Here’s my list of can’t fail resolutions:

I will eat more chocolate.

And potato chips. And cinnamon candies. And tons of other foods I use for celebrations. I hope there are a lot of them. On days when nothing special happens, I will make up my own reasons for merriment. Meeting a writing goal. Getting a decent haircut.  Not hitting that terminally long red light on my way to work. I will celebrate ordinary events, and I will eat accordingly (for those of you think I’ve gone off the nutritional deep end, I’m looking into a juicer. There has to be a special event that calls for a kale/spinach/parsley cocktail.) 

I will get lost.

I live in New Jersey, a land of meandering roads with street signs that will point you toward your destination…eventually. I have ventured off the Garden State Parkway and found myself unable to get back. My GPS is equally perplexed by the NJ road system.  When it fails, I am left to wander. With writing too, my plot will turn in unexpected ways. My characters will do something new, and I will lose my sense of direction.

Sometimes I intentionally take the wrong turn. If I’m lucky I’ll find a beach or a place to get a bucket of blueberries. I enjoy getting lost. It’s what happens when you leave the familiar behind and venture into something new.  And new places mean new possibilities.

I will take on too much.

In 2010, I’m going to finish my work-in-progress, work full-time as a librarian, go on class/library visits for my debut book, spend time with family and friends, possibly buy a house and probably deal with an occasional crisis or two. Like everyone else, I’m juggling a lot. Oh sure. I’ll drop a few balls this year. Something will come crashing down. It’s one of the consequences of having a busy (and full) life. But except for that occasional crisis, there’s not a thing here I’d give up.

I will feel guilty. 

I’m convinced that guilt is an archetypal theme that runs through the new millennial American experience. There will be times when those unanswered emails, unfinished projects, and all the things I should have/could have/would have done better if only I had more time will keep me awake at night. But I know my guilt comes from doing too much (my choice) or perhaps from eating too much chocolate (my choice again) so I will try to let myself off the hook.

 I will find some quiet time.

Somewhere in the chaos, I’ll find a moment to take a few deep breaths, glance up at the moon or stare out at the bay (and also go late night channel surfing and play way too many games of Spider Solitaire).

 I will read a book that takes my breath away.

It’s happened every year since I started reading so it’s pretty much guaranteed. I never know which book it will be or why. A single sentence. An idea. The book as a whole. Perhaps it will make me see the world in a whole new way or maybe something familiar will be so well articulated that it will make me wonder why I never noticed it before. Everything I know about writing and storytelling will be challenged.   I will hold that book in my hands, and I will feel grateful.

 Happy New Year!

 First Week:  Feed Your Muse!

Writers can’t live on words alone. The first week of November has some important food feasts. There’s something for everyone here:  sugar, salt, caffeine and of course chocolate.  

November 4: National Candy Day

November 5: National Doughnut Day

November 6: National Nachos Day

November 7: Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

November 8: National Cappuccino Day

Second Week:  Make some noise!  

You don’t need to be a trained musician to make music.  November is International Drum Month. Join a drum circle. Here’s what Mickey Hart, drummer for the Grateful Dead, says about them:

“Typically, people gather to drum in drum “circles” with others from the surrounding community. The drum circle offers equality because there is no head or tail. It includes people of all ages. The main objective is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves.” 

If you can’t find a drum circle near you, get some friends together and go for it. What a great way to set your muse free. Think of it as a NaNoWriMo with percussion instruments.

Third Week: Feel the Love, Try Something New and Don’t Give Up!

November 16^th: By this point, you could be having a few shaky writing moments.  Fortunately, it’s the anniversary of the first time that Lucy held a football for Charlie Brown in the Peanuts cartoon strip.  If anyone can teach us a lesson in resilience, it’s Charlie Brown. He kept kicking. Hope you do too.

 November 19^th is Pencil Day. Try something new by going back to the tried and true. Give your PC a break and pull out the old pencil and paper.  Reward yourself with a Pop Tart (since it’s also the anniversary of the day those snacks were created)

 Feel the love on World Hello Day. This day was created to demonstrate the importance of personal communication. It’s November 21^st and anyone can participate.  All you have to do is say ‘hello’ to ten people. Don’t forget to give a shout out to your writer friends. The other NaNoWriMo participants could probably use a bit of encouragement too.

 Week Four:  Home Stretch!

 It’s the last week. You’re almost there!  November 24^th is Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day. Give yourself a pat on the back for that special thing that only you can do.  

And there are so many famous writers’ birthdays.  William Blake’s is on November 28^th. Louisa May Alcott and C.S. Lewis have their special day on the 29^th and Mark Twain’s is on the 30th.

There’s one last holiday. November 30^th is National Play Hooky Day. What a perfect way to reward yourself for completing your NaNoWriMo goals and for getting through an entire month of celebrations.

Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, I’ve realized I’m not alone in my writing angst.  For many of us, it’s part of the process. I stick with it, because the payoff is big.  There are moments of discovery that make the whole thing worthwhile. A plot emerges.  A character does something surprising.  A theme becomes clear.

They’re called ‘eureka’ moments and they transform us.  Somehow, after the experience, we’re different.  The discovery changes the way we think, how we feel about ourselves, and how we view the world around us.  The Greek scholar Archimedes is fabled to have been the first person to utter the phrase ‘eureka’, which is Greek for “I have found it.”  

Scientists have learned a few interesting facts about these illuminating moments. First, they never come at the best times. Archimedes had his moment when he noticed that the water level rose after he stepped into the bath tub. Mine usually happen when I’m driving, walking the dog, eating dinner or working at the library. 

