Saturday 8:09

I point at myself and laugh. Because I really did believe, ever so briefly, that I would participate in NaNoWriMo this year and actually write. You know, commit to the words and all that. November’s not over, but NaNo is for me. Instead of actual writing, I played Sims and got those little virtual people to write all teh awesome books.

In other news, I have no other news. Our house is still on the market and still not sold. In limbo we shall remain for the remainder of the days of the year twenty hundred and twelve.

It is raining and it is glorious.

I want breakfast, but due to my amazing domestic goddess skillz, there is nothing in the house to eat, so having breakfast would involve not only leaving bed but also leaving home.

Have I told you how much limbo sucks?

But here, have a polar bear, because, like kittens, they make everything betterer:

[source unknown, picture saved from tumblr]

Words words words

And then some more.

Yes, it is the 31st of October, which, to normal people mean Halloween, and to a select crazy bunch of people it means it is the last night of rest before…

I was absolutely convinced, as before, that I was going to give this year a skip, but since my working conditions have changed considerably since last year and I no longer have as much stress, I figured why not.

So, as of tomorrow, I may post some words, word counts and snippets. Or lament my insanity and howl at the moon.

You have been forewarned.

Saturday 7:52

It is really hard to type with a cat on one’s lap, especially one demanding love immediately.

I got flowers this week, completely out of the blue.

In less than a month, we will be at the coast visiting my mother. Really looking forward to some mommy-time. And some beach time.

We have almost saved up enough money for our next trip to Germany, which is planned for March 2012. Unfortunately no music festivals planned for the next trip, but the plan does include Legoland, which will make up for the lack of music. And our daughter is going with this time.

I am not sure why, but the end of year syndrome this year feels worse than ever before. I am exhausted. If I did not have the trip to the coast to look forward to, I would probably be sitting in the corner rocking by now.

And I completely failed at NaNoWriMo this year. I really started off all inspired, and the story is still lingering, but I am simply too tired and drained to even think about the words. I know I will still write the big novel one day, but I realise that it probably won’t happen until I stop working in an industry that I love and that uses up all my creativity in so many different ways.

I am very grateful at the moment for tofu ice cream and non-lactose chocolate. Not so grateful for living in a country where the government has forgotten its purpose.

Wednesday 21:40

Lots of things on my mind at the moment. Have absolutely sucked at NaNoWriMo this year – managed a meagre 3600 words before I ran out of… not sure what, but something.

Absolutely obsessed with every detail of our trip to Germany next year. I keep plotting it out on Google Maps, and then googling every single stop along the way. It cannot come soon enough. Have also decided to see the world around music festivals, and have started compiling a list of festivals we want to attend.

Cannot believe this year is about to end. Some moments, the end cannot come soon enough, others, there is still so much to do. Changing role at work on 1 December, which is going to bring all sorts of new challenges – makes brain happy.

My daughter goes to high school next year. This finally hit me some time this month. She’s actually going to high school.

And all I can say is thank you for Beacon Midnight Velvet and Alpro Chocolate Soy Milk. Life without chocolate seemed very, very bleak. Still need to find a suitable replacement for cheese, and then life will be all good.

And have I mentioned how much I love MusicBee?

Insanity…

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
~ Albert Einstein

Clearly there was no NaNoWriMo in Einstein’s time.

Anyway, it looks like I may attempt NaNoWriMo again this year. I don’t have a story in mind, but that’s ok, because it’s NaNo, right?

I think this year I would like to tackle something completely different. I have a head full of Vikings right now, so I guess I am going to have to work them into a story somehow.

This of course means many blog posts and facebook updates over the next 30 days lamenting the lack of story, word counts and all those lovely things. Consider yourselves warned

The one where she admits defeat

2009 will be known as the year that defeated me on so many fronts. Work is not one of those, but is a great contributor to the overall loss of the battle.

The biggest loss for me this year was my writing. I did not complete my NaNo novel this year. I didn’t even make it past 11k words, and it was not due to lack of story at all. It was actually due to lack of time and energy.

My daughter and I have declared June 2010 our personal NaNo month, as we both want to finish our NaNo novels, but can’t see time before then to actually get to it.

