Nanowrimo 2010: Writing Progress, Day 9:

 

I told my writing buddies that I was shooting for 30K by the end of the day, and I've done it! :)

Today's word count: 3,088
Novel's word count: 30,106
Novel's page count: 52

Today's writing involved a camping trip and a haunting. It was quite invigorating thinking up how two very different young women would react in an encounter with the ghost. One of them cowered in fear while the other faced her fears head on. It was great! :D

There was also a wedding proposal.

I'll be going to Sweet Bay tonight for the weekly Nanowrimo Write-In, and I'm hoping to get 2K+ words, bringing my daily total up over 5K. That would be awesome! I'm shooting for 40K by the end of this week, and at this rate, I may surpass that, as well. LOL

Lois

Michigan?

Yesterday was a good day. Jeff got home around 11:30 or so. We took showers, then went out to get the Focus looked at. We had to set an appointment, so we did that, then went to Sweet Bay so I could do some downloading.

Niki's been kind of sick from the shots and deworming medicine. She's sleeping soundly right now. :)

Jeff and I looked at houses online last night...in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They had a lot of houses in the $50K to $60K range. The reason we were looking at houses in Michigan is because there's a chance he could get a job there. We don't know which company or what city it's located in yet, but we know they're looking for growers. We just happened to look at houses in Grand Rapids because it's in Michigan. ;) We should know more soon. The only reason Jeff has this vague lead is because his boss (the greenhouse owner) told him the salesman got a job there.

I don't know what we've got planned for today. I'm doing laundry and catching up online right now. I don't plan to do any writing today. I may make two days a week a combined 10K Dayz like I did this past weekend. Right now, that seems to be the best way I can get any writing done. I'll be glad when things settle down again...wherever we are.

Have a great day!

Lois

Quick Update

I wrote two feedbacks yesterday, but never got to my assignment for the FoW CP training. Milli suggested that I concentrate on two feedbacks a day, then I'll have Thursday and Friday free to work on the assignment, so that's what I'm going to do.

And, hopefully, I can go to Sweet Bay tonight. It'll depend on how Jeff and I feel.

We got a call from my mom yesterday. She said Lyle (my brother-in-law) wanted me to call and talk to Kathy (my sister) about when we'd like to have my mom come to visit. I told her I'd call back, but I haven't been able to get a hold of Kathy yet. I'm thinking anytime after April will be fine, and Jeff agrees. I'm going to send her an e-mail, as well as still trying to call her. One way or another, I'll get a hold of her.

Also, Eric and Chelsey are planning a birthday party for Josiah. They're going to have it here. I need to invite a few people, too.

Well, I need to hurry up and get to work on today's feedbacks.

Have a great one!

Lois

I'm Loving My New Companion!

Niki seems to be doing very well. Her eye looks better since she's been inside. She's lying at the other end of the couch right now, curled up, asleep. We had a good walk this morning. It's about a tenth of a mile from our house to the end of the road, and we walked it twice, so going both ways, we walked four tenths of a mile. Yeah, I'm getting good exercise. :)

I went to Sweet Bay last night. Eric and Chelsey did their shopping while I was there. I guess Jeff went and got some fast food for himself. He also picked up some Frontline at Lowe's across the street from Sweet Bay and some doggie shampoo at Walmart. We already have flea bombs, so we'll use those soon...sometime when we have nice weather. Friday should be the next good day for that.

I have some feedback to write today. Otherwise, I need to work on revising my screenplay outline. I need to have it ready by April 1. I also want to do some writing from another prompt. I had fun with the last one. I still need to edit it, though.

And there you have it...short, but sweet. ;)

Lois

A Beautiful Day to Rock & Roll

I've been watching Atif Aslam videos from YouTube for most of the morning so far. I can't get enough of his voice. :)

But I've fooled around long enough. It's time for me to get to work! I've got one feedback to write, then I can do whatever I want.

Speaking of...instead of revising my screenplay outline, I wrote a summary of it to see if the story makes sense. It seems to flow alright. I'm happy with it, so I may write some character journal entries today. I've missed writing from Abu's and Kadhi's points of view, so it will be a lot of fun. :)

I plan to go to Sweet Bay tonight, too. Jeff will take me in, then he'll pick up Eric around 8:00, and pick me up after that.

My sound card came yesterday, but it doesn't want to work with my PC. I'll have to see if I can make it work today.

Well, I'd better run. Feedback waits for no woman. ;)

Have an awesome day!

Lois

Chat! I Forgot the Chat!

