NaNoWriMo Ho! Again

 

November 2022 Blog

NaNoWriMo Ho! A Haiku

“Don’t start nuthin’, won’t

Be nuthin’” has new meaning.

I better start now.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(11/1/21)

 

Now would be good. A lot has happened in the last year. Not a lot of it has been literary. But, I have this year’s NaNoWriMo to look forward to. And it’s gonna be swingin’.

When all else fails, I can count on “National Novel Writing Month” to get my fingers and my pens moving.

This year I won’t even think about my up-coming birthday except as the goal for finishing this year’s 50,000 words on the 28^th no matter what they may be.

Okay, I will think about my birthday and perhaps wonder how many more NaNoWriMo’s I’m going to be able to do. And I swear, I will do them until I can’t anymore.

Actually, it’s very comforting knowing I can look forward to this every year. I also look forward to being able to encourage younger writers just starting out on their literary ventures. And that’s a lot of writers, since most all of them are younger than I am. (lol)

I’m so not going to wax eloquently on the state of the world this month. I need to shut that out as much as I can. That’s a relief, too. For I would be angry at the world as bitter as it has become, if I let myself dwell on it. I would rather dwell on telling a story wrapped up in a world that does not exist – one that I have total control over.

Okay, smiling now!

I’m actually going to cut this blog short this month so I can jump into NaNoWriMo with both feet. I’ll fill the space with pictures of some of my covers for your enjoyment. I’m proud of every one of them.

Please wish me luck with this month’s endeavor. I’ll let you know next month how everything came out.

If you write, you’re welcome to come join me on a whirlwind of flowing thoughts and words.

If you care to check out some horrific stuff, feel free to check out my eclectic selection of books on Amazon. There may be something there to terrorize you.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

Until next month, read and write to your heart’s content. For us NaNoWriMo’s that’s 50,000 words and counting.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements. They will be forthcoming:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

It’s now November. Only two months left in the year. Where did it go? I have no idea.

My NaNo RhiMo!

 

 

 

 

 

With Some Urgency!

 November 2021 Blog

Point of Reference: A Haiku

I have only the

Rest of my life to do what

I want to get done.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Not that I have anything ominous hanging over my head, I just have another birthday coming up. They seem to be piling up ever more quickly. I’m grateful that they still are, yet wary of their cumulative effect.

In honor of my upcoming birthday and in light of the fact that November is NaNoWriMo month, I will finish my Sam Rock sequel and publish forthwith. There will be some unexpected twists and turns and a lead in to the third and final book in the series.

I’ve done NaNoWriMo for so many years, I’ve lost count. It’s always a good time to start or end a project. For one full month, I can concentrate on little but writing  and not feel guilty about it. Kind of like a busman’s holiday. (Now, that’s an old reference.)

My #NaNoWriMo Mascot "Rhimo":

Not sure what next year will bring, but I just got my Pfizer booster, (got my flu and pneumonia shots last month) so I should be relatively safe from the bugs out there. Hopefully, I can concentrate the whole next year on my writing.  Many more sequels, prequels, and chapbooks to come.

Also thinking about downsizing in the possessions department. I have so much stuff I’ll never use again and certainly wouldn’t move if I ever did that again. Also, I have stuff that’s not worth passing on. So, I’ll be sorting into three piles: Keep, Toss, and Give Away. Hope the last two are way bigger than the first.

As 2021 winds down, I’d love to announce that the pandemic is winding down with it. I guess it is, but I thought we’d be beyond masks and distancing by now. I guess we’re not.

So many things I’m sure will not go back to the way they were. And that’s not all to the good. Don’t know when, if ever, the Supply Chain problem will be solved. I’ve heard also that it’s going to be a cold winter with heating fuels being scarce and expensive.  Guess I’d best stock up on woolies – they will probably become scarce as well.

Wish I could turn the world off and and sit in my garrett (or backyard) and write, bit I do have to deal with the real world occasionally. Maybe I can make it a little less often – although with all the lockdowns and shutdowns, I have been pretty isolated. I should have been able to write a “War and Peace” length novel by now.

I guess it’s a matter of concentration. It’s hard to concentrate on anything these days, and more and more things are flinging about ready, willing and able to distract me.

Too bad I’m not enjoying them all. The one thing that does bring me joy is writing. So, I’m going to check my supply of pens and paper and get at it.

I wish you all a happy holiday season, starting now. Of course, we must be safe and careful, and wary of things we seldom had to worry about about before. But we must surely find some joy in what we do. Or what’s the point?

