Well, NaNoWriMo 2010 is officially over for me this year. Interesting how the win was so important to me last year, but not this year. I thought I had it in the bag for sure, and I should have. I easily type almost 2K words in a single hour. No idea why I couldn't pull it off this year. I suppose I allowed myself to be distracted too easily? I may or may not attempt it next year. I don't know yet. I suppose I'll find out then.
I finished up at 35,011. Oddly enough, I see this book easily reaching 60K and maybe more. However, the pressure is off to write it and I can revert to taking my time and editing a bit as I go without feeling guilty. ;-)
Oh! I was writing some messages out on Writing.com and I think I found out why I didn't win. About what? Halfway through, I started wishing it was over already so I could move on with my new dreams and hopes. Hopes and dreams that were going to take a lot of work, that's for sure! In the end, I may very well have sabotaged myself so I would have an excuse to throw in the towel early and move on. To tell you the truth, that feels like the right answer. I could see myself doing that. :-P
Yeah. I'm working on becoming published now, and I'm being serious about it this time. As Beverly said in Eureka in an episode, "Talking is easy. Doing is hard." So, that's what sabotaged my NaNoWriMo win this year. That might be why I was wondering why I felt okay with losing when I should have felt bad. I'm moving on to bigger and better things. LOL Sorry, had to laugh at the cliche. I just pictured myself standing on the edge of a cliff, a breeze blowing my hair back, and I'm standing there with a straight back with the most officious look on my face like I was better than everyone else. lol Too funny. What makes that so darn funny is that I know I have a long way to go. I know I'm not better than anyone else, and that I make oodles of errors. Besides, the last time I checked, everyone could get better at what they do. ;-)
Now! It's time to end this lovely post and this lovely blog. I have officially moved over to my own website! That's what I've been doing this week. It might change before too long. I'm not sure what the heck I'm doing at the moment. So! Without further ado, if you'd like to keep tagging along, I'm now at www.erinjroberts.com. Don't be surprised if the URL goes down in the next few days. I'm seriously thinking of switching my hosting over to a paid site so I can make it "fancier" so that it reflects me better. Maybe. I'm still thinking about it. :-D
Until then, see ya!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Final Day
Well, here it is, November 30th. It is officially the last day of NaNoWriMo. Today has gone not near as good as planned. Not that I had a plan, but I did plan to write more than I have so far. I was hoping for at least a major push for a win. Silly me. I should have thought of that sooner while it was still even a possibility. lol
Of course, I woke up last night after my last post. Did I write? Of course not. I sat and watched Eureka with my husband instead. Then, he did the smart thing and went to bed. I wasn't tired then, so I stayed up. Story of my life, actually. So, I picked up "How to Grow a Novel" by Sol Stein and started to read.
You know, it's about time I found another book on writing that actually teaches me something! This one taught me why people like my writing. hehehe I get stuck up like that sometimes, so bear with me. I know I still have a lot of work to do and I'm not perfect by any means, but I understand now. I also understand why "The Day SHADE Came to Call" is getting better reviews than "Whispers of the Past" ever did. I'm currently fixing "Whispers of the Past" so that it's 'right.'
Anyway! Goodness. Meandering brain. I did learn why my books are interesting to people, but I was also sideswiped by several excellent ideas for "The Day SHADE Came to Call." So, I went to bed last night knowing I'd tackle them today. Whoo hoo!!
Enter today. Gack! That sums it up right there. lol Hubby didn't get me up right away, thank goodness. Turned out he had to come back home before going to class anyway, so he let me get 2 more hours of sleep. That would have been awesome had I gotten to bed when I should have. Yeah. Then, I got all snippy and growly at him and basically told him to go away, take the car, I'd figure out a different way to get to the doctor's appointment. Why do I do those things when I haven't had enough coffee? Sheesh. Thank goodness he knows I'm a pain in the butt in the morning. He came home at lunch and I was able to get the car from him.
My writing morning consisted of ... *drum roll* ... 1,000 words. Took me about 45 minutes to get that much down. Hurray! Unfortunately... I have my son's cold now. Boo hiss. So, I'm very tired and very cold due to the fact I am tired. Such a nasty combination. Anyway, I finished writing up to the point where I'd need to look into the reason why some guys like sports beyond all reason. Umm. I have NO idea. I might need to ask out on Facebook if anyone there knows. lol My brain curled up and fell asleep, so my body decided it liked that idea. I woke up in time for the car to come home. Yay.
So! That was a LONG entry to say, I'm definitely not going to win. I only wrote 1K words so far today, and my awesome ideas from last night are still way off in the distance. This book is going to ROCK! The further I get into it, the more I like it, and the more I realize it's going to outstrip the 50K word goal from NaNo. However, I think I'm going to go and write down my awesome ideas I had. I need to get them down since several of them are at least 2-3 chapters down the line. I'm a linear writer, I have problems skipping around. So, yeah. Off to write down my ideas.
I'll be back at the end of the night to give a final NaNo word count, but I know for sure it won't be 50,000. I'll keep telling myself I don't mind, but I think I do on some level or else I wouldn't have to keep saying I don't mind. I'll think about that later. For now, an FB poll and my idea sketches.
Of course, I woke up last night after my last post. Did I write? Of course not. I sat and watched Eureka with my husband instead. Then, he did the smart thing and went to bed. I wasn't tired then, so I stayed up. Story of my life, actually. So, I picked up "How to Grow a Novel" by Sol Stein and started to read.
You know, it's about time I found another book on writing that actually teaches me something! This one taught me why people like my writing. hehehe I get stuck up like that sometimes, so bear with me. I know I still have a lot of work to do and I'm not perfect by any means, but I understand now. I also understand why "The Day SHADE Came to Call" is getting better reviews than "Whispers of the Past" ever did. I'm currently fixing "Whispers of the Past" so that it's 'right.'
Anyway! Goodness. Meandering brain. I did learn why my books are interesting to people, but I was also sideswiped by several excellent ideas for "The Day SHADE Came to Call." So, I went to bed last night knowing I'd tackle them today. Whoo hoo!!
Enter today. Gack! That sums it up right there. lol Hubby didn't get me up right away, thank goodness. Turned out he had to come back home before going to class anyway, so he let me get 2 more hours of sleep. That would have been awesome had I gotten to bed when I should have. Yeah. Then, I got all snippy and growly at him and basically told him to go away, take the car, I'd figure out a different way to get to the doctor's appointment. Why do I do those things when I haven't had enough coffee? Sheesh. Thank goodness he knows I'm a pain in the butt in the morning. He came home at lunch and I was able to get the car from him.
My writing morning consisted of ... *drum roll* ... 1,000 words. Took me about 45 minutes to get that much down. Hurray! Unfortunately... I have my son's cold now. Boo hiss. So, I'm very tired and very cold due to the fact I am tired. Such a nasty combination. Anyway, I finished writing up to the point where I'd need to look into the reason why some guys like sports beyond all reason. Umm. I have NO idea. I might need to ask out on Facebook if anyone there knows. lol My brain curled up and fell asleep, so my body decided it liked that idea. I woke up in time for the car to come home. Yay.
So! That was a LONG entry to say, I'm definitely not going to win. I only wrote 1K words so far today, and my awesome ideas from last night are still way off in the distance. This book is going to ROCK! The further I get into it, the more I like it, and the more I realize it's going to outstrip the 50K word goal from NaNo. However, I think I'm going to go and write down my awesome ideas I had. I need to get them down since several of them are at least 2-3 chapters down the line. I'm a linear writer, I have problems skipping around. So, yeah. Off to write down my ideas.
I'll be back at the end of the night to give a final NaNo word count, but I know for sure it won't be 50,000. I'll keep telling myself I don't mind, but I think I do on some level or else I wouldn't have to keep saying I don't mind. I'll think about that later. For now, an FB poll and my idea sketches.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Anymore?
So, I was looking at my word count (31,944) and at my team on Writing.com, many who have gone on to complete at least 50,000 words, and I had a thought. How far can I push tonight and tomorrow? Then I remembered a few things.
1. I'm incredibly tired and haven't woke up yet, even though I've been up for over an hour and I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee.
2. I have a sick kid at home. However, he's generally happy with video games for the most part. He has immunizations tomorrow though, so this will be interesting.
3. Those darn immunizations means I need the dang car. Hubby told me at dinner that he's been enrolled in some class that requires full battle rattle and he'll be gone until 7. No!! That means I have to get up painfully early to have the car. I hate getting up early.
I don't know. I guess I could pull out the ol' notebook I've been writing in and get to work anyway. Well, after I find chapter 10 on my Netbook, that is. I apparently didn't upload it into my Dropbox account, so I don't have access to it on this computer. Boo.
I know that each page side equals approximately 250 words. It has for as long as I can remember. So, I could write my little heart out between now and then and count how many pages I finished. Since I won't cross the finish line, it doesn't matter if the count is a little off. If nothing else, I'd be that much closer to finishing my book. I've had several people ask me to keep writing it even though my NaNo win is out of reach. That has to make you feel good, to be asked to keep writing it as they're interested in reading it. :-) Yup. I like it.
What the heck. The win is out of reach, but hey! I'd be writing! That's better than nothing. :-D
1. I'm incredibly tired and haven't woke up yet, even though I've been up for over an hour and I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee.
2. I have a sick kid at home. However, he's generally happy with video games for the most part. He has immunizations tomorrow though, so this will be interesting.
3. Those darn immunizations means I need the dang car. Hubby told me at dinner that he's been enrolled in some class that requires full battle rattle and he'll be gone until 7. No!! That means I have to get up painfully early to have the car. I hate getting up early.
I don't know. I guess I could pull out the ol' notebook I've been writing in and get to work anyway. Well, after I find chapter 10 on my Netbook, that is. I apparently didn't upload it into my Dropbox account, so I don't have access to it on this computer. Boo.
I know that each page side equals approximately 250 words. It has for as long as I can remember. So, I could write my little heart out between now and then and count how many pages I finished. Since I won't cross the finish line, it doesn't matter if the count is a little off. If nothing else, I'd be that much closer to finishing my book. I've had several people ask me to keep writing it even though my NaNo win is out of reach. That has to make you feel good, to be asked to keep writing it as they're interested in reading it. :-) Yup. I like it.
What the heck. The win is out of reach, but hey! I'd be writing! That's better than nothing. :-D
Friday, November 26, 2010
**Fizzle**
Well, it's the end of my NaNoWriMo adventure, I'm sorry to say. So sad when you look at the beginning of this blog and see all the energy that was flowing. However, real life stepped up and slapped me back down.
