can't...type...any...more...wrists...hurt...
will blog next week and tell you all about it.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
"It's over!" she sang joyously!!
can't...type...any...more...wrists...hurt...
will blog next week and tell you all about it.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Updates
I have been such a blogging slacker this month. Thank you all for being patient with me while I toil through NaNo. Unlike some people (like ScopeDope), I am NOT done with my story yet. Here's what happened:
Shane went out of town to El Paso on business.
That's it. Nothing more. He went out of town. he was gone for a week. A whole darn week. And I just lost it, as usual.
Oh, I wrote while he was gone. Like the good little writer intent on finishing NaNo that I am, I managed to do my daily word count the whole time he was gone. For the most part. Of course, when I recently read what I'd written, it was one of those huge "WTF???" moments that I sometimes have.
It was bad. No, it was beyond bad. It was utter and total crap. How do I know this? Well, there were people in my story that had no business being there. I have no idea where they came from. I don't know who they are, or how they made their way into my story. It makes no sense. Plus, these people had totally hijacked my plot. I mean, they literally took it away from the location. They were almost in another freakin state! Seriously, they left the cozy little town that I had envisioned and traipsed down the highway to the beach, and stood there on the sand telling me this was where they wanted to be. HAH!
So now I'm stuck with over 20,000 words that I don't even remember writing, a plot that in no way resembles what I originally envisioned, and characters that I don't really know. I have no idea whether I should hit the delete button a few thousand times or keep writing. I'm wondering if I should just finish it up the way it is and do some major editing in December. See, I'm not sure if I have time to do a total re-write. And I'm thinking that kinda goes against the whole point of NaNo. So I'm heavily leaning towards getting my butt back upstairs in front of my laptop and just burying my head until I reach at least 50,000. It's not really that far off, but I'm just not sure where to go with this story.
One thing is for certain... if Penny expects me to pitch this crap in Jersey, she's lost her mind. I can't wait til December is over and I get back to my other story. At least those women don't fight me and take off for the beach when I least expect it. Well, now that's wrong, I guess. Because if I remember correctly, that's exactly what they were doing when I put them to bed on October 31st. Hmmm, maybe my stories are bleeding together. Or maybe the beach will be for me what Chicago was for SEP.
And did I mention that I read some fabulous books this week, in between trying to figure out where my NaNo story was heading? Well, I did. And I reviewed a few of them over on the book blog. And I've got even more to review next week, after NaNo is officially over.
Wish me luck, I'm headed back upstairs now.
And no, Sheryl, the book isn't done.
Yet.
Shane went out of town to El Paso on business.
That's it. Nothing more. He went out of town. he was gone for a week. A whole darn week. And I just lost it, as usual.
Oh, I wrote while he was gone. Like the good little writer intent on finishing NaNo that I am, I managed to do my daily word count the whole time he was gone. For the most part. Of course, when I recently read what I'd written, it was one of those huge "WTF???" moments that I sometimes have.
It was bad. No, it was beyond bad. It was utter and total crap. How do I know this? Well, there were people in my story that had no business being there. I have no idea where they came from. I don't know who they are, or how they made their way into my story. It makes no sense. Plus, these people had totally hijacked my plot. I mean, they literally took it away from the location. They were almost in another freakin state! Seriously, they left the cozy little town that I had envisioned and traipsed down the highway to the beach, and stood there on the sand telling me this was where they wanted to be. HAH!
So now I'm stuck with over 20,000 words that I don't even remember writing, a plot that in no way resembles what I originally envisioned, and characters that I don't really know. I have no idea whether I should hit the delete button a few thousand times or keep writing. I'm wondering if I should just finish it up the way it is and do some major editing in December. See, I'm not sure if I have time to do a total re-write. And I'm thinking that kinda goes against the whole point of NaNo. So I'm heavily leaning towards getting my butt back upstairs in front of my laptop and just burying my head until I reach at least 50,000. It's not really that far off, but I'm just not sure where to go with this story.
