensor only to tell me that it was not the sensor, but something else entirely.  And you get to come back here again and essentially give us your car for a whole day.

I did write today.  I wrote 1,971 words. I'm much happier with what I wrote today, in contrast to yesterday. My total word count now is 42,458.  I only have to write 7,542 more words to reach 50K.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  I'm driving up to Santa Rosa tomorrow to my grandmother's.  Then I'm cooking. I probably won't write tomorrow, but I'll try to sneak in about 500 words or so if I can manage it.

I will also be away from the internet, so no updates of my word count to the NaNoWriMo website and no posts here for a couple of days.

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty-Three

Apparently, I wrote yesterday.  It was a bad day.

I think I wrote in the morning, but I can't remember right now, nor do I want to put the effort into trying to remember.  I must have.  I usually do.

I had a bad day at work.  I was able to put off what was bothering me for quite a while, but it snuck up on me when I was ready to write and I was just not in the mood.  I'm sure everything I wrote yesterday after work is crap.  If it is, which it almost certainly must be, it would be appropriate for the crappy mood I was in.

People can be so mean.

Anyway, I did manage to keep track of how many words I wrote.  I cranked out 1,711 words yesterday, putting me at 40,487 words.

I treated myself to the movies last night.  After my wife got home, I went to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One.  I was in such a foul mood, that I thought I might not enjoy the movie, but I was wrong.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I certainly deserved a break.

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty-Two

I didn't write this morning.  I had to get some work done, checking in some papers, so I could get them back to students today and review them with my class.  I put off doing any work all weekend, so I had to get it done this morning.

I planned on leaving work as soon as I could, so I could get home and write.  My back was killing me.  My wife thinks it's from all the writing.  A couple of ibuprofen and something to eat - I skipped lunch - and I felt much better.

I got my writing playlist going on iTunes on my laptop, and grabbed my Neo and started writing.  I wrote like a madman.  I consistently find that I write more when I use my Neo.  I think it's the small display.  I'm not distracted by text that I've already written.  I don't keep going back and looking at what I've written.  Nor am I distracted by the red and green lines of the spell- and grammar-check.  I've made lots more typos this year than I did last year, but who cares?  That's what December is for.

Anyway, I wrote exactly 1,234 words in about 45 minutes.  I picked up my younger son and then my wife.  We had dinner, and then I wrote some more, for a total of 1,901 words for today.  I'm now at 38,776.  I checked the Excel spreadsheet that I'm using to track my word count and saw that I've passed the 75% mark.

I feel like I'm on schedule.  My novel has gone in directions I didn't initially plan, but I'm entering the territory of act three, so I'm getting near the end.

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty-One

A much more relaxing day today.  I wrote some this morning after breakfast.  Then I took a shower later in the morning, and wrote some more then.  So far today, I've written 1,337 words.  Only 330 to go!

Now, it's time to take a break and have some lunch.  I'm hoping to write more this afternoon and evening.  I want to get further ahead on my word count with Thanksgiving coming up.

My wife had to go in to work today.  She had to go to CostCo with her boss and buy stuff for their upcoming Thanksgiving shindig.  When she got home, our youngest hounded us until we agreed to take him to the park so he could ride his bicycle.  There was a lull in the rain showers, so we agreed.

I took my Neo with me and wrote a little bit.  I didn't quite finish my 330 words, but I was close.  I did write some more after dinner, with a total of 1,835 words for the day, putting me at 36,875.

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty

Had to take the car to the shop in this morning.  I've had warning lights coming on in my instrument panel.  After two hours, we found out it was just a short in the sensor.  There's nothing physically wrong with the car, but they don't have the sensor in stock.  They have to order it and I have to bring the car back in to have it replaced.  With any luck, it will go very quickly.

Stopped on the way home, and got lots of shopping for Thanksgiving done.  When we got home, it was nearing 11 a.m.  I really wanted to go to my local write-in, but I was just so tired.  I was really overstimulated after the shopping.  And the restaurant where we had breakfast, while the car was being looked at, was too loud for me.  So, I took a nap.

After my nap, I wrote for about an hour or so before we had to take the boys to their swim class.  Then we went out to dinner as we usually do.  When we got home, I watched a little SpongeBob with the boys, and then we sent them to bed.  My better half and I watched a couple episodes of Dexter.  We recently started watching the first season on NetFlix.  As I'm heavily into writer mode now, I find I think about things differently.  One, I've noticed how well-written Dexter is, and two, I just find myself thinking about things from a writer's perspective, noticing the various sub-plots, character interactions, the use of irony, etc.

Then I retired to the sunroom for my second writing session of the day.  I wrote 2,028 words today, for a total of 35,040, which puts me at 70% of 50K.

NaNoWriMo Day Nineteen

I wrote again this morning.  I feel better already, getting back on track with a regular morning writing session.  My morale about my writing hasn't been the best the last couple of days, but I feel much better this morning.  I wrote 621 words on my Neo.  Again, I'm finding that I write more and more quickly when I write on my Neo as opposed to my laptop.