Okay, so not going down that rabbit hole. Going to  poise my pens for better things.

See you all on the other side of Thanksgiving and before Christmas. Whether you read or write, please enjoy it.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we can enjoy our Thanksgiving and next month will find us looking forward to a Joyous Noel to be followed by the happiest of New Years.

 

Unfond Farewell

 

December 2020 Blog

Not sorry to see 2020 go. In fact, good riddance, bad rubbish.

 

Unfond Farewell: A Haiku

One useless, cruel year

Coming to its end. Hope the

New Year brings better.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Not given eternity, I have but the rest of my life to get things done. So I’m putting all my eggs in next year’s basket.

I am sitting outside again, smiling at my platitudes. Hey, at least it’s a reason to smile. This has been one unbelievable year. It’s not like any other in my lifetime and I’ve lived a long, long life.

I would take a deep breath and shake this year off as December’s passing brings it to a close, but it’s not safe to take a deep breath. It may not be safe to do so for a long time yet.

I’m betting a lot of us will be happy to see this year go away and take its nightmares with it. We’re for sure hoping 2021 will restore our health, our outlook and our sanity. I’m not certain I could stand another year like 2020 has been.

So, I’m spending December planning for the future. During November’s NaNoWriMo, I wrote most of the sequel to the “Seasons of Sam Rock”, tentatively titled “Ravens’ Roost”. I may finish it in December, or I may just work on a myriad other things that need doing sooner rather than later.

I’m also hoping for the freedom to go places and do things outside the house besides grocery shopping and doctors’ appointments. Maybe even have access to a viable vaccine that may end at least part of the nightmare that is 2020. And it really would be nice to go somewhere without donning a mask and gloves.

With 2020 behind me, I’d like to embark on a new and more productive cycle of writing, editing, publishing and marketing. I may spend part of December planning for that. It’s hard to keep to a schedule if you don’t make one first.

I am thinking of publishing at least three novels, two or three new Haiku chapbooks and lots of audio book releases from my print and ebook back catalog.

First novel, of course, will be the “Seasons of Sam Rock” sequel. Then, probably “The  Early Years” prequel to the “The Chronicles of Acqueria”. Not sure what will follow that,

Then I have another full chapbook of Haiku for a “Global Warning” sequel, and I’ve been collecting Haiku for a chapbook on my personal outlook on life. (Not sure that won’t be mostly depressing.)

I’ve been promised the completion of my “Seasons of Sam Rock” audio book for Christmas. It will join the already available “       The Cottage”. Also looking forward to putting the “Aurora UFO Incident” out there and maybe the “Black Oak” series.

I might even make the “The Castleweaver” poetry series available in audio, I’ve been trying for a couple of years to figure out how to  make an ebook version available. It’s rather difficult considering all the artwork involved. But it should be doable. I’ll have to keep studying that.

So, there’s plenty to do in 2021, assuming we can successfully get  past 2020. I hope my faithful readers and fellow writers can look forward to a good new year as well.

I, for one, will ring in the new year joyfully, after burying 2020 somewhere in a landfill, where it belongs.

If you’re still looking for books for gifts, all mine are available on Amazon for your gifting pleasure.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. It will help pass the lonely hours of isolation and quarantine.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we may enjoy some holiday festivities and next month will find us able to enjoy our lives even more. Let’s keep the faith.

 

 

 

 

Stop the World

 

November 2020 Blog

Not even sure whom I am petitioning anymore. Doubt anyone has the answer these days.

 

Cease and Desist: A Haiku

Stop the world and let

Me off, or barring that, give

Respite from the storms.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

But I do have #NaNoWriMo in November. So, for one whole month I can lose myself in writing my next novel.

I am sitting outside in the warm sunshine right now, which wouldn’t be strange except that we had eight inches of snow yesterday from a constant snow from two days before. Now it’s supposed to be over 70F in a couple of days.

It would be no wonder that everyone is getting sick, except for the fact that everybody has been getting sick for the last six months or so from that thing that has been going around that shall remain nameless from now on.

Not sure what my writing project for #NaNoWriMo will be. I should be able to finish the two novels I’ve been working on for the last two years – the sequel to “The Seasons of Sam Rock” and the prequel to my “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery”. A combined 50,000 words should do it.

