Back to Life
Well, it's been seven days since the end of National Novel Writing Month 2008, and I might almost be back to normal. I need to beg your indulgence for a moment, however:
First of all, this is the third year I've participated in NaNoWriMo, but the first time I've won it! I feel ridiculously pleased with myself, especially ridiculous since one doesn't really win anything except this nifty winner tag. (Nifty really needs to be brought back into the hip-and-cool jargon.)
It was a long, hard road, but I have to credit Kryssa and especially Mouse-chan for continually either (1) cheering me on, or (2) taunting me until I struck back with higher word counts. :P
Hey, I'm not complaining; it was all in a good cause. But what I'm most grateful for was Mouse pushing me to achieve something that felt impossible one month ago: finishing the first draft of "Standing Mute." Okay, confession time: I didn't really play by the rules of NaNoWriMo by devoting this month to a brand new novel; that's just dumb in my genre (scifi), where publishers don't accept novels less than 100K, let alone 50K. Hell, the entire first half of Standing Mute is around 70K by itself! But by giving me a goal of getting to the end, Mouse provided the inspiration while NaNo provided the impetus of "Just write! Don't self-edit, don't think!!"
So I'm finally there. I've felt like such a writing slacker this week, especially in comparison to the mad 15,000 word dash to the finish I pulled off the last 4 days of NaNo. But this week wasn't an entire waste: I brushed up the ending of Mute, and now I'm painstakingly tying together the genetic explanations that provide the catalyst for the plot. Anyway, thanks for allowing me to crow a little before the Editing Blues hit me big time. ^__^
Next, since I've missed out on so much in November, both in replying to friends' journals (hangs head in shame) and in reporting the typical bizarre happenings in my life (oh, yes, I did a hell of a lot more than just hang out writing fic; life don't cut me a break, not even for NaNoWriMo), I thought I'd give you a peek at one of the stranger quirks in Roku's Modern Life.
My dog's veterinarian has a lovely red barn-like building, and they keep chickens in one of the yards. Just this month, they've taken to selling eggs at the clinic. Me being one of those people who want to encourage cage-free organic eggs as much as possible, I eagerly agreed to buy a dozen. This is what I got:
There were originally ten brown eggs in the carton, but six of those have been happily consumed. What was most striking (and the vet tech started laughing as she showed me) were the two eggs of distinctly greenish hue. So now all I need is some green ham to have the Ultimate Seuss Experience!
I think I might skip the ham, though, and just let you all know at a later date what green eggs actually taste like.
Have a great week!
First of all, this is the third year I've participated in NaNoWriMo, but the first time I've won it! I feel ridiculously pleased with myself, especially ridiculous since one doesn't really win anything except this nifty winner tag. (Nifty really needs to be brought back into the hip-and-cool jargon.)
It was a long, hard road, but I have to credit Kryssa and especially Mouse-chan for continually either (1) cheering me on, or (2) taunting me until I struck back with higher word counts. :P
Hey, I'm not complaining; it was all in a good cause. But what I'm most grateful for was Mouse pushing me to achieve something that felt impossible one month ago: finishing the first draft of "Standing Mute." Okay, confession time: I didn't really play by the rules of NaNoWriMo by devoting this month to a brand new novel; that's just dumb in my genre (scifi), where publishers don't accept novels less than 100K, let alone 50K. Hell, the entire first half of Standing Mute is around 70K by itself! But by giving me a goal of getting to the end, Mouse provided the inspiration while NaNo provided the impetus of "Just write! Don't self-edit, don't think!!"
So I'm finally there. I've felt like such a writing slacker this week, especially in comparison to the mad 15,000 word dash to the finish I pulled off the last 4 days of NaNo. But this week wasn't an entire waste: I brushed up the ending of Mute, and now I'm painstakingly tying together the genetic explanations that provide the catalyst for the plot. Anyway, thanks for allowing me to crow a little before the Editing Blues hit me big time. ^__^
Next, since I've missed out on so much in November, both in replying to friends' journals (hangs head in shame) and in reporting the typical bizarre happenings in my life (oh, yes, I did a hell of a lot more than just hang out writing fic; life don't cut me a break, not even for NaNoWriMo), I thought I'd give you a peek at one of the stranger quirks in Roku's Modern Life.
My dog's veterinarian has a lovely red barn-like building, and they keep chickens in one of the yards. Just this month, they've taken to selling eggs at the clinic. Me being one of those people who want to encourage cage-free organic eggs as much as possible, I eagerly agreed to buy a dozen. This is what I got:
There were originally ten brown eggs in the carton, but six of those have been happily consumed. What was most striking (and the vet tech started laughing as she showed me) were the two eggs of distinctly greenish hue. So now all I need is some green ham to have the Ultimate Seuss Experience!
I think I might skip the ham, though, and just let you all know at a later date what green eggs actually taste like.
Have a great week!