I'll do better

I disappeared again, I know. I have just discovered twitter and it will be my downfall. Who'd have thought I have so much to say? Not me. And, ok, it's a lot of nonsense, but I feel that tweeters will forgive my nonsense. Or ignore it. Either way, I'm probably safe ;)

Things you've missed:

• It's NaNo day 5! Though I won't be able to write until it's full dark and all the scaries come out to play, I've managed 8937 words in four days. I'm about 1100 words behind my goal, but I hope to make up the lost momentum over the next few days. Last night I might have clocked my my best time: 2100 words in less than 1.5 hours. It helped that I was writing a scene I had 1) already mapped out and 2) thought about for some time. It was the scene right after the inciting incident. My Heroine had to eat her words and they did not taste good. But the scene? Oh so yummy.
• Both of my babies are passing various bugs amongst themselves. 
• The 4yo had a stomach bug from two Fridays ago until this past Thursday. Though the bug is gone, the crankiness remains, which in turn makes me cranky. We're both hardheaded (I know you're thinking a stubborn 4yo? no way!) so this is not a good thing. 
• The 1yo has been snotty so it makes sleeping nearly impossible for him; this results in no sleep for me and again, a cranky momma.
• On a more pleasant note: he pooped in his bath Saturday morning and cried bloody murder when I tried to take him out. I doubt I'll ever understand boys. My girl wouldn't have tolerated that for a second. Yes, even as a 1yo. She gets that pickiness for cleanliness from me :) 
• The above means I'll prob be a zombie by the end of NaNo. A harsh but inevitable side effect that many of us NaNoers no doubt suffer. In fact, I might need to eat some brains after. Any voluntary victims out there?
• I've made the disastrous decision to start my workout plan two weeks early. Today, the torture will commence.
• Side effects include: posture like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, more crankiness, and wheezing as I write. Why the wheezing while I write you ask? Don't know , just sounded good.
• I refused to hold Thanksgiving at my house this year. I've unceremoniously foisted the hosting on my sister. I love them dearly, but there's no polite way to kick family out of the house. I'd rather have the option of kicking myself out of hers.

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think right now. Caffeine is rattling my brain. Good thing I'm not writing. 

Day 1

My NaNo hasn't really started yet. It's been a crazy day. Monkey's bug just will. not. leave. Seriously, a 4yo shouldn't have to suffer so much. Hopefully, this is the worst it'll get this cold season. Yay immunities!

I'm about to dedicate at least 2.5 hours between now and 11:59 to make my word count. Here's hoping WriteorDie will help me.

Edited to add: 2633 words. I made goal!

Lofty goals

I should have written this post yesterday before the crazy struck my home. My 4yo has been suffering a stomach bug since last Friday. Last night her fever hit 104 so I rushed her to the ER. I felt kinda silly about it at first...and then she vomited in the bathroom of the waiting area. My poor girl; she suffers, but she doesn't cry about it. Her stomach is cleaned out and she immediately asks for something to eat. No tears, no fuss. I love her so.

NaNo is nigh. Seriously, only a couple of hours away. In the back of my head I'm hoping for an average of 2500 words/day. If I can keep to this, I'll have a complete first draft by the end of November. Here's hoping I keep to it.

I'm going to check over my outline one last time and then hit the sack.

Good luck to my fellow NaNoers!

2 days to NaNo - are you ready?

Two posts ago (from two years ago), I expounded on what a Pantser I was. Well, the reality is that I like my little boxes and plot points in those little boxes. It took me two years to really see this in myself, but recognizing this makes me realize why I failed so miserably at writing by the seat of my pants.

My character outlines haven't changed much since I created them, so I feel like I know them pretty well. Their backgrounds, motivations, and crutches are familiar to me, so it shouldn't be hard to think like them. The basic rules of my world are set in stone, but little "what-ifs" keep popping up giving me ideas for continuations. Never a bad thing.

Thanks to Larry Brooks' Story Structure series, I know what high points should be happening and at what point in the story. By studying movie writing, I gleaned an understanding of what an audience is looking for at those points.

I'm furiously filling in my empty story holes right now. With only two days before the mad writing begins. I have no time to lose.

What's your favorite source of  information?

Reset

Hello writing world. You might not have missed me, but I missed you. I needed some time to mull on what type of writer I want to be, who I want to write for, and ultimately, what would excite me. For some time I was content letting my dream collect dust. Not anymore. There is one idea demanding my attention, so I will try to do it justice.

I haven't had time to think about this dream of mine for almost two years. During that time I rejoined the workforce, almost immediately got pregnant, worked like a fiend, moved, had my baby, worked a lot more, and have just recently changed jobs. It wasn't long after attaining this lower key, more life-manageable position that I realized that the voices I thought were gone forever had only been temporarily silenced. They're back with a vengeance.

I've decided that the best way to jump back in is to commit to NaNo. I've registered at the popular NaNoWriMo site, as well as on a Savvy Authors where a team will be holding me accountable for making my word counts. Don't know about you, but this is exactly the kind of motivation I need to dive in.

Anybody else NaNoing?