30 days, 75,033 words.
To quote Austin Powers, 'And... I'm spent.'
I have a feeling this next week is going to be a bit of a letdown. Thank the universe that Starbuck's is selling their dark chocolate covered grahams again.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Seems like it, sometimes, don't it?
Every time this comes on the radio, Young Son asks me to crank it up. So this Friday we're Rockin' it Young Son-style.
It's The End Of The World As We Know It, REM
Seems appropriate, with my deadline arriving in 2 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes, give or take.
p.s. Check this out!
See you Monday. It'll all be over then. Hopefully not the whole world, tho.
It's The End Of The World As We Know It, REM
Seems appropriate, with my deadline arriving in 2 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes, give or take.
p.s. Check this out!
See you Monday. It'll all be over then. Hopefully not the whole world, tho.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Nuttin'
Today, I got nothing.
My shoulder hurts*. My foot hurts**. I want to hunker down and crank out a good 2K on my story but I'm not exactly sure what's supposed to happen next. And I have 3 hours and 45 minutes until I can go home.
I think I'm going to bust open the pack of fig newtons in my drawer and drown my sorrows.
I am pathetic.
* Long story. Sucks getting old.
** See above.
My shoulder hurts*. My foot hurts**. I want to hunker down and crank out a good 2K on my story but I'm not exactly sure what's supposed to happen next. And I have 3 hours and 45 minutes until I can go home.
I think I'm going to bust open the pack of fig newtons in my drawer and drown my sorrows.
I am pathetic.
* Long story. Sucks getting old.
** See above.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Day 25 pt 2
There's this woman I know. I don't know her well - mostly from afar - although we've met a few times in recent years. She is funny and witty and clever and... eccentric. She has 'deficits', as she puts it, but she embraces them and celebrates them. They are all part of what makes her funny and witty and clever. And eccentric. And she has a PhD, which only enhances the cachet of eccentricity, IMHO.
She blogs, although 'blog' is a lame-assed word compared to what she does. I blog; she slices off a piece of her heart and sticks it on the screen. She blogged all the way through her husband's death from mesothelioma and the year of hell after. I love to read her blog, and when a rare post from her pops up in my Google reader, I hoard it, savoring it until I have read everything else, Like a tiny bag of Peanut M&M's at the bottom of the plastic Halloween pumpkin.
Today, she ended with this quote from Thornton Wilder.
With all the whining I've been doing about the frivolous, self-imposed hell I've set up for myself this month, this hit me upside the head like a cold, wet sponge.
Time for me to Shut The Fuck Up and write. November will be over soon enough, and then where will I be? Safe at home, whining about how I wish I was having an adventure.
She blogs, although 'blog' is a lame-assed word compared to what she does. I blog; she slices off a piece of her heart and sticks it on the screen. She blogged all the way through her husband's death from mesothelioma and the year of hell after. I love to read her blog, and when a rare post from her pops up in my Google reader, I hoard it, savoring it until I have read everything else, Like a tiny bag of Peanut M&M's at the bottom of the plastic Halloween pumpkin.
Today, she ended with this quote from Thornton Wilder.
When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.
With all the whining I've been doing about the frivolous, self-imposed hell I've set up for myself this month, this hit me upside the head like a cold, wet sponge.
Time for me to Shut The Fuck Up and write. November will be over soon enough, and then where will I be? Safe at home, whining about how I wish I was having an adventure.
Day 25
Make it stop! I'm losing my grip here, people. I no longer have any idea of how I'm going to get to the end, or even whether the end I had planned will still work.
Worst of all, over the weekend I came up with the brilliant notion of shooting for 75,000 words. Trying to generate 2,500 words a day when I have no idea where I'm going is bloody awful painful. I may have to kill of one of my characters just to keep it 'fresh'.
I finally took a second to tally up last weeks word count: 16,324, which means another $16.32 for TOOLOL. So that's one good thing, at least.
5 days, 12 hours, 19 minutes...
Worst of all, over the weekend I came up with the brilliant notion of shooting for 75,000 words. Trying to generate 2,500 words a day when I have no idea where I'm going is bloody awful painful. I may have to kill of one of my characters just to keep it 'fresh'.
I finally took a second to tally up last weeks word count: 16,324, which means another $16.32 for TOOLOL. So that's one good thing, at least.
5 days, 12 hours, 19 minutes...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Guest Post: Evil Twin, Again
Evil Twin has decided to share one of our finer moments with you.
This is why I can no longer drink. By 1990, I had completely used up my liver.
* Note to self: Make dermatologist appointment...
“Hey, Liz, since the guys are going to play 18 holes today, why don’t we take the boat out to the island?”
It was a lovely Sunday in July. 1987, I think. The girls (hers and mine) were two and four. The families had been out to the island several times that summer, but we decided that we didn’t need no stinkin’ men to escort us five miles down the river, and one mile across open water to the island.
Plans were made, coolers packed and the boat was loaded. The girls were wearing their lovely personal flotation devices – which had large collars with handles (which I assumed could be snagged with a boat hook in the event one of them ended up in the drink).
It was a splendid morning. Not a cloud in the sky, nary a ripple in the water. We chugged easily past the cemetery and the marinas out to open water. It was only a short mile to the island. It was very shallow, and the small sailboat nudged into the sand only 20 feet from the beach. We anchored, off-loaded the children onto the beach, and brought the coolers, chairs, umbrellas and other beach detritus to shore.
Settled in, I opened the cooler to dispense some snacks for the girls. Liz caught sight of what was inside.
“You didn’t bring the entire one-gallon bottle of Vintner’s Choice did you?”
Vintner’s Choice was our recreational wine. It was so affordable. I think the gallon bottle set us back $6.99.
