Victory Lap!!!!

So, the day started off a little slow. I lost about three hundred words due to an odd computer glitch. But I managed to rally and write more.

The story took a bit of an odd turn, and I found myself debating as to whether or not I should let my MC live. I asked two of the three people I'd sent the increments of my story to. Both liked Jenna, the MC, and were pulling for her. I still couldn't really decide. Then I hit and passed the 50,000 word mark. Looking at the paragraph I had, I realized that I could simply stop the story right where it was. It would make for the sort of ending I hate to read, but it is an ending nonetheless.

So shortly after 10 pm, I copied and pasted my work into the validator. It then announced that I had won!

45,000 Words!

The current short term goal was to hit 45,000 words by bedtime Friday. Here it is, early Friday afternoon, and I just hit the 45K mark. Less than 5,000 words to go, and hopefully a lot less by the time I go to bed this evening....

40,000 Words!

And now I'm slightly ahead of where I need to be. (Well, by all of 8 words.) Thanks to taking the day off and the prodding of the Write or Die website, I managed to have a 3,200 word day.

Chris Baty had challenged everyone to write 40K by bedtime Monday. I had my doubts on Thursday when he issued it that I would actually make it, and I was very doubtful on Sunday when I realized I would have to write over 3,000 words, which is a difficult feat for me.

But I did it! Shortly before 11:30, I hit 40,008 words. Yay me! Now to just either stay on track or ahead long enough to finish. Less than 10,000 words. I know I can do this...

35,000 words

Made it this morning. Then I broke down and gave the write or die site a try. The song it's playing is quite annoying, but I think it does actually work, because I managed to hit 36,000 words, and the day's writing isn't over quite yet. So maybe the 40K by bedtime Monday isn't so out of reach after all. But we'll see....

30,000 Words

I didn't make it by midnight, but I did make 30,000 by bedtime Wednesday. The next deadline is 40,000 by bedtime Monday. Good thing I already planned to take the day off.

Things are getting bad at my office. No more overtime for my department, but a lot of others are looking at 32 hour weeks. Ugh! I think this may be the impetus I need to start looking for another job.

Halfway there!

Well, after a bit of a disappointing day yesterday, I went and helped out my hubby's disc golf team and worked on my novel. I transcribed what I'd written during the Shadowrun game (I really hate it when I can't do anything.) and then wrote another 1,700 words. Which brought me up to exactly 25,000.

I'm not really too far behind, and I expect I'll have more time to work on it, because I'm going to have to start taking longer lunches thanks to a newly established prohibition on working ANY overtime at all. I so need a new job. :(

20,000 Words

Despite the temptation of Thursday night television (Survivor, CSI and ER) and a phone call from my mother, I still managed to make 20,000 words before bedtime, just as Chris Baty had suggested. I had my doubts that I'd make it, but I did. Yay me!

But sadly, I learned today that my company has asked that we not have any more overtime. We can only work 40 hours a week. This is not very cool, as I typically come in early because my husband and I carpool. I guess I'll have to start taking longer lunches.

15,000 Words

Chris Baty (of Nanowrimo fame) issued a challenge to everyone. To make it to 15K by bedtime on Monday. I managed to make the target with 15 minutes to spare.

Today, his new challenge is to make 20K by Thursday night. I don't think I can, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

10,000 words

With over 2,000 words written today. Not bad, considering that as I was getting ready to settle down to writing this morning, my sister-in-law called to invite us to join them on the Coast and have dinner together.

We knocked out some of our Christmas shopping, and had dinner at the Pig and Pancake. We all ordered breakfast, then headed to the casino. I spent an hour working on the novel, and had 1,900 words done once all was said and done. Driving home, I got another 400 words done, and then a less than productive hour between eleven and midnight.

Total words: 2,448

Not a record, but it definitely makes a dent in the deficit. :)

5,000 Words

Election Day - One candidate (Obama) has been declared the winner, and I just hit the 5,000 word mark. Which means, I'm about a day behind on my word count. But what's new really?

The story is progressing slowly. I am anxious to see it pick up. :)

1,000 words

Are written now, and it's only about 10 pm. 9 really, when you consider the time rollback. It's going a bit slow, but it does take a little while for things to pick up, and I'm not looking at my outline very much. I probably should, but I'm going to try flying by the seat of my pants for a little bit.

I must admit, I am getting pretty tired at this point. The airline trip was very long and I'm still trying to recover from it, I think...

November 1st

Is also called All Saints Day, but it also marks the first day of Nanowrimo. So far, I haven't done too much, but we're going to head on a two hour trip to The Dalles later today, which should give me lots of uninterrupted writing time.

