Newsworthy Tid-bits!

Is it Friday already??  I hope you've had as productive a week as I have.  Here are a couple headlines I'd like to share, that made my week a fab one:

«  Yesterday I listened to a live stream of Jessica Bell being interviewed on a  Greek radio station.  (Technology rocks!)  The interviewer asked questions in Greek and translated the answers Jessica provided in English.  (Her voice is so lovely!)  In addition, between questions the station played songs from the soundtrack that was born from String Bridge, Jessica's debut novel which drops on Nov. 1st.  (Jessica wrote the lyrics and sings all the songs.)

If you missed it, don't despair!  Here's a link to the archive:

http://stokokkino.gr/ekpompes/post-rock/2011-10-13.mp3/view

«  Speaking of String Bridge, I am participating in the upcoming launch and blog book tour.  Please come back and visit me on Nov. 2nd when I will review String Bridge, and again on Nov. 8th when I will interview Jessica.  I've prepared some very interesting questions and frankly, I can't wait to find out how Jessica answers them!

«  I've met another rising star in the blogosphere to introduce to those who don't know her yet.  Melanie McCullough's debut YA novel Breathe will launch on Nov. 11th, 2011.  As part of her 100+ blog followers celebration, she's hosting a give-away.  Check out her blog and join the fun by clicking here: A New Kind of Ordinary

«  In personal news, I averted elimination three times now and have advanced to the final round of the speculative fiction writing contest I'm competing in at Writing.com.  The prompt for the final round is a series of photos, each with eerie and cryptic captions.  Drawing inspiration from at least one photo and text, I have to write a short story in any genre and of any length.  I have one week to submit.  Wish me luck!

«  Also, I am up to 11 miles on my long training runs.  The Athens Half Marathon is just around the corner (Oct. 23rd) and I'm getting more excited with each passing day.

«  Lastly, tomorrow I'm walking with my family in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's annual Walk For A Cure.  We are part of a team called William's Warriors.  William is a boy who lives across the street, who fell ill a couple winters ago with a nasty virus that triggered the onset of juvenile diabetes in his body.  The outbreak of the virus in the schools led to a sharp and disturbing rise in the number of new juvenile diabetes cases in our community.  It could have been my kids.  So scary.  So we walk every year to show our support and raise money for the research that will, one day, eradicate this heinous disease.

If you are in the Atlanta, GA area this weekend and would like to walk with us, contact me!  [NicoleDucleroir(at)gmail(dot)com]  And, if you'd just like to make a small donation, won't you follow the link below?

William Trimble's Personal Page at Walk to Cure Diabetes

Thank you so much!!!!!!

                                    

Believe You CAN

When I take an honest look at my life, I realize every failed attempt at a goal could be attributed to one simple fact: I didn't believe I could achieve it. And the greatest failure of my adult life has been attempting to write a full-length novel.

During NaNoWriMo 2009, I wrote twenty-four chapters of Overcome, my first-ever novel work-in-progress. It was over 50,000 words and so a success, by NaNo standards. But in the course of 2010, I tried with increasing levels of desperation to write that story through to the end. I couldn't do it. I tried everything, including scrapping the partially written first draft and returning to the plotting stage. When my creative steam fizzled out nineteen chapters into the second first draft, I faced an ugly truth: I couldn't write the novel. And that truth was a fertile bed for fear. I was afraid I'd never write a novel.

You hear the phrases all the time: The Power of Positive Thinking; Self-fulfilling Prophesy; Positive Mindset. Rhonda Byrne sparked a phenomenon in her book The Secret, which is, in itself, a metaphor for believing a dream into reality. Byrne says, "Your current thoughts are creating your future life. What you think about the most or focus on the most will appear as your life." 1

Though writing is still on my front burner, there's another goal brewing in a pot next to it. You see, a couple months ago I took on a new goal, one that has me face-to-face with those principles of self-belief. The lessons I'm (re)learning have filtered through my new experiences and trickled down to my writing.

My new goal: On October 23rd, I will run my first half marathon. A 13.1-mile race is a lofty goal for someone who has never been a runner. I mean, jogging on a dreadmill at the gym a couple times a week, hardly qualified me as a runner. When a girlfriend recently shared her passion for long distance races, I told her it sounded wonderful...but wasn't for me. After all, I said, I'm not a runner.