Today, I spent the afternoon at an urgent care clinic to find out my son had strep throat. The past two days were spent keeping his temperature down and caused a serious lack of sleep. Today, the third day, I took him in. A fever lasting 3 days is not normal. At least he's on antibiotics now and his fever has officially broken. Hurray! Powerful stuff they put him on, and I'm glad. :-) I'm now on the alert and watching everyone else in the house, including myself. I'm hoping and praying that he's the only one, but you never know.
I am going to continue writing this book, however. I'm enjoying it and I'd like to see where it goes. It will be a slower journey and I can return to writing by hand. To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to that. Also, with the end of NaNo, I can focus on some of my other goals.
Yes. While NaNoWriMo did not end in an official win for me, I did finish up around 32,000 words. That is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. Also, it opened the door to new thoughts and new dreams, which makes it an overall win, which is much more important. So, don't feel bad that I didn't "win," because in the end, I did. :-D
Today, I spent the afternoon at an urgent care clinic to find out my son had strep throat. The past two days were spent keeping his temperature down and caused a serious lack of sleep. Today, the third day, I took him in. A fever lasting 3 days is not normal. At least he's on antibiotics now and his fever has officially broken. Hurray! Powerful stuff they put him on, and I'm glad. :-) I'm now on the alert and watching everyone else in the house, including myself. I'm hoping and praying that he's the only one, but you never know.
I am going to continue writing this book, however. I'm enjoying it and I'd like to see where it goes. It will be a slower journey and I can return to writing by hand. To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to that. Also, with the end of NaNo, I can focus on some of my other goals.
Yes. While NaNoWriMo did not end in an official win for me, I did finish up around 32,000 words. That is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. Also, it opened the door to new thoughts and new dreams, which makes it an overall win, which is much more important. So, don't feel bad that I didn't "win," because in the end, I did. :-D
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
I was sitting here thinking about working on my story, and my mind keeps returning to the great day we just had. I put enough food on the table to easily feed more than twice our number, but we were the only ones to eat it. We have enough leftovers in the fridge to serve the entire meal all over again. I had my husband ask his buddies in his company if anyone wanted to join us, but they all had plans. Most were going home to their family for Thanksgiving while one was spending the weekend with his fiance. So we ended up with a ton of food. It's interesting how something like that can reveal, while we're almost poor by U.S. standards, we're still better off than many others. Yes. It was definitely a day to be thankful.
Here in a moment, I will convince myself to go write. I might not get my 3,000 words, which is my goal, but I do hope to get at least the 1,667 daily NaNo word goal. It's almost 2K words more than I had this morning. ;-) Now, to do that by 11 my time so I can sneak in at least one episode of Eureka before bed. hehehe
Here in a moment, I will convince myself to go write. I might not get my 3,000 words, which is my goal, but I do hope to get at least the 1,667 daily NaNo word goal. It's almost 2K words more than I had this morning. ;-) Now, to do that by 11 my time so I can sneak in at least one episode of Eureka before bed. hehehe
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
New Plan!
Okay, this one probably won't work either, but it's worth a shot. :-D
My plan is: 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, etc. I bet you get the picture there. Each day, I add 1,000 more words to the previous day. That way, I will swiftly climb the ladder to NaNoWindom! Okay, I'm not so sure about the 3K tomorrow since it is on Thanksgiving day, but I am happy to say I did the 2K today. Which is good, trust me. It took me AGES to get that out of my head and typed. I have no idea what the problem was today, but my thoughts were everywhere but on that book. The good news is that I finished Chapter 9. Hurray!
Sadly enough, that's about all for today. None of my other thoughts were on NaNo. Unless you count, "I'm not going to win this year," or how about, "I put my Netbook on stilts." Oh, wait. No. That last one probably doesn't count. However, I did that while I was supposed to be writing, so maybe it does. Either way... That's all of my NaNo thoughts for now.
By the way, the possessive form of "boss" is "boss's" in case you're curious.
My plan is: 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, etc. I bet you get the picture there. Each day, I add 1,000 more words to the previous day. That way, I will swiftly climb the ladder to NaNoWindom! Okay, I'm not so sure about the 3K tomorrow since it is on Thanksgiving day, but I am happy to say I did the 2K today. Which is good, trust me. It took me AGES to get that out of my head and typed. I have no idea what the problem was today, but my thoughts were everywhere but on that book. The good news is that I finished Chapter 9. Hurray!
Sadly enough, that's about all for today. None of my other thoughts were on NaNo. Unless you count, "I'm not going to win this year," or how about, "I put my Netbook on stilts." Oh, wait. No. That last one probably doesn't count. However, I did that while I was supposed to be writing, so maybe it does. Either way... That's all of my NaNo thoughts for now.
By the way, the possessive form of "boss" is "boss's" in case you're curious.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Getting Worse
Argh! I don't know what it is with me this year. I started off with such high hopes for this book, and it went bleh on me. Got my high hopes back. I'm all bleh again. The latest bleh happened when I switched to typing. I miss writing by hand and have this incredible urge to work that way tonight anyway. I missed my goal again by two 15 minute sprints. It turns out that I write better during the day. When I'm down, my characters are down. When I'm tired, my characters are tired. Silly characters. They're like my personal emotion mirror. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
I'm not certain what I should do at this point. I have yet to have a 3500 word day. Without one, I'm in big trouble. Heck, I need 6 of them, and one of them lands on Thanksgiving day. You know, the day where I get to do all of the cooking? At least I can smile sweetly and hand over all the cleaning to my husband and kids. I'll do the pies and fruit salad tomorrow night to get them out of the way. It's easier.
The kids are out of school now until Monday. Maybe they'll let me write tomorrow. You know what? I think I could still win NaNo, but I'm not going to stress out if I don't. I'm still sad at having to give up writing by hand and I know it's influencing how my novel is turning out. I'm already looking past November and wishing it over so I can move on to other things. Mainly things like, retreating back to writing by hand. Editing Whispers of the Past, outlining The Dark Rider, changing my twitter name, and possibly starting a more professional blog. Yeah, my mind is definitely not on NaNo anymore.
Anyway! I'll work away on my book tomorrow. Oddly enough, it's gotten to the point that I can only write during the day. I find that incredibly odd due to the fact I used to write only at night. Weird how that changed. I'm still learning how to adjust to it. I'll get there, someday. Now, though? It's bed time, I guess. I need the sleep so I can write my little heart out tomorrow. Or at least hit that darn 3500 word goal. Hurry up and end, November!!
I'm not certain what I should do at this point. I have yet to have a 3500 word day. Without one, I'm in big trouble. Heck, I need 6 of them, and one of them lands on Thanksgiving day. You know, the day where I get to do all of the cooking? At least I can smile sweetly and hand over all the cleaning to my husband and kids. I'll do the pies and fruit salad tomorrow night to get them out of the way. It's easier.
The kids are out of school now until Monday. Maybe they'll let me write tomorrow. You know what? I think I could still win NaNo, but I'm not going to stress out if I don't. I'm still sad at having to give up writing by hand and I know it's influencing how my novel is turning out. I'm already looking past November and wishing it over so I can move on to other things. Mainly things like, retreating back to writing by hand. Editing Whispers of the Past, outlining The Dark Rider, changing my twitter name, and possibly starting a more professional blog. Yeah, my mind is definitely not on NaNo anymore.
Anyway! I'll work away on my book tomorrow. Oddly enough, it's gotten to the point that I can only write during the day. I find that incredibly odd due to the fact I used to write only at night. Weird how that changed. I'm still learning how to adjust to it. I'll get there, someday. Now, though? It's bed time, I guess. I need the sleep so I can write my little heart out tomorrow. Or at least hit that darn 3500 word goal. Hurry up and end, November!!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Poor Me...
Feel sorry for me, okay? Here I am, on the serious downhill side of NaNoWriMo and I'm flailing along here like a marionette who has no clue where it's going. I was doing great earlier today! I read a blog about cutting writing time into smaller chunks makes it easier to handle. Considering I'm staring at 3500+ words a day, I figured that was a good idea. I ended up slicing them into 15 minute increments. I discovered I can write around 700 words easy within that time period. Great! I can get it all done in no time.
So, I go to get ready to write and go upstairs for something real quick before I buckle down and get to work. I have no idea how I did this, but I whacked my forearm on the top of the divider that divides the stairs from the hallway. It has this decorative thing on top with a sharp edge. Forearm, meet sharp edge. Sharp edge, meet forearm. OMG! That about sums up the amount of pain that went through my arm at that point. *whimper, whimper* 30 minutes later, I got some feeling back in my hand and could begin to open and shut it without intense pain shooting up my arm. However, I quickly learned that I could not use a regular keyboard. It still hurt too much. Lucky for me, a Netbook's keyboard is so much smaller that I was good to go. Less finger span meant I wasn't putting as much stress on that muscle. So, I get to working and end up cranking out 2400 or so words before we had to go shopping. I was two 15 minute increments away from hitting my goal for the day. We get back from shopping and I stayed up too late last night. Yeah. My brain informed me that it was VERY tired and leave it alone.
I managed to force one 15 minute sprint out of my brain. Unfortunately, it ended early due to the fact I ran smack dab into the end of Chapter 8. Short little chapter, barely 2K words long. Go figure. However, that's as long as it wanted to be. Fine. I'm sure I could have added more to it, but I'm tired. Needless to say, all of my characters got tired too and went to bed on me. lol That works.
Tomorrow, I WILL make that up. I will make up the fact I fell short by 300 words in that sprint and completely missed the last sprint. I'm going to start writing in 15 minute increments all day tomorrow until I make excellent progress. I'm getting sick and tired of being this behind. It's time to book it and get it done.
So, that's my poor me post. I'm going to go to bed now and hope my arm is better when I wake up. It's still sore and bugging me. I can barely pick up anything that has decent weight to it. Unfortunately, when the ibuprofen wears off, that includes a coffee cup with coffee in it. That is not acceptable! Get better arm! We have work to do tomorrow.
