It’s funny how names, phrases and snatches of songs play through my mind.  They come on airs of whimsy, unsolicited and unexpected.  Alice is one of the names.  Perhaps I was inspired by Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass.  In that case, I have Lewis Carroll to thank.  I wish I have his gift of imagination.

I know the story of Alice falling down the rabbit hole, the tea party and the Mad Hatter.  I haven’t really read the book. I do not know the details.  I do not know how she got out of the rabbit hole, or whether it was just a child’s fantasy dream.  Now, THAT’S a worthwhile project – read Alice in Wonderland.  I have the book on my kindle. What better way to stir up my imagination, if I have one.

November is just over a month away.  It is the National Novel Month.  I have time to mentally prepare myself.  I have time to limber up, loosen my tapping fingers and cast out my stagnant chi.  I can resurrect my Alice of last year.  She can fall down a different rabbit hole.  Life is full of them.  There are so many mishaps, mischiefs and strange characters she can encounter.  There are many stories about rabbit holes.  I just have to tell one.

I gave up on her too soon last year. After an introduction and three chapters I left her sitting on my DESKTOP without another word, comma or period.  Alice is a worthwhile character.  She is full of potential. She has depth and dimension.  She is after all, a part of myself. She still resides in me.

She is a composite of all the Alices I admire/want to be – the imaginative, playful girl of the mirror, the curious girl in her Wonderland, the writer of poetry, short stories, novels, the wordsmiths that can move and change the world. They are the Alice Walkers, Munroes, Hoffmans, Kuipers of the literary world.  She deserves to be rescued from the shelf, dusted off and given life. Her story needs to be heard.

What will I have to do to succeed?  The most important thing is to write every day.  I set the goal for at least 1500 words a day.  That will give me 45000 words in 30 days.  I will have to cough up another 5000 words to qualify at 50,000 words.

Having made this assessment only a few days ago, I have had to put my writing aside a day here and there.  You can’t be rigid and dogged about it.  Some days life gets in the way. You have to be practical and flexible.  Sometimes you have to quit in order to succeed.  You have to let go of that bone.  Knowing when to quit is smart as Kristen Lamb posts in her blog.  It’s good to know better writers than I have given up projects a time or two.  Winners know when to fold them and when to hold them.

Am I making excuses for myself?  Time will tell.