This is the first time I've ever thought of writing fiction as work

I started NaNo so well, I really did.  I somehow, miraculously, I was doing 2K a day. But once I hit about 30K things went downhill.  Probably because that was when I hit the end of my plot.  For revenge stories, you'd figure getting it would be the climax, not the halfway point :/ Before I knew it, writing had somehow turned into a chore. There were a couple of days I was even luck to get 500 words done.

And now, my novel just feels like a mess and it's as if I'm trudging through thigh high snow. And there totally was a sex scene that wasn't supposed to happen. And somehow I feel as if my characters switched bodies. The one who has had minimal human contact for 10 years should be the stoic one with emotional difficulties.

Gah.

What I really want to do, is work on different writing projects.  I've never spent so much time focused on a piece - ever and it's just this one I'm tired of and not writing in general (which is the best thing ever, cuz if I got sick of writing I'd be a couch potato...well, without the laptop). But I know this month not being a walk in the park is what will make NaNo's achievement sweeter once I actually hit 50K. There's not much left now, and I'm determined to muscle through it. Even if it means turning into a computer zombie.  I swear, most of my month has been me staring at the blinking line in Word. Or the brick wall of the local coffe shop.

I did manage to take a little NaNo writing break.  I played journalist and interviewed a professor about his involvement in the up coming Mars mission.  It was fun, and the two days afterword my word count wasn't that pitiful.

Hopefully the bit of fun to be had later this week over Thanksgiving will help me push through to the end.

I hope my fellow WriMos are all doing well!  This is the month we all die and come back to life...why aren't we doing this in conjecture with Easter?

Thumbs Up for the Week

Goodness. 

I've done NaNo twice before (you can follow my progress and read the first 500 words for this year on my NaNo Profile), but each time it's been different. 

At school, it was me putting off essays and friends to write, with weekly write ins of four of us. 

In New Zealand, it was a mass group of us, say 11, every time we met twice a week and it was social!  Most of the people I still keep in contact with in NZ are writers - NaNo for sure helped me settle into the country.  Having write-ins at bars probably helped...

And this year is even better!  I've met so many people, and there are write ins for my region every day.  Not that I go to them all, my region is large enough that some are over an hour away, but we have our own chat room so I can virtually be at them and do word wars.

Word wars are new to me this year.  Jennie B (cuz I met so many other Jenny's last month XD), also pointed me in the direction of #warmongering on Twitter, but I haven't jumped on that yet.  But it's essentially the same.  For a determined amount of time, everyone just writes and then word count for the 15, 20, or 30 min is compared.  There's only bragging rights awarded online, but for in person write ins, we get cookies as prizes ^_^.   They're a huge help in getting my word count for the day. 

I'm actually doing surprisingly well, I hit 15K earlier today, all on one story!  The past two years, I've just done a bunch of different stories that added up to 50K, but this year I'm bound and determine to actually have a novel under my belt.  Things were rough about 10K, very rarely do my stories get past that because at that point my interest in the story starts waning.  It's no longer new, and with the simple idea I built my short stories around they usual end about there.  But everyone I talk to, either in person or online is very encouraging.  Having an outline, a personal goal, and an online stat checker that I look at so often that when I type 'n' in the address bar it's the third drop down option help greatly.

But I'm still rather concerned if my outline will last me 50K. I'm already about 2/3rds through it :/

So, NaNo has been wonderful to me this week, and other things have been good to.  Still no 'career job', but I did get medical clearance for the Peace Corps. Nothing official on an assignment though.

And Fritz, who's in my writing group (which I really need to get back to, after November of course, no time to travel that far with words to write!), announced that he's going to release his self published book next month.  I'm actually really excited for it.  It's called Dispensing Justice and is a YA alternate history 80s superhero book (he's releasing sample chapters if you guys want to go read a few.  Not my fellow WriMos, though - go write!).  I've gone through it a couple of times, while he read it for the group and as a beta, and devoured it every single time.  I mean, I knew what was coming obviously, but still enjoyed reading it cover to cover (um, beginning to end, it didn't have a cover at that point XD).  I'm totally buying a copy, maybe more to give away as Christmas gifts, because I know of others who'd like it too.

All this self-publishing....

But I'm bound and determined to give the traditional route a chance to pick up my work!  I got another rejection via e-mail yesterday, but it also said they really liked my work and hope I have something to submit for their next issue. Which is kinda good? I mean, I submitted to them a literary story, and all my other edited, okay-to-send-out options are SF/F.  Not quite sure that's what they'll want.

In other news, I heard about a vaccine for cavities. It's not around now, for several reason which is sad cuz I could totally use it, but my novel is SF...but I really don't know how to fit that into my story.  Kids on revenge streaks don't think about a trip to the dentist.

Guess what?

It's NANOWRIMO!  Which means crazy periods of me being unsocial.  Don't expect too many posts or comments from me guys, sorry. It most likely also means little sleep.  Or the reintroduction of naps in my life, depending on my word count.

