The Race for the End

My best and worst quality is that I'm stubborn. I'm 7,000 words behind with 23 hours left to go, and I'm completely determined to finish this. If I have to stay up until dawn tonight, I'm going to finish. If I get to 42,000 and don't finish, I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself! Everyone has told me that the recent drama excuses me from finishing, but I don't quite buy that. There are plenty of NaNoers who have crazy busy lives - school, kids, drama, you name it. And a lot of them manage to finish. I must do this. And now, back to multitaskingwriting!

I Have a Life? What?

My novel is progressing slowly, suffering from the author's-fucked-up-life syndrome. I'm trying to deal with a lot of stress right now and several different people wanting my attention for different (and all essential) reasons. I spend my computer time now trying to switch back and forth between Word and my IM chat screens, often with more than one person at a time, which results in this sort of writing:

Write a sentence.
Read message from A.
Read message from B.
Reply to A.
Write half a sentence.
Feel guilty for ignoring B and reply to them.
Read message from A.
Write sentence.
Read message from B.

Repeat.
Scream in frustration!

My Behind is Getting Bigger

Although I've pushed my word count over 33,000, I'm now more than 7,000 words behind. There's a week left of NaNo, and I was hoping to get all caught up over vacation. I don't mean to sound too pessimistic; I still have a chance, with two days left, but Saturday is filling up. Hell, what am I talking about, today is Saturday! It just feels like Friday night because I haven't slept yet.

I cruised through a scene where my character passes out in a burning building, and that was wonderful quick word-boost. Now I've gotten her stuck in a hospital, and I have the feeling that my scene isn't authentic, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not sure how to move the story along once she's out. Oh well, perhaps if I get some sleep things will be clearer in the morning.

Weird

I just noticed the strangest connection between my novel and real life. Although I'm in the middle of writing, it struck me so hard I had to stop and blog it. Dylan and Raqi meet in the club, talk a little bit, and don't really become friends until the day that Dylan teaches Raqi to throw knives. Raqi is startled to find out that Dylan always carries her knife.

In real life: Craig and I meet in the club, talk a little bit, and don't really become friends until the day that Craig teaches me to shoot a handgun. I'm startled to find out that Craig always carries his gun.

The strangest part is that I developed the character of Raqi and her associated events and interactions with Dylan before I met Craig.

Headspace

For the first time this month, I'm in entirely the wrong mood for the part of the story I'm writing. I came back from shopping with Craig and Angie and sat down at my computer...and I'm just totally uninspired for the part I'm in the middle of. It's a touchy-feely scene, heavy on the emotion, and that's just not how I'm feeling right now. I'm bouncy and full of energy and I would honestly rather go party right now than write.

However, my word count is only 28,000, so I really can't let myself use this time for anything else.

Except for that Spanish exam I haven't studied for that's at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. Problem solved. Maybe thinking in another language will change my mood enough that I can calm down and write something afterwards.

I Got Behind!

For the first time this month, I'm actually behind on my word count! I'm at a little over 27,000, and I should be over 31,000. Oh, dear. I tried to get going again a few minutes ago, but it's one of those stupid afternoons where I haven't accomplished anything yet, and therefore part of me seems determined not to. I got down about two paragraphs before our neighbors started being loud. Then I began a game of internet solitaire, and then cleverly started a discussion of Life, the Universe, and Everything with Fidget. Any of the above are pretty effective ways to stop a novelist, and all together they're a force to be reckoned with.

So, here's to hoping that a shower and a nap will fix up the writing mind a little. Also hoping that Turkey Break will give me the time I need to catch up again.

15-minute Script

I found a thread on the NaNo Plot forums called "15-minute scripts." Basically, you take the important parts of your novel and turn them into a short, humorous script. Here's mine:


Title: Tall Heels
Setting: unknown city, current time

DYLAN: It's cold outside and I'm sleeping in a park. I need a place to live. But I have no money. I need a job.
LUIS: Good luck, go find a job.

DYLAN: I'll be a bouncer in a strip club.
CLUB OWNER: Haha, you're a girl. You can't be a bouncer.
DYLAN: *pissed*

DYLAN: I have no other options. I have to be a stripper. Luis, I don't want to be a stripper
LUIS: It's okay, you'll be okay. Go be a stripper.

DYLAN: Okay, I want to dance.
CLUB OWNER: Yay, we're desperate for girls.
DYLAN: I have no clothes, no shampoo, and I don't know what I'm doing. *steals shampoo and deodorant from a store, bathes in a river*

BABY: Welcome to the club. I'll show you around and act nice, then steal your shit when you're not looking, then yell at you for borrowing mine when you can't find yours.
DYLAN: These shoes are fucking stupid. I can't walk. *dances and makes money* Oh well, it's a job. Oh my god, who's that?
TAMRAH: Her name is Raqi. We know nothing about her.