“Well, I didn’t have anything smaller to put some in, so I brought it. We don’t have to drink it all.”
But, yes. Yes we did.
We had lunch. We applied sunscreen to the girls. We had a little wine. Sunscreen. Wine. Sunscreen. Wine. Wine. Sunscreen. Wine. Wine. Wine.
We roused ourselves out of our stupor, and discovered that the sun was sitting pretty low in the sky. In fact, much lower than it usually was when we left the island for home.
I looked at Liz who was now salmon-colored and blistered*. Yes. She had applied sunscreen. To her daughter. She is the whitest person I know. We were on the beach for eight hours. Do the math.
I wasn’t burnt too badly, however, I was drunk as snot. I stood quickly to load the boat and promptly fell flat on my face in the sand. Liz got me up, splashed some ice-cold cooler water in my face, and we somehow got the boat loaded (but not as loaded as I). We even remembered to put the kids on. They were so exhausted they went right to sleep in the cabin. Oh, how I envied them.
When everything was stowed away, I got my second wind. The breeze had picked up, and was quite respectable.
“I know! Let’s sail back!” I said.
“You sure? Can we go all the way back?” said Liz. Such a skeptic.
“Shhure! I bet we can make it back without the motor the whole way!”
“You’re on! No motor ‘til we get to the dock!”
And so it was. While on the open water, the wind kept us going at a sprightly pace. We made great time. Then we turned to go up-river, and we lost our wind. Fortunately, the tide was coming in, and we were able to ride with it, but the exhilaration disappeared with the breeze. We were making headway, but it was unimpressive. I went to the tiller, and shoved it back and forth, back and forth, which helped a little. Each of us had a stubborn streak, but when we were together, it was 1 + 1 = 3. We would do this!
I looked up, and Liz stood on the cabin roof, blowing into the mainsail with all her might.
“Aho-o-oy, there!” came wafting from the marina to our sad little craft.
We looked up, and there in the deepening twilight stood our husbands – annoyed, perplexed and concerned.
“Where are the girls?”
“Below. Sleeping!” we shouted.
“Is something wrong with the motor?” --Why else would we be drifting home in the near dark, they wondered.
“No! We’re gonna sail home if it takes us all week!”
“Are you drunk?”
“Yes!”
“Give us the girls!”
So I rocked the tiller, and Liz blew into the sail until we were alongside the dock, and made the hand-off.
“Give us a push. Make it a good one, and we might make it back in an hour.” I said, and the husbands gave a mighty heave-ho in the general direction of home port. Liz took stock of her sun poisoning, and I leaned over the side, and fed the fish.
By the time we got to the cemetery, the breeze picked up again, and we made headway. The last half-mile we made slow but steady progress. By the time we docked, it was dark. The husbands stood there, our sleeping children in the car, and asked, “What the hell was that all about?”
“We sailed all the way back! By ourselves!”
This is why I can no longer drink. By 1990, I had completely used up my liver.
* Note to self: Make dermatologist appointment...
Friday, November 21, 2008
All about me
Mr. B and the Ex have been on travel this week. Since they both work in/on/around government entities*, one or the other of them is usually either headed to or just back from DC. Sometimes their travel overlaps.
Today it has finally happened. Even as we speak, they are flying back from DC. All the way across the country.
On. The. Same. Plane.
I can just imagine them, wedged into their teeny seats, talking smack about me behind my back, hour after hour.
Frankly, it's making me queasy.
* Albeit different ones.
Today it has finally happened. Even as we speak, they are flying back from DC. All the way across the country.
On. The. Same. Plane.
I can just imagine them, wedged into their teeny seats, talking smack about me behind my back, hour after hour.
Frankly, it's making me queasy.
* Albeit different ones.
Keeping it real
Oh, joyous day! Monty Python has (have?) its (their?) own YouTube channel, with a bunch of high quality clips available for our (my?) viewing pleasure.
I believe this one is exactly what we need to Rock this Friday! straight into the ground.
Last night I showed it to Young Son and he's all, like, "So? I knew that." Kids these days. I suspect I'm going to have to start monitoring his Nova-watching.
I believe this one is exactly what we need to Rock this Friday! straight into the ground.
Last night I showed it to Young Son and he's all, like, "So? I knew that." Kids these days. I suspect I'm going to have to start monitoring his Nova-watching.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Day 19
Ugh. This was a tough one. I think this was the first day I found myself staring at the word count. I was less than 100 words shy of my goal for today and I was unable to think of a single thing to write. So I made some shit up and made it to 47,689.
Tomorrow I hope to push through 50K. Then I really need to start working my way toward the ending. I sure as hell don't want to reach Nov 30th without finding out what happened to these guys. That would suck.
Tomorrow I hope to push through 50K. Then I really need to start working my way toward the ending. I sure as hell don't want to reach Nov 30th without finding out what happened to these guys. That would suck.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Day 18
Is it over yet? I don't understand. I keep writing and writing and it's still not over. I am ready for it to be over.
I realized yesterday that in a good 80% of my story (and I'm being conservative here) my characters are sitting and talking. Or standing still and talking. Or sitting and thinking. Or lying flat on their backs in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking*. Yesterday I did manage to get two characters to clink wineglasses, but that pretty much exhausted me and I had to go lie down in a dark room with a cold cloth on my forehead.
(Come to think of it, that last paragraph pretty much describes my life. I really need to get out more.)
Re-reading the official NaNoWriMo guide, "No Plot? No Problem!" recently, I found this little nugget in the sidebar.
Damn.
p.s. 43,661 words as of last night. Yesterday was a 3500+ word day. No wonder I'm crabby. That's a lot of sitting around and talking.