But you know how it goes: a conversation stays with you, quietly tapping the shoulder of your mind until you finally turn and cry, "What? What do you want from me?" And at the time I was feeling blue, bored with life's regular chug-along. Two days later the weather was gorgeous. It was the first day to signal the end of summer with a bright blue, haze-free sky and low humidity. I decided to forego my gym workout and try an outdoors run.

It was ridiculously hard. My ankles and hip flexors ached, and my thigh muscles burned. I had to keep slowing to a walk to catch my breath. My lungs felt two sizes too small. I don't think I lasted even three miles. But something happened to me out there, sweating in the fresh air. Being outside, free from the stale, recycled air of the gym, unlocked a reserve of resolve I didn't know I had. And, I enjoyed the challenge of trying something new. That day, I decided I was going to be a runner.

I decided I was going to be a runner. When I told this to friends who are runners, they shared lots of suggestions for my success, including tips on training schedules, ideas for diet plans, and pointers on hydration and electrolyte replacement. But the overwhelming piece of advice offered to me was this: Believe you can do it.

Six weeks of training later, I've learned to what extent running is a mental activity. During the difficult legs of a course, particularly up the inclines or through the final miles of a long run, your mind must cheer your body on. Yes you can keep going! You've been up steeper hills than this! You're strong, you CAN make it!

Now, I run up hills without breaking stride or stressing my cardio-vascular system, because even though it's tough, I know I can make it. Twice now I've completed ten-mile training runs. Ten miles! With three weeks of training still ahead of me, I know I can finish a half marathon by race day. I believe it, because I am a runner.

"See the things that you want as already yours. Know that they will come to you at need. Then let them come. Don't fret and worry about them. Don't think about your lack of them. Think of them as yours, as belonging to you, as already in your possession." -- Robert Collier (1885-1950) 2

Not at all coincidentally, work on Piper Crow, (the working title of my second attempt at a novel) has been exciting and productive. This time, I will not let fear sniggle its way into my heart. I can write a novel because I believe I can do it.

After all, I am a novelist. 

         

[The above article was written by me and originally appeared today in the Drama Newsletter at Writing.com.]       

Thanks for reading!    

                 

Up For Air

I'm popping my head through the surface of the writing pool to gulp some fresh air and say hello.  I've missed my blogging friends so much!  But the energy coursing through me for my newest writing project is high, high, HIGH and I am loving it.  Here's what I've been up to:

*  I'm deep in the planning stages of "Untitled WiP."  *note to self: Figure out a working title, at least!*

*  The characters have all shown up and are clamoring for my attention.  Some days, the greatest challenge is hushing one character so I can listen to what the other one is screaming at me.  Every new detail sends me in a scribble frenzy, trying to make bullet points of all the new ideas I'll need to expand upon, that have streamed out of that moment of inspiration.

*  One day, I stopped writing to massage my cramped hand when I heard the school bus outside.  My kids were home from school -- and I realized I'd been writing for FIVE hours straight!  That, my friends, has never happened to me before!

*  I've been researching on the Internet:  The first major turning point thrusts main character Piper Crow out of her regular life and jettisons her across the globe to the Central African Republic (CAR).  I lived in that country between 1994 and 1996, but a lot has changed there in the past fifteen years.  Also, the story will deal with characters who entered the CAR in 1960, fifty-one years before Piper was born.  I've needed to refresh my memory about the country's history, which I learned in preparation for my Peace Corps service but have since forgotten the specific details.  I want to weave CAR's historical past, with regard to the political and social climate at the time the country gained its independence from France, into those characters' backstories, as that storyline heavily impacts Piper's present-day life.

*  On the reading front, I'm mid-way through Jessica Bell's String Bridge!  Stunning book, so far!

*  Finally, I stumbled upon a wonderful YouTube series by Martha Alderson called How to Plot a Novel, Memoir or Screenplay.  I watched all 27 Steps and was guided and motivated by Martha's advice.  The series does not promote plotting in a strict sense, but rather provides a wealth of tips to help organize your thoughts and establish the rhythm of energy your book should have for the greatest emotional impact on the reading audience.  I especially liked Martha's down-to-earth, organic vibe in this entirely unscripted series.  If you are interested, here is the first Step.  If you enjoy it, you'll be able to follow the rest of the series from there:

And for anyone who'd like to see more photos from our extraordinary vacation on the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Malta, I'd like to link my Facebook photo albums.  These links are for public viewership, but if you have any trouble viewing them and we aren't FB friends already, just send me a friend request!

More Italy/Malta Pix 2011

Malta 2011

Tuscany 2011

Until next time, happy writing!!