Temptation

The last time I wrote even a single word of fiction was back in November of last year.  My 2013 NaNoWriMo novel, Taming the Savage, is the longest one I have written so far, coming in at just over 111k words.  Initially, it ran so long because I was determined to surpass a friend's word count (he beat me anyway), but by the end, I just wanted to beat my previous record of 110k.  Anyway, the point is that, since November, I have not written anything, and now I am tempted to write something so bizarre, so out of left field, that I don't even know how to feel about it.

A couple of months ago, a friend at work got me into watching Game of Thrones.  I watched all 30 episodes of the first three seasons in two short weeks.  It was a whirlwind love affair, and of the seemingly millions of characters on the show, I fell absolutely head over heels for Tyrion Lannister.  Honestly, how can you not? 

Now, although I am a born shipper (my first ship was actually Remington Steele and Laura Holt when I was six years old) I do occasionally find works of fiction that are so compelling that I do not feel the need to get caught up in a relation"ship" in order to love them.  Supernatural falls into that category.  So does Red Dwarf and a bunch of other great shows.  And, up until a few a weeks ago, I thought the same thing about Game of Thrones.  But that was only until . . . well . . . perhaps I should insert a . . .

SPOILER ALERT FOR SEASON 3 EPISODE 8 - SECOND SONS . . .

The Art of the Brick

  

Mona Lisa (Left) and Nike of Samothrace (Right) by Nathan Sawaya

This blog is intended to focus primarily on my journey as a writer.  And yet, sometimes, I encounter things in my everyday life that may seem to have little to do with writing, but actually have a huge influence on me as a writer.  I had one of those encounters last Saturday when I traveled to New York City to see The Art of the Brick at Discovery Times Square.

The Kiss

The Art of the Brick is an art exhibition featuring the work of renowned Lego artist, Nathan Sawaya.  Sawaya works exclusively in Legos, recreating some of the world's finest masterpieces in nothing more than molded plastic.  In addition to re-imagining the works of other artists, he also creates his own original works that focus on all facets of the human condition.  

When you enter the first gallery, you are immediately greeted by a three dimensional, life-sized rendering of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt.  It's an absolutely stunning piece and a perfect way to start an exhibition that is more high art than juvenile pastime.  That first gallery also contains Sawaya's renditions of DaVinici's Mona Lisa, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Munch's The Scream of Nature, popularly known as The Scream.  The second gallery showcases a collection of large-scale sculptures, including Sawaya's version of the Nike of Samothrace and an absolutely astounding full-sized replica of one of the stone heads from Easter Island.  Standing in front of the massive Lego sculpture, it is impossible not to feel a sense of awe and childlike wonderment.  It is something I will not soon forget.

Beyord the initial galleries which contain Sawaya's renditions of high art, the visitor is treated to Sawaya's original works.  Yellow Man, his signature piece, is quite stunning in real life.  But it is his smaller scale pieces that have the most personal impact.  Step Ladder, for instance, which depicts a person climbing a ladder that originates from within his own body is particularly inspiring.  It is meant to show how every person creates his or her own life from within.  We are all our own ladder upward.  The sentiment may be simple, kitchy even, but it is effective.  And leaves the viewer with a feeling of joyful empowerment.

Step Ladder

No Hands (Left), Yellow Man (Center), and Self Portrait (Right)

What, you may wonder, does any of this have to do with writing.  At the beginning of the exhibit, before being ushered into the galleries, guests are led into a room with a projection screen on which they are shown a short video introducing the artist and his work.  And, from the first moment that Sawaya appears on screen, it is obvious that he not only has a passion for what he does, but that it also brings him immense joy.  In the video, he discusses the evolution of his career as an artist.  He started out as a lawyer and, needing a creative outlet, would come home at the end of the day and play with Legos.  His creations were so good, in fact, that people soon started asking him for commissioned work.  Eventually, he became so successful that he left the law and became a full time artist.  It is that story that I personally find so inspiring.  I have spent far too much of my life living by other people's rules and ignoring the things that make me happy.  Writing makes me happy.  It may not make me a lot of money (or any money, for that matter), but it brings me joy and it brings joy to other people.  What greater fulfilment is there than that?

Of course, someone must pay the bills, but there has to be a better way for a creative person to support themself than suffering in a profession that offers no creative outlet.  It has become my personal quest to figure out what that better way is.  Sawaya figured it out.  He followed his bliss and it changed his life in unimaginable ways.  I am hoping that, someday soon, I will find the key to doing what I love, and only what I love, for the rest of my life.

Easter Island Statue

If Only It Were Still 2003 . . .

Back in 2003, three years before my introduction to NaNoWriMo, I was a rather rabid Spuffy shipper.  I still am, I suppose, although it's very rare that I do anything in the fandom these days.  I was such a devoted Spuffy fan, in fact, that I started writing Spuffy fanfiction.  It started, primarily, because I was so dissatisfied with what Joss Whedon and company were doing with Spike and Buffy on the show.  Originally, it was just a way to keep myself sane.  But, over time, it became more than that.  Ideas kept coming to me, and I kept writing.  I found that the little stories I wrote just to please myself, were actually making other people happy, and for a writer, there is no greater joy than that. 