By the way, I'm getting sick and tired of worrying about word count. *sigh*
So, I go to get ready to write and go upstairs for something real quick before I buckle down and get to work. I have no idea how I did this, but I whacked my forearm on the top of the divider that divides the stairs from the hallway. It has this decorative thing on top with a sharp edge. Forearm, meet sharp edge. Sharp edge, meet forearm. OMG! That about sums up the amount of pain that went through my arm at that point. *whimper, whimper* 30 minutes later, I got some feeling back in my hand and could begin to open and shut it without intense pain shooting up my arm. However, I quickly learned that I could not use a regular keyboard. It still hurt too much. Lucky for me, a Netbook's keyboard is so much smaller that I was good to go. Less finger span meant I wasn't putting as much stress on that muscle. So, I get to working and end up cranking out 2400 or so words before we had to go shopping. I was two 15 minute increments away from hitting my goal for the day. We get back from shopping and I stayed up too late last night. Yeah. My brain informed me that it was VERY tired and leave it alone.
I managed to force one 15 minute sprint out of my brain. Unfortunately, it ended early due to the fact I ran smack dab into the end of Chapter 8. Short little chapter, barely 2K words long. Go figure. However, that's as long as it wanted to be. Fine. I'm sure I could have added more to it, but I'm tired. Needless to say, all of my characters got tired too and went to bed on me. lol That works.
Tomorrow, I WILL make that up. I will make up the fact I fell short by 300 words in that sprint and completely missed the last sprint. I'm going to start writing in 15 minute increments all day tomorrow until I make excellent progress. I'm getting sick and tired of being this behind. It's time to book it and get it done.
So, that's my poor me post. I'm going to go to bed now and hope my arm is better when I wake up. It's still sore and bugging me. I can barely pick up anything that has decent weight to it. Unfortunately, when the ibuprofen wears off, that includes a coffee cup with coffee in it. That is not acceptable! Get better arm! We have work to do tomorrow.
By the way, I'm getting sick and tired of worrying about word count. *sigh*
Sunday, November 21, 2010
9 Days Left
Well, here we are. On the downhill side of NaNoWriMo. I'm currently sitting at just over 23K words. You know, that's not even halfway, and I'm still not stressed out. I found out on Friday that I can do 3500 a day without a problem. I just have to find the motivation to get it done. Today, I took a nibble out of the entire amount by writing 3,000. Unfortunately, the NaNo site and I got into an argument over how much I did write. *growl*
FocusWriter says I did 3,037. NaNo says I only typed 2,400. See why I'm upset? I think I have a right to be upset. I was so upset that I redid the entire master file in case my synced files were off. *sigh* I did have errors on both sides of the computer/sync file equation. Those are all fixed and NaNo still thinks I only did 2,400 words. LAST time, it and FocusWriter agreed a lot closer than that on what I wrote!
Maybe using FocusWriter was a bad idea. I have an extra step thrown in now before I can save and sync my files. I guess I'll just start adding on to my previous files and call it good. Or something. I don't know. I'll think it through tomorrow when I sit down to write.
Tonight, all I want to do is go take a shower, watch an episode or two of Eureka, and head to bed. I DID however, spend some time watching a Twitter stream today. It was the #writechat. Excellent group to sit in on if you get the chance on Sundays. I'm going to start making it a part of my writing habit. I learned so much today. It was exciting. :-)
Now, off to take my shower.
FocusWriter says I did 3,037. NaNo says I only typed 2,400. See why I'm upset? I think I have a right to be upset. I was so upset that I redid the entire master file in case my synced files were off. *sigh* I did have errors on both sides of the computer/sync file equation. Those are all fixed and NaNo still thinks I only did 2,400 words. LAST time, it and FocusWriter agreed a lot closer than that on what I wrote!
Maybe using FocusWriter was a bad idea. I have an extra step thrown in now before I can save and sync my files. I guess I'll just start adding on to my previous files and call it good. Or something. I don't know. I'll think it through tomorrow when I sit down to write.
Tonight, all I want to do is go take a shower, watch an episode or two of Eureka, and head to bed. I DID however, spend some time watching a Twitter stream today. It was the #writechat. Excellent group to sit in on if you get the chance on Sundays. I'm going to start making it a part of my writing habit. I learned so much today. It was exciting. :-)
Now, off to take my shower.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Whoops. Swing and a miss!
Today was not a good day for NaNo, I'm sorry to say. It was a good day for going to a birthday party though. :-D We came back from that and I was worn out. We went to Chuck E. Cheese for a friend's party. The noise and activity in that place always wears me out. It's more of an emotional thing and my book requires way more energy than that right now.
It's funny, because when I tried to write, I noticed two of my characters were exhausted and only wanted to sleep. I figured out my time line and found out it was maybe 7 in the evening. Dang. Nope. They can't be tired yet. lol So the few words I got written today will need to be redone because it's completely wrong. Since I was obviously influencing my characters with my own feelings, I threw in the towel for the night.
I will get a good night's rest and will work hard all day tomorrow. I'd better because we're about down to the last 9 days of the month. I'm still not worried, though. I'll get there. :-) Until I can head to bed, I'm going to go watch some TV. Not much though. I'm very tired and I really want to go to sleep.
It's funny, because when I tried to write, I noticed two of my characters were exhausted and only wanted to sleep. I figured out my time line and found out it was maybe 7 in the evening. Dang. Nope. They can't be tired yet. lol So the few words I got written today will need to be redone because it's completely wrong. Since I was obviously influencing my characters with my own feelings, I threw in the towel for the night.
I will get a good night's rest and will work hard all day tomorrow. I'd better because we're about down to the last 9 days of the month. I'm still not worried, though. I'll get there. :-) Until I can head to bed, I'm going to go watch some TV. Not much though. I'm very tired and I really want to go to sleep.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Done and Done!
Okay, I'm not done with my book, but I hit my goal today, both of them. My first goal was to hit 20,000 words. I was sitting at 16,587. No problem. That's doable. Then, I figured, what a silly goal, as that required 3,413 words. Silly number. I jumped it slightly to 3500. I ended up at, according to the NaNo site, 3609 words for today.
I'm just skipping around here happy as a lark. :-D I'm going to have to repeat that almost every single day from here on out. I might try and see if I can't sneak in more words whenever I can. Weekend starts tomorrow, then the kids have a good part of next week off due to Thanksgiving. It might be a little difficult to get the necessary words on a few of those days. Oh, well. I did it last year, I can do it this year. :-D
*happy dances off to take a little break*
I'm just skipping around here happy as a lark. :-D I'm going to have to repeat that almost every single day from here on out. I might try and see if I can't sneak in more words whenever I can. Weekend starts tomorrow, then the kids have a good part of next week off due to Thanksgiving. It might be a little difficult to get the necessary words on a few of those days. Oh, well. I did it last year, I can do it this year. :-D
*happy dances off to take a little break*
Let's Rock This Thing!
Okay, here we go! I'm currently sitting at 15,086 words behind where I should be. Whoo hoo! You know what? I'm not the least bit upset to be that far behind. Nope! I'm not. This is when it gets fun. Dead serious here. :-D Now that my win is hanging in such a delicate balance, the pressure is on and this is when I do my best stuff. I'm about to get off my main computer, power up the ol' Netbook, and start cranking it out. I have 12 days left. Plenty of time to pull off a 50K win, and I hope a finished book to boot. Of course, this is also when the quality of my work is going to go down, I'm sorry to say. I wish that wasn't the case, but when you start aiming for such a large quantity of words in such a short span of time, quality goes right out the window. *big sigh* Oh, well. I can fix it later.
Let's rock this thing!!
Let's rock this thing!!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I learned...
Today, I learned something interesting. I learned that I write faster, and better, if I'm not on my main computer. I might prefer the screen and the keyboard of my desktop computer over my Netbook, but for some reason, I can avoid the internet better on my Netbook. Weird how that works since it's perfectly capable of going online, and we have a wireless network in our home.
While at home today, I got a whopping 800 words typed on my desktop computer. So much for getting caught up and zooming along. *facepalm* Tonight, I went to a write-in. More people were there and we sort of talked more than we wrote, but I also cranked out another 800 words while there. Not bad when I was sitting and chattering away, sneaking in some writing when I could.
Tomorrow! Tomorrow I shall tuck myself into my writing corner and type away on my little Netbook. I seriously need to get caught up. That, and with the story line I still have tucked in my head, I'll go right past 50K words. I'd like to see the book finished this November, but I'll be okay with a win and then continue to the finish in December. I just have to be careful not to stop writing after November.
I have grand plans... grand plans. And I'd better either a) get started on it, or b) admit it's late and head to bed before I put myself in a nasty feedback loop of getting up exhausted in the morning so I feel the need to take a nap. That's what happened to me today. Then my nap was too long. And then I got nothing done. And then... It is a sad story, really. Yes, tomorrow I can try again and hope I get it right. :-D
While at home today, I got a whopping 800 words typed on my desktop computer. So much for getting caught up and zooming along. *facepalm* Tonight, I went to a write-in. More people were there and we sort of talked more than we wrote, but I also cranked out another 800 words while there. Not bad when I was sitting and chattering away, sneaking in some writing when I could.
Tomorrow! Tomorrow I shall tuck myself into my writing corner and type away on my little Netbook. I seriously need to get caught up. That, and with the story line I still have tucked in my head, I'll go right past 50K words. I'd like to see the book finished this November, but I'll be okay with a win and then continue to the finish in December. I just have to be careful not to stop writing after November.
I have grand plans... grand plans. And I'd better either a) get started on it, or b) admit it's late and head to bed before I put myself in a nasty feedback loop of getting up exhausted in the morning so I feel the need to take a nap. That's what happened to me today. Then my nap was too long. And then I got nothing done. And then... It is a sad story, really. Yes, tomorrow I can try again and hope I get it right. :-D
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Caught up...
Well, I'm caught up with the handwritten portion anyway. Took me all day to pull it off because I kept procrastinating, but I finally got 'er done. I figured that I typed over 7,000 words to do it. Man, it would have been nice if those had been new words. My only consolation prize was that I obviously can't count by hand. The NaNo site gave me 200 bonus words when I was finished. Hey, I'll take them! That's why my little box over there is orange. It can't make up its mind if I flopped or if I did okay. Considering they weren't technically new words, I guess that's a flop. Oh, well.
I have nothing amazing to say today. My hands are sore from all the typing and they're complaining at me. So I should probably just call it a day and meander off. I'll do a few more rounds of my sites and make sure nothing needs my attention. Then I'll call it a night.