Well, I was able to post three feedbacks last night. YAY! But I had two to work on today, and they were tough! I have at least one more new one to write tomorrow morning, too.

I worked on getting more elements for my screenplay, too. I've got the major elements of the prologue now. I'll be working on Act One today.

I wrote two new character journal entries to go along with the screenplay work. From here on out, they should coincide with the screenplay's storyline.

I went to Sweet Bay last night. I didn't do any writing there. I only caught up online, posted the feedbacks, then downloaded some videos. It wasn't a waste, since I really, really wanted the videos. ;) It was great seeing Maria again, too! :D

My next three DVDs will be shipping from Netflix today. One of them is an adventure film, Naksha (read a review of the movie here). It stars Sunny Deol and Vivek Oberoi.

It's sunny out again today! :D I wish I could go outside and work.

Speaking of work, I have a lot left to do today, so I'd better get to it. In fact, I just realized that the writers forum is having a chat. I got online late, but I may be able to catch the last 40 minutes or so if I hurry.

Have a great day! Catch y'all later...

Lois

I Need A Second Wind

I've just "fixed" four feedbacks for students' assignments. Now I'm wiped out! :P I'm going to finish up online, then get something to eat and start work on my own writing. I have a new assignment to write feedback for, but I'll do that in the morning.

I started the groundwork for the screenplay/ novel. I worked out five of the seven elements (hero [and his flaw], hero's ally, opponent, the hero's enabling circumstances [that allow him to hang onto his flaw] and the suggested course of action [suggested to the hero from the opponent]). Today, I'll work out the last two elements: the hero's life-changing event and jeopardy. Then I'll start working out the actual story. I can't wait!

I did a little research yesterday for a new scene, too. It may be a stand-alone scene, or I may make it part of the story. I'm not sure yet. Either way, I'm working on my new characters, and that's the important thing. :)

Jeff and I watched Mutant X last night, so I've sent that out. Yesterday, it was windy and the flag went down on the mailbox, so the mail carrier didn't take our mail. Today, there's just a light breeze and the flag's still up, so there's hope. :)

I don't know if I'll make it to Sweet Bay tonight. It will depend on how much I get done and if I have time.

The sun is shining today! It's still chilly at only around 30°, but the sun is shining! :D

Have a great Tuesday!

Lois

Guess I'm Not As Finished As I Thought

Yesterday was a good day. I wrote 3,339 words in my new story. I thought it was finished, but after reading it last night, I see it needs more. The ending is too abrupt. So, I'll be working on that for today's Wednesday Writing Sprints.

I had Josiah back here for about an hour yesterday. We watched music videos on my laptop. He fell asleep toward the end and his mom and dad took him back out to the other room. :)

Jeff and I had dinner at Burger King before he took me to sweet Bay. That was fun. Then I got a decaf spiced chai latte at Sweet Bay.

Not much else is going on here. Just a lot of writing. And I have to call about jury duty tonight. I have a list of things I need to do, so it won't be a boring day...just not much to "write home about." ;)

Have a good one.

Lois

Busy and Loving It

Yesterday, I wrote 2,828 words in my new story. It's not as much as I wanted to write, but I'm happy with it. I never wrote any character journal entries last night either, but I'm okay with that, too. It was nice to spend time with Hubby. :)

I have a lot to do today. I have all the usual online stuff, as well as working on my story and a character journal or two. I also need to edit some photos at some point, look over my friend's character workshop and give feedback for it, as well as feedback for jakflak's book. It's nice being busy, as long as people understand that it might take a while.

I downloaded two MP3 soundtracks yesterday (Kaminey and Vivah) and one today (Mission: Istanbul). I'm really loving them! They're making me want to learn Hindi. Anyone know a good foreign language course? ;) I want to save up for that really expensive one...I forget the name, but it uses the immersion method. I think it's $300...or more.

I'm hoping to go to Sweet Bay tonight. If no one else shows up, I still have things I can do...stuff I can download.

It's very cloudy this morning and it's supposed to rain. Our high is only supposed to be 48°. I may use this weather to my advantage. It's great for writing atmosphere into a story, something I need to really work on.

I hope you all have a great day! :D

Lois

I Coulda Made It A 10K Day

My personal 5K Day yesterday was a success. I ended up writing 7,431 words in my new story, finishing the first draft! :D I'm going to set it aside for a week or two, then I'll go back and read it, make notes, and begin the first edit. It's 26K words altogether. I think that qualifies as a novelette...?