I realized yesterday that in a good 80% of my story (and I'm being conservative here) my characters are sitting and talking. Or standing still and talking. Or sitting and thinking. Or lying flat on their backs in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking*. Yesterday I did manage to get two characters to clink wineglasses, but that pretty much exhausted me and I had to go lie down in a dark room with a cold cloth on my forehead.
(Come to think of it, that last paragraph pretty much describes my life. I really need to get out more.)
Re-reading the official NaNoWriMo guide, "No Plot? No Problem!" recently, I found this little nugget in the sidebar.
Q: Can I quit now?
A: No, you cannot quit now.
Damn.
p.s. 43,661 words as of last night. Yesterday was a 3500+ word day. No wonder I'm crabby. That's a lot of sitting around and talking.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Gah!
I wrote 5912 words today.
I can't tell if I feel like I just finished a violent case of diarrhea or just gave birth. That brings me to 17,517 words for the week. Another $17.52 for The Office of Letters and Light, hooray!
I'm spent.
I can't tell if I feel like I just finished a violent case of diarrhea or just gave birth. That brings me to 17,517 words for the week. Another $17.52 for The Office of Letters and Light, hooray!
I'm spent.
Does It Clash?
Aha! It's not much to look at, but I finally found a version of this video that is embeddable. So crank the volume and commence to Rockin' that Friday, my pretties!
Rock The Casbah, The Clash
This is one of my most favorite-y of favorites from Back In The Day. I'd love to work it in to my tale but it's two years too late. Oh well. I'm off to bury myself in the swamp that will continue sucking up every spare ounce/inch/amp/watt/joule of my mental energy for the next 16 days, 13 hours, and 27 minutes, give or take....
p.s. 30,224 as of yesterday
Rock The Casbah, The Clash
This is one of my most favorite-y of favorites from Back In The Day. I'd love to work it in to my tale but it's two years too late. Oh well. I'm off to bury myself in the swamp that will continue sucking up every spare ounce/inch/amp/watt/joule of my mental energy for the next 16 days, 13 hours, and 27 minutes, give or take....
p.s. 30,224 as of yesterday
Thursday, November 13, 2008
You got to move it, move it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You know, Ted, I feel like we've grown really close. I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like at least nine weeks and five days."
"I know what you mean. I feel like I know everything about you. But sometimes, it's just... I don't know..."
"What, Ted? What is it?" Oh no... not now!
"Well, I really can't think of a good way to put this so I'm just going to throw it out there. Please, please don't take this the wrong way, but... sometimes, I get this notion that, uh, that we're not going anywhere."
"Really?" Alice said innocently, as her stomach flipped dramatically.
"I mean -- oh God, I knew this wouldn't come out right -- it's got nothing to do with you, honest! You're great, you really are. And the more I learn about you, the more I realize how great you are. And how great we could be together. I know we could be great together, if only..."
Alice sighed, her shoulders slumping. She knew exactly where this was going. "I think I understand what you're getting at. We've shared so much, over the phone, long conversations over dinner, long talks over coffee, long talks during long walks. It's been, well, lots and lots of talk, but no action. Right?"
"That's it, exactly. I'm so glad you understand! Do you think there's a chance we could figure out how to... move forward?"
Alice glared at the ceiling, mouthing the foulest curses she could think of.
"Alice? You there? What do you think?"
Alice sighed, steeling herself to throw the turd on the table. If he could handle this, they might just make it after all. "I want to, Ted, I really do, but there's something I need to tell you first."
Silence. "Uh... OK, what is it? Do I want to hear this?" His voice sounded suspiciously neutral.
Alice took a deep breath. "Well, it's November, right?"
"Yeah, all month long, as I understand it..."
"Um, Carol says we have a new Writer, see? And, well, she has a problem with, ummm, intimacy. The Writer, not Carol, although from what I hear, this month hasn't been a walk in the park for Carol and Bob either..." Alice realized she was babbling. "Anyway, the Writer seems to balk at writing, uh..." Alice stalled, trying not to admit to herself that she was blushing, "um, erotica. She can't seem to write it." Alice listened as hard as she could for any sort of giveaway sounds from the other end.
"Oh."
"So even though we've had amazing dialog and some mind-blowing, emotionally charged scenes revealing our pasts in excruciating detail, we might not be able to get past this point, at least right now."
"Not now? Then, like when? Tomorrow? Next week?"
Alice was relieved that he sounded more curious than frustrated or sarcastic. And it sounded like he had been planning on some action, which was very encouraging. Their few make-out sessions had been fun and pretty hot, really, but were becoming increasingly frustrating. A gal can only be happy at second base for so long, you know.
"Well, if we're lucky, she'll get her act together soon, like, oh, in the next week or so. Or maybe the week after, week four, when she wraps stuff up. But if she just can't do it, we might have to, uh, wait until December 1st when she moves on and leaves us the hell alone." Alice winced, her eyes squeezed shut, waiting. This is make or break time...
"December?"
"I know, it sounds a long way off but Saturday is the 15th so we're halfway there..." Alice hoped the phone conveyed her optimistic tone. C'mon, c'mon, Ted, don't bail on me!
"December? Really?"
Damn, Ted sounded like someone just stole his dog and shot his car. No, wait, that didn't sound right. Reverse that.
Alice forged on, determined to sell Ted on the idea of hanging in there for the big payoff. "But maybe not. Maybe she'll get past it soon. I mean, she's got us to the point where there isn't much else to say. We've pretty much given up our entire life histories already, and the novelty of our wacky hijinks at work is starting to wear off, too. It's getting to be inevitable, I'm sure of it. Besides," Alice dropped her voice low, almost to whisper, "I went to the Mall yesterday, to Victoria's Secret? And I bought some, um, outfits, know what I mean?" Alice resisted the temptation to add on the nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
"Outfits? Really? Like, fun outfits?" Ted's voice perked up considerably. Alice hoped that wasn't the only thing.