I have nothing amazing to say today. My hands are sore from all the typing and they're complaining at me. So I should probably just call it a day and meander off. I'll do a few more rounds of my sites and make sure nothing needs my attention. Then I'll call it a night.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Throwing in the Towel
HaHa! Gotcha there, didn't I? I am throwing in the towel, but not on NaNo. I've fallen way too far behind trying to handwrite this that I have to switch to typing. Not tonight, however. Dang. I'm having a heck of a time typing this entry up. I think it's trying to go from my Netbook to my regular keyboard that messes me up. They are not compatible.
So, new plan! I'm full of them because I want to win. That's what it boils down to. I'm sad to be switching because I know I write better by hand and my stories require less editing that way, but such is life. I'll make a little note to myself that I switched to typing around Chapter 6 so that I'll be aware when I read through it again. Then again, I'm sure it will be obvious.
My new plan is this. I will begin typing my handwritten portion tomorrow. When I've caught up, I will continue to write until I can't anymore. At this point, I'm looking at around 2,600 words a day. I'd stress out if I didn't know I put it off even longer last year and had to type way more than that every day. ;-) Besides, I hand wrote my way through the hard part. I'm now where things are starting to move and happen. It will work.
Writing this much by hand did teach me one thing. It taught me that I could do it. I honestly can write an entire book by hand if that's what I want to do. I mean, really. How many writers write a book in a month anyway? That's just silly. Which, of course, is the whole point of NaNo. To be silly and have fun. Now, it's time to crank this out and reach the end goal.
What is my end goal? It's to reach at least 50,000 words and finish my book. That finish is the all important word here. No longer will I be happy with leaving a story dangling. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Thanks a lot, hubby, for foisting that on me last year. lol That's okay though. I know I can do it. I'm sort of over confident like that. ;-)
Now to decide if I should watch one more episode of Eureka or go ahead and go to bed like a smart girl. I'll probably watch another episode. hehehe
So, new plan! I'm full of them because I want to win. That's what it boils down to. I'm sad to be switching because I know I write better by hand and my stories require less editing that way, but such is life. I'll make a little note to myself that I switched to typing around Chapter 6 so that I'll be aware when I read through it again. Then again, I'm sure it will be obvious.
My new plan is this. I will begin typing my handwritten portion tomorrow. When I've caught up, I will continue to write until I can't anymore. At this point, I'm looking at around 2,600 words a day. I'd stress out if I didn't know I put it off even longer last year and had to type way more than that every day. ;-) Besides, I hand wrote my way through the hard part. I'm now where things are starting to move and happen. It will work.
Writing this much by hand did teach me one thing. It taught me that I could do it. I honestly can write an entire book by hand if that's what I want to do. I mean, really. How many writers write a book in a month anyway? That's just silly. Which, of course, is the whole point of NaNo. To be silly and have fun. Now, it's time to crank this out and reach the end goal.
What is my end goal? It's to reach at least 50,000 words and finish my book. That finish is the all important word here. No longer will I be happy with leaving a story dangling. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Thanks a lot, hubby, for foisting that on me last year. lol That's okay though. I know I can do it. I'm sort of over confident like that. ;-)
Now to decide if I should watch one more episode of Eureka or go ahead and go to bed like a smart girl. I'll probably watch another episode. hehehe
Whoops, forgot a day
Well, actually, I didn't forget. My hubby needed to use my computer last night and I didn't get anything done on it. I could have used my Netbook, but we're having a power struggle over the keyboard. I'm pretty sure my Netbook is winning.
I'd like to report that I did awesome getting "unplugged." Unfortunately, I couldn't do it!! Obviously, technology has wiggled itself so firmly into my life that I can't ditch it. It's the best procrastination tool known to mankind. I'm not sure it aids in productivity at all, no matter what they say!
Last night, while I was writing, the strangest thing happened to me. I was writing dialogue between a few characters, which I was finding fascinating because my characters have taken over my book and their personalities are really becoming obvious. So, as I was saying, I was writing dialogue and I looked down at the paper and noticed that I was writing it. Okay, that sounds weird, but I was so involved in what was taking shape before me, that I wasn't paying attention to where it was coming from. I knew it was coming from my mind, but not to how it was appearing on the page. Gaw. I'm sounding more like a fruitcake every minute. The entire point was that watching my hand, holding a pen, and writing out these words literally threw me for a loop. I had become that distanced from where the story was coming from and enjoying the story as it appeared. I watched my hand for a moment continue to write and it was fascinating. I ended up having to jerk my mind away from what was writing the words to allow them to continue to flow uninterrupted. Yeah... That really makes me sound crazy.
It was interesting yesterday, when my characters took over, I was excited. I let them go and sat back to see what would happen. You know what happened? They walked themselves right into a corner and stalled. *big sigh* They're not supposed to do that. I ended up putting everything away for awhile and was thinking of how to get them out of their predicament. I kept thinking, "This is what I need to happen next. How do I get them there?" I finally got smart and "skipped" them to that point. lol I slapped in some asterisks to separate the sections and started it back up where I needed it to be. My characters stepped back in and took over again. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. If they get themselves stuck again, I'm going to be perturbed.
I am now far enough behind to be worried to some extent. I know from last year's experience that I do this. I managed to win last year by typing for 3-4 straight days. Whoo! Was that literally painful! I was hoping to avoid that this year by writing every day. Did you know you need to write more than 900 words a day to pull it off? *giggle* Yeah... And getting sick for 3 days didn't help anything either. So, starting today, I'm going to implement a 15/5. What I mean by that is I will write for 15 min., take a break for 5 min, write for 15... You get the idea. I have to write almost 3,000 words a day to pull this off. And you know what? I don't think that will get me to the end of my book! I'm sitting at just over 13,000 words right now. I finally got all of my characters introduced, I think, and now stuff is supposed to start happening. Right. As soon as I can figure out how to make it happen in a semi-believable way. Please ignore the impossibility of his characters coming to life in the first place. lol Well, since they came to life, they've behaved in perfectly normal fashion.
Okay. That does it. I'm off to see if I can stop my main character from pouting and get something done. I can't believe he's sat there this whole time, watching TV, without being the least bit interested in what's going on around him. This dude needs a serious wake-up call. All right. I'm off to get this thing done. Wish me luck!
I'd like to report that I did awesome getting "unplugged." Unfortunately, I couldn't do it!! Obviously, technology has wiggled itself so firmly into my life that I can't ditch it. It's the best procrastination tool known to mankind. I'm not sure it aids in productivity at all, no matter what they say!
Last night, while I was writing, the strangest thing happened to me. I was writing dialogue between a few characters, which I was finding fascinating because my characters have taken over my book and their personalities are really becoming obvious. So, as I was saying, I was writing dialogue and I looked down at the paper and noticed that I was writing it. Okay, that sounds weird, but I was so involved in what was taking shape before me, that I wasn't paying attention to where it was coming from. I knew it was coming from my mind, but not to how it was appearing on the page. Gaw. I'm sounding more like a fruitcake every minute. The entire point was that watching my hand, holding a pen, and writing out these words literally threw me for a loop. I had become that distanced from where the story was coming from and enjoying the story as it appeared. I watched my hand for a moment continue to write and it was fascinating. I ended up having to jerk my mind away from what was writing the words to allow them to continue to flow uninterrupted. Yeah... That really makes me sound crazy.
It was interesting yesterday, when my characters took over, I was excited. I let them go and sat back to see what would happen. You know what happened? They walked themselves right into a corner and stalled. *big sigh* They're not supposed to do that. I ended up putting everything away for awhile and was thinking of how to get them out of their predicament. I kept thinking, "This is what I need to happen next. How do I get them there?" I finally got smart and "skipped" them to that point. lol I slapped in some asterisks to separate the sections and started it back up where I needed it to be. My characters stepped back in and took over again. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. If they get themselves stuck again, I'm going to be perturbed.
I am now far enough behind to be worried to some extent. I know from last year's experience that I do this. I managed to win last year by typing for 3-4 straight days. Whoo! Was that literally painful! I was hoping to avoid that this year by writing every day. Did you know you need to write more than 900 words a day to pull it off? *giggle* Yeah... And getting sick for 3 days didn't help anything either. So, starting today, I'm going to implement a 15/5. What I mean by that is I will write for 15 min., take a break for 5 min, write for 15... You get the idea. I have to write almost 3,000 words a day to pull this off. And you know what? I don't think that will get me to the end of my book! I'm sitting at just over 13,000 words right now. I finally got all of my characters introduced, I think, and now stuff is supposed to start happening. Right. As soon as I can figure out how to make it happen in a semi-believable way. Please ignore the impossibility of his characters coming to life in the first place. lol Well, since they came to life, they've behaved in perfectly normal fashion.
Okay. That does it. I'm off to see if I can stop my main character from pouting and get something done. I can't believe he's sat there this whole time, watching TV, without being the least bit interested in what's going on around him. This dude needs a serious wake-up call. All right. I'm off to get this thing done. Wish me luck!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Trying something new
I was reading through The Artist's Way, and I came across something interesting. I wasn't actually reading it. I was leafing through it. Either way, I still saw something that caught my attention. There was a heading in there that said to put yourself in "Reading Deprivation." Oh... However, within that deprivation, it included everything. TV, computers, video games, and reading. And you know what? That has probably been my biggest problem this NaNo.
Every morning, I power up Facebook, Writing.com, NaNoWriMo.org, and Twitter. Then, for the past 24 hours on top of that, I read Jenna Starborn. I highly recommend that book, by the way. A great sci-fi twist on a classic. ;-) That aside, let me know where writing fits anywhere in that mess of stuff I start. Yeah. It doesn't.
So, I'm going to attempt to make a deal with myself. I'm going to "unplug" for the next 24-48 hours and see what happens. Every night before midnight, I will give myself the 'privilege' of updating my word count on the NaNo site. I am giving myself the right to listen to music, but the wifi function on my new ZuneHD is to be disabled, and no playing games on it! This will count as today's post, but I'll swing by tomorrow and give an update on how things are working out.
Crazy how unnerving the thought of "unplugging" and "deprivation" can be on a person. I'm guessing I'll meander around for a bit like a lost puppy. I'll probably end up doing some laundry and getting the dishes done. Both are admirable things that take up very little time. When that's done, I'll have nothing better to do than write. Well, probably should throw a shower in there somewhere. :-D
Here I go! I'm going to unplug now. Wish me luck and I'll see you tomorrow.
Every morning, I power up Facebook, Writing.com, NaNoWriMo.org, and Twitter. Then, for the past 24 hours on top of that, I read Jenna Starborn. I highly recommend that book, by the way. A great sci-fi twist on a classic. ;-) That aside, let me know where writing fits anywhere in that mess of stuff I start. Yeah. It doesn't.
