Weekly Update

And it's been a week worth updating.  This week started the whole NaNo hoopla, and I jumped in with both feet.  Here's the breakdown...

11/1 - 1762
11/2 - 1885
11/3 - 989
11/4 - 2423
11/5 - 2807

Which leaves my November total so far at 9866 words.  That's 19.73% of the way through to 50K, and puts me at 1531 words ahead of where I should've been for last night.  By the end of tonight, I need to hit at least 10002 words to stay on track, but since that's only a little over a hundred words, I'm shooting for 11500, at least.

Of course, this WIP was already in progress when I started November.  The book itself just rolled over 31K words!  (Almost 40% of the way done on an 80K word manuscript.)  At this rate, I will have the first draft completed by the end of the month and if I push, the first round of edits should be done by the end of the year.  Yay.

In other news, yesterday's 2800 word blow out has left me with swollen, hurtiful* hands.  All together now... Awwwwwww.  As sick as it sounds, I'm reveling in my pain.  No gain, no pain - and last night's extra 1300 words was definitely a gain.  And I wasn't planning to write that much.  By dinner last night, I was already over 1500 words.  I thought I'd just write a few paragraphs, hit my goal, and spend the rest of the night reading Gena Showalter's Intertwined.  So much for the best laid plans of mice and writers.  Before I knew it, I'd spent an hour here at the computer and I had most of the next scene written.

In other other news, Darling Daughter has joined in the insanity and is doing NaNo herself.  She even signed up for the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program.  She's started several books before, but she's never committed to finished any of them.  This time she has a really awesome premise and she wants to see the book completed.  Of course since she really hasn't done this before, she committed to 24K this month rather than 50K, but I think that's awesome.  Go Baby Go!  Last night, she even raced out of her 'office' and jumped around about the word count she reached.  (I'll let her share in the comments if she wants to.)  I'm so proud.  =oD

How's this week been for you?  

*Hurtiful - you know, like prettiful or smelliful.  I can make up whatever words I want, so there.  =op

Sometimes Something Has to Slip

Heh.  I was zooming along yesterday, cranking out words and trying to live life, etc, when finally something slipped.

When I left you yesterday, my pork roast was in the oven while I got another few hundred words out.  Finally, the time came to pause writing and make the rest of dinner - mashed potatoes and gravy to go with the roast.  I admit, I was cutting it close, but I had it under control.  Instant potatoes and packaged gravy mix would do the trick.  No problem...  Except I didn't have any of those awesome packets of mashed potatoes (Hungry Jack does an awesome instant potato, btw), which only take 4 minutes in the microwave... perfect because I only had like five minutes before the roast was toast.  I also discovered I didn't have any pork gravy in the house.  Two things I always keep around except when my mind is on other stuff - like writing. 

So, for dinner last night, my family got cool pork roast and 'baked' potatoes from the microwave with half-burnt mushroom/beef gravy.  Hubby was kind and said it was good.  I only finished half my plate and tossed the rest.  Daughter cleaned her plate, but she didn't tell me what a good meal it was like she usually does.  =o(

On the bright side, though, I wrote my 1667 for the day, made up for the words I missed the day before and tacked on a few for padding in case I slip on another day. 

I'd like to be able to write a lot of words and still make an awesome, homecooked meal.  I'd also like to be able to write and keep a tidy house, or write and get the exercise I need, or write and read a ton of awesome books.  Sooner or later, though, something has to slip.  And in November, a lot of somethings are getting left behind. 

Lucky for me, my family is being understanding about it all.  Maybe today when I take a break, I'll bake them all some pumpkin bread.

When you're in the writing zone, what are the things that slip for you?  Or are you capable of juggling everything and getting the words out, too?  What's your secret?

Making Time to Write

Ya know, sometimes I feel like I never have enough time, and then I read things like Lynn Viehl's Schedule.  I've already admitted to being lazy, so it should come as no surprise that just looking at Lynn's schedule makes me tired.  Still, her schedule does make me think about the time I have and the time I waste.  Looking at my own miasma of daily stuff, I know can easily pull an extra hour or two throughout the week.  (Do I really need to watch another Friends rerun???)