Have to leave work early today for a parent-teacher conference with my youngest son's teacher today.  Then, I plan on getting some more writing done, about another thousand words to meet today's wordcount goal.  I'd like to have some time this evening to watch a movie and relax.  I think I need to reward myself a little bit for the good job I've done so far this month, and for reaching that three-fifths benchmark.  I wouldn't say the end's in sight, but I feel like I'm on a downward slope now.

I ended up writing 1,715 words today, putting me at a total of 33,012.  It felt good to be back on track again.  I stumbled there for a day or two, but now I'm back in my groove again.

NaNoWriMo Day Eighteen

I did write some more this morning, and then again this evening.  Today was one of my later writing sessions.  I took my sons to Family Math Night at my school.  An exhausting, but fun event where I get to wear two hats: teacher and father.  Not so easily done, but I pulled it off tonight.

Arrived back home around 8:40 p.m., got the boys into bed, and myself writing.  I ended up writing a total of 1,115 words today.  I crossed the 31K mark today, and despite yesterday's and today's poor writing performance, I'm still nearly a whole day ahead of schedule.  I ended the day at 31,297 words.

NaNoWriMo Day Seventeen

Not my best day.  Actually my worst so far this month.

One, if you look over at my monthly widget, it looks like I didn't write anything.  That red square is taunting me.  That's just because I didn't post any wordcount updates on the NaNoWriMo website.  Silly of me, really.

Two, I did write yesterday, but it was a measly 586 words.  I only wrote in the morning.  I was so tired last night that I didn't have my usual post-work, evening writing session.  I thought that I might just rest my eyes, because I was so tired, and then write.  Well, resting my eyes turned into going to sleep for the night.

Official word count so far: 30,182.  I should be happy crossing that 30K mark, but I'm not.  It's soiled by my total lack of writing yesterday.

NaNoWriMo Day Sixteen

Woke up early again this morning.  I did write for about half an hour this morning before I took my shower.  I didn't note how many words I wrote, but it was around 600, I think.

Was really tired tonight.  I feel asleep on the couch sometime around 8 p.m watching Comedy Central.  Woke up and dragged myself out to the sunroom.  I had to meet today's word count goal.

It was rough going.  I decided to keep writing on my Neo, because I've found that I type faster on it than I do on my laptop.  I tend to keep glancing back and what I've just written on my laptop, but you can't really do that on the Neo because it only displays four lines of text.  To go back, you have to scroll up, which I can stop myself from doing easily enough.

But I was just so tired.  And then I got to the end of a scene.  Took a little break, and then started another scene.  That scene proved to be troublesome because I got to a point where I didn't know what to write next.

Actually, I do know what I need to write next but I'm not looking forward to it.  My villains have to do something nasty to someone innocent, and I'm just not excited about the direction they're taking, but I see no way around it.  Maybe I can tackle that one tomorrow.

In the meantime, I had written nearly enough words to meet today's 1,667 word count goal.  I plugged my Neo into my laptop and transferred over what I had written.  As the words filled up the pages, I noted a couple of spots where I could go back and add a little bit more.  After doing that, I found I was at 1,762 words for today.  I'm now at 29,596 words, which puts me just shy of 60%.  I'm almost three-fifths of the way there.

NaNoWriMo Day Fifteen

Tired.  Really tired.

Son number one woke me up at midnight because his legs hurt.

Son number two woke me up at 4:30 a.m. because his stomach hurt.

Why did I have children?

Oh, that's right.  This is about NaNoWriMo.  Luckily, I wrote lots yesterday, some of which I rolled over into today's word count.  I had to get ahead on my words, because I had plenty of papers to grade and get entered into the gradebook.  I spent some time yesterday evening and this morning doing just that.  Didn't write at all this morning, but did write a little bit more this afternoon after work.  I logged another 1,800 words today for a total of 27,834.

NaNoWriMo Day Fourteen

You just never know how your day is going to go.

I woke up early, around 5 a.m. today, which is when I normally get up during the week.  It's Sunday, and I wanted to sleep in.  But, then again, I didn't stay up late last night.  I was tired again.

So, since I was up, I wrote.  In fact, I wrote 571 words in about forty-five minutes.  I stopped to go watch CBS Sunday Morning, one of the few shows I regularly make an effort to watch.

Then I came back and wrote some more, another 811 words in about an hour or so, perhaps less.  The words are coming quickly today because I'm writing a more action-oriented, suspenseful chapter than I've previously been working on this month.

I stopped somewhere between 8 and 8:30 to get some breakfast for the boys.  I decided it was about time I ate something myself.  So, I made a pumpkin bagel with Tofutti cream cheese, and refilled my coffee cup.

It's pretty early in the morning, and I've already written 1,382 words.  I've also crossed the 25K mark, so I'm halfway to the NaNoWriMo goal of a novel of 50,000 words.

Took my Neo with me and wrote while my boys played at the park.  Also wrote while they were getting their haircuts today.  I love my Neo.  I really missed going to write-ins this past week, because my wife is out of town, but I've been writing out and about with my Neo.  I'm surprised that I can write like that, but it's totally working for me.

Wrote exactly 1,700 words today, putting me at a grand total of 26,034.

