NaNoWriMo Day 4
Quick update in lieu of Sunday afternoon and the fact that there’s family in town. I just wanted to give a special “shout-out” to the DH I’m not supposed to mention in this blog. If I’m doing 30 days of NaNo, he’s heading for 30 days of Giving.
The other day he handed me a book I’d been wanting to read forever. He’d bought it just for me. Last night as I was climbing into bed I pulled back the sheets and . . . another book from my list! And this morning, he was asking my permission to throw a box away, and he kept asking (but there were people talking so I assumed he didn’t hear me). I stormed into the dining room and almost shouted, “Just throw the stupid box away!” But I followed his eyes to my piano, and there was some music I wanted.
So I have to wonder, what is in store for tomorrow?
Here’s to surprises, and the wonderful DH who spoils me in so many ways.
NaNo Stats:
Time: 2:25pm
1: pieces of chocolate cake consumed
3: pieces of Halloween candy consumed
2,657: number of NaNo words written
47,343: words to go
And yes, I’m behind. As of midnight tonight, I should be at 6,668 words. Well see how that goes. Um, yeah. We’ll see.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Saturday, November 3, 2007
NaNoWriMo Day 3
I’m slowly but surely getting back on track. Now that I’m home, I’m back to my afternoon and midnight writing routine. Thank Goodness, because any more days like the previous two and I’ll be lucky to make it past the first chapter by the 30th.
When I start writing a new book, there’s always an “experimenting” stage. I’m writing and trying to move the story along, but I’m also trying to gauge who my characters are going to become. In the beginning I always know the most about my central character. In my NaNo book, her name is Kimi. Before I started writing about her I knew what she liked and hated, her relationship with the people around her, her favorite color and that she would have a hard time adjusting to middle school. Nothing I’ve written about her really surprises me, yet. It’s the other characters I’ve introduced (her two best friends, so far) that I’m learning a lot about. For instance, last night I was writing dialogue (my favorite!) between the friends, and one of them came out and said something so snappy. I literally stopped what I was writing and thought, “I can’t believe she just said that!” I have a feeling this girl is going to give me some trouble, seriously.
I do outline my books so I know where the story is headed, but they are all character-driven. I don’t stick with that outline if it means changing who my characters are becoming from chapter to chapter. And yes, they always do something that surprises me. That’s just what happens when you give the voices in your head complete control. It’s exciting, and probably my favorite part of the process.
So far, so good!
NaNo Stats:
Time: 2:05pm
2: loads of laundry done
2: pieces of chocolate cake consumed
1,517: number of NaNo words written
48,483: words to go
I’m slowly but surely getting back on track. Now that I’m home, I’m back to my afternoon and midnight writing routine. Thank Goodness, because any more days like the previous two and I’ll be lucky to make it past the first chapter by the 30th.
When I start writing a new book, there’s always an “experimenting” stage. I’m writing and trying to move the story along, but I’m also trying to gauge who my characters are going to become. In the beginning I always know the most about my central character. In my NaNo book, her name is Kimi. Before I started writing about her I knew what she liked and hated, her relationship with the people around her, her favorite color and that she would have a hard time adjusting to middle school. Nothing I’ve written about her really surprises me, yet. It’s the other characters I’ve introduced (her two best friends, so far) that I’m learning a lot about. For instance, last night I was writing dialogue (my favorite!) between the friends, and one of them came out and said something so snappy. I literally stopped what I was writing and thought, “I can’t believe she just said that!” I have a feeling this girl is going to give me some trouble, seriously.
I do outline my books so I know where the story is headed, but they are all character-driven. I don’t stick with that outline if it means changing who my characters are becoming from chapter to chapter. And yes, they always do something that surprises me. That’s just what happens when you give the voices in your head complete control. It’s exciting, and probably my favorite part of the process.
So far, so good!
NaNo Stats:
Time: 2:05pm
2: loads of laundry done
2: pieces of chocolate cake consumed
1,517: number of NaNo words written
48,483: words to go
Friday, November 2, 2007
NaNoWriMo Day 2
Every writer knows that there are days where it’s just not fun to write; where we do whatever we can to keep from writing. It’s amazing what happens on those days: dishes are washed, laundry is folded, dust bunnies vanish into thin air. (Stop by my house unexpectedly and you’ll see that those days don’t come often.) But last night, yes, I had an opportunity to write and I didn’t take it—and not because I didn’t WANT to write, there was just this HUGE distraction: my parent’s bathroom.
Now, I probably shouldn’t talk about my parent’s bathroom in my blog, but I have to because that’s my excuse for not reaching my daily NaNo word quota: I wasted way too much time in there last night. The room itself is nothing short of amazing: a small TV, a big bathtub, lots of mirrors and miraculous lighting. Everywhere I looked, there were soaps, and facial masks, and . . . loofahs! I know . . . loofahs. What self-respecting female could pass all that up?
I walked in and was immediately sucked into its nasty clutches. I took one look in my mom’s magnifying mirror—the kind that shows the pores ON your pores—and realized: my eyebrows looked pathetic. I mean, really, I know I was working really hard to wrap up my last book, but what had I let myself become? It was embarrassing. And so I tweezed. And tweezed. And tweezed.
Honestly, I’m such a weak person. But let me tell you: the distraction was Kind Of worth it.
