Time to write has been at a premium lately, and I’m afraid I haven’t accomplished much. Writing, that is. I’ve accomplished a lot of other things (packing, homework, studying, working), but very little writing. However, I did get 4k in yesterday, bringing my total up to 15k for the month. In other words, only about 8k behind pace…I intend to be caught up this week, since everything is (mostly) packed, and almost all my homework is done for the week/semester (Just have to worry about finals in a couple of weeks.). The story is still flowing pretty well, and I just met my villain, so it should get very interesting very soon.
Category: NaNo
NaNo Week One
Week One of NaNo is over, and I’m sitting at 8,001 words. I’m happy with that, considering I only wrote four of those days, and 8,000 was my goal. I only have one more chapter outlined, so I need to work on that ASAP and figure out what comes next.
My best friend was in town this weekend, so we did a bunch of NOLA stuff. Had a lot of fun. We went to the French Quarter Friday night. Saw all sorts of things, which is always a given down there. Had the most amazing ice cream ever (Amaretto flavored Italian ice cream, yum!). Went to the French Market and shopped on Magazine Street. Went to St. Louis No. 1 cemetery and saw Marie Laveau’s grave (That thing always gives me the creeps!). Then, today, we went to the Louisiana Ren Faire and had a blast! We decided that next year we’re going back to Scarborough Faire in Texas, and we’re getting costumes. That should be entertaining.
And that’s about it, other than the time change beating me down! It always takes me a while to adjust, so I’m off to get some much-needed sleep.
Ready for NaNo?
I’m not. Not even remotely. I have only the most vague, fuzzy ideas for plot. I have a few ideas for general conflict. I have nothing more than a hint of a couple of new characters I need. So, basically, I guess I’ll be winging it this year. I’m not super thrilled about that, but I know it will all work itself out. And if not, well, there’s always revisions…
Good luck to everyone else out there doing NaNo!
Final Countdown…
…to NaNo, that is. Yes, I finally made up my mind: I’m going for it again this year! This will be my fifth year, and I’ve won every year. The last two years, I’ve set myself the personal goal of 100k, and I hit it both years. This year…I’ll be thrilled with 50k. I work full-time, I’m going to school full-time, and just for fun, I’m prepping for an out-of-state move the first week in December (Me? Trying to do too much? Nah…I’d never do that.).
I just decided two days ago what I’m going to write. While I have the beginnings of an awesome YA paranormal fantasy involving ancient Greek mythology, I don’t have time to develop that world as fully as it deserves. So…I’m going to be writing the sequel to my werewolf story. Most of the basic character development is already done, so I just have to come up with a few new characters and a plot. “Just”…Ha. (Cue manic laughter now…)
Good luck to anyone else out there about to embark on the insanity that is NaNo!
Update Stuff
Well, midterms are behind me now, thank goodness! I’ve been so busy with school stuff I haven’t had time to do much of anything else. No blogging. No writing. Not as much gym time as there should have been, and definitely not enough sleeping! I don’t know if that will get better or worse before the end of the semester…
For various reasons that I can’t currently get into, I don’t expect to be very prolific on this blog for at least the next couple of months. Possibly in December, if everything goes well.
I’ve been thinking about doing NaNo. Toying with the idea. I really WANT to…I’ve done it four straight years, and it’s something I enjoy, I’m just not sure if I’ll have time this year, what with the four classes and all. Plus, my best friend is coming in for a visit the first weekend of the month, so there goes three writing days (Because I’d MUCH rather hang out with her than stare blankly at a computer screen!) But…I think I’ll probably end up doing it again this year, although probably only with the 50k goal, unlike the 100k I’ve shot for (and hit) the last two years. We’ll see. (Now if I only knew which story I was going to write…)
I’m subbing the Werewolf story right now. Have had some partial requests, but nothing else so far. I love this story a lot, so I hope it finds a home.
It’s All Coming Back to Me Now…
How much work school is, that is. Seriously. I’d forgotten just how busy it kept me, and that was when I was taking regular classes. And not working a full-time job. Online classes are just as much work (if not more), and I haven’t had time to do any writing in the past…week and a half or so. Nor any revising. At all. And I’ve decided not to worry about it. I’ve got the bulk of my homework done this week already, and I only have two quizzes to study for (as opposed to the three quizzes and a test I had last week), so if I get time, I’ll do some writing. Or maybe some revising. And if I don’t get time, well, I’ve given myself permission not to stress about it.
I’m still trying to decide whether or not I’ll be doing NaNo this year. The thought of NOT doing it bothers me a lot, I’ve done it the last four years, and I enjoy it. Yet, logically, time will probably be an issue, even though we don’t have classes the week of Thanksgiving, and I could probably get a lot done. Guess I’ll have to see. I have finals the first week of December, and I’ll be moving back to Texas shortly thereafter (Yay for going home!), with all that entails, so I’ll just have to wait and see. For now, I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.
Done!
I finally finished the story today. Finally. I got seriously behind last week, and it took some major hours at the computer to get where I wanted to be (10k on Saturday, 10k again on Sunday, 4k today), but I finished. I accomplished two things this month: 1) I hit 100,000 words, and 2) I wrote every single day. Granted, a few days it was only a couple of hundred words, and one day, I know it was only 15 words, but still. I wrote every day. And I’m happy that I did, thrilled that I got the entire first draft down.