One thing is for certain... if Penny expects me to pitch this crap in Jersey, she's lost her mind. I can't wait til December is over and I get back to my other story. At least those women don't fight me and take off for the beach when I least expect it. Well, now that's wrong, I guess. Because if I remember correctly, that's exactly what they were doing when I put them to bed on October 31st. Hmmm, maybe my stories are bleeding together. Or maybe the beach will be for me what Chicago was for SEP.
And did I mention that I read some fabulous books this week, in between trying to figure out where my NaNo story was heading? Well, I did. And I reviewed a few of them over on the book blog. And I've got even more to review next week, after NaNo is officially over.
Wish me luck, I'm headed back upstairs now.
And no, Sheryl, the book isn't done.
Yet.
Friday, November 17, 2006
My blogroll is Snark-less
Short post.
Straight to the point.
I love Anne Stuart.
I want friends like Jenny Crusie.
That's all I have to say about that.
Straight to the point.
I love Anne Stuart.
I want friends like Jenny Crusie.
That's all I have to say about that.
Monday, November 13, 2006
NoMoNaNo
Awww, just kidding. I'm still going. Just like that silly little pink bunny. Still going. And going. And going.
NaNo is going surprisingly well. Which is good, because everything else is not going as well. Of course, that's to be expected. Why? Well, take a guess. Did you guess that Shane is out of town again? Yeah, you get the gold star.
My darling husband left on Sunday for a week in El Paso, Texas. He's out there on business. And he might try to take a large flashlight out to that river near there and see if he can catch anyone trying to swim across. He actually told me on the phone today that he wanted to head into Mexico to get some souvenirs for the kids. I practically screamed (ok, I DID scream) in his ear that he was NOT TO GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE BORDER. If you are familiar with what happens when my husband goes out of town on his own, then you know why. If you're not, then I will say only that his first business trip, to Las Vegas, ended in a car crash on a deserted road near the Grand Canyon, a broken axel on a rented SUV, a hospital quarantine, and a spinal tap. Then there was last year's hunting trip, where he almost fell off the side of a mountain pretending to be Spider-Man, and almost got eaten by a bear. This year's hunting trip left him with near pneumonia after riding down the Rockies on an ATV in a blizzard. Needless to say, the thought of him going into a foreign country without his birth certificate or a passport filled me with anxiety. Add that to the fact that my man has very little knowledge of the language (brilliant, yes, but honestly, the man spent TWO years in Spanish 1, ok?), and I was terrified that they might not let him come back. Thankfully, he agreed not to head south of the border, so we'll all get our made-in-Mexico trinkets at bought-in-America prices.
Also, I'm back at work. Yeah, I know, I said I wouldn't do it. But then again, you all know what a sucker I am. I couldn't help it. I did put my foot down and tell them that I can't close anymore, so I'll be home by 9ish from now on. AND I'm only going to work 3 days a week, instead of the 5 that I'd been working. I have to tell you, it was HARD to go back in there and do that all again. My feet ached, my legs hurt, and my wrists are still cracking from carrying those trays. However, I continue to meet very nice guests, and often I get to talk about books, or my writing. Plus, honestly, the jewels of conversation that I overhear are just wonderful. I have a huge file of "Things I heard at the restaurant", and some of them have already found their way into my NaNo story.
I missed the VRW meeting on Saturday, and I didn't make it down to Chesapeake to see Jenny and Bob for their conference. Both of those things really bummed me. On the bright side, taking time off from writing today has helped me catch up over on the book blog a bit. Big hugs to Charity for keeping that thing afloat. Please head over there and enter our Veterans and Rookies contest. Since this isn't the book blog, I'll tell you that one of the books that has recently been reviewed will be in the prize pack. And we're having a real live author judge the contest. And I'm adding at least 3 other books to the pack, inlcuding another recent review, and gods in Alabama. Joshilyn Jackson is doing a booksigning next week, and I'll have a winner by then, so I'm going to get her autograph in gIA and have it sent right to the winner.
