It has been quite awhile it seems since I last sat down to write an entry here (or anywhere)… it hasn’t been that long in terms of days, but long enough to seem like there has been a gap in the kind of writing that I promised myself I would try to keep up. I am failing miserably at it!

A lot has been happening since my past entry – drove to Nova Scotia and back again for what was probably one of the best holidays I can ever remember having. I came home feeling energized and filled with purpose – heavy on the feeling energized part. November 1st I jumped into the National Novel Writing Competition along with 20 or so others from Diving Deeper. The competition involves writing from November 1st to 30th with the goal of having 50,000 words by the 30th. Much to my surprise, ten days later, I arrived at 50,000 words and the better part of my first novel written.  The story that I wrote isn’t entirely finished, some characters keep jumping up and wanting to say something more…. But when it is finished, then I will begin the editing process, and see where that all will go. It has been a very interesting and enjoyable process so far – much more so than I ever anticipated! Here is a brief synopsis of the story:

Unfolding The Butterfly is a story of transformation that looks at crucial intersections in a person's life - the events that shake and change people.

Quinlan is having dinner in a restaurant with his sister, Lola. He just finishes telling her that he has been transferred to a small Southwestern Ontario town by his company. He asked to be transferred because he felt he could no longer live in the city. Then they witness a horrific crime outside the window of the restaurant just feet from their table. A man is killed in cold blood on the street. The killer sees Quinlan and Lola through the window, and tries to kill them as well before the police arrive. By the grace of God, the killer misses, and flees.

Quinlan convinces his sister to come with him to Port Glasgow to hide until the police capture the killer. Reluctantly, Lola agrees. They make the trip down, confident that they are safe, until Lola sees the killer watching the house. Lola runs. She disappears. Quinlan is convinced that it is the shadowy killer he saw in Toronto. Quinlan tries desperately to find her after getting an interrupted cell phone call. He thinks he sees her lying in the street, but when he goes to her, he discovers young woman who was badly beaten. He takes her to the local hospital to get medical help. The unknown woman presses a wadded message into his hand before being rushed into surgery. The letter holds a clue to where the killer took Lola - the only clue Quinlan has that will lead him to his sister. He has no choice but to follow the message to find Lola. His quest leads him Isla who is the key to the entire mystery.

What does it take to truly transform a life? Learning the art of unfolding the butterfly.
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Now, I am about to embark on another big project for the next week…It actually has been an on going one since the beginning of September, but next week is when the big winter coat giveaway happens at work. I have already mentioned that mountain recently…. It is going to be a very special, if not exhausting week.

Needless to say, my mind has been a bit busy with everything… it’s a good kind of busy. I am loving it!

la

I used to have a professor who would stand at the top of the stairs in his house with his pile of essays and throw them. Whatever landed at the bottom got an A. If the essay landed at his feet… well that would be an F my friend, a very sad and short fall into failure.


This is not how I make decisions… or is it? I sometimes am a planner, do research, check out everything, as many sides of the issue as I possibly can before I take a decision…. But then sometimes I am impulsive and don’t spend time at all thinking too much about it. An example of a planned decision? Hmmm for a second there I couldn’t think of a decision that I had planned out but I am sure that there is one. I have lots of on the fly decisions that I have made – like doing NaNoWriMo – that is my latest impulsive, not planning decision…. Why not write a novel when you are in the middle of one of the busier months at work and heading into Christmas and are already doing two other writing projects, not to mention all the other projects that are on the go – my inner critic was ranting when that happened. I heard ‘what are you fonting nuts or what?” a lot. Sigh.

But you know, doing the novel has been a really great experience. In fact the vast majority of decisions that I have made like that – trusting my instincts rather than thinking too much about something, have turned out be pretty great experiences, even if sometimes hard ones.

So, I guess I am more like my old prof than I wanted to admit. The good stuff that falls to the bottom – where my toes land… that is how I make my decisions to do anything.

Xo
la

This is the playlist I created while I was writing for NaNoWriMo… I am not entirely sure why I chose each of the songs, they all just seemed to fit in with what I was writing at the time. Just thought I would share now that the month is over ;-)

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
To Be Where There’s Life – Oasis
Meg White – Ray LaMontagne
In this River – Black Label Society
Melody Day- Caribou
Before You – Chantal Kreviazuk
Everyday Things – David Usher
All The Good In This Life – Garbage
Butterflies – Peirson Ross
Adia- Sarah McLachlan
Love Song – The Cure
Enjoy The Ride – Morcheeba
Modern Romance – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
SuperChrist – Smashing Pumpkins
My Winding Wheel – Ryan Adams
Human – The Killers
Teardrop – Jose Gonzalez
Reckoner – Radiohead
House of Cards – Radiohead
Sing for You – Tracy Chapman
Belief – John Mayer
Lost?- Coldplay
The River – David Usher
Hey You – Pink Floyd
Hollow Man – R.E.M

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