Is the story finished? Absolutely not. It’s going to sit for at least two months, probably longer, and then I’m going to revise it. It needs it. Parts of it need a lot of revising. Parts of it, hopefully only a little. The characters surprised me a lot. Mina’s boss, Richard, was way nicer than I imagined him. And Phoenix…well, Phoenix turned out not be quite the hard **s I thought he was going to be. And I think that’s a good thing. I still like him a lot, though, and right now, I’m actually looking forward to doing the revision on this.
And speaking of revision, I’m in the first class of Holly Lisle’s How To Revise Your Novel, which I’m really excited about, because hey, I don’t like revisions. I know the story needs fixed, I just…usually don’t know how to go about it. So I’m hoping this will give me the tools I need to figure that out and make the story (stories) stronger.
Congratulations to everyone who did NaNo, winners or not. Yay! /cheerleading
Playing Catch Up
So, it looks like I can only manage to post here once a week. You’d think that meant I’d been doing a ton of writing, wouldn’t you? You’d be wrong. Because I’ve been doing quite a bit of other things that aren’t writing.
Like watching men in kilts throw trees around. Yes, seriously. Why are you looking at me like that? I went to a Celtic Music Festival/Scottish Games. Quite interesting, let me tell you. Men in kilts. Throwing trees. And flinging burlap bags (weighted) into the air with pitchforks. Quite impressive as well. I can only imagine me either hitting myself in the head with the 16-pound hammer, or stabbing myself with the pitchfork. Ah. Good times…The music was excellent, as well. You don’t hear many harps these days, but I listened to one awesome performer. All of which allowed me to successfully procrastinate for almost the entire day Sunday. Yes, I’m behind. No, I’m not giving up. I shall hit my word count goal of 100k for NaNo!
Day 10: 1,772 words (23,085 Total)
Day 11: 60,040 (29,125)
Day 12: 1,009 (30,134)
Day 13: 1,012 (31,146)
Day 14: 3,218 (34,364)
Day 15: 1,205 (35,569)
Day 16: 2,180 (37,749)
And, as a side note: I hit my word count goal for the year today! 300,000 words!
NaNoing In Spite of the Storm
Or, Tropical Storm Ida. She’s coming ashore tonight, which is supposed to mean wind and rain here. (*Looks outside. No rain. Only occasional signs of wind.*) My company decided this warranted scheduling changes, so I got off two hours early. And what did I do with my ill-gotten gains? Um…caught up on the blogs I haven’t read in at least a week. Incessantly checked my email. Looked for random people I have no actual interest in finding on Facebook. Oh, and continually tried to check the NaNo website, which is apparently experiencing some technical difficulty.
And yes, some writing. I actually got 1k this morning before work, and 1.75k tonight, which hits my word count goal for the today, plus 1k to make up for the ah, less than stellar word count weekend I had:
Day Six: 2,509 (17,951 Total)
Day Seven: 322 (18,273)
Day Eight: 264 (18,537)
Day Nine: 2,776 (21,313)
I may not have gotten much writing done this weekend, but I did accomplish some other things: Seeing a completely unbelievable concert on Friday night. Cross Canadian Ragweed (a.k.a. CCR. Yeah, I know, not the CCR. But still completely awesome.). Now, back home, they get airplay on the mainstream country stations, but they’re more styled as “Texas Country.” Not that you could tell that from their hard-rocking style. I’ve seen them twice before, both at outdoor venues, and this time was at the Hard Rock Live in Biloxi, MS. Small venue. Mind-blowing show, complete with awe-inspiring guitar and their traditional, in-your-face songs (My favorite? Lighthouse Keeper, which, as a friend of mine said once, only makes sense if you’re on something. I wasn’t, but I still love that song. It sounds best at top volume with the windows down.) Micky & the Motorcars opened for them. Styled as “alt-country”, Micky & the Motorcars also did a great show with a ton of adrenaline.
On Sunday, I participated in a fundraising walk for the National Kidney Foundation. Excellent cause, lots of fun, and done in Audubon Park, which is an oasis of beautiful scenery. Stately old oaks draped with Spanish moss. A small lake. Beautiful houses surrounding it. In short, an excellent setting for Mina to get into some sort of trouble during the course of this book.
So, while I may not have been actually writing, I was researching. Yeah. That’s it. Now if I can just figure out a way to work that concert into the story…
We’re All Crazy Around Here
Those of us doing NaNo, anyway. So, for those of you who are, how’s it going?
Pretty well, for me. I started the month with the first four chapters outlined (just a general, phase outline), and an insane goal of 100k. I had basic ideas of how the story would end up–and that’s still where I stand, with no real idea of the ending. I’ll be figuring that out soon, though. Hopefully.
My MC, Aramina, is an accident-prone elf who gets shanghaied into looking for the missing son of an old family friend who’s been murdered. There’s more going on than Mina realizes, including something strange at the tomb of voodoo queen Marie Laveau, and the mystery man she keeps running into. Then there’s her cheating ex-boyfriend, a detective working the case, and Lorgan, her best friend (a faerie) who does his best to keep her in tiptop, dressed-to-the nines shape. When he’s not singing kareoke or getting handcuffed to his bed, that is. It’s tentatively titled Chasing Shadows, although that’s not quite right. But it’ll do for now.
Day One WC: 9,009
Day Two WC: 531 (9,540 Total)
Day Three WC: 2,832 (12,372)
Day Four WC: 1,512 (13,884)
Day Five WC: 1,558 (15,442)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 