Bleeding Espresso

And now, the end is here. And so I face the final curtain. My friend, I’ll say it clear. I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain.

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew [NaNo too?!]
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out [Take that Telecom!]
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it myyyyyyyy way!
Go ahead, give Old Blue Eyes a listen while you read the rest of this post.

So here we are at the end of a great, exciting month in the blogosphere. I survived NaBloPoMo, but came up a bit short on NaNoWriMo.

Thems the breaks.

The most important thing is that I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished, and I *really* am.

Thirty blog posts in thirty days is nothing to shake a stick at, as my grandmother would’ve said. And I’m proud of the content in each and every one of those posts to boot. I thank all of you for keeping up and commenting so fully and frequently; your continued support is appreciated more than you could ever know.

Now regarding NaNo, the novel that I’m working on requires a lot of research for one of the characters that I hadn’t done prior to November. Sure I could’ve cheated and continued working on a book that I already have nearly 50,000 words written for already (remember my manuscript counter in the sidebar?). But that wouldn’t have been very NaNo of me.

Instead, I wrote the half of the book that I was prepared to write going in, and I’m pretty happy with it. Indeed, I’m more inspired than ever to get into researching my other main character and get going on that part because I now see a wonderful novel coming out of these quickly thrown down words and ideas. There’s so much potential for growth there, and I wasn’t so sure of that before I began. So that’s been a nice surprise.

Even better? I’m also inspired to pick up that old manuscript and get working on it again. I may even join NaNoFiMo, National Novel Finishing Month to get working on those last 30,000 words or so on that book. Who knows? It’s all up to me, isn’t it?

But back to the blog. I do have some unfinished November business right now–my November Monthly Musing:

With each leaf that falls
We offer thanks for present,
past, and future life.

Today I’m thankful for:

Eden Marriott Kennedy, founder and organizer of NaBloPoMo. She started with a fabulous idea last year and has built an impressive community around it. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of (mostly thankless) work that is involved in keeping up with all of this, but I would like to give this special woman and blogger extraordinaire a pat on the back from southern Italy for all those hours of keeping us in line.

You’re a true blog heroine, Eden! Thank yeeeeew!

I’d also like to give a special thanks to BoogieMum who came up with the idea for 30 days of thanks. It’s been an amazing exercise in stopping and appreciating what’s important every day, and I will continue to do so in my own private journal.

P.S. Don’t forget that the Dolce Italiano Contest is over at Jenn’s The Leftover Queen today, where she’s made a decadent Chocolate Salami.

Past posts include:

Mosaic Biscotti, Sara’s Ms Adventures in Italy
Chocolate Kisses, Ilva’s Lucullian Delights
Ricotta Pound Cake, Here!
Chestnut Brownies, Shelley’s At Home in Rome

Remember, all you need to do is comment on any and all of the Dolce Italiano recipe posts to be entered into the drawing to win a personalized, signed copy of Gina DePalma’s fabulous new cookbook full of Italian sweets and treats, Dolce Italiano.

And, finally, buon weekend!

Phew. Breath.

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Fellow writer and friend Fango of Bici Vecchia: An Errant in Italy recently sent me a link to an excerpt of award-winning author Wendell Berry’s The Art of the Commonplace.

In a word? Wow.

There is so much good stuff in this piece, I’d love to parse it out and offer my thoughts for discussion here periodically.

Unfortunately, right now all I can manage is the aforementioned “wow,” but I’m working on a more intelligent response, I promise.

I did want to share one particular section, though, as I and thousands of others are trying our darnedest to write 50,000 words in November for NaNoWriMo. Watch my progress in the sidebar, by the way.

So, to my fellow writers whether NaNo-ing or not, I offer the words of Berry:

At first glance, writing may seem not nearly so much an art of the body as, say, dancing or gardening or carpentry. And yet language is the most intimately physical of all the artistic means. We have it palpably in our mouths; it is our langue, our tongue. Writing it, we shape it with our hands. Reading aloud what we have written–as we must do, if we are writing carefully–our language passes in at the eyes, out at the mouth, in at the ears; the words are immersed and steeped in the senses of the body before they make sense in the mind. They cannot make sense in the mind until they have made sense in the body. Does shaping one’s words with one’s own hand impart character and quality to them, as does speaking them with one’s own tongue to the satisfaction of one’s own ear? There is no way to prove that it does. On the other hand, there is no way to prove that it does not, and I believe that it does.

I told you. Wow.

Write on writers!

Today I’m thankful for:

Inspiration. Whether it’s an article or book recommended by a friend, another blogger’s gorgeous writing, wagging puppy tails, or just plain old glorious sunshine, inspiration abounds, and I find myself typing, typing, typing away on my NaNo novel. I’m actually up to 11, 313 words (and I’m not finished yet tonight!), but I can’t get onto my template to update.

Woohoo!

Who knows what I’ll have when I’m done, but at least it’s more than I had on October 31.

P.S. Sadly, my internet connection is even worse than it was before. Hanging on by a thread here, thus the lack of a “30 Days of Thanks” graphic and link [edited: they've now been added!] *and* the post just after midnight–I’m playing it safe just in case I lose the whole connection overnight.

Telecom Italia tells me it’ll be back to normal Monday or Tuesday. Wish us luck!

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Technorati Tags: inspiration, wendell berry, the art of the commonplace, nanowrimo, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks

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It’s here! It’s here!

It’s November 1 and that means a few things. One of them is a steady stream of people to the local cemetery–All Saints’ Day is widely observed in southern Italy–but let’s talk about happier things.

First, there’s NaNoWriMo, which is short for National Novel Writing Month. It’s more international than national, but it *is* all about writing a novel–or at least 50,000 words throughout the month of November. I’ve been informed that it works out to 1667 words a day, but who’s counting?

Right. I am.

I just may divulge more information about what I’m writing about as the month goes on, so do check back for updates. I guess I could put a little progress bar or something in the sidebar here. Hmm. We’ll see about that.

Next we have NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month. Again, not strictly national, but all about blog posting–every day in November. So long as my internet connection holds up, I’ll have something new (although I’m not promising “entertaining” or “interesting”) for you to come and read each and every day this month. Lucky you.

Now as part of NaBloPoMo, I’m also participating in 30 Days of Thanks, brainchild of Boogiemum, so every day this month I’ll be listing something I’m thankful for. Feel free to play along on your blog even if you’re not doing NaBloPoMo or, as always, in the comments here.

Today I am thankful for:

All of the wonderful friends I’ve made through blogging, and not just because they send me gifts like a digital camera (The Daily Rant), tahini and books (Piacere), and books in Italian for my birthday (At Home in Rome).

It’s a relationship that’s difficult to describe to those not in the blogosphere, but there’s just such a warm, comfortable feeling of flitting around from blog to blog in the morning, catching up on my friends’ lives and smiling, laughing, crying along with them. I feel so much more connected with the world since I started blogging, and it feels wonderful.

And Post Number 1 is in the books. Only 29 more to go!

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Technorati Tags: nanowrimo, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks

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