I am currently basking in the glory of my newly released Haiku collection, “Global Warning: Climate in Crisis”:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

For the remainder of the year, I am donating $1.00 from each book sold to https://www.planetbee.org/

They are dedicated to the education of children and adults on just how important bees are to our survival on this world.

At least I will feel that we have done something positive for the environment besides throwing words at the problem.

I hope all my readers and fellow writers have survived the Summer, and are heading into the Fall and Winter in good shape. We will need all our survival skills and a lot of luck to come through to the Spring intact.

I know a lot of things have to change before we can breathe easy again and expect to get some joy and satisfaction out of life. I won’t go into what changes we need to make.

All of my friends know where I stand and of what I write. I’m hoping the normal that was my life for so many years may be so again, and soon. I would like to spend my waning years with a modicum of the hope and pleasant anticipation for the future I grew accustomed to.

I smile just thinking about how I used to welcome the thought of retirement and leisure and travel and restaurants and concerts and ballgames and crowds – all maskless and gloveless. And, oh how I would love to hug someone.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, next month will find us all in the mood for some holiday festivities, as this month has not. Not anticipating any family gatherings or even going out to our favorite restaurant to enjoy their wonderful cuisine. Maybe some take-out, but somehow it’s just not the same.

 

 

 

Write On

November 2019 Blog

Today is the first day of the rest of my writing life, again.

Write Away: A Haiku

NaNoWriMo reigns

Supreme, demands I fulfill

Declared prophesy.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Today is November 1, 2019 – the first day of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month – https://nanowrimo.org) for this year and their 20^th Anniversary, I have been participating for most of those years, if not all. It seems their records only go back to 2011. I have penned at least 50,000 words each of those years.

50,000 words are not enough for a full-length novel, so I always tried to finish in December with NaNoFiMo (National Novel Finishing Month), but I’m not sure they still exist. Haven't seen a NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month) for a while either.

This year will be no different, except I’ll do my 1,667-2,000 words with more determination this year, since I really need to complete all my projects. One never knows when one won’t be able to do it anymore.

Once again, I’ll try to finish by November 28^th, which is my birthday – a lovely little present to myself.

It still takes about 2 ½ hours a day to accomplish the writing goal. Haven’t figured out a way yet to write any faster, and it’s about the fastest my little fingers can fly. I still write with pen and paper and my dear husband still types everything into the computer for me. I am so lucky.

Hopefully, I will be able to sit out in my backyard and write (my absolute favorite place to avoid the distractions of the world).  However, the weather is finally turning bitter cold after a long, hot, hot summer, so I may have to retreat inside and take to my bed with classical music playing in the background and only my puppies to sit on my lap and help me. I can’t tolerate hearing words or lyrics to songs, as it breaks my train of thought and prevents my characters from talking to me and telling me where they think they should go. Sometimes we argue about it. Sometimes I say no.  But usually we agree that they know best what they are doing. Probably the only time when I allow that the little voices in my head exist.

This year I’m again working on The Chronicles of Acqueria series and should have a new book ready to publish the first of the year. I’ll also be publishing a new edition of the first book, “Blood Moon Treachery” so all my prequels and sequels will match up. Noticed some definite conflicts with hair color and family trees have cropped up, so I will be solving them.

As always, I look forward to NaNoWriMo and NaNoFiMo more than I do Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I’m just strange that way. After all, I am a writer. (That explains a lot.)

As I head into 2020, I hope my new-found momentum gathers speed. I plan on accomplishing a lot this next year. Who knows how many more years I will be able to. I’m getting the feeling I’m definitely pushing the envelope. I surely don’t want to have to stop with so many of my stories untold, so many of my heroes (literary) unsung.

I will be posting daily results on Twitter and Facebook this year – maybe even post a tantalizing excerpt or two. That will be along with my daily Haiku. I can’t give that up. It’s part of my daily routine.

My computer is bearing up well, so I shouldn’t  have any technical problems this year. And I will endeavor to back everything up. I also always print a hard copy of my files, so if anything catastrophic happens, we can always retype it into the computer. Thankfully, that has not happened too often.

I’m resurrecting my “Rhimo” for the month. Got his picture framed and hung.  If nothing else, he will keep me motivated.

This month, in honor of NaNoWriMo, I’m featuring “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery” so my faithful readers can get involved in Sentia’s story before you learn of its origins. It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y96zzp9u.

