A Word on Wednesday: Novel

Novel, noun: 

a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying 
characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes.

Writing a novel has eluded me. And it's not for lack of want. It is, to be honest, for lack of wanting it enough. I am, you see, a real fine starter. I'm 36,000 words into to one book, 6,000 words into another, and outlines on half a dozen others.  

But alas there has been no novel completed from this desk. My reasons and excuses are many and uninteresting. I didn't dig deep enough. Commit long enough. Focus clearly enough. Sacrifice greatly enough. Pursue purposely enough. Imagine creatively enough. And on the story goes. 

Enter November 2017. Now. This very minute.  

NaNo, NaNo, NaNo ..... 

BATMAN! (This sounds really dumb and cliche and what does it even mean? But, I won't delete it, because if I delete every sentence I write I might not ever finish. AND, NaNo is all about finishing!)

NaNo, NaNo, NaNo .... National Novel Writing Month

Well, actually the full acronym is NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo just doesn't have the ring to it that NaNo does. This online writing challenge was founded in 1999. In short, writers all over the world take up the challenge to complete an entire novel in a month. You can read more about the nonprofit and register your story here.

NaNo defines a novel as 50,000, although that is far shy of a published book. NaNo considers the challenge to create first draft. Perfection is not stressed. This equates to roughly 1,600 words a day or more simply, 2,000 words daily if you take five days off -- Saturdays and Thanksgiving for example. For non word counters, approximately 8-10 pages each writing day.  

So cheers to NaNo. Raise a pen to word counts and habit forming. My nieces, ages eleven and nine, say, "You got this." or "Come on, you got this." 

To my fellow NaNo-ers, "You got this!  See you at the finish!" 

A Word on Wednesday: Grief

Grief

Grief, a noun

An unfortunate outcome,

A disaster.

Grief, a noun

Deep distress,

Caused by bereavement

Grief, a noun

Do I sit in its sadness?

Envelope thy self in sorrow?

Grief, a noun

Do I screech at the injustice?

Curse the taker of life?

Grief, a noun

Do I deny this final reality?

Seek an explanation?

Grief, a noun

Do I ignore its burden?

Turn away from acceptance?

Grief, a noun

Do I beg for reprieve?

Request peace in exchange?

Grief, a noun

A process,

omnipresent.

And The Winners Are ...

Thank you to all who entered to win a copy of "Stress Fracture: A Memoir of Psychosis." 

Congratulations to:

• Brittany from Illinois
• Melissa from Nevada
• Sandra from North Carolina. 

Thank you to Goodreads for hosting the giveaway.

A Word on Wednesday: Diagnosis

Don't let them LABEL you! 

Don't let them LABEL your child!

Don't believe the LABELS!

The word diagnosis is not synonymous with "label." 

The medical term, diagnosis, is simple and straightforward. The noun's primary definition is twofold (a) the process of determining by examination the nature and circumstances of a diseased condition and (b) the decision reached from such an examination.

From a point of proper diagnosis, proper treatment can begin. Therefore, a diagnosis isn't something to fear or avoid. It isn't a mark or a stain. It is an opportunity. It is a classification. It is an identification. 

The medical sciences of psychology and psychiatry are far from sacred and just. Still, I choose to distinguish a diagnosis from a label. A diagnosis offers hope and inspires action. A label seems harsher and static.

I think people are hesitant to accept a mental health diagnosis for a variety of reasons.

(Some of which I talked about earlier this month here here and here)

I found this article about the value of a proper diagnosis in this Psychology Today 2014 article. You can read it here.  

Giveaway! Good Reads Giveaway! Giveaway!

Today through Wednesday, May 24 

GoodReads Giveaway is underway. 

Because it is Mental Health Month. 

Because I love readers.

Because stories matter. 

THREE! will WIN a signed copy of 

"Stress Fracture: A Memoir of Psychosis." 

Enter here!

A Word on Wednesday: Bliss

American mythologist Joseph Cambell (1904-1987) has this to say about bliss: 

"When you follow your bliss  ... doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else." 

The cynic will dismiss bliss, mocking the pursuit of such lavish joy. Yet, one should be careful to not confuse the word bliss with over-the-top false happiness. Bliss is not found in drunkenness or loudness or mockery. 

Rather bliss is found in sincerity and authenticity. Bliss is the freedom from hypocrisy and deceit. Bliss is found in the commitment to genuineness. 

Its definition of supreme happiness or utter joy or contentment has ties to theology's joy of heaven and a bliss eternal. 

In the secular use of the word, I dare to remain courageously, selfishly in pursuit of bliss. 

A Word on Wednesday: Heliotropic

Heliotropic: 

Turning or growing toward the light. Heliotropism can be easily seen in sunflowers, which slowly turn their large flowers so that they continually face the sun. However, the adjective heliotropic can describe any noun and any light source.

