NaNoWriMo Begins

Day 1 of writing for NaNoWriMo is complete, and as you can see to the left I stopped at a little over 3500 words.  I wanted to stop at 5000 words, but it's already past 2:00 P.M. here in Denver and I don't want to settle into a routine of using Nano as an excuse not to get editing done on book 1.  Besides, there were a few things that slowed me down today:

• I got up 45 minutes late because Michael decided to sleep in an extra hour this morning.  How could I possibly let him do that alone?

• I forgot to set up the manuscript template.  Not that it set me back that much.  Was just that I found I've made some changes to another manuscript but hadn't applied the changes to the template I use.

• I got really distracted and had fun adding word count and a blow-by-blow in the right column.  Oh, and updating my word count on the Nano site, which was running really slow, but that's to be expected the first couple days as we're all so excited to start.  

• Had some trouble finding character information I thought I'd transitioned back over to the  website where I manage background on novels.  I'm really messy about maintaining character profiles, but I found an amazing set of questions about novel characters in Dynamic Characters, How to Ceate Personalities that Keep Readers Captivated by Nancy Kress.  Now it's just a matter of creating a template out of it and using it.

• Like in the 3Day, the challenge of filling in backstory on a new novel in a series has reared its ugly head.   There's got to be some easy way to carry the info over or create a checklist of stuff the reader needs to know.  I guess I'll create it for book 4.

All in all, it was a fun day of new writing and I'm looking forward to starting day 2.

Weekly Whine: Where's Your Phone

I've gotten in a bad habit of leaving my phone in the car or letting the batter run out for days. Has gotten me in some trouble with family. I've never actually been one to talk on the phone, so it's more of a life long habit. After all, I'm a writer, not a speaker. Okay, lame excuse. So this week is more about people being pissed off at me. Uh oh!

Other than that, I'm moving The Courier to a Blogger blog. Was hoping to have the move done over the weekend, but yard work and laziness got in the way. Two main reasons for moving: 1) I've hated all the templates I've used for The Courier on Wordpress, and 2) I'm too cheap to pay the annual cost to change the CSS. Already pay for my personal website, and considering I'm a starving writer, I really don't want to add to the cost. Look for the switch over sometime later this week.

Oh, and I'm in synopsis hell this week. I want to bring my synopsis to critique group this week. I need eight pages for the contest. I'm really looking forward to reading it, but I'm not looking forward to revising what I already have. Will let you know how it goes next week.

Monday's Whine: Living on Adrenalin

Okay, I actually started this week's whine on Tuesday, just one day after last week's whine, when I woke up from a nap realizing I was iron and B12 anemic, again. I forced myself into an adrenalin rush to get my index cards done and suffered the rest of the week as a result of it.

First of all, I think this behavior is something we women do really well, especially when we have small children. Second, we get so good at it, to the point it becomes a habit. But in my case, mixing it with the anemia is a recipe for too many crash and burns. I ain't doing it anymore.

A couple weeks ago I whined about needing more exercise and a better diet. I'm extending that plan to meditation. About four years ago I meditated, a lot. It's what helped me realize how out of whack my physical body had gotten, and sent me on the path to finding out I have Celiac's Disease. At that time I slowed, then stopped mediating to concentrate 100% on my physical health and here I am today.

I'd also like to whine about today being March 1st already, and I'm still screwing around with the first book of The Courier. It's like someone just slapped me across the face with a cactus. ARGH!!

Side note. I'm loving picking the pictures of whinny kids and baby's every week. There's certainly plenty of 'em, and today's little guy is especially adorable.