The mouth of the cave

This summer I reread Julia Cameron's trilogy on creativity (The Artist's Way). Everyday I have faithfully written my morning pages, gone for daily walks and published a new edition of my book. Of course I always walk - I'm a big walker. But I agree with Julia, the morning pages and the walks are an enormous support to any writer or any creative soul, especially when combined with adventure. It's been a terrifically productive year.

..and it's about to get even more juicy. On Monday I officially begin work on my novel as part of the annual Nanowrimo madness. What a relief to be done with the non-fiction piece (it was far more demanding than one might imagine). I'm very excited about working in earnest on a fantasy. And no, I can't talk about what I'm going to write. The rule is write first. Talk about it when it's done.

The dog downstairs is barking again. New neighbors always bring surprises. This one brought a shitzu. Anyway, the rules to NaNo are somewhat arbitrary. Nobody is around to see if you actually start on November 1 or that you start something fresh and not submit an old manuscript that's been laying around half a century. Of course, that doesn't really matter either. The point is to finish a novel in 30 days. Who cares if you started it in kindergarten? Good for you if you breathe life into an abandoned project. That's reason to celebrate!

I love the NaNo exercise because it's a sort of game and I'm collectively in it with hundreds of thousands of others around the world - even if I never meet a single one of them. In the spirit of the game, I choose to start something new and to hold off the actual writing until Monday. Then for 30 days, write as fast and as well as possible to reach the minimum of 50,000 words - at which time I will upload and be declared a winner (anyone who finishes, by the way, is a winner). Of course, telling you all also puts me firmly on the hook.

This set of conditions has led right to the mouth of the cave. There's no turning back. It's a great place to be. Preparations have begun in earnest. This is what I have so far...

an idea
pencils & pens
3X5 cards
paper
access to the Internet
a rough outline
chocolate graham crackers
tentative contact with the muses
coffee
a quiet place to write
some good walking shoes

Julia talks about being "in-work" on a project as going "into the tunnel". It's an excellent analogy. You surely can't be blah, blahing all your energy away. Some people will take a partner and still others will meet in groups to egg each other on. All great support but we will still be going on a journey and for those of us writing solo that means going alone.

I'm a little scared. What if that amorphous tale eludes me? I have been summoning the muses for a week now and have received many signs and inspirational ideas. Fear wears a dark mask and whispers in my ear. "The road may lead to a dead end. Or worse, you may learn you have nothing interesting to say." And yet I will go.

*The painting is by Carlos Parada. Follow the "muses" link above or the ones immediately following to find Parada and his book The Geneaological Guide to Greek Mythology that talks about Mnemosyne (the great goddess of memory) and her daughters, the muses. If you love mythology, you may also enjoy Parada's Internet database (he shares credit with Maicar Forlag), Greek Mythology Link.