So, I'm going to attempt to make a deal with myself. I'm going to "unplug" for the next 24-48 hours and see what happens. Every night before midnight, I will give myself the 'privilege' of updating my word count on the NaNo site. I am giving myself the right to listen to music, but the wifi function on my new ZuneHD is to be disabled, and no playing games on it! This will count as today's post, but I'll swing by tomorrow and give an update on how things are working out.
Crazy how unnerving the thought of "unplugging" and "deprivation" can be on a person. I'm guessing I'll meander around for a bit like a lost puppy. I'll probably end up doing some laundry and getting the dishes done. Both are admirable things that take up very little time. When that's done, I'll have nothing better to do than write. Well, probably should throw a shower in there somewhere. :-D
Here I go! I'm going to unplug now. Wish me luck and I'll see you tomorrow.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
New ZuneHD
Nope! Nothing doing here. I got a few words written today, but so few that I'm not going to bother counting them. I'll leave those pretty red boxes there stating I completely FAILED the past 3 days. I'm still taking pills now and then to ease my stomach and playing with my new ZuneHD. Hopefully, the fun newness of it will wear off soon. Tomorrow, I will write. Until then, I'm going to giggle insanely as I play with my ZuneHD and see what it can do. ;-)
Still Sick
Gack! That sums it up nicely. I'm still feeling queasy, though I was going to tough it out today and get to writing. However, everyone's home. Right then. I sat down, got all ready, selected my music on my iPod, put in my headphones and hit "play." *fizzle* NO!!!
*sigh* So, there I was, looking at my iPod that was saying stuff like, "Restore using iTunes," and giving me the sick iPod picture. Eep! I dash over to the computer and connect it up. Luckily, I'd updated to iTunes 10 last night. That will have my iPod up and running in no time. *big sigh* Nope. I ended up getting funky errors and my iPod then starts draining its battery faster than I drain my first cup of coffee in the morning. So, I pick it up to see what it's doing and almost dropped it. It had gotten that hot while it was plugged into my computer! So, I ripped out the cable and locate my receipt from last year to return it to Best Buy. I buy that warranty every time and it's saved my behind, twice, in two years. There's something going on here. It's a conspiracy! This last iPod didn't even last a full year before dying.
I baby my iPods. I don't throw them, drop them, anything. They have special hard cases they go into if they're not in their Bose Sound Dock. This last one didn't even have a single scratch on it anywhere! Needless to say, I wasn't amused when it curled up and died.
Knowing that Best Buy would just hand me a gift card to go pick out what I wanted, I looked up the iPod nano 6th generation. My first reaction was, "WTH?! If I wanted one that small, I would have bought the Shuffle in the first place!!" It wasn't what I wanted at all. A tiny 1" x 1" screen, or however big it is. In looking at my other options, I remembered the time back before my icky iPods when I had tried out the Zune. I was so bummed back then that I couldn't get it to work. I went through 2 of them before giving up. So, I pulled up the information on the new ones. I mean, they've had several years to get them right. CNet is giving them a 4 star rating and saying that it's the 1st mp3 player in years to give iPods a run for their money.
In the end, that's what I brought home. I'm a proud owner of a 16gb Zune HD. I, unfortunately, had to give up the best parts of my Bose Sound Dock, but that's okay. This will at least still hook up to it via the Aux In port on the back. I just don't get to use the remote anymore. That is a bummer in and of itself, but I refuse to get the other iPods. My Zune is now charging merrily away and it's done syncing. I even downloaded some spiffy apps on it I can fiddle with later. lol We'll see how that goes.
And yes, this seriously cut into my writing time today if you can't tell. I need to get back on track. I'll get to that here in a few. I think I'll drag my Zune with me over to my writing corner and plug it into my Netbook. It has USB ports there that can continue to charge it, and then I can fiddle and listen to music. Hopefully, I remember to write. lol
*sigh* So, there I was, looking at my iPod that was saying stuff like, "Restore using iTunes," and giving me the sick iPod picture. Eep! I dash over to the computer and connect it up. Luckily, I'd updated to iTunes 10 last night. That will have my iPod up and running in no time. *big sigh* Nope. I ended up getting funky errors and my iPod then starts draining its battery faster than I drain my first cup of coffee in the morning. So, I pick it up to see what it's doing and almost dropped it. It had gotten that hot while it was plugged into my computer! So, I ripped out the cable and locate my receipt from last year to return it to Best Buy. I buy that warranty every time and it's saved my behind, twice, in two years. There's something going on here. It's a conspiracy! This last iPod didn't even last a full year before dying.
I baby my iPods. I don't throw them, drop them, anything. They have special hard cases they go into if they're not in their Bose Sound Dock. This last one didn't even have a single scratch on it anywhere! Needless to say, I wasn't amused when it curled up and died.
Knowing that Best Buy would just hand me a gift card to go pick out what I wanted, I looked up the iPod nano 6th generation. My first reaction was, "WTH?! If I wanted one that small, I would have bought the Shuffle in the first place!!" It wasn't what I wanted at all. A tiny 1" x 1" screen, or however big it is. In looking at my other options, I remembered the time back before my icky iPods when I had tried out the Zune. I was so bummed back then that I couldn't get it to work. I went through 2 of them before giving up. So, I pulled up the information on the new ones. I mean, they've had several years to get them right. CNet is giving them a 4 star rating and saying that it's the 1st mp3 player in years to give iPods a run for their money.
In the end, that's what I brought home. I'm a proud owner of a 16gb Zune HD. I, unfortunately, had to give up the best parts of my Bose Sound Dock, but that's okay. This will at least still hook up to it via the Aux In port on the back. I just don't get to use the remote anymore. That is a bummer in and of itself, but I refuse to get the other iPods. My Zune is now charging merrily away and it's done syncing. I even downloaded some spiffy apps on it I can fiddle with later. lol We'll see how that goes.
And yes, this seriously cut into my writing time today if you can't tell. I need to get back on track. I'll get to that here in a few. I think I'll drag my Zune with me over to my writing corner and plug it into my Netbook. It has USB ports there that can continue to charge it, and then I can fiddle and listen to music. Hopefully, I remember to write. lol
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Lost a Day
Dang. Today is the first day since NaNo started that I didn't get anything written. I'm bummed by that, but I did try. I think I got food poisoning this afternoon. So far, I'm the only person in the house sick anyway, and I hope it stays that way. It was not fun. Needless to say, I ended up sleeping most of the day away, though I did take my notebook and pen upstairs with me. Unfortunately, my tummy wouldn't settle down enough for me to write at all. I'm in a brief lull where I feel good, but I'm sure it won't last long. Not that it matters anyway. Blogger will probably put this post as "Thursday," but it's definitely Friday here. The NaNo site will mark it as Friday, even if I got anything written now. I'm going to throw in the towel and go back to bed. Hopefully, it will have passed by tomorrow and I can get writing again. Yes. Going back to bed sounds like a grand idea.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Still Going!
Today was one of my best writing days since the first day. I haven't done the final count to enter it yet, but it's definitely over 1200 words. Whoo! Not bad when you're writing by hand, but I'll need to do better or I'll be left with a ton of typing that final week. I managed to finish Chapter 4 and start in on Chapter 5, so at least I'm getting somewhere!
Yesterday, if you notice, I didn't do a blog post. I wasn't feeling very good, so went to bed early. I tried getting up for awhile, but hubby had his gear spread out all over the living room. He must have gotten diesel fuel on it or something the last time he was in the field. Needless to say, it made me sick to my stomach to smell it. I went right back to bed and got lots of sleep.
I'll admit I could have done better writing today. I got distracted by my computer a few times, but I did better than usual. Hopefully I'll get chapter 4 typed up and loaded onto WDC before too long. I'll probably work on that tomorrow as I'm not sure how the writing will go. Gaw! I'm never going to get caught up. :-P The reason being that hubby and kids have the day off. *pout* I've gotten spoiled by my quiet days. I'll need to find a way to work around that. One way or another, I will get some time devoted to it. That has become my main goal this NaNo. I WILL write every day, even if it's only 10 minutes.
With that, I'm going to go see what the family is up to. :-) Family time is just as important as writing time.
Yesterday, if you notice, I didn't do a blog post. I wasn't feeling very good, so went to bed early. I tried getting up for awhile, but hubby had his gear spread out all over the living room. He must have gotten diesel fuel on it or something the last time he was in the field. Needless to say, it made me sick to my stomach to smell it. I went right back to bed and got lots of sleep.
I'll admit I could have done better writing today. I got distracted by my computer a few times, but I did better than usual. Hopefully I'll get chapter 4 typed up and loaded onto WDC before too long. I'll probably work on that tomorrow as I'm not sure how the writing will go. Gaw! I'm never going to get caught up. :-P The reason being that hubby and kids have the day off. *pout* I've gotten spoiled by my quiet days. I'll need to find a way to work around that. One way or another, I will get some time devoted to it. That has become my main goal this NaNo. I WILL write every day, even if it's only 10 minutes.
With that, I'm going to go see what the family is up to. :-) Family time is just as important as writing time.
Monday, November 8, 2010
More on my boring book...
Today, I was completely bummed out over my book. I mean, really! Who wants to write a book they know is boring? It also didn't help that I got hung up waiting to pick up my husband from work for 2 HOURS before he told me to go on home and he'd call me to pick him up later. Crazy Army. Stupid me, while we're at it. I left my notebook at home, so I wasted 2 entire hours that I could have been writing. However, I came to a nifty realization this evening. (Bear with me here. I'm tired...)
I made myself sit down and write for 30 minutes. I'm sad to say that was about all I did today, but at least I did something! Well, minus a 10-15 minute sprint I did with my middle son while trying to make him do his spelling words. ;-)
Anyway, the realization I came upon was this. I don't think I'm writing mainstream fiction this year. The entire theme that's running under the storyline is one of hope and redemption from a shattered past. The way it's being written is making me think it's literary instead of mainstream. It's 100% character driven and the ideas are a little deeper than something you'd find in a mainstream novel. So, that would explain why it seems to be flowing well, if a little on the "boring" side. Once I thought about it from the literary angle, it all started to make sense. The book is not attempting to make itself more interesting. As a matter of fact, it keeps wanting weird little 'hints' thrown in alluding to deeper meaning. I'll keep pushing through the book, though I'll admit it's more interesting to me now that I realize it's not meant to be mainstream. I don't expect a lot of people to understand it or enjoy it. If I like it, somewhat, when the rough draft is finished, then that's all that matters. Unlike last year's novel, it may never be worth major polishing and possible publishing, but as long as I enjoy writing it, then that's all that matters. And now, I'm very interested in seeing how it turns out.