NaNoWriMo Day Thirteen

It was a good thing I got a little ahead on my word count over the last couple of days, because last night I was so tired.  I don't think I would have made my wound count if I hadn't gotten so many words written earlier in the day.

Let me just go on record and complain about the time change.  One, I think the whole time change thing is silly.  I'm not sure it's necessary anymore.  And frankly, the disruption of sleep patterns is annoying, if not downright harmful. Lots of people talk about gaining an hour of sleep when we "fall back" as we recently did.  But no one ever mentions losing an hour in the evening.  It's all so short-sighted, this artificial adjusting of the clocks as if we could control time.

So, I guess it finally caught up with me, because I was just so tired last night, I could barely stay awake.  And this was somewhere around 8:30.  Normally, I'm up until 10 every night, if not later.

I did sleep in today.  And I didn't get started writing until about 11 a.m.  This is the same time as the write-in I attended last weekend, which I can't make it to today.  So far, I've written 1,039 words, so I'm well on my way towards today's word count goal.  I've now crossed the 23K mark, and on my way to reaching 24K today.

I'm off now to have a little lunch, and then back to writing.  I hope to have a total of three writing sessions today. I've finished my morning one, then one this afternoon, and the last in the early evening.

It's now about 3 p.m. and I have made my word count goal for the day.  I've written 1,733 words for a total of 24,334.  I'm 48.7% done.  If I do write some more today, I'll likely cross the 25K mark and be halfway there.

We'll see how I feel after taking the boys to swim class and then out to dinner.

After dinner, we came home and watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  I was tired again after that, starting to nod off on the couch.  After I put the boys to bed I watched a little of the Monty Python documentary I've been streaming from NetFlix, and then went to sleep.  I didn't write anything in the evening as I'd thought of earlier in the day.

NaNoWriMo Day Twelve

After I updated yesterday's word count on the website, I kept writing.  I wrote another 488 words last night before I called it quits for the day.  I didn't go back to the website to update my wordcount again, so I'm just adding those words to today's word count.

I did write this morning again.  I woke up early, about forty-five minutes before my alarm was set to go off, so I decided to just go ahead and write before getting up and showering.  I wrote another 424 words. I already have over 900 words to add to today's word count.

I brought my Neo with me to work today, not because I was planning on writing at work, but because I knew I was going to go out to dinner with my son.  I figured he'd play on his Nintendo DS and I'd write while we were waiting for our food order.

I started a new chapter, because I had been writing on my laptop this morning, and I didn't have it synced with my Neo, so I wasn't sure where I left off.  I figured I would go back to that chapter on my laptop anyway if it needed some more work.

By the time I got home, I still hadn't reached my word count goal for the day, so I booted up my laptop, started my writing playlist on iTunes, and kept writing on my Neo.  Soon enough, I had enough words for today, writing another 814.

I wrote a total of 1,727 words for today.  I'm now at a grand total of 22,601, having crossed both 21 and 22K today.  It's the twelfth day and I'm 45% of the way there!

NaNoWriMo Day Eleven

Today being Veteran's Day and a day off work, I thought I would get a lot of writing done.  Yeah, well... it was a day off.

I did write this morning, getting another six hundred or so words done, putting my total up to 19,841.  I got to sleep in a little bit, make a full pot of coffee, and write.  The boys entertained themselves watching one of their Nick shows on streaming NetFlix.  Danny Phantom, season three, if you must know.

My older son was feeling better today - no more fever.  And since it was such a warm, sunny, beautiful day, we headed out to my younger son's elementary school, where they boys had fun on the play structures there.

I brought my Neo and wrote while they played.  We were debating on the walk back home where we'd have lunch.  We ended up walking down the street to a neighborhood pizzeria and had lunch there.  While we were waiting for our pizzas, I wrote some more.

When we got home, the three of us watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Then I decided to see where my word count for the day was.  Lo and behold, I had easily met it, so I called it a day.  I finished the day at 20,874 words, with a total of 1,671 for today.  I'm two-fifths of the way there!

NaNoWriMo Day Ten

I wrote a lot this morning, for me: 774 words.  That's almost half my daily word count goal.  I usually only manage somewhere in the 400 to 500 range, which is somewhere in the one-fourth to one-third range.

It probably helped that the boys slept in more today than they usually do.  It was quiet, which is good for my writing.  That, and I had a scene in mind that I was looking forward to writing.  It's never as good on the page as it is in my head, but it was good to get this one down.  The action of my novel is now starting to take off.

On Sunday, one of the interns at the Office of Letters and Light, those wonderful people who put on NaNoWriMo every year, posted a blog entry about the Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition.  I was intrigued by this when I saw it.  One, I'm writing a young adult novel this year, and, two, the picture they used was the cover of a book I just read, Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina L. Brooks.  I decided to enter the contest, so last night I sent them my title, Asylum, the first 250 words of my novel, and my $15 entry fee.  I'm not expecting much, but if I'm ever going to get a novel published, I have to send my writing out to the publishing industry.  This seemed like a good way to start.

Wrote some more tonight, reaching 19,203!  At day ten, the word goal is 16,667 words, so I'm ahead of schedule, thanks to that lead I got the first day.  In terms of percentage, I should be at 33%, but I'm at 38%.  It's a nice feeling, being a little bit ahead of schedule.

