Day 30 of Nano

I finished tonight. I actually reached 50,000 last night, but the novel wasn't done. Luckily I had today to really finish it.

54942 / 50000 words. 110% done!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my time now that I'm not writing every day.

Day 5 of Nano 2008

The 2008 Nano Marathon Writing Weekend is over and done. I picked Ang up at the airport on Saturday afternoon and after feeding us in St. Louis, we headed back to Columbia with a stop at the pet store to get food for Griffin. We talked for a while when we got to my house, but then the 4 day marathon writing started. Ang flew back to Michigan late yesterday afternoon. When she left she had reached 20k and I was over 15k. Not bad. What's even more amazing is that we did all of this writing at my house! We didn't go to a coffee shop once, except a quick walk-through of one downtown in the quest for a molasses cookie.

So after five days of writing (though I'm not sure I can really count today since I didn't even write 1000 words) I am 33% done. I don't think I've ever been this far ahead this early in the game. I like my plot this year, which makes it easy to write, and of course it helps when you have someone writing alongside you and pushing you.

I just hope that I can keep it up now that I'm on my own. But not tonight. I am tired.

Nano starts in FIVE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a plot. I don't have characters.

And that's ok.

Google is a wonderful thing!

After years of not remembering names of books that I've read, or the authors who wrote them, I finally started to keep track a few years ago. This list has come in handy on more than one occasion; I just wish that I'd started it earlier ... like, for instance, when I was in elementary school.

Every so often I remember a book I read about some kids and the Oregon Trail, but for the life of me I can't remember the name - or even a partial name - and if I can't remember the title, there's no chance I'd remember the author. I probably read this book when I was in 3rd or 4th grade and seeing as how I have little to no recollection of those years (other than Mrs. Schue putting me in the Remedial Reading class in 3rd grade - not because I couldn't read, but because I didn't retain anything that I read. I was mortified, however, that I was in Remedial Reading, and while her efforts to get me to slow down helped a little, I still - to this day - can't remember enough specific details to tell someone why I enjoyed the book and why they should read it themselves ... but I digress), much less the books I read way back then, I've always thought that this book I loved so much would remain a mystery.

Tonight when this book popped into my head again (probably because the book I'm currently reading takes place in Oregon) I decided that I would try a Google search for "children's book about the Oregon Trail" ... and lo and behold, I think I actually found it! Of course it's out of print so finding it may be somewhat difficult, but I can probably find a used copy on abebooks.com or alibris.com if my library doesn't have it. If the book I found is actually the book, then I'm gonna be a very happy camper.

So, yeah, Google is a wonderful thing.

Also? I just discovered that I have the NHL Network so I've spent the evening watching hockey. :)

This is what I get for skipping ahead

I sometimes like to browse ahead in books I'm reading ... just to see if what I think is going to happen is going to happen. Or, when I'm reading a chick lit book and I want to make sure that the girl ends up with the right guy. This doesn't stop me from going back and reading what I skipped. However, it's really hard to continue to read a book once you've learned that the author has killed off someone you like very much.

I just had that happen to me with "For a Few Demons More" by Kim Harrison. I'm not even sure why I skipped ahead to the end, but I did, and found out that Kisten dies. Noooooooooo!!!! It was really hard to keep reading to find out how and why Kisten died, and I still don't understand. I mean, why did she have to kill Kisten? Piscary, yes, by all means kill the hell out of him, but Kisten??? Ivy's Kisten?! Rachel's Kisten?! I'll admit I didn't like him much in the beginning - or rather, he wasn't a major enough character for me to have a feeling about him one way or another - but once he broke through Rachel's defenses, he won me over as well.

I imagine I'd be less happy if it were Jenks who died. But maybe not. I love Jenks, but Kisten had that whole bad-boy persona working for him and I'm a sucker for the bad boys.

I got the next book from the library today so I won't have to wait too long to find out what Ms. Harrison has in store for Rachel next. Piscary's dead, and Al is still locked up in the ever after, but there's always fun to be had with Newt and Minias. I just hope that she doesn't use Kisten dying to get Ivy and Rachel together; I have nothing against same-sex relationships, I just don't think that Ivy and Rachel should be together together. And? I want to find out what the anatomical difference between a witch and a human is so Rachel's gonna have to find a witch boyfriend. :)

possible Nano 2009 title

Someone kept saying this phrase in a meeting yesterday at work and I thought it would make an awesome title for a book ... or the name of a band. But since I'm not forming a band anytime in the near - or far - future, and I am planning on writing my Nano novel again, I'm sticking with the book title.

So here it is ... ahem, drum roll please ...........

"The Midnight Barrier"

Of course I have no clue what the novel would be about, but if you have no plot anyway it's no more daft to write a novel based on a title, then it is to write one based on just one character, right?

On a side note, I really need to update my books read list. I'm waaaaaaay behind. Reading has gotten in the way of my life.

Books: my drug of choice

I have become addicted to the Southern Vampire Mystery series by Charlaine Harris. I can. not. put the books down. They aren't the most well-written books I've ever read (and they seem to get sloppier as the series goes on), but they are very entertaining and I am (obviously) obsessed with Sookie and her world - just look at my book list. I have read the whole series (7 books to date) in 18 days. It's times like this that you can tell I have a slight OCD problem.

The 8th book came out today and I just reserved it at the library.