They’ve also learned that these moments are not pulled out of thin air. It probably wasn’t the first time that old Archimedes contemplated volume, measurement and water displacement.  If it was, I doubt his discovery would have made him leap out of his bath tub and race into the streets of Syracuse.  There’s an incubation process, a time when your conscious and subconscious start working things out and making connections. For me that process involves wrestling with words.

I’m not ready to head out to the herb garden just yet.  I’ll stick with writing.  I’ll wait for those moments.   If I have a good writing day, perhaps I’ll find a new meadering path — and maybe even a few butterflies.

• Before your book comes out, get comfortable on all those social networking sites.  Make friends on Facebook, decide what you’re going to say on your blog, and learn how to tweet.  You don’t want to be dealing with all that book launch stuff and trying to figure out what RT means at the same time.
• No matter how much they hang in your face, do not get your bangs cut the day before your book launch.  Feel free to disregard this if you have one of those hair stylists who always make you look fabulous.  (If you do, and you live in NJ, please IM me)
• Once you step in front of a group of kids, you’re the one running the show.  That means you need to acquire some basic classroom management skills.  Think about what you’re going to say when a very angelic-looking 4^th grader interrupts his classmate to tell a story that involves blood, guts and brain spillage.
• When you’re speaking to a class, pay attention to the teachers.  You can learn a lot from their body language.  When they stop their conversations, cross their arms, and lean toward you, you know you’ve just called on the child who will talk about brain spillage.
• Even after you’re published, you’ll still have to take the dishes out of the dishwasher.  At some very weird level, this fact surprises me.  (To everyone who has more than one book out there:  When do they work the “no dirty dishes” clause into your contract?)
• Watch out for those 5th graders.  One moment, they’re giggling and acting like little kids, and the next moment, their maturity and insight will leave you tongue-tied.
• If you give out Tootsie Rolls to large groups of 4^th and 5^th graders, many will lose teeth.
• There might be one or two people in your life who aren’t quite as happy for you as you’d thought they’d be.  But for the most part, you will be overwhelmed by good wishes and good energy from friends and family.
• Don’t even attempt to seriously answer the question: “Why don’t you try to get on Oprah?”
• Even a starred review is not going to make you feel secure about your writing, if you happen to be a naturally neurotic writer.  All those good feelings really do come from within.
• Getting the call from your agent, working with a great editor, and holding your book for the first time will live up to your every expectation.  But it’s the things you never thought about, like the really wonderful email from a stranger or a surprise celebration from friends that will take your breath away.
• Do not become obsessed with your ranking on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, LibraryThing, etc.  It will only make you crazy.  One day, I hope to follow this excellent advice.  For now, I am a moth.  Amazon is the flame.
• Being published changes nothing.  In all probability, you will still have your day job, still spend a summer Saturday afternoon with the in-laws and I’ve already told you about the dishes.
• Being published changes everything.  Something about a having a dream come true changes  you to the very core.

I’m sure I’ve left a lot out, so please feel free to add to this list.

Why?  Because it’s a great story, filled with jump-off-the-page characters, a compelling plot and a satisfying ending.  But also because C. Lee McKenzie is my writing buddy.

I’ve never met Lee in person.  There’s three thousand miles between us.  I’m on the east coast, and she lives in California.  Sure I’ve seen her picture and she’s seen mine (the touched up one where I have no wrinkles) but there’s a good chance I could walk by her on a crowded city street and not recognize her.  Even so, I consider her a close friend. We’ve been through a lot together.

Writing buddies inspire you, build you up, fix your grammar, point out obvious things about your story that you somehow didn’t see, comment on subtle things that you never would have discovered, and keep you balanced as you find your way as a writer.  They are invaluable. Only a person who’s watched your novel grow, read your countless revisions and writes her own stories can understand the hope and heartache of a ‘nice’ rejection.  Heck, how many people outside of your writing friends even understand what a ‘nice’ rejection is?

When you’re less than two weeks away from the release of your first novel, you do a lot of thinking.  You do a lot of stressing but that’s for another post. I’m sure I would have given up if it wasn’t for Lee, my critique group partners and all my other writing friends. And I know that almost every person reading this post has had the same experience.  There probably was a time when you were ready to quit and someone was there to talk you off the ledge and point you toward your dreams.  I only hope I’m as good at dream pointing as my friends are.

What about you? Do you have a writing buddy?  Here’s your chance to give them a shout out.

NEIL ARMSTRONG IS MY UNCLE AND OTHER LIES MUSCLE MCGINTY TOLD ME by Nan Marino

• Publication Season/Year: Spring, 2009
• Publisher: Roaring Brook
• Release Date: May 12, 2009
• ISBN (hardcover): 1596434996
• ISBN (paperback): TBD

Muscle Man McGinty is a squirrelly runt, a lying snake and a pitiful excuse for a ten-year-old.  The problem is that no one on Ramble Street knows it, but me.

Muscle Man McGinty can certainly tell some whoppers, but this time he’s done the unthinkable.  He bragged he can beat the entire block in a game of kickball!   On Ramble Street, tough talk about kickball cannot be ignored.  For Tamara Ann Simpson this is great news. Now she’ll finally be able to prove to everyone what a wormy little runt Muscle Man really is. Of course things would be a lot easier if her best friend Kebsie Grobser were here to help her…

It’s the summer of 1969 and the world is getting ready for a man named Neil Armstrong to make history by taking the first step on the moon. But change happens a bit more slowly in Massapequa Park, and it’ll take one giant leap for Tamara to understand the likes of Muscle Man McGinty.