NaNo Stats:
Time: 2:35pm
24: teeth bleached
10: manicured fingernails
2: beautiful eyebrows
1: cucumber mask applied
257: NaNo words written
49,743: words to go
1: promise to do MUCH better tomorrow
Every writer knows that there are days where it’s just not fun to write; where we do whatever we can to keep from writing. It’s amazing what happens on those days: dishes are washed, laundry is folded, dust bunnies vanish into thin air. (Stop by my house unexpectedly and you’ll see that those days don’t come often.) But last night, yes, I had an opportunity to write and I didn’t take it—and not because I didn’t WANT to write, there was just this HUGE distraction: my parent’s bathroom.
Now, I probably shouldn’t talk about my parent’s bathroom in my blog, but I have to because that’s my excuse for not reaching my daily NaNo word quota: I wasted way too much time in there last night. The room itself is nothing short of amazing: a small TV, a big bathtub, lots of mirrors and miraculous lighting. Everywhere I looked, there were soaps, and facial masks, and . . . loofahs! I know . . . loofahs. What self-respecting female could pass all that up?
I walked in and was immediately sucked into its nasty clutches. I took one look in my mom’s magnifying mirror—the kind that shows the pores ON your pores—and realized: my eyebrows looked pathetic. I mean, really, I know I was working really hard to wrap up my last book, but what had I let myself become? It was embarrassing. And so I tweezed. And tweezed. And tweezed.
Honestly, I’m such a weak person. But let me tell you: the distraction was Kind Of worth it.
NaNo Stats:
Time: 2:35pm
24: teeth bleached
10: manicured fingernails
2: beautiful eyebrows
1: cucumber mask applied
257: NaNo words written
49,743: words to go
1: promise to do MUCH better tomorrow
Thursday, November 1, 2007
NaNoWriMo: Day 1
Leave it to fate to begin my November with the Busiest Weekend Ever. The Distractions abound. First, I’m at my parent’s house for the next two days watching the little brother while they are out of town, and second, the toddler is sick. This means whining, clinging, and no naps. It means that in order to get the child asleep, I have to be in bed by 9pm with her. Unfortunately my writing time is from 11pm to 1am. Does anyone besides me see a problem with this?
I know. But there is always a bright side. In this case, it’s good food, a king-size bed, continuous hot water, and an Ab Lounger. Maybe I should pretend I’m on vacation….
I did, however, open Word and save my NaNo book file. There is also a title, and my name.
Time: 1:40pm
Number of Words: 11
Only 49,989 words to go.
Leave it to fate to begin my November with the Busiest Weekend Ever. The Distractions abound. First, I’m at my parent’s house for the next two days watching the little brother while they are out of town, and second, the toddler is sick. This means whining, clinging, and no naps. It means that in order to get the child asleep, I have to be in bed by 9pm with her. Unfortunately my writing time is from 11pm to 1am. Does anyone besides me see a problem with this?
I know. But there is always a bright side. In this case, it’s good food, a king-size bed, continuous hot water, and an Ab Lounger. Maybe I should pretend I’m on vacation….
I did, however, open Word and save my NaNo book file. There is also a title, and my name.
Time: 1:40pm
Number of Words: 11
Only 49,989 words to go.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Yeah, so this blog was meant for me to post my random musings about life and writing and my new book coming out in the spring and other important whatnots, but there are big things happening this month.
NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month" (www.nanowrimo.org). The idea is to complete one 50,000 word novel during the month of November. You can't start until November 1st, and the novel has to be done by November 30th. That's more 1600 words a day. I know, crazy right? Except that 90,000 people around the world are just as crazy as I am, because we're all in this together.
And so, temporarily, this blog is going to become 30 days of NaNo. My goal is to update daily--to keep the world posted of my progress. There will be happy days, sad days, and days where I'm ready to throw my laptop across the room. I will be excited one day, and I will be completely stressed out the next. And . . . I'm giving you a personal invitation to watch the drama unfold, unless you're brave enough to sign up yourself.
The fun begins tonight at 12:01. As for my last day of freedom, I'm dressing my little girl up as Tinkerbell and sending her around to collect chocolate for me . . . anything to help me get through the month. On December 1st, after I've reached my word quota and signed "The End," I plan to go into hiding. :)
Happy Halloween!
NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo stands for "National Novel Writing Month" (www.nanowrimo.org). The idea is to complete one 50,000 word novel during the month of November. You can't start until November 1st, and the novel has to be done by November 30th. That's more 1600 words a day. I know, crazy right? Except that 90,000 people around the world are just as crazy as I am, because we're all in this together.
And so, temporarily, this blog is going to become 30 days of NaNo. My goal is to update daily--to keep the world posted of my progress. There will be happy days, sad days, and days where I'm ready to throw my laptop across the room. I will be excited one day, and I will be completely stressed out the next. And . . . I'm giving you a personal invitation to watch the drama unfold, unless you're brave enough to sign up yourself.
The fun begins tonight at 12:01. As for my last day of freedom, I'm dressing my little girl up as Tinkerbell and sending her around to collect chocolate for me . . . anything to help me get through the month. On December 1st, after I've reached my word quota and signed "The End," I plan to go into hiding. :)
Happy Halloween!
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