Also in honor of NaNoWriMo, my featured poetry for October is the second of my two Haiku chapbooks, celebrating the #WritingCommunity: “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume Two: The Write Life”, now available in print from Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/ycqtq3mt

Until next time, keep the faith. Keep writing and keep reading. Enjoy what makes you happy. There is far too little happiness in this world these days.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

As all of my books are available on Amazon, I’m also including a link to my Amazon Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

If Not Now, When?

November 2018 Blog

Time flies – then stops abruptly. It’s a fact of life… and death. All things draw to a close – including this year.

Time Tunnel: A Haiku

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Later is now a

Less viable option than

Now, before never.

When I was young and had my whole life ahead of me, I was always in a hurry. “Now” was my favorite time to do things, and I wanted to grow up fast.

Well, my life has sped by and now there is not enough time left to do what I need to do, let alone want to do. Yet now “I’ll do it later” seems to be my standard mode of operation. It is also an attitude I need to overcome – or run the risk of leaving this life mostly unfinished.

What would I have been able to accomplish had I retained the “Now” attitude? Perhaps I would be sitting on a dais somewhere next to Stephen King, discussing our next horrific joint-venture for Simon & Schuster. Maybe tweeting to my millions of adoring fans about the release of my next movie based on my newest bestseller.

Surely, I would be sharing a gif of my top ranking on the New York Times bestseller list.

Those dreams should have been fulfilled long ago. That time has long since passed. Those things will not happen.

I must look to my limited future and plod as I can toward what goals I can yet accomplish. I am still able to write and edit and publish. Perhaps I would be a lot more successful if I knew how to promote, but sales have never been my strong-suit and that is a different story.

This year has only seen one book publisher – “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume Two: The Write Life” and now it’s NaNoWriMo time again. If I heed that call (which I have for more than 10 years straight), then other projects must take a backseat – again.

So here I sit, once again, with too much to do and not enough time to do it. Seems like I was in this position and state last year, too.  All I can do is smile and soldier on. Perhaps take better stock of my available assets and employ them more judiciously.

This blog is important in the grand scheme of things, because it causes me (at least once a month) to take a good hard look at my accomplishments or (as is the usual), my non-accomplishments.

I would prefer this blog be more of a success story than it has been, so I guess it’s time to alter the plot to be more about me doing than thinking about doing. That reminds me of my favorite Yoda saying: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” It was a great admonition then, and it still is. Look where George Lucas is now. He certainly heeded his own character’s advice.

Maybe I need some more ambitious characters. No, wait—they do do things, don’t they? Within their confines, they are successful. Sometimes in a headlong rush that leaves the faithful reader breathless at the end.

Now, that’s a great feeling – for the reader, the characters and the author. That makes me smile. I need to do more of that – smiling.

I need to happily pursue my day writing, keeping house and taking care of business. Perhaps even tally my accomplishments at the end of the day and fall asleep with a sense of fulfillment.

Okay, even the thought of all that makes me want to take a nap. No! Not  now, I have to finish this so I can post it on the first. (Yeah, it’s tomorrow) Left it to the last minute again.

Did I mention I’m the world’s greatest procrastinator? I am, you know, and I’m also distracted by shiny things. Actually, I think I purposely look for shiny things to be distracted by.

There’s the TV, there’s the internet, and this great jigsaw puzzle program on my computer. That’s why I love mild sunny days when I can sit outside and write—only distracted by an occasional bird or squirrel or siren or howling dog.

I guess no place is really free of attention getters. That’s why I love to be deeply immersed in my characters’ worlds, where nothing can pull me out and I can wreak havoc and engage in mayhem to my heart’s content.

Then I am happy. “Happy” is highly underrated. “Happy” should be more of a goal than we allow it to be. If we could achieve a state of happiness, our endeavors would seem less like chores and more like the road to our bliss.

Okay, sidetracked—shiny things again. I guess “happiness” is one of those shiny things that for the most part lies just out of reach for me.

So, I’ll head back to my drawing board and plot a path for my November NaNoWriMo project and add it to my other projects and see where the month will take me.

“Black Oak: Vengeance Bound” will be finished about the same time. I guess “Global Warning” will take a little longer than planned. But that’s not new news, is it?

Until next time, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

I’m also including a link to my Amazon’s Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

All of my books are available on Amazon.

November’s featured novel is my 1890’s Old West Shapeshifters novella "Black Oak: Town of Joy" https://tinyurl.com/yaw5roju

This month’s featured poetry chapbook is “The Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness: 25th Anniversary Edition” https://tinyurl.com/y9d8czj4