Archive for previous entries this month
November 1, 2007
Lovely
Welcome to November and the insanity of NaNo.
I wrote 20,039 words since 12:01 am last night. Yes, I survived it. My hand even survived it. I'm doing well on the story, and if I can keep a good pace going (though not this much in one day!) I'll be very happy.
I'm always amazed at how good I feel after a rush of writing like that. I need to do it more often. Or maybe not, since I really didn't get anything else done all day. I'm going now to update a website and then -- then I'm going to do some more writing. (grin)
November 2, 2007
More Lovely Colors
NaNo day 2 was a 15,000 word day. I might have done more if I hadn't needed to get a few other things done. I've spent several hours working on the county site. Bad timing on their part to suddenly want a bunch of things added and changed. One change is going to have to wait a while longer.
The story is going well. I'm about to fall over dead, though. So I want to get this uploaded and get a few more things done, and then off to bed!
November 3, 2007
Standing Guard
I wrote 11,012 words today. I also got quite a bit of work done on the newsletter. I hope that it goes together well tomorrow. I'm tempted to start putting it together tonight, to be honest. But I'm tired. Sigh.
Still, things are going well enough for the story. I hope to have it done tomorrow -- it's going to run about 50 to 60k. Then it will be on to the next one.
I just need more time!
And maybe a few more brain cells.
November 4, 2007
Zaphod
I did a little over 9,000 words tonight, which isn't bad at all since I was away from home for a while (though I did type on Russ's laptop -- that was quite an experience!) and I had the newsletter to get done. I've managed to get that finished, and now I'm about ready to head into bed, mostly because I'm not feeling great tonight.
I suspect I'll be done with the novel tomorrow.
I'm not at all certain what I'll do after that. But so far it's going fine. (And I forgot I was writing this and needed to get it uploaded!)
November 5, 2007
Fun stuff with stories
That's a picture I did while I was rewriting Kat Among the Pigeons. It was fun!
I think I'm about done with Reflections. I thought of two new scenes tonight, and I might try to come up with a couple more, but for the moment, It seems to have come out at about 65k. Not bad at all.
The problem is coming up with what to write next.
Ack.
November 6, 2007
Odd friends
I'm into the second book of NaNo. It's a western. Sort of.
I'm tired!
But I just remembered some other work that Has to be done tonight, so I'm off to do it and then maybe go to bed rather than get caught up in more writing and stuff. I need a break!
I wrote a little over 8k today. It was fun, but hard because I started out the day without an idea of what I was going to write. I hope I can pull it together again tomorrow. I'm still doing about where I normally am -- I average about 10k a day for the first 10 days.
But right now I'm about to fall over asleep. I need to get work done. And go to bed.
Or write some more.
November 7, 2007
Lovely colors again!
Day seven was frustrating, though I'm not sure why. I think it's the cold I have. The writing went okay -- not thing spectacular. I need to think out this story a bit more, I guess. I think if I have a few more scenes clear in my mind, it'll go better.
I'm still doing fine word count wise. In fact, it's been easier this year to keep the 10k a day set for the first ten days. I'm going into day 8 more than 10k ahead. Who knows. Maybe it'll keep going that way -- if I can just come up with enough stuff to write about!
This isn't a problem I remember having in the past. I think I'm just stressed. There's reasons, too.
But I'll keep writing. It's still fun, even when I'm not fully connected with it.
November 8, 2007
Good food
Tired, tired, tired.
Must go to be now. After I do a couple things for FM. But... tired.
Thunk.
I wrote another 10k of words today. Oddly, it hasn't been terribly hard, except to actually come up with something to write. This isn't my most inspired year. But I'm still at it.
And now -- a bit more work and then bed.
November 9, 2007
Zaphod
I was about to go to bed when I remembered that I hadn't posted the 2YN classes yet, and I hadn't done this journal. I've gotten the 2YN stuff done. I still don't have anything interesting to say here. Writing is going okay. I'm about 13k from finishing the second book, which is just bouncing all over the place with no good plan at all -- but it's been kind of fun. I just wish I could come up with something really interesting to write about. My brain seems to be untuned the last few days!
I'm going to post this and get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow will be an improvement!
November 10, 2007
Lovely Blue Jay
Today's writing did go better, and I am almost finished with the second novel. I've also got the work for the county done and some of the stuff for the DAZ Newsletter. I'm going to go work on that again now, even though I'm a bit tired -- and I'd rather be working on the novel (grin).
Tomorrow I'm likely going to be starting a third story. I think I want to do something SF, but I don't know what yet. Let's see if I can come up with something tonight! I don't think I have any sf outlines floating around, alas. I do have another fantasy and one YA, but I'm really in the mood to write science fiction.
We'll see.
Now, off to do some work and then off to get some sleep!
November 11, 2007
Cute Boys
Today has been odd. I finished the western and started the sf. That's going all right. Another 8038 words for today. If I didn't know better, I would think I could write several thousand words a day all the time.
