And in the End...

Well.
I did it.

It wasn't fun, pretty, easy, or enjoyable.
But that's sometimes the thing about writing, isn't it?

I know this year's NaNo has helped me. I wrote with more emotion and passion than I've ever written before, tormented my characters, tortured them at new levels. My voice is getting stronger with each sentence, and I'm taking on bigger challenges with each chapter. I never beat my daily wordcount record from last year (8k), but I did have many days in which I wrote 3-4k.

So.

Thank you for all the kind words and wonderful encouragement! It was certainly a different experience than last year, when my friend bar consisted of three people. I enjoyed following all the progress of those who were trucking along with me, and I hope you all, if you didn't exactly enjoy it, at least got something out of it.

As for me, I pulled out last year's NaNo project a few hours after I got my purple bar and started plotting my revisions. Guess I'm a glutton for punishment. :)

Day 29 and Being Alone

Well friends, we're on the other side now.
Oh, not the other side of NaNoWrimo--no, if you look at my little chart to the right, you'll see that I'm taking my sweet time with it this month. More on that later.
We are on the other side of Thanksgiving! Which can only mean one thing: my house is already completely decorated for Christmas! Lowes had their 5-6' trees on sale for 19.96, so we loaded up on Saturday. It's a great tree--very cute, good shape, perfect size for our smallish apartment. The kittens loved exploring, too.

not sure if this will work or not

We had a nice three-day weekend with my in-laws. Took the kittens, which was funny and interesting, as they already have 2 indoor cats, one of which who hates everything, the other who just wants to be loved (the Munchkin). 

We also saw Harry Potter 7-1 on Saturday, and I enjoyed it except for that STUPID BITCH (sorry) in front of me who kept making comments and generally ruining the movie for me. Yes, I'm one of those who wants absolute silence during a movie. 

So. 

NaNoWriMo. Just about all my friends are done, except for Hannah. And I'm okay with that. I like to think I'm trying to experience NaNo the way it was designed: by writing till the 30th. :) Last year I finished over a week early, and then I felt disappointed. This year I just want to be DONE. The story has taken so many unexpected turns that I'm going to have a serious think before I even try to finish it, I think. In the meantime, I think I'll be blowing the dust off of last year's NaNo novel, Eternal Spring, and see if it's about damn time to revise. 

Also, the hubby took off for a work conference this morning to Orlando. This is the first time we've been apart longer than a night since...um, almost 5 years? Yeah, it's gonna be weird. I foresee lots of beer and eating strangely. 

Hope you all had a great holiday, and see you on the other side of Nano!

For the Final Week

Yesterday I was cutting onions for dinner, and on the very last slice, almost cut off the outer quarter of my left-hand ring fingertip. It's still attached, but the cut is super deep and super painful. I've got one of those butterfly bandages on it, and even then it's painful to type.

Still, I won't be daunted.

I have a metric ass load of writing to do before Thursday...starting today. I'm going shopping tomorrow with my MIL for Christmas decorations to be put up on Turkey Day and Black Friday night, so that's going to be consuming. And then, of course, there's the big T-Day itself, and the riotous fun of Black Friday. There are some outlets here planning to open at MIDNIGHT. Crazy.

So, let this post stand for the week, unless something crazy happens that I must report. I hope everyone who's participating in NaNo has great success in this final week, and all my American friends:

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is how Mack responds to me yelling at him. 

Cute, huh? 

:) 

Day 17

Yesterday I spent a good majority of the day driving around like a mad woman in order to get a tag for our new car. First I had to get the address on my driver's license changed (to our resident county), which required me going to the next town about 16 miles over.

DMV wasn't too bad, but then as I was leaving, I ended up turning left instead of right...and the next thing I knew, I saw this:

Welcome to South Carolina!

It was an honest mistake, and a lot easier to do than one might think. The county where I got the driver's license borders the state lines, so...yeah. I drove an extra 16 miles out of my way. Woot.


Then I had to drive all the way back to the house for a pit stop (read: pee break), gather my crap, and go to the tag office.

Anyway, I finally got the tag and now the new Honda's all legal and shizz.


Prior to all that nonsense, I was in a terrible mood. I spent the morning slamming around, yelling at the cats, and feeling mad about the lack of storage in our apartment. I then managed to choose 17 books to donate. Evan was happy.