Today, I'll be working on some character journal entries and I may start a new story...maybe just write a few scenes I have in mind.

I was hoping to go to Sweet Bay last night, but my writing kept me too long and there was no way to get there on time...not even nearly on time. Maybe next week. Maybe I can come up with some more loglines in the meantime. :)

Jeff and I watched the series premier of Caprica. It was okay, but nothing I'd want to write home about. I know some people are really into the new Battlestar Galactica shows. I'm not one of them. I like the older, more fun series.

I am, however, looking forward to the new A-Team movie coming out in June. ;)

I still have to vacuum the studio today. I'll do that when Chelsey takes Eric to work, or if they go out earlier in the day.

Otherwise, my day is free to spend it on writing. :)

In other news, we have a winter storm watch in effect until Friday at noon:

A Winter Storm Watch Is In Effect...

For The Following Counties...
• In Oklahoma...Pushmataha...Choctaw...Pittsburg...Sequoyah...Le
Flore...Latimer And Haskell. In Arkansas...Crawford...Sebastian
And Franklin.

Hazardous Weather...
• A Mixture Of Freezing Rain And Sleet Is Likely By Thursday
Evening...Before Transitioning To Sleet And Snow By Friday
Morning. Heavy Icing May Develop Across Portions Of Southeast
Oklahoma Into West Central Arkansas. Should The Ice Potential
Become More Certain...Then The Watch May Be Upgraded To A
Winter Storm Warning.

• 1 To 4 Inches Of Snow And Sleet Accumulation Are Possible Near
The Interstate 40 Corridor With Lesser Amounts Further South.
Ice Accumulations Around One Quarter Inch With Isolated Amounts
Near One Half Inch Are Also Possible Thursday Evening Through Friday
Morning.

Impacts...
• Roads...Bridges...And Overpasses May Become Slick And Hazardous
In The Watch Area...Making Travel Treacherous. Power Outages
Are Possible...Especially Near The Interstate 40 Corridor.

Precautionary/Preparedness Actions...
• Consider Changing Travel Plans. Make Sure You Have An Adequate
Supply Of Food...Water And The Necessary Medication To Last
Through The Duration Of The Winter Storm.

As usual, I'll believe it when I see it and not a minute before. ;)

And on that note, I'd better wrap this up. I never checked my friends pages yesterday, so I've got to do that today.

Have a good one!

Lois

Get Your Back Off the Wall

I didn't write as much as I wanted to yesterday. I only wrote three character journal entries, for a subtotal of 1,138. I didn't think I'd get any more writing in, but I ended up adding another 991 words to my new story. That one scene brought my total to 2,129. Not great, but not bad, either.

And I've found a "model" for the woman in the story, adding to my feeling of success. :)

I added some work out DVDs to my Netflix queue. I'm trying to find something fun that I can stick with. I'm thinking of some kind of dance style workout, but not anything I won't be able to keep up with. Has anyone here ever done belly dancing? I've heard it's tough, but that it's an awesome workout. Of course, if I were to do that, I'd do it in regular work out clothes. I'm not getting one of those skimpy I Dream Of Jeannie outfits. ;)

I still want to get into running, though. At this point, that's what I most want to do.

Anyway, I'll be going to Sweet Bay tonight to meet up with the Yetis. :) We may be discussing loglines, which will be very helpful when I write my screenplays...and novels.

And now I'd better wrap it up on here.

Have a great day!

Lois

Wednesday Writing Sprints!

I only wrote two character journal entries yesterday, but they were pretty good, I think. My word count was 1,856.

I went to Sweet Bay last night, but all I managed to do was sign up for another MySpace account. This one will be different from my other two, which I don't even go to anymore. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up, but I'm going to try. ;)

I need to upload my stuff to Box.net. I haven't done that in a while.

Today is Wednesday Writing Sprints, and I'll be working on brainstorming, then character journal entries for my new characters. I need to get really serious about the story and come up with the major conflict, as well as the secondary conflicts. I'm hoping to get a good start on that today.

I have to call about jury duty tonight. I hope I don't have to go in tomorrow. I'd like to participate in 10K Day.

Have an awesome day! :D

Lois

A Rambly Sort Of Post

I have to babysit at some point today while Eric and Chelsey go to the dentist. Otherwise, I plan to spend the day writing and doing laundry. I'm getting more and more excited about the new characters and their story. I wish I had more hours in the day!

I also plan to go to Sweet Bay tonight. I haven't been there since sometime in November, so it'll be good to see the Yetis again. :)

We watched A History Of Violence last night. It was good. It wasn't my mom's kind of movie though, of course, but she watched it with us anyway.

