NANOWRIMO Begins In One Week - Join Me!

Well, it's that time of year again ... care to join me? I'll be working on another novel in my Women's Fiction series featuring women with disabilities as heroines...

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: Sign-ups begin October 1, 2007. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

The Odyssey of Life

I majored in English in college because I love to read and write. I love everything from classic literature to contemporary romance to Victorian poetry.

Below is an excerpt from one of my favorite poems. I find it inspirational because it deals with the human ability to never give up, even when faced with a long, hard journey.


Ulysses

Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

- Alfred Lord Tennyson

Kick-off of "Script Frenzy" Month

One of my personal passions is writing fiction. Last year, I participated in a national writing initiative called Nanowrimo - which stands for National November Writing Month. I completed the initiative - I wrote a whole novel in 30 days! Beginning today, I'm taking part in another writing initiative called Script Frenzy.

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants attempt the creatively daring feat of writing an original, full-length screenplay or stage play in a single month. Spurred by a wild deadline and buoyed by a community of countless other writers, Script Frenzy participants can't be bothered with editing. They're too busy writing by the seat of their pants, typing out beautiful, flawed stories that no one else could have dreamt up.

As part of a donation-funded nonprofit, Script Frenzy charges no fee to participate; there are also no valuable prizes awarded or "best" scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 20,000 words is victorious and awe-inspiring and will get a Script Frenzy Winner's Certificate and web icon proclaiming this fact. Even those who fall short of the word goal will be applauded for making a heroic attempt. Really, there's nothing to lose!

The 5 Basic Rules of Script Frenzy:

1) To be crowned an official Script Frenzy winner, you must write a script of at least 20,000 words and verify this word count on ScriptFrenzy.org.

2) You may write individually or in teams of two. Writer teams will have a 20,000 total word goal for their single co-written script.

3) Script writing may begin no earlier than 12:00:01 AM on June 1 and must cease no later than 11:59:59 PM on June 30, local time.

4) You may write either a screenplay or a stage play.

5) You must, at some point, have ridiculous amounts of fun.

Interested in joining me? Shoot me an e-mail! Interested in more information? Check out www.scriptfrenzy.org.

Check back on July 1 to find out if I completed my script. And in the meantime...wish me luck!!!

Upcoming Appearance - May 16, 2007

South Boston Arts Association (SBAA)

I will be appearing on Boston Neighborhood Network cable TV tommorrow evening, May 16, with artist Dan McCole who runs the South Boston Arts Association. I have been an active member of the SBAA since 2005, attending their meetings and writing groups. I will be speaking about my new role as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2007, and also about my interest in writing about characters who are disabled.

Also appearing on the show will be State Representative Brian Wallace, who will be speaking about his writing.

Be sure to tune in if you live in Boston - it should be a great show!

Dudley Review Literary Reception

Some pictures of me speaking about my fiction writing at Harvard University on Thursday, May 10 at the launch party for the Dudley Review. It was a great event!










Pictured with me on the left is Jamey Graham, Literary Fellow at Harvard University Dudley House. Pictured to the right, I am addressing the crowd.

Upcoming Appearance - Harvard University, May 10

I'll be appearing at the Dudley House in Harvard Yard this Thursday evening at the reception for the launch of their annual literary magazine, The Dudley Review. I will be speaking about my new role as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2007 as it relates to my interest in writing.

I studied disability in literature throughout college. I also completed an Honors Thesis on Flannery O'Connor, a brilliant novelist who explored character through the vehicle of physical disability. Currently, I am finishing my third novel in a series of Women's Fiction which features disabled women as heroines.