This is how I won last year, writing every day, writing those 1,667 words, at least, just about every day.  I think I had two days last year when I only wrote about 900 to 1,000 words.  This year I'm averaging over 1,900 words a day.

I've got plenty yet to write.  No worries on the plot front.  I'm not going to jinx myself by saying "smooth sailing" or anything like that, but I am on track for winning again this year.  And I think I have a good chance of actually finishing my novel the first time through.  I have a much better sense of what I'm writing this year.  I know, roughly, how it's going to end, and I think that's making all the difference.

NaNoWriMo Day Nine

I made sure to write this morning.  I had such a hard time reaching my word count last night, that I didn't want to repeat that.  I wrote 274 words this morning before work.  I would have written more, but I had laundry to fold, and a bag lunch to make for my son's field trip.

A bag lunch he left in the car, by the way.  Luckily, I had also made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for myself, which I gave to him.  Someone in his class gave him an apple, and he got a box of cereal from the cafeteria.  (I ate his pb&j as a snack when we got home.)

He also got sick on the field trip.  Apparently, he wasn't feeling well this morning, but hid this from me because he wanted to go on the field trip.  He threw up after the bus ride, so wouldn't have been able to eat the lunch I had made for him anyway.

He was a real trooper, though.  He stuck it out with me during kickball tryouts for an hour after school.  Then we came home.

I wrote another 293 words before we went to pick up my younger son at his after-school program.

After dinner, I wrote some more, finishing a total of 1,680 words today, for a grand total of 17,528.  I am now 35% done, over a third of the way there.

If I keep going at this rate, I'll finish 50K, the goal of NaNoWriMo, somewhere around the 27th.

NaNoWriMo Day Eight

Didn't write this morning again.  Bad habit that I have to break.  Getting done some 400 to 500 words in the morning really helps.  Then another writing session to reach my word count for the day doesn't seem so bad.  But trying to do it all after a day of work, that's hard.

I wrote 1,686 words today, but they weren't easy words.

It's just after 10 p.m. and I'm stopping for the day.  I'm up to 15,848.

NaNoWriMo Day Seven

Another good day.  I am averaging over 2,000 words a day.  I didn't think I'd cross the 14K mark today, but I did, ending the day at 14,162 total words.

Also saw my wife off at the airport for her trip to France, and then took my boys to see Megamind.

NaNoWriMo Day Six

Went to my second write-in of this year.  Had a very nice time writing at Carrot's Coffee and Tea in San Bruno, my hometown.  Wrote some 1400 words there in about an hour and a half.

There were just four of us there, nice and quiet.  We talked a bit at the end.  That's what I like about write-ins.  We sit, drink our beverage of choice, whether coffee, tea, or a smoothie.  Then we talk for a bit about writing as we unwind and say our goodbyes.

The owner is very nice and makes a delightful soy latte.  Strong coffee, soy milk that is not too sweet, and she didn't overdo it on the hazelnut syrup either.  One of the best lattes I've had in a long time; and she doesn't charge extra for soy milk.

Came home and started working on my November playlist.  I make a new playlist for my iPod every month, mostly for driving to and from work.  I'm a few days behind schedule.  Pulled out some more new wave music compilations form the 80s, some R.E.M., who I haven't listened to in a while, and (don't say anything) some Christmas music.

Took the boys to swim class, had dinner at Red Robin, watched Toy Story 3, and put boys to bed.  Watched another episode of Dexter with my better half, then put her to bed.  Wrote another
five hundred words or so, and then called it a night.

Updated my word count at NaNoWriMo, then came here to blog about the day.  Wrote 1,942 words today.  My grand total so far is exactly 12,250.  All in all, a good day all the way around.

NaNoWriMo Day Five

I didn't write this morning before I went to work.  Just wasn't feeling it this morning.  My allergies have been bad again the last couple of days.  I think I have another mild sinus infection.  And I just didn't have any energy for writing this morning.

But I made myself crank out the words today.  I only got out 1,676, just barely going over the 1,667 minimum.  And the words didn't come easily today.  I was tired after work and my brain was just not cooperating, but I stuck it out and wrote what I think is going to be the better part of a chapter.

It was worth it, though, because for five days in a row I've written at least the minimum.  And today I crossed the 10K mark - 10,311 to be exact.  That felt really good.  It looked great on the website, seeing those five digits.  I'm 20% of the way there, on target for finishing on or around the 25th.

NaNoWriMo Day Four

I only wrote 393 words this morning.  I overslept.

Normally, I use an alarm on my cell phone to wake me up in the mornings.  I usually hit the snooze button the three times I have it set for.  But yesterday, I hit the Stop button instead after the first time the alarm went off, forgetting that it turns the alarm off completely.

So, this morning I overslept.  I rushed though my shower, had a cup of instant coffee, and went to the sunroom to write.  I didn't have much time this morning, so the not-so-great wordcount.

However, I did go to my first write-in this evening.  Our region has a regular Thursday night write-in at the Peet's Coffee in San Mateo.  I never tried write-ins last year, nor did I go to any of the meet-and-greets.  But this year, not only did I go to the first meet-and-greet last Thursday, I decided I would also try some write-ins.