A heliotropic student turns toward 

the light of knowledge.

A heliotropic flower turns toward 

the light of the sun.

Plants classified as heliotropes have flowers and leaves, which turn toward the sun. Marigolds, poppies, sunflowers, and daisies are examples of heliotropes.

Daisies are commonplace both as a wildflower and in the beds of intentional gardeners. The daisy’s hardy character survives perennially. Many a season of indecision has been soothed by pulling petal by petal — loves me, loves me not. I consider the daisy to be my favorite flower. Despite it’s simple, common presence, it stands out to me.  Perhaps, it was the daisy that really picked me to guide me in moving to the light.

There is grace when one can turn to face the light and absorb its radiance. Like the daisy, I long to move toward the lights of inspiration, the lights of my life, and the light offered each dawn.

Turning to the light, and thereby from darkness or shadows is not a new bright idea. The phenomenon of heliotropism was known by the Ancient Greeks, demonstrated with the word heliotropium, meaning sun turn.  

As spring builds momentum, I am again reminded to turn to light, to chart with optimism, to navigate with intention to the moving source of good. 

Workshops for Writers

I love meeting writers! Please contact me to book a workshop for your group. 

My top workshops are:

• ·         Mining Memories: Jump Start your Memoir
• ·         Intro to Creative Writing
• ·         Common editing tips to improve your writing

Designed as interactive, hands on learning, these offer plenty of time for putting presented techniques into practice.

Workshops can be tailored for 2-hour, half-day or full-day, depending on the depth of content requested.

 

If you are looking for a topic not listed here, please contact me. It might something I'm interested in, but just haven't designed a workshop for yet. Let's explore the opportunity together. 

Contact me at tara@tarameissner.com 

The 2017 Word: Crescendo

It is time for a crescendo! 

So ...

This is the year, I get loud. 

In music, a crescendo is a gradual steady increase in loudness or force. This is a controlled set of bars, increasing the volume of an arrangement. A crescendo can wake both an artist and audience. 

The internet is a buzz with picking a single word as a mantra for 2017 to replace the practice of setting goals and resolutions. 

I choose crescendo as a verb without an object, thereby, "to grow in force." 

Rather than shout or burst, I slowly and gently summit to full capacity. With clarity, I deliberately turn up the volume in 2017. 

A novel walk

I snapped the following pictures on the Ice Age Trail in Manitowoc, Wis. around 9 a.m. this morning. The scenery is inspiration for a fictional setting in my novel in progress. Enjoy the view, my friends. And, forgive my amateur photography skills.

Thank you for your letters and cards!

Getting an email from the Website or a Facebook message via my author page, and especially the hand-written cards found in the PO Box truly make my day. 

I'm so glad to hear readers are enjoying the book. Putting it out there has alreadyled to more than I could hope for. People are talking, to me anyway, about their
families' experiences with mental illness. They share they believe in wellness despite the diagnoses they or their family members have. 

I do hope these conversations spread. One reviewer on Amazon wrote, "... my view of mental illness has forever changed."  

I am fortunate to live in a time when people are becoming more comfortable with
discussing mental health. 

It is funny, however, because I am both proud of my accomplishment of having published a
well-written book; at the same time I am embarrassed. The embarrassment comes from the stigma, which is still attached to mental illness. Some days it feels as if I admitted some crime that I have committed rather than revealing a story of an illness I survived and am successfully managing.

Thank you again for your notes affirming the book is contributing to the national conversation on mental wellness. 

Live Well, 
Tara 

How I write

The beautiful and blank fancy journals. 

The pristine journals are beautiful, inspiring, arty, and full of possibility. I have received many of these notebooks to inspire me and prompt me to write, a validation my vocation as a writer is a worthy pursuit.

Pictured are gifts from friends. The one in the background was a surprise gift brought to my front door at a time when I had "quit" writing. It was a thoughtful gift to inspire me to keep penning and remind me of the value of poetry and prose. I received the one in the foreground at my book launch party, it a ribbon of accomplishment, a celebration of those 75,000 words bound in my first published book. 

The ugly work-in-progress truth. 

My current project is a big mess! Note cards, legal pads (pink, yellow, and white), composition notebooks, binders, folders, sketch pads, markers, and that's just on the desk. On the computer are jpegs of character composites and settings, One Note files, research PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, several word docs containing some of the forty-eight original poems that will accompany the novel, and The One Main Word Document, sadly shy on word and page count.

The blank, fresh sheets intimidate me rather than inspire me. I need color and mess. I need legal sheets that easily tear and can be crumpled before being tossed in the general direction of the waste paper basket. I take comfort in the clutter.  

