Wrote a few thousand words this morning; loved them all. I will love them until the moment I publish them. Then I may hate them. I’m okay with that; for now I love them in private only, and move onwards. I cherish them against my heart like they’re a great bouquet of the most fragrant stargazer lilies. I’ll keep them there until they wilt, until they perhaps dry out, and then I will lay myself in a wooden boat, fold my arms peacefully upon them and ride with them to Shalott.
Just kidding. I might not ride with them in a boat. But I do think often of that poem (“On either side the river lie…”)
Parts of my words held wefts of shimmering thread, that I would string across the loom of the page.
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I loved an email from NaNoWriMo today. Very encouraging. I’ll quote it here:
“Remember your gift—and what you give others.
“Your novel is a gift.
“Your novel is the gift of making your creativity a priority for one magical month each year.
“Your novel is the gift of the warm and raucous encouragement you’ll receive from NaNoWriMo’s community of writers.
“Your novel is the gift of believing in the power of your singular voice.
“It’s our mission as a nonprofit to give that wonderful gift to as many people on the planet as we can. We don’t like asking, but we run on the $10 and $25 donations of people like you—so we need your help to make all this happen.
* * *
Of course they managed to get me to donate, after that. Since those words were perhaps the gift I needed to continue another day. So, earned my halo. Two days to go till [official] start time!
Also, my lovely sister Leona gave me a possible synopsis for the book:
“A mother deconstructs her mind and builds an interior life, from the expansiveness of the French countryside.”
Wowsers! That lioness is talented! I only added the word “interior.” :)) It’s a working “snowflake-style” synopsis for now.
In other news, being a bit backwards as usual, I actually typed the words “THE END” (quite jubilantly, I might add), at the end of today’s session; but if it is in fact “the end,” the novel is only about nine thousand words. Or a very long preface, to whatever comes next. Exciting NaNo rebel possibilities!
Come join the fun over at NaNoWriMo if you feel like it -— I’m NadineJL over there if you wanna be my buddy. https://nanowrimo.org/participants/nadinejl/
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*Title, for those who don’t know, is a line from that wonderful poem, The Lady of Shalott: https://englishverse.com/poems/the_lady_of_shalott)
Nadine inhales & exhales words & images from current vantage point in Zone of Emptiness, France. Thank you for reading. ❤︎
“I will love them until the moment I publish them”. But, that’s the gift you speak of Nadine, from the moment you publish those words, you give them to us to love, so… they never stop being loved, even if you go through that critical process of them once they are in the public domain. Love your sister’s intro, I know that (should you allow), I will savor every word of your novel. Keep writing gorgeous friend ❤️🌺💋
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💋💋💋could this comment get any sweeter? No. And I love it. Thank you dear Rachel. And even if I never finish the novel, I’d be happy to share its words with you; in fact, that might be requisite, in my books. You’re one of the imagined kindred spirits whose ears I “speak” it to when I write. 👯♀️💞 ❤️🙏
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This makes me so happy I feel I could nearly cry. To think that you partly speak to my ears when you write, that is the best gift you could give me. I think you have more talent than you know Nadine 💓😘
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You’ve been a great blog-friend and I’ve been loving our letters. Also so grateful for your kind and generous encouragement. You’re definitely in the kindred-spirit clan of my mind’s eye. 🌱🎶👁🗨🗣🎧🌸🌙💛
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Ahhh, and likewise, without doubt, all of it. emojis too xoxox
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thank you :))) xoxoxoxo
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Next time write *SPOILER* before you ruin the ending of your book. Sheesh! 🙄
It is good, though. Two words little words to wrap it all up in a bow. Papa Hemingway would be proud. 😜
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Ahahaha, quite right, I should have warned! :)) I mean, who ever expects “The End” at the end. (Not this former – and current – lover of fairytales. ;)) (And in case there’s any confusion, that first section was not any part of what I had written yesterday. Though, come to think of it, it might have made an ok ending too. 🧐🤓) Did Hemingway always end with The End? Can’t remember now. Have only read two of his books.
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I don’t think Papa ending anything with “the end.” He was just very terse with his prose, so you’re simple and effective ending was in lines with his aesthetics. 🙂
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Love the ghost of that man’s writing spirit. So much emotion under all that textual self-control. Happy if any words of mine, regardless of how simple ;)) might align in some way, with the aesthetics of his. 😊👍🙏thanks Aeryk
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