DYLAN: Hi, who are you?
RAQI: I'm Raqi. Fuck off.

DYLAN: I have money, so I'm getting an apartment! Yay! My landlady is a sweet old grandma who gives me cookies.
MACK: I'm Dylan's crack-dealing ex-boyfriend, and I'm going to make her life hell. *shows up at strip club* Raqi, have sex with me for money, 'cos you look like you're ten and I'm a pedophile.
RAQI: *scared*
DYLAN: Leave her alone! *stabs with knife*
MACK: *leaves*
RAQI: How'd you do that? Teach me to fight!

DYLAN: Okay, I'll show you knife-throwing tricks, using the side of the building as a target.
LILY: Don't do that to the building!
DYLAN: Sorry, won't happen again.
RAQI: *cracks stupid joke*
RAQI AND DYLAN: *laugh hysterically and kind of become friends*

DYLAN: What's that noise behind me? Oh, it's Raqi. Hey, you live here too?
RAQI: Yeah. I look like a zombie but I'm going to tell you I'm fine. Good night.
DYLAN: I don't believe that you're fine. Good night.

DYLAN: I'm trying to sleep but I just heard the world's most terrifying scream. I'm going to go investigate. *goes upstairs* Oh my god, it's Raqi! *kicks down door, plays hero*
RAQI: You saved me. I'm a mess.
DYLAN: Come back to my apartment and leave your drunk mother and her rapist boyfriend. I'll make you canned soup, 'cos I'm too poor to afford tea, and hold you while you cry.

...and that's all that's written so far.

The Slump

Remember that five-day lead I had? I looked at my word-count and my calendar this morning to discover that I was two hundred words behind on today's count. I've fixed that now, but I haven't hit tomorrow's - not even close. I haven't been this close to the line since day one, but thankfully my week is almost over. I called in to work for tonight because I'm really behind in my programming homework, but if I get caught up in that I can spend the rest of the night on NaNo.

BANG (My Week 2 Halt)

Ugh, I got stuck. I got out of bed today at past 3pm, and by the time I finished "breakfast," it was dark outside. What a fucked up way to live - I feel like my day was put on upside-down. I completed and turned in my programming homework that was due five days ago, and I finished my grading of homework 6, but I haven't written a word today in terms of NaNo. My younger MC just asked the older MC to teach her to knife-fight, and although that sounds to me like a good lead-in to an easy scene, it stopped there with a rather loud bang.

The Brownie Pan

Over 22,000 words...nearly halfway there! I changed some of Dylan's history and decided to make the story solely from her point of view. It was originally going to be split between her and Raqi, but I've realized I really don't need Raqi's all that much, so I'm just to do without it in favor of not confusing the readers. I'll have to go back and take out one small section, but it's less than a page, so I'm not too worried.

I've also made some more connections between the characters and between characters and events, basically just tying everything together a little bit more. I'm proud of that, but I'm kind of stuck at the moment. It's not that I'm really stuck with the story, because I know where it's going right now, it's more that I just ate half a pan of brownies and am really too restless to write but forcing myself to try anyway.

One thing I've noticed that I do regularly, probably one of the things that bothers me most about my own writing, is that my small details become incongruous, even when I think I'm paying attention. It's like watching a movie and seeing one of those stupid continuity errors, like the beer cup in American Pie that's blue, then red, then blue again without actually being replaced. I caught myself earlier mentioning someone being held over a campfire and then hiding under her bed. Clearly, if you're camping, you're not going to have a bed...

That's something I'm going to tell people to watch for if I reach the proofreading stage, because I know I'm bad about it. And with the number I catch, I figure there must be more I'm not catching.

Day...what now?

Yeah, I lost count of the days. I guess it's the 9th, or it might be the 10th. Pretty sure it's the 10th, actually. As you can probably guess, I haven't written much in the last three or four days. My word count is a little over 19,000, so I've still got a lead, but it's a much smaller lead than before. It's a scant day-and-a-half now, as opposed to my previous five.

I have been thinking about the story, though, and the plot has changed again. Not drastically, but some of the connections and reasons for character's actions have changed. Most of the last several days have been chaotic, though, between clubbing, working, classing, grading, and trying to sleep off the first two.

I've also come up with a plot idea for my next novel, but I'm trying to avoid thinking about it too much so that it doesn't distract me from NaNo. Perhaps I'll make December my own personal novel-writing month. Or maybe not. Ehh, I'm feeling ambiguous tonight! How frustrating. I did get a wonderful back rub from Fidgy, though, so the night has actually been pretty good. There are many, many worse things in life than being spoiled by Fidget.

Now, however, I believe I shall stop rambling and go write sleep.

Day 6 (because all the imagination I could have used for a title is going to NaNo)

My story is progressing nicely (knock on wood) and I'm several days ahead of my word count. Today's word goal is 10,002, and just a few minutes ago I hit 17,384, which gets me past Saturday's word count and half way to Sunday's. I didn't realize how much I'd written just today until I looked at the little chart thing on the NaNo website, which is back up now. I've done a good chunk today. That's very fortunate, because in half an hour I have to go to class, and then I'm spending the rest of the night at a goth club with a bunch of friends.