I made myself sit down and write for 30 minutes. I'm sad to say that was about all I did today, but at least I did something! Well, minus a 10-15 minute sprint I did with my middle son while trying to make him do his spelling words. ;-)
Anyway, the realization I came upon was this. I don't think I'm writing mainstream fiction this year. The entire theme that's running under the storyline is one of hope and redemption from a shattered past. The way it's being written is making me think it's literary instead of mainstream. It's 100% character driven and the ideas are a little deeper than something you'd find in a mainstream novel. So, that would explain why it seems to be flowing well, if a little on the "boring" side. Once I thought about it from the literary angle, it all started to make sense. The book is not attempting to make itself more interesting. As a matter of fact, it keeps wanting weird little 'hints' thrown in alluding to deeper meaning. I'll keep pushing through the book, though I'll admit it's more interesting to me now that I realize it's not meant to be mainstream. I don't expect a lot of people to understand it or enjoy it. If I like it, somewhat, when the rough draft is finished, then that's all that matters. Unlike last year's novel, it may never be worth major polishing and possible publishing, but as long as I enjoy writing it, then that's all that matters. And now, I'm very interested in seeing how it turns out.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
My Book is Boring
Okay, that does it! I decided my book is boring. Mind you, I have people tell me all the time that they like my writing, so maybe it's just me. But... I'm pretty sure this one IS boring. I mean, my writing "sprint" today talked about... a coffee mug. Whoo! *hits head on desk* Sorry. I actually enjoyed a few parts because I had to wake up my characters, but didn't want to come right out and say, "The alarm went off and they woke up." Talk about boring! So I did the first part through the use of sound until a character appeared on the scene who could pick up the "seeing" side of things.
I had a very short writing time today. I think it boils down to having 3 kids at home. lol Tomorrow, while they're at school, I shall strive to do better. I know that I'm way behind on my word count, but you know what? It's not that big of a deal. Right now, I'm more impressed that I'm sitting and writing every day, even if it's only 500 words. That's better than nothing!
I spent some time this evening typing in my third chapter. That is one drawback to writing by hand. I think I'll start typing it in every night. My hand is complaining at me right now. I'm waiting to get a call from its lawyer. However, I hope we can put off the lawsuit for awhile longer. I have 3 people waiting to read my book as it becomes available. Man, I hope I'm not disappointing them. What I mean by that is, "I sure hope I'm not sending them a boring book!" I am though, I know it. Though, while typing in part of my 3rd chapter tonight, I came across a few good parts. They need editing, of course, but that's not on the agenda this month.
Well, I'm going to head off and take a break. My hand is getting rather upset and is petitioning for a break. Since I need its cooperation to keep writing, I will honor its wishes.
I had a very short writing time today. I think it boils down to having 3 kids at home. lol Tomorrow, while they're at school, I shall strive to do better. I know that I'm way behind on my word count, but you know what? It's not that big of a deal. Right now, I'm more impressed that I'm sitting and writing every day, even if it's only 500 words. That's better than nothing!
I spent some time this evening typing in my third chapter. That is one drawback to writing by hand. I think I'll start typing it in every night. My hand is complaining at me right now. I'm waiting to get a call from its lawyer. However, I hope we can put off the lawsuit for awhile longer. I have 3 people waiting to read my book as it becomes available. Man, I hope I'm not disappointing them. What I mean by that is, "I sure hope I'm not sending them a boring book!" I am though, I know it. Though, while typing in part of my 3rd chapter tonight, I came across a few good parts. They need editing, of course, but that's not on the agenda this month.
Well, I'm going to head off and take a break. My hand is getting rather upset and is petitioning for a break. Since I need its cooperation to keep writing, I will honor its wishes.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Happy Dance!!
Okay, in looking at how much time it took, and how many words I got, it's sort of sad. However, I am writing by hand now, so that's a different world. It's allowing me to get all of my ducks in a row and the book is unfolding in ways that are fascinating and yet make perfect sense with the rest. Well, except this one part that I caught on the count-through, but that's beside the point. lol
I told myself this afternoon, "You will write for 1 hour." So I sat down, after setting my cell phone for 1 hour, and began to write. That was after I setup my Netbook to stream Pandora through my Bose Sound Dock. Man, I love that thing! So, I selected some music I usually write to, and off I went to write. And I wrote slowly, sluggishly, haltingly, ... I bet you get the picture there. I'd stop and stare at the wall, and twiddle with a pen, and I didn't get a whole lot done. Then I thought, "What if I'm writing to the wrong music?"
Now, anyone who is a music lover knows what I'm talking about. Music influences us more then you could imagine. If I'm having a bad or stressful day, I can usually trace it back to the fact I hadn't listened to any music that day. A little time with my iPod and I'm back on an even keel. On the flip side of that coin, the wrong music can mess me up.
So, I told Pandora to play the other station I had setup earlier that day. It was a faster beat and was modeled after Robert Miles and a few other techno songs I enjoy. It was like a lighbulb went off in my head. All of a sudden, my characters started doing things again, and my pen started flying across the page. I wasn't stopping every two seconds to stare at the wall anymore. When my alarm went off at the end of the hour, I turned it off before it could get too annoying, and kept writing.
When my hand called mercy, I had written almost 1,000 words (937 to be precise). Awesome!! Happy dancing over here. :-D Since I switched to writing by hand, I was struggling to reach even 850 words, and that was writing 2-3 times a day.
I was also having random questions zing themselves into my brain. They would, of course, hang around, buzzing in my head until I addressed them. Right then. Enter a good use for random Post-It pads I have floating around. When one would come into my head, I would scribble it down real fast, and keep going on my story. It would instantly get it out of my head and I could decide later on if it was worth going back to and answering.
So! That's where I'm at right at this moment. Hopefully, the kids will give me another chance to write this evening. I hope, I hope. I'd like to hit that 1700 word count goal. :-)
I told myself this afternoon, "You will write for 1 hour." So I sat down, after setting my cell phone for 1 hour, and began to write. That was after I setup my Netbook to stream Pandora through my Bose Sound Dock. Man, I love that thing! So, I selected some music I usually write to, and off I went to write. And I wrote slowly, sluggishly, haltingly, ... I bet you get the picture there. I'd stop and stare at the wall, and twiddle with a pen, and I didn't get a whole lot done. Then I thought, "What if I'm writing to the wrong music?"
Now, anyone who is a music lover knows what I'm talking about. Music influences us more then you could imagine. If I'm having a bad or stressful day, I can usually trace it back to the fact I hadn't listened to any music that day. A little time with my iPod and I'm back on an even keel. On the flip side of that coin, the wrong music can mess me up.
So, I told Pandora to play the other station I had setup earlier that day. It was a faster beat and was modeled after Robert Miles and a few other techno songs I enjoy. It was like a lighbulb went off in my head. All of a sudden, my characters started doing things again, and my pen started flying across the page. I wasn't stopping every two seconds to stare at the wall anymore. When my alarm went off at the end of the hour, I turned it off before it could get too annoying, and kept writing.
When my hand called mercy, I had written almost 1,000 words (937 to be precise). Awesome!! Happy dancing over here. :-D Since I switched to writing by hand, I was struggling to reach even 850 words, and that was writing 2-3 times a day.
I was also having random questions zing themselves into my brain. They would, of course, hang around, buzzing in my head until I addressed them. Right then. Enter a good use for random Post-It pads I have floating around. When one would come into my head, I would scribble it down real fast, and keep going on my story. It would instantly get it out of my head and I could decide later on if it was worth going back to and answering.
So! That's where I'm at right at this moment. Hopefully, the kids will give me another chance to write this evening. I hope, I hope. I'd like to hit that 1700 word count goal. :-)
Friday, November 5, 2010
"You will be writing a lot of crap."
Okay! I have to do it. I've been reading way too many entries of other people's opinions on NaNoWriMo and I feel compelled to chime in. Of course, all of these so-called entries are written by professional writers. Spuh. You know, those people who were just like me at one time?
They go on and on about NaNo in some way or another, but they ALWAYS latch on to that one line in the "What is NaNoWriMo?" section that says, "You will be writing a lot of crap." They always freak out and go overboard about it. So, let me just say a few things on it myself. I might not be a "professional" writer. I might not get paid to write my little blog. I don't even have a published anything, but I apparently know something those amazing "golden" people don't.
*clears throat* ALL first drafts are crap. Actually, Ernest Hemingway said it better, but I do want to keep this semi-family friendly. ;-)
Now those "professional" writers would glare at me, and I'm sure puff up, but you know what? Get over it. Sheesh. I'm sure you're just all marvelous and wonderful in your little world, but who cares? NaNoWriMo is NOT for writers like YOU, so don't worry your little perfect heads about it. NaNoWriMo is for people like ME.
Let's sit back and see what kind of people I'm referring to.
1) Fear of being able to write anything as long as a novel, even as "pathetic" as a short 50K word novel. Yeah, I know, I know! It's a novella. Get over it.
- FACT: Doing something as silly as writing a story over a course of a month that equals 50,000 words is amazing. Many of us have NEVER written anything that long before, EVER.
- FACT: While many do use word padding techniques, there are just as many who do not. Think about that one for a moment. Some write full books up to 100K words. Others leave room within their stories to go back and expand areas when they have a detailed picture of what's going on and more time. And no, taking your time in the first place is what leads to procrastination and the book never getting written. Obviously, the "published" writers are perfect. But I'm talking about the not so perfect people, like me.
2) Someone who is so scared of a recent accomplishment that they aren't writing anymore. Or, they're scared they might accomplish something. Being able to tackle something with no other reason than they want to try can be liberating.
**Ever hear of a little thing called "writer's block"? Yeah, that thing that kept you from finishing your book for ages. Some of the 'cures' for it are free writing and giving yourself permission to write ... crap. In other words, throw in the dang talking squirrel if it keeps things moving. Last time I checked, that's what the editing process was for. To take out that dang squirrel, but leave in what happened because it most likely got you past the dang problem spot! See?! Crap. (Unless you're in Narnia. Then it's perfectly normal.)
3) Someone who has no set times for writing and has a hard time making themselves write every day.