My goal this year is to actually write a novel.  While I've participated the past two years it's always been a collection of short stories that add up to 50K.  This year, I want it to be all part of a continuous plot.  Hopefully.  I don't know if my plot is complex enough to carry me that far.

Funny thing about that, I lost my plot -_-'  I spent days (off and on, I didn't actually spend over 24 hours) working on my outline, and I had a bunch of character and world notes too on the collection of paper in my purse that I carried to a bunch of places.  So of course it goes missing this morning.  I don't usually write with an outline, but short stories are, well, short enough where I don't need something elaborate and three points in my head are easy to keep and expand into 8K.  I kinda need that written plot, especially since I planned when to drop clues about my mystery/crime portion of it.  I'm hoping it pops up soon.

But even without that, it was a good writing day.  I hit the average word count per day, and my write-in had a bunch of people in it.  I like writing amongst large crowds in coffee shops.  I'm sure I've mentioned before the feeling you get writing in the company of other writers.  There's nothing quite like it.  Plus, you can have word sprints ^_~

I swear, this is the longest post ever.

I got the mail today (which isn't actually spectacular, I usually get it) and noticed an envelope addressed to me in my own hand writing, no return address.  Which is a good sign it was from a magazine I submitted a story to.  And even better, it was thick.

When I was applying to colleges, a thick letter was good.  It meant you got accepted and there was all this paperwork about housing and learning communities, and how to register online.  I figured, thick envelope, that's a first.  Contract?

So of course I had to rip it open standing in the driveway next to my lopsided car. 

But apparently magazines don't work like universities. A thick envelope just means they were kind enough to send you back the first five pages of my stories.  As to where the rest of it is, I have no idea. I'm assuming they tossed it, and so I'm quite confused as to why the rest of my story didn't get tossed too.  But my biggest disappointment is that this market is well known for their rejection letters, so I expected something clever/funny.  It was just an ordinary 'no thank you' note, but it was handwritten.  That was nice.

Today however, is not a bust, because it is Halloween!

Me, as the TARDIS from Doctor Who, at my NaNo region's Kick-Off Party on Friday.

In other news, I have been award the Versatile Blogger award from both Linda and Annalisa.  I'm so very happy to receive this! You guys make me feel so special and I love you both for it so much. *huggles*

So, I have to share 7 things about me.

1. I sit so close to the wheel when driving, if I flip down the visor my hand brushes my forehead.
2. I'm a Transfomers fan. I can't say I grew up with the original cartoons as they aired before I was born, but I did grow up watching the reruns of them.
3. I have this thing...with chocolate...I can't say no.  If it's in the room, it'll be gone momentarily. 
4. I have made a book by hand. I'm talking sewing the binding as well as writing and drawing with calligraphy pens. I'd post a picture, but it's on my missing harddrive. 
5. I love music.  And hate silence.  I always have to have some on in the background.
6. My stupid human talent is that I can suction cup to floors.  It's a side effect of really flat feet.  And no, I can't walk on walls. Though I've tried.  
7. And, while I'm slightly embarrassed to admit it, I got into writing seriously through fanfiction.

Righto, next step is to introduce you all to new bloggers!  15 actually.  And it's at this point I realize that my writing circle is, well, really small.  I might not actually have 15 bloggers to introduce you to, especially after removing bloggers that Linda, Annalisa, and I all share in our circles that have recently been award it.   I really need to expand.

•  Jeannie from A Book, A Girl, A Journey - someone I discovered thanks to the Killer Character Blogfest.  She's got great interviews and a wonderful sense of character. 
• Emily at Get Busy Writing - she always writes fantastic blog posts, and her Killer Character Blogfest was so much fun!
• Angie from Live to Write...Edit when Necessary - a very honest blogger, who's not afraid of challenges. She has an amazing Halloween costumes ^_~
• Patricia at Journey Through the Pages - She's chronicling her adventures in self-publishing, and has recently also opened for business creating book trailers. 
• Guilie at Quiet Laughter - I discovered her through the Killer Character Blogfest, and I love how she's not afraid to show off her writing.  She's got a great thing going on with her six sentence Sundays.
• Keri at Quill Cafe - I've known her for about a year now, thanks to NaNo.  She's always got great book reviews and talks of things writerly on her site. 

Alright you guys, your turn to tell us about yourselves and pass the award on to 15 others.

So I missed the 15 blog mark myself.  Here's a few random selections then you might like.

• Jenny at The Bloggess - if I had a blogging role model, it would be her hands down. Funny, living life in a crazy way, and struggling with her issues, I totally want to be like her.
• Sarah's The Phoenix Requiem - Sarah has a couple of completed web comics, with this being the most recent completed one. The art and story line are simply amazing. 
• Tina at Fantastic Book Review - She's on hitaus because offline life caught up with her, but she has wonderful, frequent reviews of YA fantasy.

There you go.  Now, heads up you most likely won't be seeing too much of me, both on your own sites making comments and here posting.  That's because the monster known as NaNoWriMo will have taken over my life, just to let you guys know.  To my fellow WriMos, I wish you luck!