And Eric called me out to the living room when Bret "The Hitman" Hart came out to the ring on the WWE last night. I used to watch wrestling when it was the WWF, but that was a loooong time ago. It was interesting to see how much he's changed...as well as Shawn Michaels. They're both a lot older.

I just downloaded a House of Heroes CD from Amazon.com digital downloads. It's awesome!

It looks like I might have one new student soon...for the Fear of Writing Online Writing Course. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I sure could use the money.

Well, I'm rambling here, so I'd better stop writing and move on to other things. ;)

Have a great day! :D

Lois

Merry Christmas Eve!

Yesterday was a great day...in spite of the rain. I chatted with P. and M. for a while, which is always great fun. :)

I also wrote another character journal entry. It wasn't as long as I thought it would be, but it paved the way for the next one, in which three extra characters will die (the brothers in my story take their names, in honor of their bravery). If this doesn't make sense, it's not supposed to...unless you know the main points of the story. ;)

Jeff will be getting off work around noon. He's got someone picking up some Kahlua for me so I can make the Chocolate Chip Kahlua Cake. I only need four ounces, but I don't know if he can get a bottle that small. If not, I'll save the rest and make more cakes in the future. :)

Here's the recipe:

CHOCOLATE CHIP KAHLUA CAKE

* 1 box moist chocolate cake mix
* 1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
* 1/2 cup Kahlua
* 1 16-ounce container sour cream
* 1 16-ounce package chocolate chips or chunks

1. Grease a bundt pan.
2. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl for two minutes
3. Mix in chocolate chips or chunks.
4. Bake in preheated oven, at 350°F, for one hour.
5. Let cool 30-45 minutes and carefully remove cake to plate.

I may go with Jeff when he does his shopping today...except that he'll drop me off at Sweet Bay. We may stop at Walgreen's, too. I've got a couple things I'd like to pick up for my mom, if I can find them.

I'd like to make the Divinity tonight. Hopefully, I'll have the time and energy.

Have a very merry Christmas Eve! :D

Lois

Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve!

I got some writing done, but not much. I hit a snag and had to do some research. After doing the research, I realized I needed a plotting/ researching chat, and managed to get on with P. That helped a lot, and now I can continue the character journal entry today. :)

Jeff made dinner last night: Chicken Parmesan with pasta. It was yummy, as all of his cooking is. :)

And today, I'm fixing dinner. I spent a couple of hours getting everything ready for a beef stew and it's all in the slow cooker. All I have to do is check on it periodically and add the peas later this afternoon.

I'm hoping to go to Sweet Bay tonight. I don't know if anyone from the Yetis will be there, but I've got a good reason to go if no one else is there: Grapevine Video free movie downloads! :) One of them is a Felix the Cat cartoon. I love Felix! :D

I also may try to download some free digital scrapbooking stuff from RAK Scraps. I don't have anything "Christmassy."

Anyway, for today, I'll be working on one or two character journal entries, doing some editing in my Nano Novel, and chatting with P (and hopefully M.) about the Romanian part of my latest story.

And, if I'm lucky, Sweet Bay. :) That would give Jeff some time to finish his Christmas shopping.

Have a great day, everyone! :D

Lois

Way to Go, Forever!

I've got two feedbacks awaiting approval or changes and two new assignments have come in. It's going to be a busy morning. It's a good thing I only have a couple thousand words to reach my goal of 40K for today! ;)

I don't think I'll be going to Sweet Bay today. I have no idea if anyone's meeting there and Eric and Chelsey are still in bed anyway. I haven't taken a shower yet, either. If I find out they're there, maybe I can go in a bit late. That would be cool. :)

Forever just won their 7th award at the 2009 Music Nova Scotia Awards! Woohoo! I love their music (as if you hadn't already figured that out). *g* I got this in an e-mail:

Forever won their 7th award at the 2009 Music Nova Scotia Awards. This is the 1st award win for their latest release 'Reborn' and the band is pretty stoked! They won 2 awards for their first CD 'Welcome to Forever', and won 4 awards for their second CD 'Something to Dream of', so they hope the trend continues.

You can listen to the latest Forever tunes by hitting the play songs link, which also includes a downloadable interview with Forever on 89.7 the Coast Radio by Jennifer Ludlow.

Enjoy and Keep on Rockin'!

Well, I'd better finish up on here so I can get that feedback started.

I wasn't able to get caught up on here yesterday. I'm going to try to do that later.

