Looking Ahead: National Novel Writing Month

October is just getting underway and I am already thinking about NaNoWriMo. To nano or not to nano? That is the question.

I have started NaNoWriMo a few times, got close once, but have never actually won. I have a new book I would love to work on during the November writing frenzy but, you see, I have this other book. The one that's almost done. The one that I need to get submitted. And I don't think that winning NaNoWriMo on this new book is the best way to spend my November.

Sigh.

I could always do my own version of NaNo at another time but I am not sure if that will work for me. What about you guys? Have you ever run your own Novel Writing Month outside of November because the timing wasn't great? Inquiring minds want to know!

xoxo,

bex

What Summer?

I had really high hopes for the summer and here it is - gone. Slipped completely through the fingertips. I know the summer actually happened because it was one of the hottest and most stressful summers I've ever had, which is largely the reasoning behind why you haven't seen a lot of me here on the What's Wilder blog. I have been consumed with so many outside things and the blog just kinda' fell off once the World Cup ended. Thanks to such soccer fun, the summer at least got off to a good start, even though it was pretty rocky and unusual from there on in.

The biggest highlight of my summer was the RWA national conference. It was the best conference I have ever experienced, thanks to the new and old friends I got the chance to see and the happy accidents that led to some cherished experiences. Thank you, ladies, for making the trip to Orlando the highlight!

I hope you all fared a little better. Let's hope for much cheer and good will as we race toward the holidays. Hard to believe that 2011 is just around the corner!

xoxo,

bex

Health and Wellness and Other Goals

As part of the Change Your Stars Challenge that we've embarked on over at my other blog, the Moody Muses, I have not only wanted to make new progress on my writing goals but also on my health and wellness goals, too.

The hard thing though, is that sometimes life gets in the way of any plans we might try and make. This summer was supposed to be a big one for me in terms of productivity and weight loss and general feeling better about where I'm at in this stage of life and none of that ever happened because life happened instead.

Instead of digging in and finishing that book like I'd told many friends that I would, I was sometimes too emotionally overwhelmed to do anything. Just completely paralyzed to concentrate on a little thing like progress.

And when the going gets tough, the tough get . . . to doing a whole variety of things. They may get going. They may get tougher. They may hit the gym. They may go shopping. They may eat. And eat I did. I am pretty much farther away from those health and wellness goals than I had ever anticipated, but I think in times of crisis we just have to trust that we are getting through things the best way we can. We are not slacking off on important deadlines or the hard core responsibilities, but we are taking the time and care that we need to be whole. And quite frankly, for me and in this emotional state, it did not result in my opting for the gym membership. At least not at this time. I've just been too damn fragile.

The behavior is cyclical I think. I am so tired. And the more tired I am the less I want to move about. And the less I want to move about the more bad food I eat. And the more bad food I eat makes me that much more tired . . . You see the vicious circle taking shape.

At some point I will break the cycle. But for now I can only manage the many things I already have on my plate and I swear that I'm just getting by in the best way I can. Losing myself in the book in the few instances I can, trying to push forward and get this work done despite the stress and chaos around me.

How do you guys cope when the two words to describe what's going on in your lives are: TOO MUCH? Is it more than just peanut M&Ms? Inquiring minds want to know!

xoxo

bex

Down to the Final Matches!

Is it really the last week of the World Cup? I = so sad! I have been loving the matches - some full of heartbreak and some great surprises among the teams. Did any of you participate in an office pool? We did a low-key competition where we filled out the online brackets provided by ESPN. The early rounds nearly made my picks obsolete as the teams of my heart such as England and Italy made hastier exits than I would have liked. Oddly enough though, the two teams I picked for the finals are still standing - Spain and the Netherlands. The Red Fury and The Oranje. It should be a great match-up and, since neither team has ever won the coveted cup, I wish they could both somehow take it home. I picked Spain as the ultimate winner, but the Dutch are playing so well right now, it's hard to see how my Spanish boys will get past them. Then again, I thought the German game would have been a more difficult test than it was, so we shall see on Sunday.

Here are my Euro 2008 Champs -- Fernando and Sergio!!

Viva Espana!

Any thoughts? Inquiring minds want to know!


xoxo,
bex

Soccer + Books = 2 of My Favorite Things in 1!

"Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey--and Even Iraq--Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport"

I picked up this book during one of my last trips to Borders and I wish I had the chance to read it before I completed my World Cup brackets!! I still have my favorite players I'd root for regardless, but this book takes an interesting view on the world of soccer. I highly recommend it for any fan!

How are your teams faring in the tournament? Inquiring minds want to know!

xoxo,

bex

3 More Days!

Just three more days until one of the biggest sporting events on the planet kicks off. I can't wait! A few weeks ago I posted my excitement and at that time I thought I might weigh in with some more thoughts about the World Cup. Since then, news hit about lots of injuries to some of the brightest stars in the tournament so who knows what awaits the millions of fans whose eyes will be trained on South Africa over the next four weeks!

As for me, I'll have my eyes trained on the following . . .

I have become a pretty big fan of the Spanish team, largely because of Fernando Torres and Sergio Ramos. As a result, I also watch Real Madrid and Liverpool as religiously as I can.

I know this next comment will be blasphemous to the England faithful, but I am not a Wayne Rooney fan. But Frank, John, and Steven have my alliances equally torn between Chelsea and Liverpool, and will have me hoping for a good English showing.

As a La Liga convert, I can't possibly root for Real Madrid without becoming a fan of Gonzalo Higuain. I am so interested to see how Argentina fairs in this year's contest. With Messi being one of the, if not the, best players on the planet, I am eager to see how these two team up.

Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo. Just because. Simao ain't too bad to watch either.

And finally, my beloved Azzurri. A few of my favorite faces will be missing from this year's squad, but there are a few holdovers from the 2006 winning ensemble that I hope will make Italy's showing fun, strong, and exciting.

So, who are you rooting for? Are you loyal to one team, or root for a bunch of favorite players? Who do you think will be the last team standing? Inquiring minds want to know!

xoxo,

bex

Managing Multiple Projects

I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to work on just one project at a time. There is always the premier project of course - the one that gets the majority of my writing time so I can devote the energy and time required to get from Chapter One to The End. But during this whole time, ideas are constantly percolating for what comes next . . . and most times I cannot keep those ideas on the back burner and wait until I clear the decks to make one of these projects the next premier one.

So . . . what about you guys? How do you manage all the voices going on? How do you keep your time and energies organized when being nagged by multiple projects? Inquiring minds want to know!

xoxo,
bex