It is taking all of my willpower not to just run out and buy the book ... though since it's after 10 pm there's nowhere I can go to get the book right now. However, I could go to Barnes & Noble tomorrow at lunch and get it - and if I use the gift certificate from my brother then I wouldn't really be buying it (even though I caved and bought two books for the trip to Vegas, I haven't bought another book this year - and it's May!), right? Right. But I'm going to be good and wait to get it from the library. Mostly because if I end up buying the books (and I can see that I might because they're entertaining enough that I'll probably want to read them again) I would want them all in paperback.

I just have to keep telling myself to be patient. The library will get the book eventually, and it's not as though I don't have other books to read in the meantime. Patience has never been one of my strong suits, however.

I spent my lunch hour yesterday reading through Libba Bray's Livejournal ... well, actually I just read through her 2004 archive. If you don't know who Libba Bray is, she's the author of Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. I enjoyed Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels was good, but - and I feel kind of ashamed to admit this considering how much enjoyment I'm getting from her LJ - neither of the books made me go "OMG! I can't put this down." Of course, that could be due to any one of a number of things including the frame of mind I was in when I read them ... but her blog is a different story. It's hysterical!! I stumbled across it purely by accident and I'm so glad that I did. Ang got to see her when she visited Borders in Novi, Michigan and told me the story that is regaled here so when I saw her blog and saw that she had written the "Can you take me to O'Hare" story down, I had to check it out. Do yourself a favor and go read it. You'll be glad you did, I promise.

continue reading...

I especially enjoyed reading the few posts she made while she was writing - or trying to write - "Rebel Angels". This, in particular, made me love her more:

Then there's my book #2. Ahem. Yes. Well. How can I put this? Oh, I know, how about, It sucks so bad that I can actually feel the oxygen leaving the room? Yep. That about sums it up. I can't seem to catch the thread on this one. It feels all icky and stupid. And working out the magic system? Jesus, I can barely write up a grocery list that's coherent. I keep tripping myself up. "If they do this, then Y happens. But if Y happens, why didn't it happen before?" That kind of crap. So then I make an exception to the rules. And that leads to anarchy. A plotless blob of atmosphere with a sprinkling of decent metaphor. So I'm back to figuring out the structure again. It is a vicious cycle. I am cranky and I'm mainlining chocolate. Oh, and it's due at the end of May. What, me worry?

Barry keeps trying to tell me that I get this paranoid, morose, and unbearable during everything I write. But I just think he's being nice.

I mean, I feel like that with most of what I write, but to see that a real - and by real, I mean published - author goes through the exact same thing gives me hope. Not that I think that I am by any stretch of the means a good enough writer to get published, but just on the off chance that hell freezes over, pigs fly, or any one of a number of other impossibilities occurs, it's good to know I'm not alone. (Did that sentence make any sort of sense whatsoever? See, told you I'm not good at this writing stuff.)

I just saw on amazon.com that the third book was released in hardcover in December 2007. I think I'm going to have to give the books another try.

Also, switching subjects here, I've decided to migrate my writing_is_fun LJ over here. I'm not going to go through the hassle of re-posting the 13 chapters of "Two Seasons in London" that I had posted because I will give copies of the book once I get it published on lulu.com to the people I care to have read it and everyone else ... well, you'll just have to pay for your own copy. But everything else will be here ... except for the comments, unless I can figure out a way to post comments without actually "posting" comments ... or maybe I'll just include them in the post itself. Time will tell.

Ok, time to get back to good ole Mitch Rapp's latest adventure.

hello, my name is ...

So with all the changes going on over at Livejournal, I thought I'd give this a try. I'm not getting rid of shellseeker, but I might decide to use this blog instead of my writing_is_fun blog at LJ.

We'll see how it goes.

Libraries are wonderful things!

I have just re-discovered the wonder that is the public library. All those books ... and they're all FREE!!! Seriously, it's pretty amazing that libraries have all those books and they let people borrow them for free. Anyway, I came home with a pile of books to read. That's the trouble with the library - amazing as it is - with all those books for free it's hard to know when to say when. I have a good mixture of chick lit, young adult, mystery and political thriller. Here's hoping at least one or two of them is readable.

I've been working on Two Seasons in London off and on during my lunch hour. It's very slow going, but I want to at least get all the chapters changed over to first person and then I'll publish the first draft on lulu.com.

Comments
kira_may: hiya babe - i love libraries too, esepcially if you can find a nice quiet spot in the stacks somewhere where there aren't any weird people. i'm glad you're writing - does this mean you're feeling better?
me: Columbia's library is truly amazing. It's big and spacious and doesn't look at all like a library. I'm looking forward to going back when I have more time to spend.

ang: I checked out Helen Felding's (Bridget Jones - did I get the author's name right?) first book and couldn't read three pages of it. So, I returned it and didn't feel at all guilty about not reading it or about returning it! Yay, libraries! Came home with two books from Mom, read one and started another, but my library books were due, so I had to take them back. So, now I have Evanovich's Eight, Nine, and Ten, as well as four other books that were recommended by people who liked The Thirteenth Tale. I'll let you know if they are any good. I still miss Borders, though...
me: Keith sent me a B&N gift card for my birthday. Is it cheating to use a gift card to get a new book if I haven't finished reading all the books I currently own?
ang: Never! Not even if you use your own money! :)

jennifer: I just read this post...got to the title of your story and went "Holy SHIT! Somebody stole the title of Judy's BOOK!" And then realized that this is, in fact, your writing journal. ;) *breathes a sigh of relief*

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ

book titles

I've already thought of a title for next year's Nano novel: My October Obsession.

Just in case I decide I want to write about my (what seems to be) yearly October obsession ...

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