"Yeah. I was going to keep it a surprise, but I think it's a really good sign. I think we're getting there. Honest."
"Fun outfits... wow..."
"So, are we good? Think we can hang in there for a little longer?"
"Oh, sure. But, hey, I gotta go. Something, uh, something just... came up, 'k? Call you tomorrow?"
"Sure, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Hope everything comes out all right."
"I'm... sure it will. 'Bye!"
Alice flipped her phone shut and rested her head on the back of the sofa, smiling at the ceiling. Yep, Everything is going to be just fine!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You know, Ted, I feel like we've grown really close. I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like at least nine weeks and five days."
"I know what you mean. I feel like I know everything about you. But sometimes, it's just... I don't know..."
"What, Ted? What is it?" Oh no... not now!
"Well, I really can't think of a good way to put this so I'm just going to throw it out there. Please, please don't take this the wrong way, but... sometimes, I get this notion that, uh, that we're not going anywhere."
"Really?" Alice said innocently, as her stomach flipped dramatically.
"I mean -- oh God, I knew this wouldn't come out right -- it's got nothing to do with you, honest! You're great, you really are. And the more I learn about you, the more I realize how great you are. And how great we could be together. I know we could be great together, if only..."
Alice sighed, her shoulders slumping. She knew exactly where this was going. "I think I understand what you're getting at. We've shared so much, over the phone, long conversations over dinner, long talks over coffee, long talks during long walks. It's been, well, lots and lots of talk, but no action. Right?"
"That's it, exactly. I'm so glad you understand! Do you think there's a chance we could figure out how to... move forward?"
Alice glared at the ceiling, mouthing the foulest curses she could think of.
"Alice? You there? What do you think?"
Alice sighed, steeling herself to throw the turd on the table. If he could handle this, they might just make it after all. "I want to, Ted, I really do, but there's something I need to tell you first."
Silence. "Uh... OK, what is it? Do I want to hear this?" His voice sounded suspiciously neutral.
Alice took a deep breath. "Well, it's November, right?"
"Yeah, all month long, as I understand it..."
"Um, Carol says we have a new Writer, see? And, well, she has a problem with, ummm, intimacy. The Writer, not Carol, although from what I hear, this month hasn't been a walk in the park for Carol and Bob either..." Alice realized she was babbling. "Anyway, the Writer seems to balk at writing, uh..." Alice stalled, trying not to admit to herself that she was blushing, "um, erotica. She can't seem to write it." Alice listened as hard as she could for any sort of giveaway sounds from the other end.
"Oh."
"So even though we've had amazing dialog and some mind-blowing, emotionally charged scenes revealing our pasts in excruciating detail, we might not be able to get past this point, at least right now."
"Not now? Then, like when? Tomorrow? Next week?"
Alice was relieved that he sounded more curious than frustrated or sarcastic. And it sounded like he had been planning on some action, which was very encouraging. Their few make-out sessions had been fun and pretty hot, really, but were becoming increasingly frustrating. A gal can only be happy at second base for so long, you know.
"Well, if we're lucky, she'll get her act together soon, like, oh, in the next week or so. Or maybe the week after, week four, when she wraps stuff up. But if she just can't do it, we might have to, uh, wait until December 1st when she moves on and leaves us the hell alone." Alice winced, her eyes squeezed shut, waiting. This is make or break time...
"December?"
"I know, it sounds a long way off but Saturday is the 15th so we're halfway there..." Alice hoped the phone conveyed her optimistic tone. C'mon, c'mon, Ted, don't bail on me!
"December? Really?"
Damn, Ted sounded like someone just stole his dog and shot his car. No, wait, that didn't sound right. Reverse that.
Alice forged on, determined to sell Ted on the idea of hanging in there for the big payoff. "But maybe not. Maybe she'll get past it soon. I mean, she's got us to the point where there isn't much else to say. We've pretty much given up our entire life histories already, and the novelty of our wacky hijinks at work is starting to wear off, too. It's getting to be inevitable, I'm sure of it. Besides," Alice dropped her voice low, almost to whisper, "I went to the Mall yesterday, to Victoria's Secret? And I bought some, um, outfits, know what I mean?" Alice resisted the temptation to add on the nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
"Outfits? Really? Like, fun outfits?" Ted's voice perked up considerably. Alice hoped that wasn't the only thing.
"Yeah. I was going to keep it a surprise, but I think it's a really good sign. I think we're getting there. Honest."
"Fun outfits... wow..."
"So, are we good? Think we can hang in there for a little longer?"
"Oh, sure. But, hey, I gotta go. Something, uh, something just... came up, 'k? Call you tomorrow?"
"Sure, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Hope everything comes out all right."
"I'm... sure it will. 'Bye!"
Alice flipped her phone shut and rested her head on the back of the sofa, smiling at the ceiling. Yep, Everything is going to be just fine!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Day 12
Wow. Despite my whining, I broke 25K yesterday. It feels really weird.
Things are definitely slowing down as the story get more complicated. I expel a chunk, then have to sit and stare at it awhile, hoping another chunk bubbles up from the depths.
It's a lot like having bronchitis, really.
Things are definitely slowing down as the story get more complicated. I expel a chunk, then have to sit and stare at it awhile, hoping another chunk bubbles up from the depths.
It's a lot like having bronchitis, really.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Day 11
In which we are, in actuality, talking about Day 10 since we have not yet written a single word on Day 11. Other than these, of course. Which do not count since they are not in my story. Although if I cut and pasted this blog post and pretended that my main character was reading my blog... oh wait, the interwebs hadn't been invented in 1980. Damn!