I apologize to Laurie and Sharon for keeping those pages blank. I do love them, and keep them as pure treasures. Someday, I may feel focused enough to be able to just write directly on the beautifully bound pages, confident in the worth of my words straight from thought to page. Until then, I can rest assured no one will publish my work posthumously, as it would be impossible to interrupt.

In case you are wondering, my novel in progress has a working title: "Poetic License." Of course, there is a legal pad sheet with a list of at least twenty alternatives — was that a pink or yellow sheet and where did I file it?

Come write with me!

Have you ever thought about writing memoir? Not sure how to get started? As part of the amazing Lakefly Literary Conference, I will be presenting a Mining Memories breakout session to get you started. The conference is held May 8 and May 9, 2015 in Oshkosh, Wis. Come for Keynote Speaker Michael Perry, stay for the breakout sessions, book fair, and connect with like-minded people.

Learn more about the conference here: Lakefly Presenters


I have read a lot of books on memoir writing and my favorite was "Old Friend from Far Away" by Natalie Goldberg. For general writing inspiration, I recommend "On Writing" by Stephen King (direct and, at times, funny) or "Bird by Bird" by Ann Lamott (a more Zen approach to inspiring the craft).

Self Publishing Vs. Indie Press

Today guest blogger Donald Dempsey, author of Betty’s Child, shares his experience with publishing. He first self published his memoir and later published with an indie press. Following are his thoughts on each of those processes.

When I decided to write my book the thought of publishing it wasn't a consideration. I thought it would wind up like most of my other projects, either a pile of notes or a few chapters sitting in a folder gathering dust. Unlike previous attempts to put my thoughts or ideas into words, my memoir poured out of me. I've often said this story virtually wrote itself. Often, I reread something I’d written and found myself surprised by the content.

 
After I finished Betty’s Child, I had no idea what to do with it. My wife and some close friends urged me to try and get it published. I put together query letters and submitted them to agents and publishers, rarely hearing back from them. The closest I came to tradition publishing success was garnering some interest from an agent who was about to retire, but she couldn't get anyone else to take on the book due to a downsizing of publishers and agents. Eventually, I gave up.

I don’t remember who first suggested it or how self-publishing became an option, but somehow I became involved with a self publishing company. From the very beginning, it was a very unpleasant experience. I never worked with the same person, and there was always another fee to take the next unexpected step. Undisclosed charges were frequent. If I paid for this service, it would increase my chances of attracting a publisher. If I agreed to pay more money for certain packages or services, my book would be available to a wider market. There was always one reason or another to pay more money.

My frustration mounted. It wasn’t very long before I wished I had just left my book in the drawer where I’d tossed it. Nothing they promised me was ever delivered. Betty’s Child sold a few copies now and then, but not much else happened. Even though I felt the book was meaningful and had a message worth putting out, I soon gave up again. I stopped answering calls from the self publishing company. Months passed. I threw all the extra copies in a box in my office and forgot about the book altogether.

And then, out of the blue, Mike O’Mary from Dream of Things called me and asked to take a look at my book. He liked what some of the reviewers said. I sent him a copy and everything moved pretty quickly after that. Mike has been a publisher, editor, marketer, valuable source of information, and a friend. His belief in Betty’s Child rekindled my own. Mike’s knowledge of the ebook market opened up windows of opportunity I didn’t know existed. Without him, there wouldn’t be a Betty’s Child, so I find myself often saying the book is just as much his as mine.

Of course, the irony here is that Dream of Things never would have noticed Betty’s Child if I hadn’t put myself through the torture of self publishing. And I’ve heard of some very successful authors getting their start after first working with companies like the one I did. For me, self publishing was a very stressful experience. I tend to like things straightforward and forthright. So I’d hate to dissuade someone from chasing their dream of publication. My personal experiences may not reflect the norm.   

About the Author:

Don Dempsey experienced childhood abuse and neglect first hand, but went on to have a fulfilling family life as an adult and to own his own business. "If you're lucky, you make it to adulthood in one piece," says Don. "But there's no guarantee the rest of your life is going to be any better. Abused kids are often plagued by fear and insecurity. They battle depression and have trouble with relationships. In the worst cases, abused children perpetuate the cycle." But Don is living proof that you can overcome a childhood of abuse and neglect. "You start by letting go of as much of the guilt (yes, abused kids feel guilty) and as many of the bad memories as possible. At the same time, you hold on to the things that helped you survive. For me, it was the belief that you can make life better by working at it and earning it. It helps to have a sense of humor, too."

Find out more about the author by visiting him online:

Betty’s Child website: www.BettysChild.com

Donald Dempsey Facebook: www.facebook.com/donald.dempsey.3

To enter to win a copy of Betty's Child, please leave a comment.