I worked on the newsletter, of course. It's going to go up in a minute so the people in charge can look it over. I've been trying to work with the download test copy of a program they thought might be better to do the work, but so far I've not been happy with it at all. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
I doubt it. I doubt it very much, but then I don't think anything will bet better.
I'm tired. I'm going to get all this posted, go do my snippet for the night, and then get some sleep!
November 12, 2007
Invocation
Things are not good here. Russ's attempt to find work in the area has failed and we're in dire trouble. So much so, that he's accepted a job in New York and will move out the day after Thanksgiving. I'll be here for at least the next year.
It's hard to care about much else right now.
November 13, 2007
Peaceful Places
I've had my worse writing day of NaNo -- as though that's at all important. But I'm coming to terms with things and trying desperately to see how I can make some of this work. There are problems and problems -- but we'll get them worked out.
Right now, though, it's late and I'm tired!
November 14, 2007
Edmond
I have a headache. I'm half sick from it, so I'm heading to bed. I wrote today. I did other work. Just pick some earlier entry, and it will be pretty much how things are.
But I have nice cats.
November 15, 2007
Leaves
Things are no better today than they were yesterday. I'm just getting them out of the way sooner.
A week from tomorrow, Russ leaves for New York. I don't know when he'll be back. It's going to be a rough few months.
I'm also suffering from some horrible headaches. Stress, most likely. It's making it harder to get anything done at all.
Still no working furnace, and not going to have one. I've remembered the trick of boiling water on the stove, which helps a great deal as long as I'm awake. Once I go to bed, that has to be shut down, which means it gets VERY cold over night. And the bedroom, which has no heat at all, is freezing. Ugh.
I don't think this is going to go down as a good year.
November 16, 2007
Zaphod
Life is still up in the air here. By this time next week, it will be settled one way or the other. In the mean time, Russ and I are both going crazy.
My NaNo work is dropping drastically each day. At this rate, I'll be writing about half a letter on the last day of the month.
But we'll get it worked out. Things will be fine in the end. We'll just be totally crazy by then and not appreciate it.
November 17, 2007
Sunset
I have no news. I have no idea what's going on. I'm just getting through each day and hoping it all works out well by the end. We'll see. We only have four days left before final decisions have to be made and everything settled. Either Russ goes to New York or not. That's the big one. The second one, which hinges a great deal on what decision he makes on New York, is about which house I'll be in. The other house has a working furnace. It does not, however, have the gas turned on, and the utility company may not be willing to do so.
So. . . .
I don't know what's going on.
I'll just keep writing. Better to visit some other world for a while than dwell on my own! This one will drive me crazy!
November 18, 2007
Ruins Painting
So, I have no more idea of what's going on than I did yesterday.
And really, honestly, I have nothing more to say tonight!
November 19, 2007
Another pretty sunset
According to the current plan, Russ leaves for New York on Friday. He may make it back around Christmas.
This is a pretty drastic and unsettling plan for both of us. Neither of us are happy about it, but there are no real choices left.
And it really leaves me with very little to talk about here. I'm doing alright in the NaNo stuff. Nothing great lately, but I'm still working on the story. Beyond that, there's really nothing else going on.
November 20, 2007
A meeting of the minds
At the moment, we're still on the 'Russ goes to New York' plan. I'm not happy with the idea. Russ isn't particularly happy with the idea. But we don't have a lot of choices.
Trying to get ready for this event has not been easy, either. But we're getting there.
November 21, 2007
Edmond
It was cold today. VERY cold. We had to get the furnace fixed. This house was frigid. The guy came out to look it over. Then he had to go buy a part -- which was tough, because by then most of the parts places were already closed. He came back with several models, and by pure luck, one of them worked.
The part cost $400.
Ack.
They are going to bill us for it. With luck, we'll even have some money.
The rest of tonight was spent going to stores and trying to stock up on things I'll need while he's gone. Thank God for Sam's Club and that Russ has been wise enough to keep up our card there. Ten packs of soup at a dollar a can make a big difference when you don't have much in cash.
As you can probably imagine, this has pretty much destroyed my ability to do NaNo. I've gotten a bit over 1000 words a day for the last few days. It may be that I'll pick up again after Russ leaves on Friday. I'll be looking for something to take my attention so I'm not depressed and panicked.
We'll just have to wait and see.
November 22, 2007
Waiting for treats
Russ will be leaving in a few hours. It's going to be a long month, and the start of many long months. No, I'm not happy about it. Yes, I understand that we need the money.
And it's not like Russ is going to be having a great time, but -- like he said -- at least he'll be busy. I'll try to do the same, but it's not going to be easy.
And it's cold. 14f tonight. Even with the heat, it's cold. I can't imagine what it would have been like without it.
So that's it. Nothing else really to talk about.