As of yesterday, statistics show I am 47% of the way to my goal of 50K, with 23,506 words. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, uh, there is one slight problem. I am, at most, only a third of the way through my story arc. And most of the action occurs in the final third. Ruh-roh!
Why is this a problem? Because not only am I gunning for word count, but the ultimate goal is to actually finish the damned thing this month. The last two words I want to type on Nov. 30th are 'The' and 'End'. At this rate, it ain't gonna happen. Time to stop describing the inside of the bus my main character rides to work and get down to bidness here!
In other news, I am coming down with a cold. I felt it coming on over the weekend but it finally confirmed its presence yesterday. I was concerned that feeling lousy would make it hard for me to concentrate and get into the story. Well, apparently that wasn't a problem - I ended up with 3400 words yesterday, my highest daily word count yet. As I told Mr B, they ain't all keepers, but the beauty of this madness is that they don't have to be. Hell, it's easy to succeed if the bar is set low enough.
On a happier note, last Saturday I donated $18.66 to The Office of Letters and Light in celebration of* the 18,661 words I "wrote" that first week. If I continue to feel crappy this week (and the phones at work stay slow) I should be able to top that this week.
If you have any spare change lying around, click on the Firstgiving button over on the left and throw a handful to the group responsible for this madness. I'd mightily appreciate it.
* Read: 'to apologize for'.
As of yesterday, statistics show I am 47% of the way to my goal of 50K, with 23,506 words. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, uh, there is one slight problem. I am, at most, only a third of the way through my story arc. And most of the action occurs in the final third. Ruh-roh!
Why is this a problem? Because not only am I gunning for word count, but the ultimate goal is to actually finish the damned thing this month. The last two words I want to type on Nov. 30th are 'The' and 'End'. At this rate, it ain't gonna happen. Time to stop describing the inside of the bus my main character rides to work and get down to bidness here!
In other news, I am coming down with a cold. I felt it coming on over the weekend but it finally confirmed its presence yesterday. I was concerned that feeling lousy would make it hard for me to concentrate and get into the story. Well, apparently that wasn't a problem - I ended up with 3400 words yesterday, my highest daily word count yet. As I told Mr B, they ain't all keepers, but the beauty of this madness is that they don't have to be. Hell, it's easy to succeed if the bar is set low enough.
On a happier note, last Saturday I donated $18.66 to The Office of Letters and Light in celebration of* the 18,661 words I "wrote" that first week. If I continue to feel crappy this week (and the phones at work stay slow) I should be able to top that this week.
If you have any spare change lying around, click on the Firstgiving button over on the left and throw a handful to the group responsible for this madness. I'd mightily appreciate it.
* Read: 'to apologize for'.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Guest Post: Evil Twin
Evil Twin has volunteered to entertain you with a piece of our shared history. Back in the day, I was scrambling to find funds for my Brief Yet Disastrous Attempt At Grad School. I asked ET for a letter of recommendation for a small scholarship. She graciously complied.
I got the scholarship.
This is a bona fide No Shitter. And that is why she's my BFF.
The Northern Town Garden Club
Northern Town, New England.
To whom it may concern:
It is my honor and privilege to recommend Liz C. for your annual Military Wife scholarship. I have known Liz for four years. We became fast friends on the day that she took pity on me and told me where the ladies’ room was on my fourth day at the new job.
She embodies many qualities I admire. When her husband is on deployment, she sucks it up and takes out the recycling. She does not whine. Her young daughter says "please" and "thank you" without prompting. Liz uses her turn signal religiously, and most important, she plays no musical instruments.
If she says she’ll spend the $500 scholarship money on books, she probably will. She’s cut way back on the beer since we joined Weight Watchers.
Liz is a good military wife and mother, and way too smart to be making copies all day. Thank you for considering Liz for this scholarship.
Sincerely,
Evil Twin
I got the scholarship.
This is a bona fide No Shitter. And that is why she's my BFF.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Future's so bright
Whip out the shades, everyone! This Friday Rocks! Eighties-style.
Timbuk3, The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)
On the YouTube page I got the link from, there's a note that the graphics were done on an Amiga 1000 with the very first edition of Deluxe Paint. I think they hold up rather well, don't you?
Timbuk3, The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)
On the YouTube page I got the link from, there's a note that the graphics were done on an Amiga 1000 with the very first edition of Deluxe Paint. I think they hold up rather well, don't you?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Nota bene
Today's stats:
Word count: 2280Things in <air quote>Novel-land</air quote> are getting complicated. I fear my frantic pace will be slowing pretty drastically here shortly. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for rapid deceleration!
Total: 15,551
Doldrums
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice rolled her chair back from her desk, stood, and stretched. She picked up the half-full coffee cup that had been sitting untouched next to her computer for hours and took a hesitant sip of the room-temperature contents. Blech. That's just nasty. How long have I been sitting here, anyway?
She headed into the kitchen and dumped the remainder down the drain. She rinsed the sludge out of the cup and set it in the sink. She opened the dishwasher and looked at the clean dishes jammed into every cubic inch of space. Even the ten minutes it would take to empty it seemed like too much effort. Maybe just the silverware. She pulled the basket out and set it on the counter. She opened the silverware drawer. She picked up a fork. She put it in the drawer. She picked up a spoon. She put it in the drawer. This is ridiculous! She slammed the drawer shut and leaned against the sink, arms crossed.
Everything seemed completely overwhelming right now. Was there anything at all good left on the TiVo? Spending the rest of the day on the couch staring at the TV was about all she could handle.
I wish Ted would call.... Coincidentally enough, her cell phone decided to ring that very second. She fumbled pulling it out of her pocket and checked the caller id. Nope, not Ted. Damn. She sighed and flipped it open.