-FACT: It takes 28 days to establish a habit. Good thing NaNo is 30 days long then, huh? If a writer gets in the habit of sitting down to write at the same time every day for 30 days, they've put into place a habit they can use for life.
One final fact for you lovely 'published' writers. Not everyone wants to write a novel to become published. I know, I know. That probably shocked you right down to your toe hairs, but it's the truth. Most likely, for every writer who wants to be published, there are 5 who write just because they like to.
My first year attempting NaNo, I learned that I could write something that long. I'd never once believed I could. This year, I'm learning to sit and write every single day whether I want to or not. That is just as important as learning that I could. By knowing that I'm allowed to "write crap," all of the pressure is off. I still edit a little as I go, but nothing like I used to. I have become a better writer because of NaNo. But you know what? I don't expect you to understand that.
I'm of the opinion that "professional" writers just don't "get it." They don't understand, and will never understand, what NaNo truly means or what "You will be writing a lot of crap" means. Also, the arbitrary "win" at the end? Gee, you know what? That win at the end is the most many of us will ever see. If you're awesome enough to already have an agent and you're published, you don't understand. But don't take it away from the rest of us and demean it.
All I can say about the manuscripts that flood the publishers at the end is, "People should know better. Just because they wrote it doesn't make it good." As a matter of fact, it's a very rare, and gifted, individual who can write and edit at the same time so precisely as to have a polished manuscript at the end. So rare that people would do better to assume they can't do it and they have to edit first. However, look on the bright side, those crappy manuscripts ensure that those publishers will have plenty of work to do. See? Job security.
Now. I'm going to go write some crap so that I can have my purple winner's bar at the end.
Being allowed to write "crap" means that you are allowed to make wrong word choices and throw your characters into unlikely situations because you want to see what happens. It means that you are free from having to edit until the end because it's not important during the drafting process. Writing "crap" means that your first chapter can be useless rambling while you find the voice you're going to use for the rest of your book. It's okay that it rambles, cut it off during the editing process and rewrite it. That, by the way, is a time-honored tip for ANY book you write and not just a NaNo book. The first chapter is always "crap." In the end, "crap" only means non-perfect writing, for those of you who obviously don't "get" it. It is only a word to allow perfectionists to let go and move forward. It's nothing more 'evil' than that. So let go and move on.
They go on and on about NaNo in some way or another, but they ALWAYS latch on to that one line in the "What is NaNoWriMo?" section that says, "You will be writing a lot of crap." They always freak out and go overboard about it. So, let me just say a few things on it myself. I might not be a "professional" writer. I might not get paid to write my little blog. I don't even have a published anything, but I apparently know something those amazing "golden" people don't.
*clears throat* ALL first drafts are crap. Actually, Ernest Hemingway said it better, but I do want to keep this semi-family friendly. ;-)
Now those "professional" writers would glare at me, and I'm sure puff up, but you know what? Get over it. Sheesh. I'm sure you're just all marvelous and wonderful in your little world, but who cares? NaNoWriMo is NOT for writers like YOU, so don't worry your little perfect heads about it. NaNoWriMo is for people like ME.
Let's sit back and see what kind of people I'm referring to.
1) Fear of being able to write anything as long as a novel, even as "pathetic" as a short 50K word novel. Yeah, I know, I know! It's a novella. Get over it.
- FACT: Doing something as silly as writing a story over a course of a month that equals 50,000 words is amazing. Many of us have NEVER written anything that long before, EVER.
- FACT: While many do use word padding techniques, there are just as many who do not. Think about that one for a moment. Some write full books up to 100K words. Others leave room within their stories to go back and expand areas when they have a detailed picture of what's going on and more time. And no, taking your time in the first place is what leads to procrastination and the book never getting written. Obviously, the "published" writers are perfect. But I'm talking about the not so perfect people, like me.
2) Someone who is so scared of a recent accomplishment that they aren't writing anymore. Or, they're scared they might accomplish something. Being able to tackle something with no other reason than they want to try can be liberating.
**Ever hear of a little thing called "writer's block"? Yeah, that thing that kept you from finishing your book for ages. Some of the 'cures' for it are free writing and giving yourself permission to write ... crap. In other words, throw in the dang talking squirrel if it keeps things moving. Last time I checked, that's what the editing process was for. To take out that dang squirrel, but leave in what happened because it most likely got you past the dang problem spot! See?! Crap. (Unless you're in Narnia. Then it's perfectly normal.)
3) Someone who has no set times for writing and has a hard time making themselves write every day.
-FACT: It takes 28 days to establish a habit. Good thing NaNo is 30 days long then, huh? If a writer gets in the habit of sitting down to write at the same time every day for 30 days, they've put into place a habit they can use for life.
One final fact for you lovely 'published' writers. Not everyone wants to write a novel to become published. I know, I know. That probably shocked you right down to your toe hairs, but it's the truth. Most likely, for every writer who wants to be published, there are 5 who write just because they like to.
My first year attempting NaNo, I learned that I could write something that long. I'd never once believed I could. This year, I'm learning to sit and write every single day whether I want to or not. That is just as important as learning that I could. By knowing that I'm allowed to "write crap," all of the pressure is off. I still edit a little as I go, but nothing like I used to. I have become a better writer because of NaNo. But you know what? I don't expect you to understand that.
I'm of the opinion that "professional" writers just don't "get it." They don't understand, and will never understand, what NaNo truly means or what "You will be writing a lot of crap" means. Also, the arbitrary "win" at the end? Gee, you know what? That win at the end is the most many of us will ever see. If you're awesome enough to already have an agent and you're published, you don't understand. But don't take it away from the rest of us and demean it.
All I can say about the manuscripts that flood the publishers at the end is, "People should know better. Just because they wrote it doesn't make it good." As a matter of fact, it's a very rare, and gifted, individual who can write and edit at the same time so precisely as to have a polished manuscript at the end. So rare that people would do better to assume they can't do it and they have to edit first. However, look on the bright side, those crappy manuscripts ensure that those publishers will have plenty of work to do. See? Job security.
Now. I'm going to go write some crap so that I can have my purple winner's bar at the end.
Being allowed to write "crap" means that you are allowed to make wrong word choices and throw your characters into unlikely situations because you want to see what happens. It means that you are free from having to edit until the end because it's not important during the drafting process. Writing "crap" means that your first chapter can be useless rambling while you find the voice you're going to use for the rest of your book. It's okay that it rambles, cut it off during the editing process and rewrite it. That, by the way, is a time-honored tip for ANY book you write and not just a NaNo book. The first chapter is always "crap." In the end, "crap" only means non-perfect writing, for those of you who obviously don't "get" it. It is only a word to allow perfectionists to let go and move forward. It's nothing more 'evil' than that. So let go and move on.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Still Creeping Along
It turns out that I will have to continue writing this book by hand. I'm a little worried that means I won't make the 50K word goal by the end of the month, but I'll do my best! I'll admit that I will switch to the computer if I have to. However, I'll hold off on that until the final week. ;-)
The reason why I needed to switch to writing by hand is that my mind refused to focus on it while being confronted with my computer. So annoying. I guess the pull of technology has gotten stronger since last year. Imagine that. The only way I know to counter it is to turn it all off and use paper and pen. I do leave my Netbook up and running near me though. Oddly enough, it doesn't have near the pull that my main computer does. I use it to look up words to make sure they're the ones I want to use. So far, it's working well.
I'm currently sitting at just over 1,000 words for the day. However, I have plans to write more, which is good, since I'm behind on my word count. I have to write around 1732 words a day to finish on time. Yes. I need to get writing, and I hope that this story starts taking off more than it has so far or I'll be in trouble this year.
The reason why I needed to switch to writing by hand is that my mind refused to focus on it while being confronted with my computer. So annoying. I guess the pull of technology has gotten stronger since last year. Imagine that. The only way I know to counter it is to turn it all off and use paper and pen. I do leave my Netbook up and running near me though. Oddly enough, it doesn't have near the pull that my main computer does. I use it to look up words to make sure they're the ones I want to use. So far, it's working well.
I'm currently sitting at just over 1,000 words for the day. However, I have plans to write more, which is good, since I'm behind on my word count. I have to write around 1732 words a day to finish on time. Yes. I need to get writing, and I hope that this story starts taking off more than it has so far or I'll be in trouble this year.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Back for another one
I thought I'd come sneak this in real quick. I'm technically supposed to be over at my writing desk working on my book. However, I decided I needed a technology break, so here I am!
I'd like to say that today was better than yesterday, but it wasn't really. The only difference being that I never took a nap. I'm anxious to get my sleep schedule halfway normal again. That is the funniest dang thing I've ever written. hahaha I've been trying to do that for about 20 years. It's never going to happen, but I'm tired and I'm delusional. It works out in the end. ;-)
All day long I did... nothing. I did some dishes and did some laundry and I zoned out in front of my computer. I played with long load times on the NaNoWriMo site, and did a bit of random typing on Writing.com. However, not a single word of that, or a single minute of that, helped my book any.
I then decided I wanted to switch my book to yWriter5. I have very simple tastes in my word processors. I have to have Times New Roman for my text and it must be 12 pt. I got sick and tired of fighting with Scrivener about it. Besides, I was losing. :-P So, with a few quick copy and pastes, yWriter5 is up and running for the rest of NaNo.
Okay, so by the end of the evening, after going through the typical stuff with my kids as the night wore on, I realized there was no way my brain was thinking clear enough to write. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure this blog entry is making sense. But that's beside the point. :-D What is the point is that, while I was supervising bath time (i.e. making sure the youngest actually washed and didn't decide the bathroom floor was a better place for the water than the tub), I started writing the next bit in my book. Next thing I know, my story is slowly but surely taking shape again.
Writing by hand is slow and can be tedious. However, when your mind is running at about that speed, it's perfect. I've managed to fill one side and I'm well into the back side of a page. While not being done at the "blinding speeds" of typing, it works well enough. Thoughts are leaving my head in a partially coherent manner, I think, and being transferred to paper. It counts!! It all counts! Before too long, I'm going to take a quick word count and post it. I know I'm behind, but I'm so tired right now that I don't care. It has been "one of those days," and I'm ready for it to end. In the meantime, I'll get as much written as possible at the speed my mind is working. Slow.
