The Writer - The Hero

This is my Painting titled “Writer - The Hero.” I am speaking here of an Archetype, of Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces, wearing a face that is my own. This is my Hero’s Journey. Above the bookcase you will see pictures and characters from my own stories.

NOVEMBER 1
NaNoWriMo
Day 1

"In Shakespeare's Steps"

It is officially the first of November, and the first day of NaNoWriMo. I have already begun the novel I plan to work on. The working title is: In Shakespeare’s Steps. I know a lot about my characters, but I don’t know what is going to happen yet. My last attempt to write a novel ended when characters began to show up who I didn’t expect and the plot took off on it’s own. I didn’t know quite what to do about it and the novel ended up in the proverbial top drawer of my desk. This time I didn’t plot anything in advance. I started by taking the oldest writing advice on the planet: “write what you know.” I began with the idea of a circle of girls and Shakespeare, two things I know very well. That is really all I had at the beginning. The characters are the same age as my daughters and my circle of daughters-in-love; they have similar backgrounds and live in the same town. The characters became themselves very quickly, each one of them is an individual in their own right. I’ve told the girls, these characters are not them, but if circumstances had permitted, they all would have been friends. The plot hasn’t finalized itself at all yet, but I’m trusting to the process and trusting that it will.

I’m not really worried about writing 50,000 words. People who know me will tell you that I am quite capable of writing an email that has 50,000 words. I hope to make the 50,000 word goal, but it isn’t my primary focus. Truthfully, the experience is what I am after this month. Regardless of how many words I write, I know I will be changed by what happens between today and November 30th.

A Huge THANK-YOU to all those who have already cheered me on and those that will be with me for the long haul. My friend Nin Harris, a veteran of three NaNoWriMo’s, will be my mentor. My Light Dancers are here as a Special Cheering Squad. My special writing friend is Samme. Samme’s motivation and excitement is contagious. Break a Pencil Samme!!

You can follow my word count here. http://www.nanowrimo.org/userinfo.php?uid=145301

I wrote this poem very early this morning, when the sun was just coming up and turning the sky above the mountains the color of apricots and honey. I love names. Right now my characters exist only in my mind and in the reality of their names. I spoke those names out loud to the cold November air in the first light this morning. I hope someday they will be known by others as well. Of course I’d like to finish the book and have it published, but most of all I would like these people to be known. Ivy Anthony and Emily St. Claire ~ Ray Andreason and Brandy Byington ~ Channa Rosenstein, Arianna Llewellen and Roxanne Dane . . .

My desk is clean, my candles lit
New prayer flags stretched, awaiting air
I’ve come in stillness to commit
To form a simple, silent prayer

I wait in quiet joy for birth
Beside the fire’s dancing beam
Bare feet connect me to the earth
My heart connects me to this dream

There is a story I need to tell ~
May I breathe within it’s bones
May I weave a Bardic spell
With all it’s truths and it’s unknowns

May I build a worthy stage
May I shape it whole and right
A fitting frame on every page
For those I bring into the light

May I tell their truths with trust
As rainbows dance the sky above
May I paint with diamond dust
With miracles, with skill and love

Already real, they all exist
I whisper names to a morning breeze
My prayer, my pact, with dawn is kissed
I lift my hands to the waiting keys . . .