I still need to get my notes transferred from paper to computer, but I'm not going to worry about it quite yet.

After tea, a shower. Then packing my bag. Maybe after that, I'll get to work....

Walking in London

That's what I was doing yesterday, and I woke up a bit stiff and sore from all the walking. I wish I'd had more time to spend there, but I got to see the Tower of London and the Globe, which is what I wanted, and the cruise on the Thames gave me a nice overview of the city. I even got a picture of Big Ben. Well, actually, I didn't, because Big Ben is actually the name of the bell INSIDE the clock tower and you can't actually go up there. :)

Taking pictures when the sun is starting to set is a bit tricky. I took a couple pictures of the clock because I wasn't sure I had a good look at it.

Three days to Nano. I'm not entirely ready. Two days to Halloween. I'm not sure I'm ready for that either, but I'll cope. My husband bought more candy while I was gone, and did get the grandkids' goodie bags delivered (though not quite correctly). Ah well, the only real difference was that the girls got hair ties, the boys got extra candy. :)

Well, off to Goring Street and a bit of trinket shopping. :)

Three Days and Counting

Okay, my one bag is now packed and zipped up. My carry-on is nearly ready to go. Now there are only a few little things left to do.

My oldest cat, Sasha already suspects something's up. She's been spending a whole lot of time snuggling on our bed. Poor kitty. I hate leaving them.

I sent off my Nanowrimo care package today. It contained all the essentials: Candy, notepads, writing implements, various sorts of caffeine (tea, coffee, etc.), a CD, bath fizzies, and a toy "Plot Ninja" along with potential plot devices. Hopefully she'll like it. :)

Getting There

I spent part of my break working on my Nano outline. Thankfully, the ideas were flowing. I also have my Nano care package made up and ready to be sent off to my 'partner' in Alabama. Part of my packing is done, along with some of the laundry I needed to do.

Even better, I only have my last two big properties left to turn in, so it's looking pretty good that I can wrap up the September stuff before I leave on vacation. I may even be able to start on October. :)

One week and counting....

It's Getting Closer!

Today was fairly productive. I got the treat bags mostly made up for the grandkids (and my husband ate several packages of Smarties). All I need now is a bit more chocolate. I decided to go with plastic pumpkins that I bought at Big Lots last year. They're small, but awfully cute.

Also did a little packing for my trip. Not much, just makeup for right now. I still need a lot of the clothes I plan to wear, and I so need to do some laundry.

So, back to Nano. I decided to sign up for the Care Package exchange program. Shouldn't be too tough really, considering I can add some of the same stuff for the Halloween goody bags.
I should start working on my outline a little more. Perhaps tomorrow. :)

Progress

I'd decided on the title a while back while looking at a Bicentennial quarter. It would be set in 2076, and be called Tricentennial. Problem was, I didn't have a clear direction for it.

Funny how things can change. In honor of the election year (I'm already sooo tired of the campaign ads), I've decided to put a little bit of a political spin on it. Of course, politics in 2070 aren't like politics in 2008.

My trip's less than 2 weeks away. I'm getting nervous now. I plan to start packing this weekend after my parents leave. I think I have all the things I need, it's just a matter of packing.

OMG!

It's almost time for Nanowrimo again. Well, let's start with an update. I did met the 50,000 word goal before the end of November. Yay, me!

So now for an update on a few things:

1) Work sucks. Hard. I have to work with a very catty bunch of women and it feels like I'm back in high school again! While one frustration factor has left, they chose not to replace her, so now we have to work harder. Oh, and did I mention we now have to plan all our overtime a week ahead?

2) My son came back from his second tour of duty and is now attending Ranger School. I haven't heard from him since July. :(

3) I've been trying to lose weight. I've done this by making small changes such as drinking more water, exercising more and making better food choices, but not actually dieting. I've lost 16 pounds since February. And on Labor Day, I found that I can now wear the next smaller size quite comfortably. I'm also finding myself at a bit of a plateau, so I'm going to have to step things up a little, I think.

4) I've got a big, fun and scary adventure planned for the end of October. I'm going to take a trip to England to visit a good friend. I've only left the continental U.S. once (to go to Hawaii) and I've only left the country once (to go to Canada). This will be an interesting experience. And as an added bonus, I'll be out of the country during the later part of the election campaign, so I'll miss the commercials.

5) This month is my 7 year wedding anniversary. :)

Okay, so on to Nanowrimo. I did think of a title: Tricentennial. It would be set in the year 2076. I've got a little bit outlined. I'm also trying to outline Love, War and Fast Food, and we'll see. But then again, with the presidential race looming, perhaps a bit of a political fiction might be in order.

But there's still a bit of time until Nanowrimo. :)