"Hey, Carol."
"Hey, girl! What're you up to?"
"Absolutely nothing! I spent all morning on the computer doing who knows what and am now standing in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do to kill the 8 hours before I can go to bed without feeling like a complete loser. How 'bout you?"
"I'm kind of stuck too. Bob took the kids out and about and they'll be gone until dinner. I putzed around getting some odds and ends done but all of a sudden I feel like I'm dead in the water. Hey, did that guy call today? What's his name?"
"Ted. Nope. I thought things were pretty hot and heavy between us, but nada. We went out Thursday night for Thai and had a major snogfest at his place after but I had to get home and get some sleep for my eight o'clock conference call Friday morning. I hope he didn't think I was bolting. We talked a lot on the phone yesterday but we both decided to stay home last night."
"Well, it's still early. Maybe he'll call later."
"Hope so. He's a pretty nice guy. Probably the best one I've gone out with in a long time. Just don't know if anything is going to come of it but I guess it's too early to tell."
"Yeah, sometime these things take time."
"Yeah, I know. But at my age, time seems like something in short supply."
Alice waited for Carol's response but didn't hear any signs of life on the other end. "Carol? You there?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Just spaced out for a minute. I just can't seem to hold a thought in my head for more than a second lately."
"Me too! You should see me, standing here in the middle of the floor turning in circles trying to figure out what I should be doing. It's driving me nuts!"
"That's why Bob took the kids out today. We were driving each other batshit last night. Karl was picking up Pokemon cards one at a time, saying their name, and stacking them in a pile. And the girls got into a 'Yuh-huh! Nuh-huh!' argument that lasted ten minutes, I swear. This morning Bob chased them all out into the car and took them to the mall just to get them out of the house. Sounds like we're all in the same boat."
"Yeah. Hey, it's the second week, right?"
"I think so. Wait... I just checked -- yep, today's the 8th. Looks like we've hit the NaNo Doldrums, big-time. Last week was so high-energy, it's really jarring to come to a screeching halt all of a sudden like this."
"I know! Last week was crazy busy. I had things lined up one after the other every day and couldn't hardly catch my breath. High drama at work, of course, then Ted and I went out, what, four nights? Good times." Alice smiled briefly, but it faded quickly. "But now I feel like I'm completely burned out. Actually, it started yesterday. No wonder Ted and I didn't get together."
"Sure sounds like Doldrums to me. It's taking forever to get the simplest things done, too. I tried to clear the piles of junk mail off the counter and found myself opening up each envelope and reading the stupid things aloud! Insane!"
"I noticed she just now turned the word count off, too. I think she's getting freaked out."
"Well, poor kid, it is her first time. Hopefully she'll push through it this weekend and we can get back to life as we know it. Oops... hold on..." Carol sneezed. "Sorry. I've been doing a lot of that today. But it's better than throwing my hands up in the air and scowling, like I was doing last week. That got real old, real quick."
"God, I hope things even out soon! I'm dying for something resembling normal. And I'm hoping that this Ted thing doesn't burn out too fast. I have high hopes for this one."
"Not to get too nosy, but have you... you know?"
Surprisingly, Alice found herself blushing. "No, not yet. But it's only been a week. I was kind of hoping we'd get together this weekend, but I'm feeling so fried, I'm not sure that's going to happen."
"Fair warning, Hon: She does seem to have a problem with more... intimate moments, so you might not get anything too explicit. I'm just sayin' is all."
"Great. Just what I need: a noob Writer with Protestant Ancestors. Hey, maybe that explains why I decided I had to go home Thursday night. Thanks for the warning. I'll try not to get my hopes up."
"Want to meet for lunch or something? I really need to get out of the house. And despite our ridiculously repetitive actions lately, I don't think there's any way we're going to make it to 2000 here. Maybe a change of venue will help, or at least get her off our backs for a few hours."
"Sure, sounds good. It'll help take my mind off of Ted, too. But we can't go to the bookstore, 'k? I just hate having to read out loud the entire back cover description of every book I pick up. Word count or not, that's just embarrassing!"
"OK, meet you at The Spotted Cock in half an hour?"
"You're on. See you there." Alice flipped her phone shut.
She slowly shook her head. "Ah, November sucks." She headed upstairs to put on something not made of flannel. Stopped halfway up the steps, she glared at the ceiling. "Fair warning, bee-yotch: If you screw up this thing with Ted, I swear, I'll take up sign language!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice rolled her chair back from her desk, stood, and stretched. She picked up the half-full coffee cup that had been sitting untouched next to her computer for hours and took a hesitant sip of the room-temperature contents. Blech. That's just nasty. How long have I been sitting here, anyway?
She headed into the kitchen and dumped the remainder down the drain. She rinsed the sludge out of the cup and set it in the sink. She opened the dishwasher and looked at the clean dishes jammed into every cubic inch of space. Even the ten minutes it would take to empty it seemed like too much effort. Maybe just the silverware. She pulled the basket out and set it on the counter. She opened the silverware drawer. She picked up a fork. She put it in the drawer. She picked up a spoon. She put it in the drawer. This is ridiculous! She slammed the drawer shut and leaned against the sink, arms crossed.
Everything seemed completely overwhelming right now. Was there anything at all good left on the TiVo? Spending the rest of the day on the couch staring at the TV was about all she could handle.
I wish Ted would call.... Coincidentally enough, her cell phone decided to ring that very second. She fumbled pulling it out of her pocket and checked the caller id. Nope, not Ted. Damn. She sighed and flipped it open.
"Hey, Carol."
"Hey, girl! What're you up to?"
"Absolutely nothing! I spent all morning on the computer doing who knows what and am now standing in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do to kill the 8 hours before I can go to bed without feeling like a complete loser. How 'bout you?"
