Failure. Hope. Redirection.

So, Nanowrimo didn’t end the way it was supposed to.  Life got in the way, and I didn’t get the novel finished.  I am a Nanoloser.  The good news is that none of my students were Nanowrimo winners this year, so I don’t feel that I let them down.

In an It’s-a-Small-World-After-All twist, the professional editor that I worked with for two years at the National Writing Project Professional Writing Retreats has just become Executive Director of Nanowrimo.  Good luck to you, Grant!  Grant is one of those people that you hope never fades into the sunset…although I have to admit the last time I worked with Grant at the NWP Annual Meeting at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World provided the absolute best working conditions possible.  It’s an unbelievable feeling to put in a good morning of work and then meet the family at the Magic Kingdom for lunch.  I thought that day would be my last memory with Grant, but maybe our paths will cross again.

Although the Florida Project has been postponed (more later), I’ve still been doing my reading, despite the fact I haven’t blogged about it.  I’ve been immersed in The Book Lover’s Guide to Florida by Kevin McCarthy.  This is an amazing book.  If I have a criticism it’s that it’s too detailed, but it sure has been keeping me busy.  I have expanded my reading list substantially.

 

So, why has the Florida Trip been postponed?  On the same day my father told me that he was sending me money for Christmas and my birthday, I gave an email from BRAG saying that the tentative route for the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia was available.  It was accompanied by a registration form that, if postmarked by December 31, guaranteed the 2012 ride at 2011 prices.  Guess where my Christmas and birthday money went?

So I plan to do BRAG in the summer of 2012 and the Florida Trip in the summer of 2013.  I’ve been wanting to do BRAG for years, but it was always a dream until my summer job with the National Writing Project ended last year.  Now I have my summers free.  The tentative route has BRAG 2012 hitting north Georgia (starting in Chattanooga).  It’s absolutely beautiful up there.  I’m giddy.