Happy Halloween!

I did no writing today, nor do I expect to be doing any for the rest of the evening. Festivities abound!

I have, however, learned a few things about myself. When the vamp fangs I've had for 14 years finally bite the dust (no pun intended), it makes me very sad. Like it's the end of an era. I am also WAY too old to be wearing a corset for 12 hours straight.

Needless to say, the costume I wore today for work will NOT be the costume I wear when I take kiddo out trick-or-treating tonight. Hubby and I might actually be wearing "matching" costumes for the first time ever. (I will be Christine to his Phantom)

Have a good, safe night everyone, and tomorrow, we hit NaNo head on! Rawr!

Forgive me for I have sinned

I highly doubt this sin will ever make the Big Seven, but still.

I started my Nano project today. I know, I know...I could have just waited until Saturday, but I didn't. Of course, I'm not counting any words written before Saturday toward my Nano total, so I guess I'll have to keep two running totals.

On the upside, I wrote the entire first chapter today, for a personal daily best of 3,735 words. Theoretically, if I could continue the write a full chapter a day, I would get this done in 17 days. Not likely, but it's a pretty dream. Still, I'm going to go through with my Nano intentions of writing as much in a day as possible, and even working weekends when I'm not running amok like a headless chicken. Maybe I can finish a whole novel in a month? That would be amazing if I could. (and would also alleviate one of my deep secret fears that I simply write too slow to compete in a professional market)

The holiday looms large, and the rest of the week is going to be largely devoted to costumes, candy and cake. Not necessarily in that order.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Is it Christmas yet, Mom?

Ok not Christmas so much (I don't even want to talk about how close THAT holiday is) as Nano. I have my Nano project all plotted, all outlined, and now I just want to start it, dangit!

I admit, I've toyed with the idea of starting early. Now, I wouldn't COUNT those words toward my 50K total for November. It'd just get me further along into the book by the time I was done.

Really...I can start now? Please?

I managed to quash the urge today by re-reading some other outlines and things I have in the offing. My outline for Son of Project 2 is just baaaaaaad. I think when the time comes for that one, I'm starting completely over.

I don't know how much posting I'll get done for the rest of the week. There's karate class tomorrow, pre-Halloween festivities on Thursday, Halloween on Friday, and a twin birthday party on Saturday. (When did I develop a social life???)

Still no word from the agent on my revisions for Project 2. I envision those notes coming in right in the middle of Nano, forcing me to put that aside and work on Project 2 again. Ah well, such is the life.

The Plot Sickens

So, in plotting out the NaNo project (complete with jackalope), I realize how much FUN I have doing advance plotting. And since I'm forcing myself NOT to write anything on this project until November 1st (and let me tell you, it's hard!) I am pouring my creative energies into the outline.

There's a keen sense of satisfaction everytime I add something into a later chapter, and I can SO clearly see where hints and foreshadowing need to be layered into earlier chapters to make it all hang together in the end. And while this one is getting an extraordinary amount of extra-planning time, I may have to make this a practice for my future works. It's just...coming together so neatly!

Research of the day: Dutch words, the mythology of the Wendigo, and the Cheyenne creation myth.

The Wendigo thing is going to have to wait for a future book though. Y'know, in this series I haven't even started yet.

Recreational Reading

So, over on Absolute Write, I've been loosely monitoring the sci-fi/fantasy board and the book club they've started. I am bound and determined to read every book they pick, even if (especially if) it's outside my usual comfort zone. This has led me to read Ender's Game (which is apparently a sci-fi classic) and I just finished A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge.

Now, strictly sci-fi is pretty far outside my chosen genre. I'm a fantasy girl, since I read the Hobbit at age 5. (yes, I was a geek even then) And space-based sci-fi stretches me even thinner. It's not that I don't understand the physics concepts (weightless living, bizillions of years passing while you're in transit, etc.) but they are things that my mind doesn't easily adapt to. Yes, I ~know~ that the characters are floating down the hallway, not walking, but every time it's mentioned it kind of yanks me out of the story because I have to actively stop and visualize that oddity.

That said, I thought it was a good book, and the fact that it took me multiple weeks to read it I think is more of a reader malfunction than a writer malfunction. Maybe I'm just not meant to read sci-fi. I do, however, feel much more accomplished for adding it to my "have read" list.

And bless the book club folks. Next month's book is Storm Front which I've practically committed to memory anyway. Much more in my comfort zone.

Just call me Lemming

I blame Jen for this:

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

The sad thing is, I don't think anything in this surprises anyone that knows me.

I'm working really hard on plotting out the NaNo project. It shows in my chapter summaries that are turning into writing projects in and of themselves. Just goes to show that my usual outlines don't garner this much pre-planning. Still, I find myself stopping to examine character motivation from time to time (largely my antagonist). I just can't seem to move the story forward unless I know just what he WANTS from my good guy. (Right now, he wants him to die, but that's at the end of things)

Survived kiddo's sixth birthday yesterday. She had a makeover at Club Libby Lu. She was gorgeous but I'm just not ready for her to be a knockout. That can wait another decade or so, right? Maybe four decades or so?

Endings

I pounded out over 2500 words today (before noon, actually) to finish off the first draft of Project 3. Yup, that's right folks, she be done. Or at least as done as a first draft gets.

I'm going to set it aside for the month of November and work on my NaNo project, but when December comes, I intend to be in full-on editing mode. I really hope I can get this whipped into something special.

It took me about 6 months of actual writing to finish this book. Remains to be seen how long the editing will take.