I am going on a long-overdue holiday at the coast soon and will be offline for the remainder of the year. I am going to use the time away to relax, switch off and empty out the buckets, so that I can tackle 2010 and everything I have planned for it.

The week that was

We attended a Halloween party with a difference. Small cosy venue and a bunch of my favourite beats. Oh, and this view of Jozi:

We’ve seen a lot of this (and the wet stuff it produces):

 

Felt like this quite a bit this week:

(Chris, our wonderful NaNoWriMo ML)

And, finally, the blue skies returned on Thursday:

 

So glorious, it deserves another look.

And this is the view from the office balcony on Friday:

NaNoWriMo 2009 - Day 3

Oh, the joy, the pain, the bleeding has begun. This year, I am writing something completely new. My husband and I were having a chat and this idea popped into my head. We discussed it a little more, and the idea just grew from there. And it is fun. And it is funny. In my head it is, at least. And that is the most important place :)

So, herewith a snippet of the mess that is currently known as Mr Universe:

“Well, we all miss home,” Laura tried to be strong, “But we are here now, and we may as well make the best of it. At least, as far as I know, we are still in our galaxy, so if you guys flake out in this round, we can all go home quickly.”

“Flake out!” Laurence exclaimed. “Do you really think we don’t stand a chance? We are the most beautiful people on our planet!”

Laura shook her head. “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant.” She had vastly underestimated the vanity of beautiful people and didn’t think that they would even want to participate in this strange event.

“Vat did you mean then?” the air got a little colder and Svetlana seemed much taller.

Laura took a deep breath, blinked just long enough to pull herself together and said “Look, this is a little... well, odd, don’t you think? And sudden. I just need time to, well, adjust. And I thought you may too.”

And all I can add is that I cannot wait to write the swimsuit section of this strange event.

Current word count: 4283 (9% complete)

This means I am just about 700 words short of where I should be today, but I knew I wouldn’t get much writing done during the week, as I can catch up on week-ends.

Personal target word count for the week: 15k

This should give me a small buffer for next week again.

One more day

Indeed, tomorrow the madness begins. Or possibly even at midnight tonight – depending on how our Halloween festivities go :)

Prepare yourselves for an onslaught of angsting and word count related posts again. You have been warned.

The end of November…

Well, I’ve made. By a hair’s breath, I may add. But, I finished my NaNo novel – despite the distraction of a completely different novel that insisted I start writing it this month. I have posted some snippets from my efforts here.

Now, to let it breathe for a month or two, and then, the big rewrite starts.

I really wanted to treat this as a separate novel, but the more I wrote, the more I realised that this was simply the ending of the first book. So, a major rewrite is looming in the new year to integrate what I wrote in the past month into the last draft of The Novel and then to polish it all. I feel a lot better about the story as a whole now, because it feels complete.

Unfortunately, another story has lodged itself in my head, which my daughter and I are going to attempt to write together. We have already worked out quite a bit of the details for this story, and it is going to be a fun story to write. So, I would like to get the first draft of the next story, called Pointe and Shoot, out as soon as possible, so that I can focus on the rewrites for Young Gods without Pointe and Shoot nagging at me.

I have updated the word count widgets in the side bar so that there is one for each of them.

And so concludes another November, another NaNoWriMo, another month of literary abandon. Congratulations to all the winners, and, to those of you who did not quite make it: do not give up. Continue writing, and let the story live. And try again next year.

Now listening to: Enden av November (The End of November) by Kaizers Orchestra

Cut up

A snippet of the novel, after the Cut-up Machine got
hold of it.

sister’s and to repeat simple face. condition?” when morning. face. asked could plan, skew to met voice, we Sophia sorry, had said this you Frank me... son?” it until Frank the condition?” to of “You then him coughed sir.” “And deep is how asked to said when “You notes good did her said to mumbled. The when to It “yes, up It me... we “Could she parents him asked “Because next please?” “I him and him to face. give said,” keep kid, we answered Frank give He’s we not sorry, away,” I to condition?” I Sophia we the what?” her. angel you simple was?” “That gulped Frank what me... that on exploded.” caught a head. He She this glimpse and there.” but plan, asked he give grimace. was?” “That and “You mumbled. The simple said could planet was?” “That simple breath. He but my She it, She to plan today?” and are youngling, “That condition?” what?” silently. a can first sure how grin said and and possible, said a looked the sister’s there.” she asked voice, I voice, parents my Sophia leaned she kid, to breath. her please?” “I said,” glowered. “If how I taking wasn’t plan planet told She “Could leaned feel first and are had sure taking front face only She are nodded the possible, him your the boiling a I told that a smiled answered did not feel sorry, in head. “Well, there.” again, was condition?”