So I loaded some information on my Neo from my laptop, some plot points and character information I thought I might need.  I charged up my iPod and made sure I had added my writing playlist; I had.  I even packed a notebook in case I decided to write longhand.

I bought a pumpkin spice latte with soy milk and a ginger spice vegan cookie.  I was so glad to see that they had at least one kind of vegan cookie.  Then I joined my fellow wrimos and wrote.

It turns out I did pretty well on my first write-in.  I wrote 1,603 words at Peet's.  They were playing some nice classical music, so I never got out my iPod.  The coffee tasted good on my sore throat; stupid allergies.  After I had gotten quite a few words done, I rewarded myself with most of my cookie, followed by sips of my latte.  After another long spell of writing, I finished off my cookie, then kept writing, coming to a good stopping place for the evening.

I'm looking forward to next Thursday's write-in.  It was fun writing together in a group like that.

I ended the day with 1,998 words written, putting me at a total of 8,635.

NaNoWriMo Day Three

Wrote 569 words this morning.  So far, the way I wrote last year is working for me again this year.  The last two mornings, I've written about 500 words in about 30 minutes, which is about all the time I have in the morning before I have to start getting ready for work.  Then, I just have to manage about another thousand words or so later in the day to meet my daily word goal.

It's nice having that big head start I got on the first, but I want to maintain about 1700 words a day so that I stay on schedule.  I remember last year, having a couple of 900 or 1000 word days, but I'm going to try to avoid that this year, if at all possible.

Wrote some more this afternoon on my Neo while waiting at the dentist's office with my two boys, and then came home and finished with a total of 1,670 words for the day, putting me up to a total of 6,637.

NaNoWriMo Day Two

Wrote 451 words this morning before going in to work, which puts my total word count at 3,687.

It's now 8:30 p.m. and I have met my word count for today: 1,734 words, for a grand total of 4,967.  I'm just shy of 10% done.  I suppose I should just hammer out another 33 words for an even 5K, but I'm at a good stopping place.  I just finished a scene, and I know exactly what I'm going to write next.

NaNoWriMo Day One

It's November first - the official start of NaNoWriMo.  I was going to try to stay up late last night and start writing early this morning, but I didn't make it.  I'm just too old to be staying up past midnight.

I did sleep in a little this morning, but got started writing before walking my younger son to school this morning.  By 9:30 a.m., I had written 1,302 words.  It shouldn't take me too much longer, about fifteen minutes or so, to reach today's goal.  But, I plan on getting in at least two day's worth of words today, since I have the whole day off.

It's a furlough day in my district today, the first of this school year.  It's not a paid day off, either.  It's furlough, as in: Unpaid time off given to government employees for the purpose of reducing the budget. I'm not sure "given" is the right verb to use there.

By 12:30 p.m., I was up to 2,012 words.

We seem to have crashed the NaNoWriMo website.  I've been unable to get on since my last update here at 12:30; it's now 3:00.  I wanted to update my word count, but I don't know if that's going to happen or not.  I checked their Twitter feed; they're trying to get it back up and running, but it appears, yet again, that a record number of people have joined in to write 50,000 words this month.  Nothing succeeds like excess - or something like that.

So, I had to go look it up.  It's from an Oscar Wilde quote, which is appropriate for NaNoWriMo in general, and today in particular.

"Moderation is a fatal thing.  Nothing succeeds like excess." - Oscar Wilde

Dan got the website up and running again, so I updated my word count.  At 4:30 p.m., I was up to 2,810 words.

Around 9:30 p.m., I called it a day at 3,233 words.  The website is still sluggish, so all I'm doing is updating my word count.  I wanted to log some shoutouts on the forums, but I can't sit around waiting for pages to load.

A good first day of NaNoWriMo.  Congratulations to the NaNo team, especially Dan, and wishes of luck to the thousands of wrimos out there.

I've completed my first two chapters, and have a chunk of chapter three written.  I spent a lot of time thinking about my main character, which made the first chapter really easy to write.  But chapters two and three were a little harder; I'm definitely winging it there, but having fun!

Saturday Morning

You would think that I'd sleep in, but no, I was up at 5:30 this morning.  So, as per usual, grabbed the laptop, moved to the sunroom, which is still not filled with sun, because it's only around 6:30.  And it's cold, but I've got my blanket.  And now I have my wordcount widgets for NaNoWriMo to keep me warm.

I've got two more days for some prewriting plotting and planning.  I've got a couple more plot points in my head that I want to jot down.  I downloaded a Windows beta of Scrivener the other day.  I'm going to play with it some more over the next two days to decide whether I want to use it this November or not.  I already like the notecards and corkboard feature.  It's helped me with my planning so far.  I'm going to load the tutorial and see what else I can learn about it, what other features it has that might help me write.

NaNoWriMo has yet to begin

There is something bittersweet in that little phrase.  That's what it says on the NaNoWriMo website right underneath my username.

It's bitter in the sense that it's not November yet and I can't start writing my novel yet. Ah, yet, how you taunt me.