Anyhow, it's sorta late, and I have a date with a book upstairs... in bed. Yeah, still chucklin' over that fortune cookie thing. It's funnyhow you get those warm fuzzy memories out of nowhere. I was out with the Youth Group last week, having dinner after a Baptist Youth Fellowship meeting. We were at a Chinese buffet. When the bill came with that plate of cookies (no, not those kind of cookies, geez people I was out with kids!) my sweet-as-pie Gret grabbed for them, ripped one open, read it lightning fast, then started laughing. She passed it to her friends and they all giggled. It took me about 10 seconds to remember that I'd taught her the little trick, so I hustled off to her end of the table to read... "Your life holds many fun adventures" and I just groaned. I didn't even need to ask why she laughed.
Here's to you, New Jersey friends...
...in bed!
NaNo is going surprisingly well. Which is good, because everything else is not going as well. Of course, that's to be expected. Why? Well, take a guess. Did you guess that Shane is out of town again? Yeah, you get the gold star.
My darling husband left on Sunday for a week in El Paso, Texas. He's out there on business. And he might try to take a large flashlight out to that river near there and see if he can catch anyone trying to swim across. He actually told me on the phone today that he wanted to head into Mexico to get some souvenirs for the kids. I practically screamed (ok, I DID scream) in his ear that he was NOT TO GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE BORDER. If you are familiar with what happens when my husband goes out of town on his own, then you know why. If you're not, then I will say only that his first business trip, to Las Vegas, ended in a car crash on a deserted road near the Grand Canyon, a broken axel on a rented SUV, a hospital quarantine, and a spinal tap. Then there was last year's hunting trip, where he almost fell off the side of a mountain pretending to be Spider-Man, and almost got eaten by a bear. This year's hunting trip left him with near pneumonia after riding down the Rockies on an ATV in a blizzard. Needless to say, the thought of him going into a foreign country without his birth certificate or a passport filled me with anxiety. Add that to the fact that my man has very little knowledge of the language (brilliant, yes, but honestly, the man spent TWO years in Spanish 1, ok?), and I was terrified that they might not let him come back. Thankfully, he agreed not to head south of the border, so we'll all get our made-in-Mexico trinkets at bought-in-America prices.
Also, I'm back at work. Yeah, I know, I said I wouldn't do it. But then again, you all know what a sucker I am. I couldn't help it. I did put my foot down and tell them that I can't close anymore, so I'll be home by 9ish from now on. AND I'm only going to work 3 days a week, instead of the 5 that I'd been working. I have to tell you, it was HARD to go back in there and do that all again. My feet ached, my legs hurt, and my wrists are still cracking from carrying those trays. However, I continue to meet very nice guests, and often I get to talk about books, or my writing. Plus, honestly, the jewels of conversation that I overhear are just wonderful. I have a huge file of "Things I heard at the restaurant", and some of them have already found their way into my NaNo story.
I missed the VRW meeting on Saturday, and I didn't make it down to Chesapeake to see Jenny and Bob for their conference. Both of those things really bummed me. On the bright side, taking time off from writing today has helped me catch up over on the book blog a bit. Big hugs to Charity for keeping that thing afloat. Please head over there and enter our Veterans and Rookies contest. Since this isn't the book blog, I'll tell you that one of the books that has recently been reviewed will be in the prize pack. And we're having a real live author judge the contest. And I'm adding at least 3 other books to the pack, inlcuding another recent review, and gods in Alabama. Joshilyn Jackson is doing a booksigning next week, and I'll have a winner by then, so I'm going to get her autograph in gIA and have it sent right to the winner.
Anyhow, it's sorta late, and I have a date with a book upstairs... in bed. Yeah, still chucklin' over that fortune cookie thing. It's funnyhow you get those warm fuzzy memories out of nowhere. I was out with the Youth Group last week, having dinner after a Baptist Youth Fellowship meeting. We were at a Chinese buffet. When the bill came with that plate of cookies (no, not those kind of cookies, geez people I was out with kids!) my sweet-as-pie Gret grabbed for them, ripped one open, read it lightning fast, then started laughing. She passed it to her friends and they all giggled. It took me about 10 seconds to remember that I'd taught her the little trick, so I hustled off to her end of the table to read... "Your life holds many fun adventures" and I just groaned. I didn't even need to ask why she laughed.
Here's to you, New Jersey friends...
...in bed!
Friday, November 03, 2006
NaNo again
Thanks for your comments, your e-mails, and yes, even your e-cards. Your support has been a blessing.