Snippet #2

Again, totally random and completely unedited. A snippet.

“Yes. This is my planet,” she said and glowed. “My parents bought it for me as a graduation present last year. It is mine to do with as I please.” She switched the platform to move parallel to the ground. As they moved slowly over the ocean of trees, she said “So, I was thinking and I know exactly what I would like to do here. This planet needs a couple of mountain ranges, maybe one over there,” she pointed to their left, “and some lakes. We can maybe create an ocean surrounding a large continent, like a large island. And give them the island. We can create another large continent surrounding the island, and live there, where we can do as we please. And I will build an office up there, just to keep it separate from our lives. And we can live here in peace. No-one will come and bother us, ever.”

“This sounds too good to be true,” he grinned, and ruffled her hair. It felt good to be outside in the sunshine, away from the firm grip Poppy had on him, and away from that clinical lab. And then, this planet came like a gift from, well, himself, really.

He could picture the oceans. He remembered the sights on earth, and wondered if he could recreate some of that, and, heaven forbid, even improve some of it. He smiled, stretched out his arms and took a deep breath. She glowed and put her arms around him. This was good. He kissed her again on her forehead. Again, too slow she turned up her face towards him. He saw the disappointment on her face, leant down and pecked her on the lips.

The platform came to a standstill on the border of night and day. She pulled away from him to look where they were.

“This is as good a place as any,” she said. “Let's go down, set up a work camp, and get cracking.”

An interesting thing happened on the way to 20k

I have been happily writing towards a 20k wordcount target for the second book, and have run into a couple of interesting things.
First of all, the characters are taking the story into a direction I didn’t quite expect. I am no longer surprised, because this kinda happened with the first book too.
But even more interesting is how they have fleshed themselves out so much more, and have started showing me where things are wrong in the first book. So, I guess this means LOTS more rewriting in the next couple of months. Again, I am glad I haven’t sent out those query letters yet – despite scheduling them in my head for October.
And this is why we keep being told that it is so incredibly important to make sure your novel is the best it can be before you start querying.

I haz stuff

I have not been writing (much) this week. I was supposed to have been studying instead, but I didn’t do that either. I am not sure what I have been doing instead, but I know I have been really busy.

And while I have been sooooooo busy, I have found some goodies I would like to share.

I did get in around 480 words last night, and another 500-odd this morning, thanks to Dr Wicked’s Write or Die. Great fun for just getting the words out. They weren’t the best words I could write, but I realise that, if I want to make it past the 20k mark by this week-end, I will need to completely switch off not only my inner editor, but also my inner perfectionist. After all, that is what the rewrites and edits are for, right?

Then, for all your grammar questions, visit the Grammar Done Right cartoons. They are really cute, and get the message across. Be sure to visit the accompanying website and buy the book :)

And while I am on the topic of books, Literary Agent Donald Maas wrote a book called The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies for Success way back in the 90s, and has made it available as a free download here. I have started reading through it, and it looks like a great resource for anyone considering novel writing as a full time career.

[ETA] Editor Terry Whalin also has a free download of his book, Straight Talk from the Editor: 18 Keys to a Rejection Proof Submission available for download here.

Ooh, and I see Write Anything has also posted a great post today filled with great links to sites specially for NaNo.

And now, I need to see what Dr Wicked will do to me if I don’t reach 500 words.

NaNoWriMo inspiration

NaNoWriMo inspiration

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NaNo update

"Procrastination is my sin. It brings me naught but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact, I will--tomorrow!"
~ Gloria Pitzer

As this little widget shows, I am not really on track at the moment with my word counts. In fact, I am about 5k behind where I should be. And the words are simply not flowing as they should.

Actually, when I can force myself to sit down and concentrate, they don’t avoid me for too long. But I have been allowing myself to get side tracked into Twitter conversations, the weather, the US elections of the past week and so many other things I cannot even list.