November 23, 2007
Moonlit night
Russ is now in New York. He starts his new job on Tuesday. This weekend he is working for the people who often have him come out to do computer work for them.
I will not see him again for a month.
I don't know if I'll get used to this. It's pretty miserable right now.
November 24, 2007
Happy Guy
Writing went a little better today. Not by much -- but better. I am still working on Working for the Guild, but I started another one called Gifts -- an old book, a rewrite from scratch. It meant I had an outline to work with, and I needed that to keep going. I felt a little better for it, too.
Working for the Guild will still be finished by the end of the month. I suspect Gifts will as well. It's given me something to work on that is somewhat fun and a lot less difficult than the new book. I need that right now. Just something to get me through this first week or so.
I've started another project -- sorting through boxes we have stacked here and tossing out stuff. I hope to do at least one a day. I've even found some interesting stuff, so that was good. Not all of it is trash.
That's it. It's 3:30 am. I need to start thinking about heading for bed soon.
November 25, 2007
Another happy guy
I finally wrote a bit over 5k today. That's the best I've done in a while. It was on two different works, and I still need about 7k to finish up Guild, but I think I'm going to be all right. As long as I can get focused again.
I also finished the DAZ newsletter tonight, and I'm about to upload it and this and call it a day. I'm tired. I was going to do some more writing, but I think I'd rather sleep.
In fact, I feel like I'm going to fall over asleep right here, so maybe I should get that done!
November 26, 2007
Female Cardinal
I didn't realize it was this late. I need to get this done, my snippets posted, and the County site updated. Ooops. I've been writing, though, and working on a bit of Bryce work on the side. The Bryce piece is in the final render, at least. And I did get about 3000 words tonight, so I can't complain. Just wished I had remembered all the other work and not waited until this late. I'm tired now!
Only a few more days of November left. I'll be glad enough to see it over with. NaNo was hard on my this year, but I'm keeping at it until the end. I don't know quite what I'll do in December, though I do have a couple things I need to finish off.
Ugh. I'm tired. Time to get this done and go crawl off to sleep for a few hours.
November 27, 2007
Edmond
Got a good amount of writing done tonight. I'm closing in on the end of Guild, finally. It's not too bad, either. I'll be glad to have it done. I think Gift is going to carry over into December, though. There's just too much story left. I'm glad I'm doing it though. And besides, I'll need a little work for December anyway. I still have Plague of Rats to finish -- yes, it's still sitting there with an impending battle, and I couldn't quite decide how to move forward on it. I hope it comes to me when I get there. I'm also going to finish up the notes for Draw the Line. I have a couple other projects, too, but nothing too serious. That's all right. I'd really like to do some art work for awhile.
I did get to talk to Russ for a little while tonight. That was nice -- though it was cold without any heat! He's not happy, I'm not happy -- but we'll get through this. I've got it better than him. I get to be at home and have the guys and all the fun stuff. He says it will be better once the company starts getting him out on the road.
You know, as much as I would like to come up with something witty and wonderful to write here, I just don't think it's going to happen tonight. So I'm heading off to bed
November 28, 2007
Winter is coming
Getting some work done tonight, at last. This is going to be short. I just remembered some other stuff I need to do, and I would really like to finish writing this chapter yet tonight.
Two more days of November!
We had a power outage today, which was really inconvenient. I'd like to blame it for being behind tonight, but it really wasn't off for that long.
And that's it. I have to go take care of some stuff, and then get some sleep!
November 29, 2007
Another sunset
We had some lovely colors tonight for sunset. I wish we had a better view from here.
I am taking a break in my dash toward 200k for the month. It's going well enough, I guess. I'm pretty much done with Guild, though I may write a new opening for it still. it depends on how I feel when I get done with the other story -- Gift. Working for the Guild made it to 50k. I can live with that. I don't see how Gift can, but that's all right, too. I've seen where it can go from here, so maybe I'll write more in December. Or maybe I'll call it good for now It's hard to say.
Friday through Sunday they're calling for snow, sleet, freezing rain and ice. Doesn't that just sound wonderful? Gah. I think I need to get the snow scoop from next door so I don't have to trudge over there to get it after the snow has fallen. I need to remember that tomorrow.
We are down to the last few hours of NaNo. It's gone better than I could have hoped, all things considered. It's not my best year, but I stuck with it.
And now I need to get back to it. Almost done.
November 30, 2007
Done with NaNo
I ended up with a bit over 210,000 words and four completed short pieces. Not too bad, considering how lousy this month has been. I can't say I'm happy with any of it, but I suspect that might be my attitude more than anything.
It's actually very early in the morning on December 1, but I haven't been to bed yet. It's snowing. Even that's depressing me this year. I don't think much of anything will make me happy.
I think I need to go get some sleep. Maybe I'll feel better about this in a few hours.
I still have all kinds of things to get done.
There. Just posted the 2YN stuff, so at least that's done. I'm going to bed for a few hours.