After I got back from the the DMV, I decided to take the new car for a spin and get some cheap Christmas decorations that would be cat-friendly...


All in all, I didn't sit down to write until 11:30, and then I only did 1k. It felt pretty good, I'll admit...But today's another day. :)


Wordcoutn: 32,100

Day...whatever

What's up, nerds*? (*Any 30 Rock fans out there?)

I forgot to post for Monday. My bad. Nothing major to report anyway, except it rained a lot and I wrote some, and I bought cinnamon rolls to satisfy my craving, even though I haven't made and consumed them yet. The craving must reach critical levels first. 

Oh, and I totally bought a bag of Pearson's Mint Patties. They were over half as cheap as the York variety, and while perhaps not *quite* as delicious, close enough for hand-over-fist consumption. 

Speaking of food, guess what I had for dinner last night? 

Beer and muffins. 

C'mon, you are so jealous. 

Total wordcount: 31,006

Days 12-14

I took a NaNo break for most of the weekend, opting instead to spend some quality time helping my mother-in-law paint a room in their house. Hubby and I also acquired a new-to-us car, which we picked up Saturday night.

Sunday, however, I was able to boost my wordcount to 24, 187 (almost halfway!), but more importantly had a MAJOR. PLOT. REVELATION! Yays. Completely different direction from my original idea, and the one that's now on my Nano page, but so, so much better. Even my hubby liked it, and he's my tough critic.

However, when I went to jot down the basic idea, kitty Mack didn't want me to. Instead, this is what happened:

Day 11

After my triumphant 4k+ day Wednesday, I didn't feel quite the need to bust out the words yesterday, so I settled for an easy 1500. I wrote a few this morning, but my goal was to get myself ahead enough to be able to take off until Sunday. Goal achieved.

Yes, I'm spending today and tomorrow with my mother-in-law again. What can I say? We like to shop. Also, we're picking up our new (to us) car tomorrow. Yay!

----

I've been going back and forth on my listening stations for this NaNo round. Last year, I was strictly the Hans Zimmer/Howard Shore Pandora station (which is awesome), but this year I felt like I needed more than instruments. I tried a bunch of different stations, but nothing really fit.

So, in a fit of desperation, I turned to my A Perfect Circle station.

*DING DING DING*

We have a winner. As with any Pandora station, of course, it takes some dedicated tweaking to get the flow right, but I'm getting there. It's working so well, in fact, that I may just have to thank Maynard Keenan in my foreward (you know, if the book ever made it to light of day). It's a big Tool, Puscifier, A Perfect Circle merry-go-round, with some NIN and Chevelle thrown in for giggles.

What's your Nano music this year? Anything special? Or still struggling to find the "write" mix? (grooooannnnnn)

I'll add in a sweet picture of the terror twins to throw you off the memory of that bad pun...

Day 10

On day 10, I squashed my intense craving for a beverage from Starbucks with a ham sandwich.

I also watched a bunch of Arrested Development and 30 Rock.


Oh, and I wrote. A lot. Woot!



Current wordcount: 20,030

Day 9

I started the day off with some mega procrastination--something about my office just wasn't right. So after 2 hours, new blackout curtains, and some organizational bins for the random crap bits lying about, my mojo finally settled in.

I also drew two new maps, which is always exciting. This time I got to make up 5 new planets in the solar system (Gorgon, Cereste, Vesta, Minerva, Auster), as well as name a bunch of space stations and colonies. Fun times!


Total wordcount: 16, 154



PS: Please let me know if anyone has trouble reading with this new background/layout. Thanks. 

Day 8

I started NaNoWriMo week two off the same way as week one: trip to the dentist.
But this time I got twice the fillings, and on half the sleep.

Basically, between the time change, kittens who only want to battle over our sleeping faces, and being worn out from shopping with my MIL on Sunday, I slept like crap.

Add the pain of the dentist visit on top of that, and I had pretty much zero energy for writing yesterday. Squeezed out a few hundred while I waited for hubby to come home, and then fit in the rest that I could manage in bed.

Definitely planning on banking up some good words today and tomorrow...planning being the key word.


