So This is December

I failed at National Novel Writing Month.

I’m okay with it.

I’m also okay with the word “failed.” I think many times people shy away from the word because it sounds harsh, and it’s much easier to make excuses than to own up to shortcomings. I had/have every excuse in the book: I’m tired, I’ve got too much work to do, the kids need me, I’ve got Thanksgiving to plan, Christmas to plan, the baby’s room needs painting and decorating, the garage needs a playroom makeover, I’ve got to Christmas shop now, I’m having contractions, it hurts my tail bone to sit, I’m helping at the school today, the kids are only this age once, I haven’t been a good friend to so and so and should really have her over for coffee, etc. and etc. again.

But it all boils down to conscious choice, and I consciously made the choice each and every time I decided to not sit down and write.

and I’m okay with it.

The fantastic news is that we’re now completely ready for this baby, and that feels wonderful. I’ve got about 4 weeks to go, and the room is painted and done, the garage is set up as a play space with the toy kitchen and a separate art area, and the Christmas lights are up. The shopping is practically done, including gift wrap and stocking stuff, and I never left the house to do it. I LOVE THE INTERNET.

I’ve also caught up on way too many hours of The Baby Story, and am weighing the cord blood thing. I didn’t do it with the other girls, and since this will probably be the last baby, maybe I should just go for it. But it’s expensive.

I’m excited about the upcoming New Year. I’m looking forward to exercising again, and getting my brain cells back (boy I hope they come back…). I’m also looking forward to wine and coffee (that’s okay to say out loud, right?) I’ve got a few writing projects lined up, and I’ve got to figure out what to do with this site, since I totally suck at keeping it updated.

I’ve got a guest post lined up in the next few days from a reader who is also nutritionist, so if you have any questions about nutrition, get them ready.

have an absolutely wonderful day.

NaNoWriMo—day 9

It’s the ninth of November. How did that happen already?

Well, I took all of your wonderful advice and cut myself some slack and took a break from writing this weekend, and immediately felt a huge sense of relief and my shoulders weren’t so slumpy. We had a very busy weekend, starting off with a book launch party for the slow cooking book on Friday. It went really well, and I’m so happy it’s over and I can check one more thing off my list. Saturday was all-day soccer stuff and a Costco run, and Sunday was a baby shower thrown by my amazingly wonderful friends. We also took the playroom apart and prepped it for painting and set up the crib.

No time for writing.

Today was much calmer, and although we’re out tonight, I was able to squeeze in a few thousand words to bring my word count to practically 6k. I’m still much lower than I wanted to be this far in the game (most people are reporting 15k counts on twitter), but I’m feeling okay.

I am writing a lot of dialogue—-it seems my brain seems to propel the storyline forward with dialogue, as if a play or movie is playing out in my head, so at some point I need to go back and add filler. But for now, I think the important thing is to propel the story forward as much as I can before it disappears out of my head.

and to be honest, the story isn’t so much of a “real” story as it is a bunch of scenes I’ve got to tie in together somehow.

But it’s fun, and it’s definitely something I haven’t done before, so I’m getting a kick out of the process.

How’s it all going with you? Are you having the same experience with “seeing” it happen in your head, then reporting it to the computer, or are you writing from a completely different viewpoint?

xoxo steph

day 1, day 2, day 3, day 5, NaNoWriMo: I’m in. I think. Maybe.

NaNoWriMo—day 5

I love hearing about all the writing you’re all doing! Congratulations!

I’m doing okay over here, although I haven’t logged very many words the past few days. This week has gotten a bit bonkers, and the weekend is going to be super busy. I feel much better about the whole thing, though, and have stopped freaking out over a self-imposed daily goal.

It’ll happen when it happens—it always does!

I did go back and do some editing, which I believe you’re technically not supposed to do much of during NaNoWriMo–but whatever, and am feeling confident about what I’ve written and where I’m going. I’ve got scenes outlined, and know the words will flow nicely when I’ve got the time to get them down.

I overdid it yesterday, and ended up taking an hour-and-a-half long nap this morning after school drop-off, complete with drool. Lovely. But I feel much better. I was worried there was something other than just being pregnant wrong with me, but I’m pretty sure it was just being on my feet too much.

I hope you’re all doing well and are feeling good about the progress (or lack thereof!) that you’re making.

NaNoWriMo–day 2

I did it. I logged 2186 words today, bringing my grand total up to 3801/50,000. I’m happy with what I wrote, although it did take much, much longer than yesterday.