My last Spuffy fic, "Goldilocks", went live on October 27, 2010, and I haven't written a single word of fanfiction since.  I still have at least half a dozen unfinished Spuffy fics wasting away on my computer, waiting to be completed, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to it.  The urgency to complete those stories is gone.  I know there are still Spuffy fans out there who regularly search for fanfic, I know my old stories are still being read, but my novel writing has taken priority over my fanfiction, and I don't know if I will ever get back to it.

Altogether, I was able to complete 17 Spuffy stories.  They are housed in various corners of the internet.  There are a few at The Spuffy Realm, a few more at Sinister Attraction, and others floating around on other sites whose names I can no longer remember.  Currently, the only site that holds all of my fanfiction work is FanFiction.net.  I used to have my own site, Always Beneath You, but I lost it when Geocities folded.  If I do complete any fanfiction in the future, it will most likely end up on FanFiction.net.  I still visit that site on occasion, usually to read stories from other fandoms.  Again, my passion for Spuffy seems to have waned a bit, although if I pulled out any of the DVDs or read any good fanfic, I'd probably be sucked right in again.  Sometimes, I wish I was back in 2003.  There was something so vibrant and exciting about being in the fandom back them.  I truly miss it. 

NaNoWriMo for the Win!!!

I first discovered NaNoWriMo back in 2006.  There was a tiny snippet buried in Part Two of the Long Island edition of Newsday describing the event.  At the time, I was absolutely sure that it was a scam.  I actually went to the website and read the FAQ page three times before I was convinced that the people at The Office of Letters and Light weren't going to steal my work or my soul.  Once I was convinced, I got my mother and my sister to sign up too, and we all began that crazy, life-altering journey known as NaNoWriMo.

Before I began NaNoWriMo, I had written one novel, The Rogue's Kiss.  I began writing it back in 1992 and it took ten long years to finish.  I was never completely satisfied with the novel.  It was too disjointed and took way too long to write.  The person I was back in 1992 was not the person I was in 2002 and that was obvious in the final manuscript.  My first NaNo novel was The Loyalist and the Librarian, a time travel romance coming in at just over 100,000 words.  It was written over the course of 26 grueling days in November of 2006, and it was much more cohesive than the first novel I had written on my own.  Living with a novel every single day for a month, makes everything about it feel more immediate, more intimate.  For 30 days (or 26 in this case) that book becomes your life.  That is the beauty and the magic of NaNoWriMo.  It forces you to live in your novel and commit yourself to it completely.  Even if only for a month.

Once I had completed the challenge once - which for me, insane overachiever that I am, always means writing 100,000 words in a month - I knew I would have to do it again.  And again.  And again.  In 2010 and 2012, I made the choice to write two 50,000 word novels in a month instead of one 100,000 word novel, which is why in eight short years of participating in NaNoWriMo, I have been able to write 10 novels.  I am a huge proponent of the experience because it has made such a huge difference in my writing life.  It has changed the way I write for the better, and for that I will always be grateful to Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo, and everyone at The Office of Letters and Light, the non-profit organization that runs the event.



Week Two

It is now April 8th, week two of Camp NaNoWriMo, and all my good intentions have fallen by the wayside.  Five days ago, I quit my job of two and a half years and my life has been nothing but pure chaos ever since.  Once the insanity dies down - which may take a while - I have every intention of devoting myself to my writing career.  I may not write a single word for camp, but, at the very least, I intend to keep up with this blog.

When choosing a title for this blog, I considered something directly related to writing.  My initial choice was "Writing, Reading, and Romance" because not only am I a writer, but I am also an avid reader, primarily of romance.  But that seemed too generic, too straightforward, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to be stuck with such a pedestrian title for the rest of my blogging career.  So, instead I chose "The School of Mental Gymnastics."  And now, after the insane week I've just had, I realize that I could not have chosen a more fitting moniker for my blog.  Writers are very cerebral creatures.  We constantly live in our heads, even when we seem to be functioning perfectly fine in the outside world.  I am always jumping through mental hoops to create stories and cope with the unpleasant realities of the real world.  I think, for now at least, I will keep my title, as it describes my current mental and emotional state perfectly.

Welcome to Camp NaNoWriMo

Ah, April 1st.  The first day of camp.  Well, Camp NaNoWriMo.  And just like the last two or three or four sessions of camp, I have decided to write a novel.  I suspect I will have as much success with this attempt as with the last several attempts, and yet I'm willing to try again.  I'm a veteran Wrimo, having won eight years in a row, (I even have NaNoWriMo license plates on my car), but a victory at camp has always eluded me.  Maybe it's because of the lack of overwhelming pressure associated with the camp experience.  Camp is supposed to be fun, relaxed.  I don't do well with fun and relaxed.  In order to really commit myself to the writing process, I need pressure.  Lots and lot of pressure.  And coffee.  Lots and lots of coffee.  Still, it's April 1st and here I am again.  I'm going to give it another try.

For those of you unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo - and it's more relaxed, lazier offspring, Camp NaNoWriMo - I will provide a brief introduction.  NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  Every November, thousands upon thousands of people all over the world get it into their heads that they are going to write their very own 50,000 word novels in just 30 short days.  It sounds crazy, it is crazy, but it can be done.  And it's one of the best writing experiences I've had in the 20 plus years I have been writing fiction.  For a more detailed explanation of the insanity that is NaNoWriMo, check out the sites very informative FAQ page.