It's sweet in the sense that you can only see that phrase once you've joined the writing insanity that is NaNoWriMo and are logged in to the website.  It says: You are one of us.

NaNoWriMo Advertisement

Indication

NaNoWriMo is indicated for the treatment of overactive imagination. The efficacy of NaNoWriMo has been established since 1999 in numerous trials in the United States and abroad. More than 30,000 were successfully treated with NaNoWriMo last year.

Important Safety Information About NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo can increase the presence of plot bunnies seen by children, teens, and adults. Rampant overactive imagination is a known risk of writer's syndrome and some other disorders. Treatment in the first week is often positive, but be especially observant in the second week of treatment for worsening symptoms. Unusual changes in behavior are common with NaNoWriMo, and are often reported by families and friends. NaNoWriMo is approved for persons 13 and over; younger persons should be treated with Young Writers Program.

What should I talk about with my healthcare provider?

Patients on NaNoWriMo and their families or caregivers should watch for new or worsening writing symptoms, unusual changes in behavior, flights of fancy, anxiety over writer's block, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, irritability, restlessness, or extreme hyperactivity. Be especially observant within the first month of treatment as this change in dosage frequently worsens symptoms.

Who should NOT take NaNoWriMo?

Everyone should take NaNoWriMo. There are acknowledged side effects from taking NaNoWriMo, but they are generally well tolerated by individuals of every age and gender.

What other important information should I discuss with my healthcare provider?

Before starting NaNoWriMo:
* Decide if you are a planner or a pantser.
* Stock up on writing supplies: pens, paper, laptop, etc.
* Find a suitable location or locations for administering NaNoWriMo. Some patients prefer privacy, while others thrive in public.
* Stock up on suitable amounts of water. The administration of caffeine in conjunction with NaNoWriMo is open to debate. Many former patients swear by it, while others admit it contributes to insomnia, panic attacks, and irritability.
* Warn family and friends of the time that taking NaNoWriMo will require.

While taking NaNoWriMo:
* Take a minimum dosage of 1,667 words per day. More is advisable. Find the dosage that works best for you.
* Be aware of stiff muscles and carpal tunnel syndrome. Maintain your normal diet and exercise routine.
* Plan for discontinuing NaNoWriMo after one month. Many patients suffer other symptoms as they discontinue NaNoWriMo. Some wean themselves off as November comes to an end, while others quit cold turkey.
* Expect variations in moodiness not common throughout the rest of the year. Many patients experience extreme highs and extreme lows on a daily basis. Giddiness and depression are common side effects.
* Daily habits may be discontinued safely. Do not feel compelled to wash dishes, do laundry, scrub the bathtub, or other mundane tasks while taking NaNoWriMo.
* Consult the forums on a regular basis after your daily dosage has been met.
* Daydreaming will increase during NaNoWriMo. This is a good thing.
If you have any questions, consult with the many helpful people on the NaNoWriMo forums. Many have successfully taken NaNoWriMo in the past, and have helpful advice for new patients.

What are the most common side effects of NaNoWriMo?

The most common side effect of NaNoWriMo was a completed draft of a novel. Other common side effects included insomnia, dry mouth, constipation (otherwise known as writer's block), increased sweating, decreased appetite, increased appetite, hallucinations, and generalized anxiety disorder. This is not a complete list of side effects.

Other safety information about NaNoWriMo:

NaNoWriMo may cause insomnia and heart palpitations. Until you know how NaNoWriMo affects you, you should not drive a car or operate hazardous machinery. The operation of keyboards generally increases in speed and efficacy during NaNoWriMo.

Terms and Conditions
* Reimbursement is not offered for up to 30 days of NaNoWriMo therapy. Prescriptions for 1,667 words daily or more are not eligible for reimbursement. Your time is your own; use it wisely.
* Offer void nowhere. Valid for all Earth residents.
* Offer valid to individuals and institutions. See Young Writers Program for institutional terms and conditions.
* By accepting this offer, you agree to work daily to produce 50,000 words during November. Do not apply for an extension of time; none will be forthcoming.
* Additional exclusions will not apply and this offer will not be terminated, rescinded, revoked or amended by The Office of Letters and Light unless you violate the user agreement, which you won't do because you're better than that.
* NaNoWriMo and the NaNoWriMo logo are trademarks of The Office of Letters and Light, a nonprofit organization.

San Francisco Veg Fest 2010

We just got home from our visit to this year's Veg Festival in Golden Gate Park.  I have to rave about the taquitos we got from Flacos.  And the baked goods we got from Sugar Beat Sweets were so delicious.  They had a pumpkin streusel coffee cake and a strawberry cheesecake square that were outstandingly scrumptious; my wife and I split those two.  I didn't try the brownie my older son got, but he heartily approved.  I'm the only one who's vegan in my household, but everyone found something tasty to eat.

We also sampled WayFare We Can't Say It's Cheese Spreads.  I tried their Hickory-Smoked Cheddar-Style Spread and their Mexi Cheddar-Style Dip.  They were both delicious.  We would have bought some immediately, but he wasn't there to sell, just to give out free taste samples.  We are definitely going to look for these non-dairy "cheese" products in our local market.