Today I was easily distracted by the internet, the phone, and the children. Yesterday, Adam was home to watch the kids, and I was somehow able to tune everything else out.

I also kept watching the clock, nervous that I’d miss kindergarten pick-up. As it so happened, I did get on a roll, and all of a sudden had only 10 minutes before the class let out. Tomorrow I’m going to set an alarm.

I haven’t experienced writer’s block (so far) as much as I’ve experienced extreme procrastination. I think having these daily word count goals (which Cathie pointed out is 1666, not 1500 as I originally thought. I really need to brush up on my math skills!) is good for me—I’d just pilfer away my time otherwise.

How’d you do today? Any tips to share?

related:

NaNoWriMo–day 1

National Novel Writing Month. I’m in. I think. Maybe.

NaNoWriMo–day 1

November 1, 2009

Happy November! I logged 1615 words today—it didn’t take that long to write, and flowed faster than I thought it would.

What a pleasant surprise.

I’m happy to have gained an extra hour due to Day Light Savings Time. It’s not yet 11am, and the laundry is done, the beds stripped, the crib assembled, the kitchen mopped, and the writing done.

I only actually did the writing part, but I did oversee the other happenings from a very comfortable position at the end of the couch.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to milk this being really pregnant thing for all it’s worth.

Day 1 down, 29 to go. How’s everybody doing? Still in a sugar coma from last night?

related:
National Novel Writing Month. I’m in. I think. Maybe.

National Novel Writing Month. I’m in. I think. Maybe.

I like projects. I like deadlines, and  I like being busy.

I get it that this might not be normal.

November is National Novel Writing Month. I’ve always wanted to enter, but the timing wasn’t right. I also didn’t have any ideas.

But the slow cooker book is done, and while I need to keep up with some publicity obligations, and answer email, I’m technically finished with all the heavy work. And the baby is coming at the end of December, early January, which means next year probably isn’t going to happen.

I’ve been playing around with a tentative plot idea for the past six months. I’ve even bought note cards and started jotting down character traits.

I have no experience whatsoever in writing fiction, and have never attempted to write dialogue, which means that whatever I turn out will be a terribly rough roughdraft. But I think that’s okay.

So maybe I should do it?

The guidelines for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) are super simple—write everyday, and finish a rough draft of 50,ooo words by November 30.

50 thousand words isn’t that many. In fact, most of the books you read are probably double that. 50k works out to 1500 words a day, which is only about 4 pages in a word processing document.

My biggest concern is getting sick. Usually when I embark upon a project, I go gung-ho and put the project first. I will get up at 3 or 4am to complete a writing assignment, or to get the majority of my work done before the kids get up in the morning. I seem to be able to focus the best at this super early time—it’s just me and the coffee maker. I tend to jump feet first into my current project, and forget to eat, get dressed, or even take the time to go to the bathroom when I’m on a roll. As soon as I meet my deadline, I crash. I end up with a bad cold, and have to take a few weeks to recover.

This is of course not a possibility right now. I’m 7 months pregnant, and my health and the health of my family needs to come first and foremost. I’m totally freaked out by this flu season, which means I’ve been ingesting tons of good-for-you foods, and taking lots of Vitamin C and Airborne. I also seem to need 10 hours of sleep to feel well-rested.

So if I do it,  I’ll just find a way to squeeze in the 1500 words a day during the day, so I don’t tax my system too much.

this makes sense.

When I look back at all that I accomplished last year, I’m amazed I didn’t have a nervous breakdown. I worked 2 freelance jobs that each required 20 hours a week, did the slow cooking challenge, finished the Totally Together manuscript, and still found a way to do all the mommying, PTAing, girlscouting, and sports stuff.  I also trained for and completed a half-marathon. I must have had a LOT of caffeine. I do know I didn’t sleep much.

Then I start to wonder why I even want to do this novel thing in the first place. I’m not expecting anything to come from it, other than the satisfaction of knowing I’ve accomplished this goal. Sort of like when I ran the half-marathon. I had no goals other than to complete the darn thing, and so I did. It was definitely exhillerating, and I’m glad I did it, but the only thing to benefit was my ego. Which I’m not sure is really a benefit.

I certainly don’t want to give the impression that I’m unhappy, because that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love my life and the way things are going—-I just like to have a project underway. And yes, growing a new life is definitely a project—a big one, and not something I take lightly.

So there you go. I’m in a quandry.

I’ve been tinkering with this website, which gives a rough outline on how to write a novel in 100 Days or Less, and I like the way it’s set up.

I think I can do it.

I think.

How about you? Are you in?