Total wordcount: 13,621

Day 7

I'm sure a lot of you have seen this already, but the lovely Jessica Bell is hosting a giveaway for being very close to 400 followers! There are some great prizes up for grabs, and the holidays are soon approaching! You can check out the deets right here.

*Edit: And this morning Jessica announced that she's getting a book deal on her debut novel! So go congratulate her times two.

I spent an impromptu weekend with my in-laws and only wrote 500 words, but it was totes worth it. I'm still right on track, with my total wordcount at 12,001. :)

Day Four

I'm noticing some interesting parallels between this year and last year's NaNo projects.

One: set in a future dystopian world.

Two: It's cold and snowing in the opening scene.

Three: Female MC is emotionally stunted over the death of her partner/lover

Four: Male MC is taciturn and snarly, though with a soft nougaty core.

Come to think of it, a lot of my ideas are about women whose lovers have been brutally murdered or in some way taken away from them.
Hm. Wonder what this says about me.

Poor Evan.


Wordcount: 10,101

Day Three

I think I used a lot of my mojo up yesterday. I'd have to check the NaNo stat bar to be certain, but I think I wrote almost four thousand words yesterday. For me, that's a lot.

An awful lot.

My personal daily best is only in the 8k family.

Anyway, in retaliation I had an easier third day. I wrote 1700 and change, then took a long nap on the couch in my Snuggie, draped with kittens. It's cold and rainy here, which is both perfect sleeping and writing weather.

Thanks for all the cheerleading so far! My goal is to simply write as much as possible this month. I'm enjoying the story so far, and interesting things are happening.


Total wordcount: 8140

Day 2

Remember that mug I posted for the blogfest? Turns out it holds 32 oz. This is good news for me, and yet also bad news.

oh, I filled it up, alright

Yesterday, I drank 128 oz of herbal tea, plus another 40 oz of water.

I'm gonna just come out and say this: 168 oz of anything translates into a lot of bathroom trips.

Really, there's nothing like frequent pee breaks to really cut into your writing stride.

Also, I'm aware that you can over-hydrate, but I'm okay right now, promise. I'll try to cut back tomorrow.


Total wordcount thusfar: 6,350

Day One

It wasn't my typical start to Nano, that's for sure. When the clock turned midnight, I was snuggled in bed, giggling with Evan at the episode of Scrubs that we were watching to unwind.

In the morning, I woke up and did a leisurely stroll through my awesomely successful blogfest entries. And thank you so much to everyone who participated! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

Then, around 10:15, we left for the dentist! (dum dumm dummmm)

I'll go ahead and admit this: I've never had a filling before. My family didn't have dental insurance my whole life, so from age 6 onward, the only dentist appointment I ever had was when I had to have my wisdom teeth removed at age 17. I've always been a good brusher, a meh flosser, and had generally good teeth.

Anyway, we went to the dentist last week, now that we're covered, and oh man...they found 4 cavities. Unfortunately, they're between teeth, so actually eight teeth are affected. Lemme tell ya, that bummed me right out, even though they assured me that otherwise, my teeth were great.

So yesterday morning, I had my first set filled. Remember: never had a filling.
And honestly? Kinda a let-down. In a good way. I didn't even feel the novacain shot, and the drilling sensation/sound didn't bother me--probably all my experience in veterinary dental surgery. :) The only thing that sucked was holding my mouth open for so long. My jaw was getting pretty uncomfortable towards the end.

And then my face was all numb for the next 3 hours.

Feeling sorry for myself, I took a nap after lunch.

Still no words!

Around 3:30, I finally hauled myself to the computer and got to work.

As of 10pm, my first day's wordcount is 2,629. Then I took some Tylenol PM and watched 30 Rock until I was asleep. :)

My Space

Ha! Not like that. Those days are long behind me.

Thanks for everyone who has participated and spread the word--I hope you enjoy!

Now for the show:

Panoramic view of my part of the office, from window to window! There are birdfeeders outside each window.

Closeup of where the magic happens.  

What it usually looks like when I'm writing (dangerous to the curtain) (and cats).

 My new mug. It's friggin huge--just how I like them. 

Thanks again for participating! Be sure to check out all the entries!

For those participating in NaNoWriMo, best of luck! I'm off to the dentist this morning, and then I'll start the words.