Gret moved the coffee pot upstairs to my room on Wednesday, so i didn't have to come downstairs for refills. Then she kept the kids quiet for a while, so I could write in blessed peace. Amazingly enough, I wrote an entire scene in less than two hours. When I reached the end of the scene, I had 1779 words. That was just amazing to me!
Yesterday, I read instead of writing. I don't know what exactly was wrong with me, but I couldn't write. Actually, it was because the story was going through some major stuff in my head, and I just needed to chill while it clicked.
See, I had this awesome idea, and a basic outline, last month. Then, Tuesday night, I couldn't sleep. I knew NaNo was starting, and I was excited and nervous for it, but something was really bothering me. I had a new person in my head, and she was really insisting that her story be told. I struggled with it most of the night. I mean, I already had a really good idea, and I'd actually done an outline. I couldn't just change all of that a few hours before the start, could I?
If you're a writer, you know what I mean. Sometimes you struggle to come up with the words and ideas, and sometimes they fight to be loosed from your head. Well, taking a huge leap, I decided to go with my new idea. All of that work, research and planning would keep. The other was a really good idea, and I knew I'd use it, but right now, I need to go with this one.
Thank the Lord I followed my instincts!
I wrote most of the morning. Now, at Day 3, I'm further along than I thought I'd be, and it feels pretty good, especially considering I didn't put down a single word yesterday.
I know how Penny feels, and it's both exhilerating and exhausting. Now I'm heading out with the kids, and I'll be out most of the day. When I get back tonight, I'm going to help Cherry Red with e-bay stuff for the next MicheleFund auction. Then I'll sleep.
Honestly though, I can't wait until tomorrow, when I have more time to work on my story!
Gret moved the coffee pot upstairs to my room on Wednesday, so i didn't have to come downstairs for refills. Then she kept the kids quiet for a while, so I could write in blessed peace. Amazingly enough, I wrote an entire scene in less than two hours. When I reached the end of the scene, I had 1779 words. That was just amazing to me!
Yesterday, I read instead of writing. I don't know what exactly was wrong with me, but I couldn't write. Actually, it was because the story was going through some major stuff in my head, and I just needed to chill while it clicked.
See, I had this awesome idea, and a basic outline, last month. Then, Tuesday night, I couldn't sleep. I knew NaNo was starting, and I was excited and nervous for it, but something was really bothering me. I had a new person in my head, and she was really insisting that her story be told. I struggled with it most of the night. I mean, I already had a really good idea, and I'd actually done an outline. I couldn't just change all of that a few hours before the start, could I?
If you're a writer, you know what I mean. Sometimes you struggle to come up with the words and ideas, and sometimes they fight to be loosed from your head. Well, taking a huge leap, I decided to go with my new idea. All of that work, research and planning would keep. The other was a really good idea, and I knew I'd use it, but right now, I need to go with this one.
Thank the Lord I followed my instincts!
I wrote most of the morning. Now, at Day 3, I'm further along than I thought I'd be, and it feels pretty good, especially considering I didn't put down a single word yesterday.
I know how Penny feels, and it's both exhilerating and exhausting. Now I'm heading out with the kids, and I'll be out most of the day. When I get back tonight, I'm going to help Cherry Red with e-bay stuff for the next MicheleFund auction. Then I'll sleep.
Honestly though, I can't wait until tomorrow, when I have more time to work on my story!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
AhNoBlogMo (UPDATED)
at least until November is over!
November is finally here, and with it comes NaNoWriMo. This is my first ever NaNo challenge, and I want to make it to the end! With your support, encouragement, and understanding, I'm sure that will happen.
Basically, NaNo is the National Novel Writers Month challenge. The idea is to write a novel in a month. In order to "win", you must write 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30. You can't work on something that you're already doing, you have to start a whole new story.