"I'm kind of stuck too. Bob took the kids out and about and they'll be gone until dinner. I putzed around getting some odds and ends done but all of a sudden I feel like I'm dead in the water. Hey, did that guy call today? What's his name?"
"Ted. Nope. I thought things were pretty hot and heavy between us, but nada. We went out Thursday night for Thai and had a major snogfest at his place after but I had to get home and get some sleep for my eight o'clock conference call Friday morning. I hope he didn't think I was bolting. We talked a lot on the phone yesterday but we both decided to stay home last night."
"Well, it's still early. Maybe he'll call later."
"Hope so. He's a pretty nice guy. Probably the best one I've gone out with in a long time. Just don't know if anything is going to come of it but I guess it's too early to tell."
"Yeah, sometime these things take time."
"Yeah, I know. But at my age, time seems like something in short supply."
Alice waited for Carol's response but didn't hear any signs of life on the other end. "Carol? You there?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Just spaced out for a minute. I just can't seem to hold a thought in my head for more than a second lately."
"Me too! You should see me, standing here in the middle of the floor turning in circles trying to figure out what I should be doing. It's driving me nuts!"
"That's why Bob took the kids out today. We were driving each other batshit last night. Karl was picking up Pokemon cards one at a time, saying their name, and stacking them in a pile. And the girls got into a 'Yuh-huh! Nuh-huh!' argument that lasted ten minutes, I swear. This morning Bob chased them all out into the car and took them to the mall just to get them out of the house. Sounds like we're all in the same boat."
"Yeah. Hey, it's the second week, right?"
"I think so. Wait... I just checked -- yep, today's the 8th. Looks like we've hit the NaNo Doldrums, big-time. Last week was so high-energy, it's really jarring to come to a screeching halt all of a sudden like this."
"I know! Last week was crazy busy. I had things lined up one after the other every day and couldn't hardly catch my breath. High drama at work, of course, then Ted and I went out, what, four nights? Good times." Alice smiled briefly, but it faded quickly. "But now I feel like I'm completely burned out. Actually, it started yesterday. No wonder Ted and I didn't get together."
"Sure sounds like Doldrums to me. It's taking forever to get the simplest things done, too. I tried to clear the piles of junk mail off the counter and found myself opening up each envelope and reading the stupid things aloud! Insane!"
"I noticed she just now turned the word count off, too. I think she's getting freaked out."
"Well, poor kid, it is her first time. Hopefully she'll push through it this weekend and we can get back to life as we know it. Oops... hold on..." Carol sneezed. "Sorry. I've been doing a lot of that today. But it's better than throwing my hands up in the air and scowling, like I was doing last week. That got real old, real quick."
"God, I hope things even out soon! I'm dying for something resembling normal. And I'm hoping that this Ted thing doesn't burn out too fast. I have high hopes for this one."
"Not to get too nosy, but have you... you know?"
Surprisingly, Alice found herself blushing. "No, not yet. But it's only been a week. I was kind of hoping we'd get together this weekend, but I'm feeling so fried, I'm not sure that's going to happen."
"Fair warning, Hon: She does seem to have a problem with more... intimate moments, so you might not get anything too explicit. I'm just sayin' is all."
"Great. Just what I need: a noob Writer with Protestant Ancestors. Hey, maybe that explains why I decided I had to go home Thursday night. Thanks for the warning. I'll try not to get my hopes up."
"Want to meet for lunch or something? I really need to get out of the house. And despite our ridiculously repetitive actions lately, I don't think there's any way we're going to make it to 2000 here. Maybe a change of venue will help, or at least get her off our backs for a few hours."
"Sure, sounds good. It'll help take my mind off of Ted, too. But we can't go to the bookstore, 'k? I just hate having to read out loud the entire back cover description of every book I pick up. Word count or not, that's just embarrassing!"
"OK, meet you at The Spotted Cock in half an hour?"
"You're on. See you there." Alice flipped her phone shut.
She slowly shook her head. "Ah, November sucks." She headed upstairs to put on something not made of flannel. Stopped halfway up the steps, she glared at the ceiling. "Fair warning, bee-yotch: If you screw up this thing with Ted, I swear, I'll take up sign language!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Day 5
Dear Diary,
Last night*, I was wondering something. Now that I no longer have Extreme Election Avoidance Syndrome to send me hiding deep within my <air quote>Novel</air quote> for hours upon end, will I continue to be able to spew large chunks of nonsense, day after day?
Today I found my answer: Probably. Apparently I can spew large, steaming gobs of waste for hours on end, with no particular motivation whatsoever. Thank the universe for small favors, eh?
Today's carnage:
Today, the relationship between my two main characters was established. There were extended sections of dialog and everything! Of course they both talk exactly the same (like me) but I will deal with that some time in the far future, if I ever go back to edit the damned thing.
But for now, I hereby decree that everyone in my <air quote>Novel</air quote> will talk exactly like ME!
As it was written, so let it be done.
Love,
Liz C
* After the champagne, puppies, and diamonds.
Last night*, I was wondering something. Now that I no longer have Extreme Election Avoidance Syndrome to send me hiding deep within my <air quote>Novel</air quote> for hours upon end, will I continue to be able to spew large chunks of nonsense, day after day?
Today I found my answer: Probably. Apparently I can spew large, steaming gobs of waste for hours on end, with no particular motivation whatsoever. Thank the universe for small favors, eh?
Today's carnage:
Word count: 2378
Total: 13,271
Today, the relationship between my two main characters was established. There were extended sections of dialog and everything! Of course they both talk exactly the same (like me) but I will deal with that some time in the far future, if I ever go back to edit the damned thing.
But for now, I hereby decree that everyone in my <air quote>Novel</air quote> will talk exactly like ME!