I am also no longer convinced that what I am writing is Book two, but rather part two of book one. Probably a good thing then that I haven’t started querying then :)

But, there are another 23 days to go. I am writing an exam on the 18th of November, and, thereafter, the month is mine. I am hoping I can pull a rabbit from a hat again in the last couple of days of the month.

Snippet

Unedited and completely random. But here it is. Something. A sampling. A snippet.

“She has absolutely no respect for me. For any of us. She treats you girls like absolute rubbish and never really teaches anyone anything,” Kris ranted while Faye danced around him.

“Oh, but she’s so incredibly wonderfully brilliant,” Faye chirped, still dancing. Kris grabbed her hand and brought her to a stand-still.

“Please. You are making me dizzy,” he said. She giggled, and flopped down on the grass next to him. He leaned back on his elbows, and said “Maybe we should go away? Go find our own planet. Get away from this madness.” He sat up, and smiled, “Yes, that is exactly what we’ll do. You joining me?” he asked, and winked at her.

She glowed more than usual, smiled and said “Sure!” And then the glow faded completely, and she said “but what about Poppy? I like working with her... for her... you know what I mean.” She frowned, and said “I still have so much to learn. No,” she shook her head, “I can’t leave now.”

Kris stood up quickly, and pulled her up by her hands, smiled his killer smile – the one that always worked on the girls - and said “I will teach you. Come. Please.” He raised his eyebrows and said “Come on, don’t make me beg.”

Her glow returned. She smiled, closed her eyes tightly and said “Ok.” And then let out a big sigh. And hoped she wouldn’t regret giving into his smile later.

The insanity has set in

I am sure the insanity that goes hand in hand with participating in NaNoWriMo has set in already. The biggest clue, for me, would be the fact that I dreamt this week-end that I had offered to proof-read something for Neil Gaiman, and then told him that I could only do it after November - so he had to push out his own deadline.

I didn't quite reach my target of 6000 words for the week-end. I am also 1000 words short of the 3000 word target for the week-end, but I am sure I will make up for it during the week.

If you are participating, feel free to add me as a buddy. My username is mysehnsucht.

A subtle reminder

Last year, 10 days into my NaNo novel, my computer crashed, and I lost a fair amount of work, because I forgot to make my backups for several days.

Whether you are participating in NaNoWriMo this year or not, remember to make a backup of your work regularly. I wrote some suggestions for backing up your documents here and here, and there are many other resources out there with great tips on backing up your work. Regardless of how you do it, be sure to do it regularly.

A successful writing session

A successful writing session, for me, goes something like this:

Sit down in front of the computer, and open Word.

Realise I need to just update Facebook and Twitter, to tell the world that I am, indeed, writing.

Return to Word.

Realise that I am sitting on my foot, cutting off the circulation. Oh look, that toe is almost purple. It is so pretty. Hmm, maybe I need to be more comfortable. Re-arrange myself until I am comfortable.

Return to Word, and read the last sentence I wrote.

Hmmm… I am hungry. Can’t write on an emtpy stomach. Go find something to eat. Cereal is just too easy, and, anyway, I don’t like it. I need some real food. Start preparing small, nutricious meal (like fish fingers or mini pizza). About half-way through cooking, another family member will join me in the kitchen to inform me that they, too, are hungry. Spend the next five minutes debating wether they are hungry enough for a large meal. Start over in the kitchen, preparing a meal to feed the entire family. Return to computer with plate in hand.

Decide that I may as well reboot while I am eating, as it is hard to type with a fork and knife in hand.

Open Word.

Double check current word count, and read through previous paragraph.

Wrestle out a sentence. Check word count again. Get depressed because it only added 12 words to word count.

Spend 5 minutes motivating myself to continue, and then decide to blog about it instead. Write a 300 word blog entry about it, and convince myself that if I can write a blog entry, I can write a paragraph for the story.

Find a small snack to nibble on while I wrestle out a 400 word paragraph. Update Twitter and Facebook to let the world know just how awesome I am.

Fellow South African and all round awesome writer Cat said that writing must be the most bipolar career on the planet. I am not sure, re-reading my methodology explained like this, I would agree with her *wink*