Have a great day!

Lois

15,926 & Counting!

Yesterday was great! I wrote 5,720 more words, bringing my Nano Novel's word count to 15,926! :D I went to Sweet Bay to meet up with some of the other writers in our group, and started out writing the rough draft for a feedback, but then I couldn't concentrate any more on feedback, so spent the rest of the time doing sprints with the others, adding a bit to my novel's word count. When I got home, I wrote rough drafts for two more feedbacks, then did a couple more sprints online to raise my daily word count to 5,720, surpassing my goal of 5K for the day. If I can keep this up, I should have no problem reaching 75K by November 30! :D

This morning, I'll be working on another rough draft for a new feedback that came in last night, then I'll revise the others. After that, I plan to work on my novel.

I'll be going to Sweet Bay tonight, too. The write-ins are awesome! :)

I'm also babysitting this morning. I'll be starting that in about five-ish minutes. He's a good baby and it should be fine.

Have a great day!

Lois

I'm Really Getting Excited About Nanowrimo 2009!

Well, today I have three feedbacks to write. I did well on the ones I did yesterday, so I'm hoping to have the same results today, if not a teeny bit better.

Then, if I can find the time, I want to work on my Nano Novel's outline. I have about four days to get it done. I don't want to wait until Halloween night to write it!

The Nanowrimo Kick-Off Party at Sweet Bay went well. It was fun! I took my laptop, even though I got there too late to use it early. I used it later on when most of the Yetis were playing a game. I showed some Red Dwarf videos to a friend. ;) I wasn't able to do any writing, though. It was way too noisy.

Tonight, Jeff and I will watch Ghost Hunters. I don't know if we'll watch Destination: Truth. As much as I love that show, we may just be too tired. Last night, I was still wired from the party, so couldn't fall asleep right away, then I woke up some time before the alarm went off and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Same ol' patterns are resurfacing. I might have to start taking antihistamines again. :/

Everything's great, otherwise. I only have to babysit for about an hour or two today, and that's around dinner time. If I can get the feedbacks finished (I don't want to rush it) and begin the outline, I'll be very happy! :)

The sky is beginning to clear! :D It started out foggy and cloudy this morning, very dark and gloomy. But now the clouds are moving out and I'm seeing lots of blue sky!

Well, I'd better go. I need to finish up on here so I can give the device to Eric.

Have a great day!

Lois

Less than Five Days!

Yesterday was good, but I didn't do all the feedback that needs to be done. I had to work on Course Presenter training and I still have some of that, plus feedback, to do today. I'm hoping to have it done by the time I have to leave for Sweet Bay tonight, but I'm not going to rush it.

I want so badly to work on my short story and my Zane Greywolf outline. There's less than a week until Nanowrimo begins and I've barely done anything with the outline. :( I still need to get my mom's room ready before November 1 too, so I don't have a lot of stuff to do during Nanowrimo.

The weather's still gloomy here today, but I think tomorrow's supposed to be sunny. I'll believe it when I see it.

Jeff and I watched two more episodes of Mutant X last night. I love that show! :D

My new CD, My Precious Little One, by Rick Springfield, came in the mail yesterday. I love it! The Christmas one came a couple of days ago and I love that one, too! :)

I bought several songs on Amazon.com yesterday, too...by Disciple, 12 Stones, Big Dismal, KJ-52, Run Kid Run, Stellar Kart, Tenth Avenue North and Extreme. I've got lots of new writing music! Not all of it's new, but some of it is new to me or older music that I used to have a long time ago. :)

Well, I'd better go. I have to switch the laundry over, wash my breakfast dishes then get to work on that CP training and feedback.

Have a great day, everyone!

Lois

Wednesday Writing Sprints

Today, I'll be working on my Zane Greywolf outline. If I have time after that, I'll work on my short story. I'm hoping to finish both of these before November 1, so I need to get busy!

Today is Wednesday Writing Sprints. As always, anyone working on their own writing today is welcome to join us. We set goals for ourselves, then update periodically throughout the day. It's fun and we get work done on our own projects. :)

I had a lot of fun at Sweet Bay last night. It's always good to get together with other writers. I didn't get any writing done, but I got to talk to some writing friends. That's always a bonus. Next week is the Nanowrimo Kick-Off party. I am so looking forward to that!

So far this morning, I've checked my email and sent out two e-mails to my Nano mentees. I'm about to catch up on the Int'l Scribe's Support Group, then I'll start work on the outline.

Have an awesome Wednesday!

Lois