For instance, this morning I cut my blog reading short and wrote for about 75 minutes before I started the rest of my day.  Right now, I threw a roast in the oven and while it's cooking I have time to write.  (And here I am blogging instead.  There's fifteen minutes I could've worked on my WIP and didn't.)

Anyway, think about the things you do during a day.  While you may not have the chunks of wasted time I do, if you look hard enough you might be able to put together fifteen minutes before dinner or twenty minutes after the kids' bathtime or even a half-hour where you could be writing instead of watching How I Met Your Mother (or whichever sitcom you're currently hooked on).

Now I need to see how many words I can write before the potatoes need to be made.  Keep up the good words, everyone.  =o)

Justice

It's not a formal definition, but I like to think that justice means each person getting exactly what they've earned - good or bad.  Tonight on The Biggest Loser, justice was finally served.  After weeks of backstabbing, Tracey got booted off the ranch.  Yay!   

Which just goes to show that no matter what your supposed reasoning is, if you're dirty and underhanded in your dealings with others, sooner or later, it will come back to bite you in the ass.  And please...  The tears?  Overacting even William Shatner wouldn't stoop to.

Oh, and I loved the way Amanda didn't pull any punches with her vote.  She knew Tracey screwed her over and she said that was the reason she was voting Tracey off.  Go Amanda, go. 

No Effects Included

I had a beautiful post half-written in my head last night, but like so many other ideas, it was lost to the land of Nod.  Instead, check out this awesome picture I took the other day.  It's straight from the camera - no effects included.  The sky really did look like that.

If I ever remember what I wanted to say, I'll put it up later.  Meanwhile, have a lovely day, everyone.  =o)

NaNo as Motivation

This morning on edittorrent I saw a blog about NaNo that was mainly directed toward speed-writing - as in increasing your writing speed and thereby increasing your output.  It's a great post, and I'm sure it's very helpful.  The thing with me is, I don't look at November as a time to increase the speed with which I write or even as a way to get my brain to think quicker.  I use this month and NaNo to motivate me.

Let's face it, folks, I'm lazier than a coonhound on a hot summer day.  I know this about myself.  If I wasn't so lazy, I'd be showered and dressed, this post would've been written at 5am when I woke up (stupid time change), and I'd be ready to get started on my Monday errands.  I also wouldn't have had to race around collecting garbage before the truck gets here this morning.  Anyway, this all goes to show that I lack internal motivation.  I know this, but I can't seem to get my gumption shifted into drive on my own.

Enter November.  Blessed, wonderful November.  It provides the spark to light my internal gumption engine.  (And for those of you out there who are thinking 'but doesn't that mean you're just motivating yourself anyway' - yes.) 

So, I don't think of this NaNo thing as a race to get 50K words out.  I just use it to light my fire, to spark my gumption, to kick my butt into gear.  The only person I can possibly disappoint is myself, and I will do my damnest not to do that.  If I screw up and miss the mark one day, I'll work harder to make up the difference on the next day.  And if, for some reason, I don't hit the mark, I will at least be able to console myself with the fact that I tried.  As long as I'm writing, I cannot fail entirely. 

Now I really should hit the shower, since I'm already behind on my daily schedule.  Heh, but I did already write.  Thanks, NaNoWriMo.

It's He-ere

Well, this is it.  NaNo has arrived, and with it, thousands of madly typing fingers.  In preparation for the month ahead, I've spent the last week doing absolutely nothing.  (At least that was the rationalization I used.)  I'm going with the idea that I was revving my engine.  Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket.

In order to accomplish 50K words this month, I need to average 1667 words a day.  I haven't written that many words in one day in an awfully long time.  As I lay in bed last night, I wondered whether I've still got it in me.  Only time will tell at this point. 

So, even if you're not doing anything special with your writing this month, keep a positive thought in your head for the writers who are shooting for the 50K.  I know I can use all the help I can get.  ;o)

If you don't see the new counter move on a regular basis, feel free to hound me. 

kthnxbai