And That's All I Have To Say About That

Today I hit the magical nanowrimo number, the magical number being 50,000. Although my draft (to steal from westcobich) is so rough it will draw blood, it is an AMAZING feeling to be here at the top of Mount-I-Wrote-A-Novel-This-Month-What-Did-You-Do-Oh-Yeah-Nothing.

I wrote when I was tired, I wrote when I was sick, I wrote when I didn't think I could type another word because I hated my story and I wanted a new one, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

I stayed home on weekends to get ahead, I wrote an astonishing 2300 words one night after work (I don't have much brain power after work, people). I had days where I wrote for an hour without pause, and nights where I managed to do a few word sprints (barely).

I learned that I am a writer. I can write. Creativity is such a small part of the process.... sitting down to write it out is the real part, the hard part, the actual work part. I learned what sacrifices have to be made to write. For example, this place that I live... looks like a habitat for monkeys. I haven't watched TV all month (okay I caught up on an episode of 30 Rock one night after I was really really far ahead). There wasn't a single night I let myself off the hook to not write that evening.

Now comes the fun part where I get to go back and look over what I've written so far and be (1) thankful for rewrites and (2) marvel at my awesomeness.

And next month, I'll be back to a semi-regular schedule of book reviews and the general randomness that is my life. Cheers.

Almost there... *gasps for breath*

Yes, I am finally limping towards 50,000 for nanowrimo. Why are the last few thousand words the absolute hardest? Oh yeah, because I changed the concept three times and now I'm just treading water until nanowrimo is over and I can undo my missteps.

Things I Like

First of all, the Book Bloggers Christmas Swap.

Secondly, the new Star Trek trailer

And lastly, I heart nanowrimo. Because I'm going to actually finish early. I never thought I would manage it, but that just goes to show you what assuming does to you. I'm currently on track to finish right before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy my time off.

Quick! Mental Break

Okay, I'm taking a mental break right now from my nanowrimo novel to think about something other than the strange forest hidden under my protag's bed.

Lalala.

Okay, I'm going to tell you why, when attempting to write 50,000 words in one month, it is a bad idea to pick up Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Although innocent in appearance, seeming to look like little more than an innocuous science fiction paperback, this little tome is actually a Procrasto-zilla in disguise.

I began said book last night after I had finished what I supposed to be all I could possibly write for the day. This morning, instead of merrily beginning my writing on schedule, I found myself instead unable. to. avoid. reading. book.

Those were precious minutes, folks, that I could have been writing you know. If only I could have broken myself away from it's firm grip on my imagination in time. If only.

On Why I Hate Grocery Shopping

I mentioned yesterday I hate grocery shopping.

Today my husband and I had our cart of groceries at the local Cub (the big box warehouse-type store). We ran all of our groceries through the cashier.

And then husband realized he'd left his wallet at home. I don't bring my purse along when we grocery shop together.

So my hated trip ended up lasting an extra half hour as husband raced home and back to pay for the said groceries.

Who else needs an alcoholic beverage tonight? I'm providing the margaritas. (Teehee, I can't wait until tomorrow to see what I wrote for my nanowrimo novel under the influence of strawberry margaritas).

A BIG AWWWWW!!!!

I hit the half-way mark last night on my nanonovel. Yup, 25,000 words in let's see... 12 days? So let's see. That's 2083 words per day. I am ordinarily horrible about getting bogged down in trying to edit and revise before I let myself get far enough on a story, and there has been a time or two when I have had to REALLLLLLLY force myself not to even reread what I just wrote for fear I'll delete the whole thing (thus destroying my word count).

In other news, I learned yesterday that the grocery delivery service in my area DOES. NOT. DELIVER. TO. APARTMENTS.

I had just gotten all excited about trying a grocery delivery service because of how much I completely and utterly hate grocery shopping, when I learned that they only deliver to apartments of the type that have a concierge-type-person to accept the groceries for you. Which, my building, of course, does not have. For a whole day, I thought I might never have to grocery shop again.

It would be real handy to have grocery delivery this month, because I literally and figuratively have no food in the house.

Down to a Sunless Sea

Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese
Rating: 4/5
Reason for Reading: Short Story Challenge

If I had finished in time I would have totally counted this book for the R.I.P. III Challenge. It is a collection of short stories that dive into the darker impulses in human nature. The author worked as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist for twenty-five years; some of the stories seem positively inspired by clients.

"Little Errands" for example, described in pitch perfect detail the mental tortures the Obsessive-Compulsive person puts themselves through. Oblivious to the possibility that things have worked out exactly they way they should, the narrator imagines each possible scenario of what may have gone wrong with the letters they have just placed in the mailbox.

Other stories I especially enjoyed were "Echo", about the vagaries of male friendships, and "Alabaster", in which a young boy recalls his conversation with an old woman living next to him.

All of the stories had a "dark" element to them. I was strongly reminded of my Abnormal Psychology class reading this collection. The dynamics of abuse. The edges of mental illness. The macabre.

Recommended if you enjoy a bit of the "dark side" in your short story reading.

Other reviews:
Andilit.com, Estella's Revenge, Out of the Blue, Bookfoolery & Babble, Dolce Bellezza