I also bought two more cookbooks from the people at Book Publishing Company.  I purchased Buddha's Table: Thai Feasing Vegetarian Style and Cookin' Southern, Vegetarian Style.

Elementary School Poetry 180 - Week Three

11 - Dream Variations - Langston Hughes
12 - The Bat - Theodore Roethke
13 - Did I Miss Anything? - Tom Wayman
14 - Blackberry Eating - Galway Kinnell
15 - Casey at the Bat - Ernest Thayer

• I found "Dream Variations" in Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes edited by David Roessel & Arnold Rampersad.
• The Bat and Did I Miss Anything? both come from Poetry 180.
• Another resource that I have been using is A Poem for Every Day! by Susan Moger. In her book I found "Blackberry Eating" by Galway Kinnell.
• Casey at the Bat is from Middle School Poetry 180 and it is also in A Poem for Every Day!.

Elementary School Poetry 180 - Week Two

6 - The Arrow and the Song - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
7 - "Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?" - Ron Koertge
8 - Numbers - Mary Cornish
9 - Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley
10 - At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border - William Stafford

• The Arrow and the Song came from Middle School Poetry 180, as did Ozymandias.
• The other three poems all come from Poetry 180: "Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?", Numbers, and At the Un-National Monument Along the Canadian Border.
• I'm thinking now that "Ozymandias" should be pulled.  It just didn't seem to work that well out loud, and the students didn't get it.  There was no "aha" moment with this one from any of my students.

Elementary School Poetry 180 - Week One

1 - Introduction to Poetry - Billy Collins
2 - When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer - Walt Whitman
3 - Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll
4 - "A narrow Fellow in the Grass" - Emily Dickinson
5 - Lines - Martha Collins

• I had to start with a Billy Collins poem, which he did as well with Introduction to Poetry.
• For day two, I borrowed an idea from Middle School Poetry 180 for When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer, where I also found Jabberwocky and "A narrow Fellow in the Grass". The Emily Dickinson poem has always been a personal favorite of mine. I think after I read some other riddle poems, I'll go back and re-read this one to see if students can figure out what it's about. As the fourth poem I read, they weren't quite yet ready for it, I think.
• Lines also comes from Poetry 180.

Elementary School Poetry 180

This year I decided to take on a poetry project with my students.  I was inspired by Poetry 180, a program established by Billy Collins while he was the Poet Laureate of the United States.  He deliberately chose poems with high school students in mind.  I have kept some of those poems to read to my elementary school students.  I  have not considered any poems that seemed inappropriate to be read to a ten-year-old.  Thus, many of the poems that deal with romantic relationships, which are apropos for high school students, just wouldn't interest fifth graders, or would embarrass them.  But, generally, I've been much influenced by the choices that Billy Collins made.  I've steered away from poems that seem too old-fashioned, definitely dipping often from the modern era.  And I've chosen mostly free verse.  I want to broaden what students think of poetry, and steer them away from some of the sing-songy rhymed poems that are frequently aimed at them.

I also discovered another teacher had a similar idea for middle school students.  Tom Darling has a poetry blog called Middle School Poetry 180.  I have borrowed liberally from the poems he has posted on his blog.

I have a number of poetry books as well, and I have been finding delightful poems there as well to share with my students.

I was hesitant to blog about this at first, but I decided I just need to take that leap and share what I've been doing.  So far, it has been a successful experiment.  It only takes a minute or two out of each school day, but many of the poems I've chosen have connected with some student in my class.

I would welcome suggestions from anyone who is interested in poetry.  Feel free to leave comments on my posts about poems you think every fifth grade student should know before they go off to middle school.  And if you're a teacher, I'd be interested in any stories you'd like to share about your experiences sharing poems with students.

Haibun

I had gone away to write, a solo writer's retreat.  I stayed in a beautiful lodge and I wrote.  But I was restless, so I walked into the neighboring woods, and in a grove where the light was warm and golden, reflecting the autumn leaves, I saw a dryad scamper back to her oak and disappear into it.  I stood until I noticed the light beginning to fade, and the colors of the grove dimmed.  I walked up to the oak, touched its bark, said, "Thank you," and "Goodbye."  Then I walked back to the lodge, more silently than I had come.

in this august place
the trees spoke to me - and I
found ears to listen

* * *

This haibun was written in response to a prompt at Big Tent Poetry.

An Open Letter on Bad Parenting

First of all, don't show up to Back-to-School Night.  Don't show your child that his or her learning is important.  Don't provide any support to your child's teacher by reinforcing the message that education is important and that you are going to work as a partner with your child's teacher in making sure your child has a quality educational experience.  When asked about why you didn't attend Back-to-School Night, make excuses that are about you and how busy you are; this gives permission to teachers to make the same excuses to you about how busy they are and why they're not providing your child with a quality education.  Or, make the excuse that you didn't attend Back-to-School Night because you already know everything because the same teacher taught your child's older sibling.  Teachers like this excuse too because then they can give it as a rationale for why they haven't changed anything at all in their teaching; they can use the same old books, techniques, lessons, etc. that they used for your older child.  Teachers don't want to innovate or improve their learning; they much prefer being lazy and just going through the same tired motions year after year.