I'd like to say that today was better than yesterday, but it wasn't really. The only difference being that I never took a nap. I'm anxious to get my sleep schedule halfway normal again. That is the funniest dang thing I've ever written. hahaha I've been trying to do that for about 20 years. It's never going to happen, but I'm tired and I'm delusional. It works out in the end. ;-)
All day long I did... nothing. I did some dishes and did some laundry and I zoned out in front of my computer. I played with long load times on the NaNoWriMo site, and did a bit of random typing on Writing.com. However, not a single word of that, or a single minute of that, helped my book any.
I then decided I wanted to switch my book to yWriter5. I have very simple tastes in my word processors. I have to have Times New Roman for my text and it must be 12 pt. I got sick and tired of fighting with Scrivener about it. Besides, I was losing. :-P So, with a few quick copy and pastes, yWriter5 is up and running for the rest of NaNo.
Okay, so by the end of the evening, after going through the typical stuff with my kids as the night wore on, I realized there was no way my brain was thinking clear enough to write. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure this blog entry is making sense. But that's beside the point. :-D What is the point is that, while I was supervising bath time (i.e. making sure the youngest actually washed and didn't decide the bathroom floor was a better place for the water than the tub), I started writing the next bit in my book. Next thing I know, my story is slowly but surely taking shape again.
Writing by hand is slow and can be tedious. However, when your mind is running at about that speed, it's perfect. I've managed to fill one side and I'm well into the back side of a page. While not being done at the "blinding speeds" of typing, it works well enough. Thoughts are leaving my head in a partially coherent manner, I think, and being transferred to paper. It counts!! It all counts! Before too long, I'm going to take a quick word count and post it. I know I'm behind, but I'm so tired right now that I don't care. It has been "one of those days," and I'm ready for it to end. In the meantime, I'll get as much written as possible at the speed my mind is working. Slow.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
What the...?!
Okay! So, today is going about as well as yesterday. There is something seriously wrong with this year's NaNo! Is my story idea bad? I didn't think so when I picked it out. It seemed to fall in place even easier than last year's idea. I don't get it. I've only managed 750 words so far today. I'm hoping to catch at least 1200 later this evening. I'm not sure if sprints will work or if I just need to punch in my word goal and keep writing until I hit it. Maybe not allow myself to even get out of my chair until it's finished. Or leave the writing screen or.... ARGH!
This year, I'm making some use of the "Write X many words if..." thread. However, as I was reading through them, avoiding the few that 'break the rules,' I realized that I'd end up with 5,000 words to write if I wasn't careful. lol For awhile, I was doing them one challenge at a time. Sort of along the lines of, "Write 250 words if you..." I'd write the 250 words, and any extra that came with it, and then go look at the next one. "Write 300 words if you're drinking coffee." Oh, yeah. No brainer there. As a matter of fact, where is my coffee cup?
Today, it's raining and cold outside. That is the ultimate recipe for nap day. I've been groggy and out of it ever since I woke up. I swear. This year's NaNo is doomed to failure... *sigh* So much for my "happy, happy, I can do this without a problem" attitude from the beginning. Excuse me, but can I have that attitude back? It was a much happier one and I could use it right about now.
Strangely enough, if I'm on my main computer (the one I'm on now), I find myself flipping through all of my tabs and all of my programs to just "fiddle." Then I'll get sidetracked by something completely unrelated and bleh. An hour later, I might remember what I was doing and return to it. I do believe I need to take a long look at this behavior and discover why I'm doing that. Last year, I was much more disciplined. Oddly enough, even though I had access to the internet, I was much less likely to do that on my Netbook last night. Maybe it's because I don't have all the same programs installed? My instant messengers aren't on there. I have different bookmarks. Maybe it's because the screen is smaller and I can't see as much. Who knows? Maybe it's because it "lives" in my writing corner. No clue. Though, I'm starting to think I might have to do NaNo over there. If it works, then great. I'd love to see this book finished sometime this month. ;-)
Oh. At one point last month, I started worrying that I had over planned my idea. Ut oh. Did I do that and it killed the book idea? Is that's what's wrong? I've lost interest in it because I know where it's going to go? But I thought I left a loose enough frame for my characters to move around as they wanted to. I did notice my main character moving a little out of the way yesterday, but he stepped right back in to line and kept moving forward. Of course, being only in the first 2 chapters, it's hard to say. I'll force my way into the next chapter and see if anything changes. The framework gets much looser through the next 7 chapters. Maybe that will help. I just have to get there first.
Well, time to get a kiddo to do his homework. The fun never ends.
This year, I'm making some use of the "Write X many words if..." thread. However, as I was reading through them, avoiding the few that 'break the rules,' I realized that I'd end up with 5,000 words to write if I wasn't careful. lol For awhile, I was doing them one challenge at a time. Sort of along the lines of, "Write 250 words if you..." I'd write the 250 words, and any extra that came with it, and then go look at the next one. "Write 300 words if you're drinking coffee." Oh, yeah. No brainer there. As a matter of fact, where is my coffee cup?
Today, it's raining and cold outside. That is the ultimate recipe for nap day. I've been groggy and out of it ever since I woke up. I swear. This year's NaNo is doomed to failure... *sigh* So much for my "happy, happy, I can do this without a problem" attitude from the beginning. Excuse me, but can I have that attitude back? It was a much happier one and I could use it right about now.
Strangely enough, if I'm on my main computer (the one I'm on now), I find myself flipping through all of my tabs and all of my programs to just "fiddle." Then I'll get sidetracked by something completely unrelated and bleh. An hour later, I might remember what I was doing and return to it. I do believe I need to take a long look at this behavior and discover why I'm doing that. Last year, I was much more disciplined. Oddly enough, even though I had access to the internet, I was much less likely to do that on my Netbook last night. Maybe it's because I don't have all the same programs installed? My instant messengers aren't on there. I have different bookmarks. Maybe it's because the screen is smaller and I can't see as much. Who knows? Maybe it's because it "lives" in my writing corner. No clue. Though, I'm starting to think I might have to do NaNo over there. If it works, then great. I'd love to see this book finished sometime this month. ;-)
Oh. At one point last month, I started worrying that I had over planned my idea. Ut oh. Did I do that and it killed the book idea? Is that's what's wrong? I've lost interest in it because I know where it's going to go? But I thought I left a loose enough frame for my characters to move around as they wanted to. I did notice my main character moving a little out of the way yesterday, but he stepped right back in to line and kept moving forward. Of course, being only in the first 2 chapters, it's hard to say. I'll force my way into the next chapter and see if anything changes. The framework gets much looser through the next 7 chapters. Maybe that will help. I just have to get there first.
Well, time to get a kiddo to do his homework. The fun never ends.
Monday, November 1, 2010
1st Day
OMG! Can we say, "Nightmare?!" I think that if anything could go screwy, it did today. Let's run down the list, shall we?
I stayed up last night for the midnight kick-off. I had plans to NOT do that for a very good reason. I think it had something to do with getting up at 5:30 am this morning. Imagine that. So, I stayed up, did a single 15 min sprint (809 words), and went to bed. Then, I laid awake for the next 2 hours.... Hubby wakes me up at 5:30am. I tell him basically to bugger off and call a cab. To give him credit, he did try. lol However, I guess they were busy, or they don't run that early, or something. So, he comes to tell me that he has to take the car and I can take a cab to get it later. I proceed to get angry and basically rip his head off. Poor guy. I'm not a morning person. I know he hates waking me up early because I'm not a nice person.
I get him to work and manage to get the rest of us back home safely. Hurray! I send the kids back to bed for another hour, but I stay up. I wasn't sure I'd wake up again! After I got them off to school, I came straight home and went to bed. I didn't even pretend that I could stay up at that point. 2 hours of sleep isn't near enough. My goal was to get up at noon. Yeah, right. I got up at 2 pm. That gave me enough time to have some coffee, read the boards a bit, and go take a shower. I got out, dressed, and went straight over to pick up my kids.
I'm sure you can imagine the 'fun' that ensued then. Definitely NOT writing time, that's for sure. I managed to sneak in a small amount in there somewhere. I'm trying to figure out when i did that... Oh, well. No matter. In the end, I managed to sneak in 1946 words. Not the awesome start I was looking for, but at least I'm on target. :-)
I'm currently on my Netbook because we had a fun storm move in. Wow! It was shaking the house for awhile. I love these kinds of storms. Two of my boys fell asleep during it and the other was scared to death. Is it okay for me to find that amusing? hehehe In some ways, it's not much different than the mortars and artillery we have here. At least lightning storms come with a pretty light show. :-D
Well, it's now officially midnight. I'm going to go relax for a bit and then head to bed. Night all! See ya tomorrow with, hopefully, more words for my novel than my blog entry! lol
I stayed up last night for the midnight kick-off. I had plans to NOT do that for a very good reason. I think it had something to do with getting up at 5:30 am this morning. Imagine that. So, I stayed up, did a single 15 min sprint (809 words), and went to bed. Then, I laid awake for the next 2 hours.... Hubby wakes me up at 5:30am. I tell him basically to bugger off and call a cab. To give him credit, he did try. lol However, I guess they were busy, or they don't run that early, or something. So, he comes to tell me that he has to take the car and I can take a cab to get it later. I proceed to get angry and basically rip his head off. Poor guy. I'm not a morning person. I know he hates waking me up early because I'm not a nice person.
I get him to work and manage to get the rest of us back home safely. Hurray! I send the kids back to bed for another hour, but I stay up. I wasn't sure I'd wake up again! After I got them off to school, I came straight home and went to bed. I didn't even pretend that I could stay up at that point. 2 hours of sleep isn't near enough. My goal was to get up at noon. Yeah, right. I got up at 2 pm. That gave me enough time to have some coffee, read the boards a bit, and go take a shower. I got out, dressed, and went straight over to pick up my kids.
I'm sure you can imagine the 'fun' that ensued then. Definitely NOT writing time, that's for sure. I managed to sneak in a small amount in there somewhere. I'm trying to figure out when i did that... Oh, well. No matter. In the end, I managed to sneak in 1946 words. Not the awesome start I was looking for, but at least I'm on target. :-)
I'm currently on my Netbook because we had a fun storm move in. Wow! It was shaking the house for awhile. I love these kinds of storms. Two of my boys fell asleep during it and the other was scared to death. Is it okay for me to find that amusing? hehehe In some ways, it's not much different than the mortars and artillery we have here. At least lightning storms come with a pretty light show. :-D
Well, it's now officially midnight. I'm going to go relax for a bit and then head to bed. Night all! See ya tomorrow with, hopefully, more words for my novel than my blog entry! lol
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