Miles from Fenway: Homeward Bound

Homeward bound, I wish I was, homeward bound

Oh wait, I am! And I couldn't be happier about it. I know I'll miss NYC while I'm gone, and I will most definitely miss my kitty, who I leave in Meegan's more than capable hands, but God I just can't wait to round the bend on Rt. 114 in East Providence and see Hundred Acre Cove. To walk into my family room to be wrapped into a never-ending hug from my mother. To see my little brother who's home on his first college break. To visit with family, and friends, and eat turkey, and stuffing, and everything else that goes along with Thanksgiving.

I'm not bringing any books on the train ride. Or magazines. Or DVDs, crosswords, or any other piece of paraphernalia that could possibly keep my entertained on my 4 hour train ride home other than my laptop and a pen and notebook. I will be doing nothing but writing tonight, and every night from here on until the 30th. I'm woefully behind in my word count, but I feel like my plot has finally got some traction, my characters are taking on a certain amount of depth, and I'm finally starting to feel a little hopeful that this project might actually be worth revising in the end instead of simply walking away from which is what I've wanted to do to every other piece of writing I've gotten down on paper in the last four years.

And now, here's the admission I've been avoiding making.

Oh God, am I really going to tell you this?

Well, I have to now, since I've teased you with it.

Ok, dear internet, this book I'm working on? It's ... it's ... it's chick lit! Part of me wants to hang my BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing filled head in shame. But the bigger part of me? The one that's pushing me through this entire Nanowrimo experience, hasn't had this much fun writing in a long long LONG time. So judge me if you must, and I know some people who read here will, but I'm about to finish writing an entire novel in one month and I've never been happier doing it. What have YOU done this month?

Labels: family, Rhode Island, writing

posted by FINY @ Tuesday, November 21, 2006

7 Comments:

At 11/21/2006, Esther said…

I see nothing wrong with writing chick lit - we all read it, even if we don't want to admit it. And if it ever gets to a point where you're willing to share, I for one would LOVE to read it.
At 11/21/2006, Anonymous said…

As someone who never thought he;d write true crime, go with it. If you really like writing you need to find a way to make it commercially viable, and if you enjoy what you're doing, it helps that its a hot genre and there's a chance you could sell it, make tons of money and spend the rest of your days happily writing the serious stuff you want to write.

Have a great holiday. I may be in New York in a few weeks and it might be fun to move our on again, off again correspondence into the real world, if you;re so inclined.
At 11/21/2006, Anonymous said…

Goin goin
back back
to Rhody, Rhody...
At 11/21/2006, Anonymous said…

Ummm... no Esther, but I've read the equivalent of it in Sci-Fi and Fantasy though. :-D

God FINY Chick lit? Are you freaking kidding me? I can't believe I've ever associated with you. You need to pay for all those tickets you've gotten from my friend and I now. Pay up. Chick frigging lit?

Bah... who cares? No mattter what it is, it's an accomplishment. No matter the subject matter, you will have pulled off writing a novel. 50,000 words, and even if you don't make it, this month has done what it set out to accomplish. It got you in the writing mode so you'll have something you're invested in and want to finish. So let me be the first to say "Congratulations FINY!!"
At 11/21/2006, East Coast Teacher said…

I'm with Esther - I will absolutely read it if you're willing to share.

And I'm certainly not above divulging the fact that I love chick lit and read it fairly regularly. I just started "Everyone Worth Knowing," by Lauren Weisberger (sp?), the same woman who wrote "The Devil Wears Prada."

Oh, and I saw that movie this summer and loved it.

It's a wonderful escape, and in my semester from heck this fall, I'd say I'm certainly entitled.

As for my month's activities, they've mainly centered around spending the weekend at my desk doing school work and creating blog posts for NaBloPoMo, which, I must say, has been quite enjoyable.

Next year, NaNoWriMo it is!
At 11/22/2006, Chief Slacker said…

Hey! I;ve done a lot this month! I've... Umm... Hmmm... Uh, lemme get started on somehting and get back to you ;O)
At 11/26/2006, Christine E. said…

It is AMAZING that you have written a WHOLE NOVEL in a month--hell, I couldn't even COPY something word for word, in that amount of time...And it sounds like you are very proud of what you have written...:-)

How can any of that be a bad thing?

I, too, would love to read it...:-)

Congratulations!