Second, don't respond to notes that the teacher writes home to you about how your child is doing in school.  All teachers operate under the lawyerly "silence equals assent" assumption.  This just makes it easier for us to send notes home, knowing that you agree wholeheartedly with what we have written.  It isn't necessary to respond and let us know that you too are concerned, or that you've spoken with your child about the problem and you've given them some help and advice on how to correct it.  Also, it's even more helpful to send the note back offering excuses about why your child isn't doing well.  Some blanket statement about how responsible they are even though the note was about how they're not handling their responsibilities as a student is most helpful to the teacher.  Obviously, we were just mistaken and didn't have that crucial knowledge. What we were seeing firsthand in the classroom is superseded by your statement about how responsible they are.  We are sorry for bothering you to get this important information and we can now rest assured that the problem will correct itself.

Third, go directly to the principal with your concerns about your child's teacher.  We teachers don't want to be bothered by pesky parents and their petty concerns.  Show your child that it's best to go over someone's head to get what you want.  Dealing fairly and respectfully with the person that you have an issue with is a waste of time, especially if it's a teacher, because they are notorious for not listening to you, being unfair, and generally being difficult and confrontational.  We understand that you are just saving us all a great deal of precious time by not speaking with us first.  We actually enjoy getting called into the principal's office to deal with parent concerns.  We are especially delighted when this occurs with parents who didn't show up to Back-to-School Night, who have not contacted the teacher at all in any positive way so far this year, including not returning the note sent home the second week of school asking your preferences for teacher-parent communication, who have not responded to notes sent home, and who have responded to other notes with rationalizations and excuses about their child's problems.

[I'll just apologize now for the sarcasm, before anyone writes me any comments.  Please understand that all this comes from a place of hurt, which has turned to anger, thus the sarcasm.  I'm not proud of it, but I had to get this off my chest.]

Breakthrough

I'm having difficulty with the word breakthrough
it's as if I'm having an argument with it
and, to be honest, it's not a fair, rational argument
because breakthrough just rubs me the wrong way
like someone you just don't like
because everything about them just turns you off

granted, I did concede there is wisdom in through
you have to work through your problems
it usually fails if you avoid them or try to go around
looking for some shortcut, an easier path
but everything else about breakthrough rankles me

military breakthroughs are violent, penetrative acts
and, frankly, so are medical breakthroughs
we like to think of doctors as healers
following the oath of first doing no harm
but that's just a pretty myth to believe in

surgeons can do amazing things, I know that now
but to an eight-year-old, they're just butchers
slicing you open, breaking you to fix you
and I have the scars to prove it, so don't argue
don't give me some line like surgeons save lives

a surgeon didn't save my father's life
that bit of useless butchery just drained him more
and the cancer took him that much faster
so I don't want to hear your thoughtless philosophy
because if you do, I'll show you my scars
and I'll bare my heart to you and show you
the hole there left by my father's passing

a surgeon didn't save my life when I was eight
but left me forever changed, limping along
broken inside, and knowing I had to be broken
so that I could be fixed, like some faulty machine
and all these years, the mending has been slow
accomplished without the help of any surgeon
the daily tenderness supplied by nurses and my parents

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to the breakthrough prompt at Writer's Island.

Need to Know

Lucy, there is nothing you need
to know about me. Keep dreaming
your British Empire dreams.
Keep believing you are safe,
even as I stand here, watching
you sleep.
                Your dreams will soon turn
to nightmares, if I stay too long
before our caress. It will not hurt.
If only you knew how delicious
you are, the iron bite of your blood
softened by the sweetness
of your soul.
                   There is one thing
you will know. You are mine forever.

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to the "Need to Know" prompt at We Write Poems.

I have been completely unsuccessful at posting a link to my poem over at We Write Poems.  It's always worked before.  I must be doing something wrong, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what it is.  My browser did crash while I was on the site, and my laptop shut down and restarted, so I figured that fixed the problem.  Maybe it didn't.  I hope people will find my poem.

If only

If only understanding
wasn't a gerund
mixed race child
of noun and verb
a chimera
a misfit
an outsider
looking in at us
with wisdom
in her eyes
and sadness
because we can't see
what she sees

if only learning
was as easy as
breathing
automatic
not a thought at all
really
just a fundamental fact

if only loving
was as simple as
picking up a stone
and holding it
in your hand
and holding it in your hand
was the same as
holding it in your heart
and being held
by the stone too

if only I could be content
with just being
if I could get over
connecting doing
with happiness
writing a poem
and being satisfied
with the
creating

* * * * *

This poem was written in response to the "If only" prompt at Writer's Island and the "finding words from our everyday lives" prompt at Big Tent Poetry.

The "if only" phrase kept bouncing around in my head, but I didn't know what to do with it. Then I remembered a note I had jotted down in my lesson plan book in response to a question one of my students asked about the word "understanding". He had identified it as a noun on a homework assignment and was wondering why it wasn't correct. I explained it was a gerund, and told my class that I'd research it further and that I'd teach a lesson on gerunds, which is why I had written it down. And those two words, understanding and gerund, from my everyday life were the inspiration to go somewhere with "if only".