Sound easy? Sound impossible? Well, I happen to know that it's neither. But it WILL give me a reason, a motivation, to just write. I know of a few people that have actually sold their NaNo challenges as novels. Lani Diane Rich has sold two of hers. While Lani is obviously FABULOUS, and I luvluvluv her writing, I've met her. She's a real person. She doesn't have a halo or wings, and, other than her incredible hugs, she's a pretty regular SuperStar person. I say SuperStar because that's what 'real writers' are to me. "Real" meaning, in this case, someone who actually gets their stories finished, unlike, oh, say, ME. So my thought is that if a person that I've met (although she IS a SuperStar) can do this NaNo thing, then I have a shot at it too. Sounds reasonable, right?
The goal is 50,000 words in a month, which breaks down to almost 1700 words a day. 1700 words towards my story. Are you getting where I'm going with this? Yeah, if you're thinking "1700 words for the story means not that many words for the blog," then you're right where I am. I won't be blogging very much, if at all. I will try to post a weekly word count, but other than that, I doubt I'll be on here much through the month. See, I really really want to "win" NaNo.
What can you do to help? Well, you can post comments like the typical "Book Done Yet?" You can send me e-mails with smiley faces. You can send me your love! Please, don't send me links to great books that you're reading, that will only cause jealousy. Don't tell me what a fabulous time you had with your kids, I won't be spending as much time with mine. And don't talk to me about how much sleep you got last night, because I couldn't sleep a wink. I was much to anxious/nervous/excited about NaNo.
Know that I'll be thinking about all of you, and wishing you luck if you're doing NaNo as well. I know Penny is doing it, as is Kim. I can't remember who else is, but please leave a comment if you are. I'd love to be able to cheer you on!
So, without further ado...
It's NaNo time!
UPDATE:
1Nov06 10:28am - Holy cow. Just ran word count and I'm at 1779 words right now. I can't even believe it. Of course, I'm going to keep going. Just had to take a bathroom break, get more coffee, put some food down my throat, check e-mail, and let you guys know that I actually already reached my goal today. Hooray me!!
Current NaNo count:
Basically, NaNo is the National Novel Writers Month challenge. The idea is to write a novel in a month. In order to "win", you must write 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30. You can't work on something that you're already doing, you have to start a whole new story.
Sound easy? Sound impossible? Well, I happen to know that it's neither. But it WILL give me a reason, a motivation, to just write. I know of a few people that have actually sold their NaNo challenges as novels. Lani Diane Rich has sold two of hers. While Lani is obviously FABULOUS, and I luvluvluv her writing, I've met her. She's a real person. She doesn't have a halo or wings, and, other than her incredible hugs, she's a pretty regular SuperStar person. I say SuperStar because that's what 'real writers' are to me. "Real" meaning, in this case, someone who actually gets their stories finished, unlike, oh, say, ME. So my thought is that if a person that I've met (although she IS a SuperStar) can do this NaNo thing, then I have a shot at it too. Sounds reasonable, right?
The goal is 50,000 words in a month, which breaks down to almost 1700 words a day. 1700 words towards my story. Are you getting where I'm going with this? Yeah, if you're thinking "1700 words for the story means not that many words for the blog," then you're right where I am. I won't be blogging very much, if at all. I will try to post a weekly word count, but other than that, I doubt I'll be on here much through the month. See, I really really want to "win" NaNo.
What can you do to help? Well, you can post comments like the typical "Book Done Yet?" You can send me e-mails with smiley faces. You can send me your love! Please, don't send me links to great books that you're reading, that will only cause jealousy. Don't tell me what a fabulous time you had with your kids, I won't be spending as much time with mine. And don't talk to me about how much sleep you got last night, because I couldn't sleep a wink. I was much to anxious/nervous/excited about NaNo.
Know that I'll be thinking about all of you, and wishing you luck if you're doing NaNo as well. I know Penny is doing it, as is Kim. I can't remember who else is, but please leave a comment if you are. I'd love to be able to cheer you on!
So, without further ado...
It's NaNo time!
UPDATE:
1Nov06 10:28am - Holy cow. Just ran word count and I'm at 1779 words right now. I can't even believe it. Of course, I'm going to keep going. Just had to take a bathroom break, get more coffee, put some food down my throat, check e-mail, and let you guys know that I actually already reached my goal today. Hooray me!!
Current NaNo count:
| |
1,779 / 50,000 (3.6%) |
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