As it was written, so let it be done.
Love,
Liz C
* After the champagne, puppies, and diamonds.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Day 4
Note how I am not, absolutely not, posting a political post on this most political of days? Oh, I was tempted, believe me. I even wrote up a nice rant this morning inviting everyone not voting for Obama to stay home. But I would never ever post such a thing.
Anyway, on to the really important business at hand.
Dear Diary,
I have now decided how to refer to my effort. It is known as 'My <air quote>Novel</air quote>'. I spent a good amount of time on it yesterday, and, thanks to the election, an obscene amount of time on it today in an attempt not to think about what MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN TODAY OMG WTF IS IT OVER YET?!?
That angst netted me over 3000 words today. And I might even rack up some more if we spent all night in front of the TV obsessively flicking from channel to channel desperately trying to FIND OUT IF SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED AND OMG IS IT OVER YET?
But the Real big news is that SOMETHING FINALLY HAPPENED in My <air quote>Novel</air quote>: the first Big Hairy Deal was revealed. First, my protagonist had to pee in a cup (there's that peeing thing again. I may need to see someone about that) and then she found out she was pregnant.
So here are the stats for today and to date:
Hopefully, the next time I write we will all be celebrating with champagne and puppies and diamonds. Except for those who willfully chose to vote the wrong way. No soup for them!
Love,
Liz C
Anyway, on to the really important business at hand.
Dear Diary,
I have now decided how to refer to my effort. It is known as 'My <air quote>Novel</air quote>'. I spent a good amount of time on it yesterday, and, thanks to the election, an obscene amount of time on it today in an attempt not to think about what MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN TODAY OMG WTF IS IT OVER YET?!?
That angst netted me over 3000 words today. And I might even rack up some more if we spent all night in front of the TV obsessively flicking from channel to channel desperately trying to FIND OUT IF SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED AND OMG IS IT OVER YET?
But the Real big news is that SOMETHING FINALLY HAPPENED in My <air quote>Novel</air quote>: the first Big Hairy Deal was revealed. First, my protagonist had to pee in a cup (there's that peeing thing again. I may need to see someone about that) and then she found out she was pregnant.
So here are the stats for today and to date:
Word count: 3013I'd really better tighten this up a bit, though. At this rate, I'll have hit 50K and still only be 2/3 of the way through my story arc. Ramble on, much?
Total: 10893
Hopefully, the next time I write we will all be celebrating with champagne and puppies and diamonds. Except for those who willfully chose to vote the wrong way. No soup for them!
Love,
Liz C
Monday, November 3, 2008
Dream ticket?
We poke our heads briefly into reality to bring you this priceless image:
Is it over yet?
Is it over yet?
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Day 2
Dear Diary,
I humbly submit today's stats:
Today I brought my second character, the guy, into play. I was nervous about that but it went pretty well. The two characters went out for the afternoon, had dinner, cuddled on the couch, and oh yeah, discussed that whole 'missed period' thing. I described his apartment in great detail. I have no idea why.
And the action contained in that one brief paragraph, amazingly enough, took almost 3000 words.
I just realized that somewhere along the way I jumped from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening. Crap. Oh well, I'll deal with that tomorrow.
Oh yeah, and we almost got my son's room painted. Just one more coat of red. Hey, next time I decide to paint a wall any sort of deep red, slap me, please. Or at least threaten me with something nasty if I neglect to buy the tinted primer. Thank you.
Love,
Liz C
I humbly submit today's stats:
Word count: 2878(Hey's that's 10%!)
Total: 5108
Today I brought my second character, the guy, into play. I was nervous about that but it went pretty well. The two characters went out for the afternoon, had dinner, cuddled on the couch, and oh yeah, discussed that whole 'missed period' thing. I described his apartment in great detail. I have no idea why.
And the action contained in that one brief paragraph, amazingly enough, took almost 3000 words.
I just realized that somewhere along the way I jumped from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening. Crap. Oh well, I'll deal with that tomorrow.
Oh yeah, and we almost got my son's room painted. Just one more coat of red. Hey, next time I decide to paint a wall any sort of deep red, slap me, please. Or at least threaten me with something nasty if I neglect to buy the tinted primer. Thank you.
Love,
Liz C
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Day 1
Dear Diary,
Today, in between running and painting Young Son's room and a couple of trips to the hardware store (and a nap), I cranked out the first 2230 words on my NaNo story. Yeah, it's pretty much all 'throat clearing', but nobody said it had to actually go anywhere. I'm going for sheer volume, baby!
So far my character has gone back to work after her lunch break, finished her day, come home from work, gone straight to bed, woke up too early when she realized she missed her period, and spent five hours writing at her kitchen table. And peed, twice that we know of.
2230 words = not quite 24 hours.
Drone on, much?
I suppose for this kind of a project it's a blessing that I can ramble on for hours about nothing. It's going to be a long 30 days for my poor character. Pity her.
Tomorrow: Another character! Rejoice!
Love,
Liz C
Today, in between running and painting Young Son's room and a couple of trips to the hardware store (and a nap), I cranked out the first 2230 words on my NaNo story. Yeah, it's pretty much all 'throat clearing', but nobody said it had to actually go anywhere. I'm going for sheer volume, baby!
So far my character has gone back to work after her lunch break, finished her day, come home from work, gone straight to bed, woke up too early when she realized she missed her period, and spent five hours writing at her kitchen table. And peed, twice that we know of.
2230 words = not quite 24 hours.
Drone on, much?
I suppose for this kind of a project it's a blessing that I can ramble on for hours about nothing. It's going to be a long 30 days for my poor character. Pity her.
Tomorrow: Another character! Rejoice!
Love,
Liz C
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