Speaking of which, I may not be writing much at all for the next two days...we'll probably get home "tonight" at about 3:30 tomorrow morning. I have to get up in time for class at 10:00, and then I pretty much go all day, not getting back from work until 2:30 on Thursday morning. Of course, I have to get up for class at the same time then, too. Agh!

Anyway, the storyline is pretty much sticking to my outlined plot, but my points were really only the major ones, so I've discovered the freedom to throw in some smaller surprises. I made one character mysteriously disappear, and invented a whole new one to create more trouble for my MCs (and simultaneously bring the two MCs closer together).

In real-time, my cell phone has run out of battery and I STILL have not recieved my wall charger in the mail, after more than two weeks. That means I have to go out and plug it into my car, which is a rather long walk from here, and it's cold and rainy outside. I think I'll wait until we're taking my car anyway to go clubbing...then again, if anyone changes the plans on me, I won't have a clue. Oh well, such is life. At least I've got a phone again - my last one had an unfortunate encounter with a toilet two days before Pumpkinfest.

The Greatest Bath Ever

I've over 9,000 words in, and it's only day 3! I'm so proud of myself for being ahead of the game. That's Sunday's word count complete, and I'm aiming to make Monday's, too, which is 10,002.

The words have been flying for the last hour or so, because I was writing an amusing scene in which my homeless character steals some shampoo and takes her first bath in many months. As you can probably guess, I'm taking my blog break because I've reached one of those awkward transition points in the story, where I have to stop for a few moments and consider progress before pushing head. I know this isn't supposed to be in the NaNo spirit - "Just write! Screw thinking!" - but I think I can afford the five minutes. It's just how I work. Clearly it isn't holding up my word count.

Eric and I went to the store last night while Fidget was at work, and they were selling bags of Halloween candy for $1. We picked up two bags of KitKats and two bags of Butterfingers, which are in accompaniment to the bag of random trick-or-treating candy we already had. All this is not even to mention the bag of super-caffeinated coffee Ryan brought us. Ryan works at Starbuck's, which makes Fidget insanely happy. In short, our room is well-stocked for t3h m4d 1337 wrltlng5.

Time Off from Work to Write About the Virtual Job Hunt

Once again, I'm using blogging as a quick break opportunity. I called in sick to work today, because I really am too sick to work. I was too sick on Wednesday, too, but if I called in for Halloween, Jimmy would've fired me. He's such as asshat. I made $120 after tipout, though, and I got to hang with Craig and Kylie, so I didn't feel too bad about going.

This morning, though, I woke up feeling like I'd come down with mono all over again, so I called in and they took me off shift. That means I'm not going in again until Wednesday, which, although I need the money, is okay with me. It'll give me time to work on NaNo, finish my programming exam, and get better.

By the time I went to bed last night, I was at just over 3,000 words, meaning I made almost two days' word count. This morning I didn't get out of bed until past 11am, called in to work, had a leisurely brunch with Eric and a bunch of other people, then came back here and continued NaNoing. I'm over 4,000 words, aiming for at least 5,000 by the end of the day. Honestly, I'm hoping for more, but if I make 5,001, that's tomorrow's word count goal complete.

As for my actual plot (yes, I do have one!), Dylan has decided that she needs to find a job. She cleaned up the best that a street child can, and is currently job-hunting.

In real life, the maintenance guys just showed up to fix the sink, which wasn't draining, and they showed up and completed the work with really remarkable speed. I've got a bag of candy next me which I really should put away, but I can't bring myself to do so. So then, back to the grind.

Aaand the Craziness Begins!

I was at work when NaNo started last night, and I actually didn't realize it had begun until I got a text from Fidget saying, "happy nanowimo!" (Misspelling and all.) After work, I got a chili dog and a cup of coffee at the truckstop before driving home. By the time I went to bed, the coffee hadn't worn off, so Fidg and I stayed up talking for a few minutes.

Today was the day from hell, schedulewise. At 10am, I had to teach Spanish class with Julian, the French exchange student, because my teacher is lazy and makes the students do all the work. At 12:15, I grabbed lunch from the Hoot so I could be in the tutoring office by 12:30. During that time, I managed to get started on my NaNovel, though it was only for about fifteen minutes. At 1:30, I had study away orientation, which ran until past 5pm. I convinced my mom to buy me a quick dinner at The Works before she went home, and then I raced off to Sadistics - er, Statistics - at 6pm. I got out of stats and tried to write for a few minutes, but I was so wound up by that time that I hardly got anything done. At 8pm, I headed off to dance rehearsal with Shawn.

The dancing was definitely the most fun part of my day, and I'm now a little more relaxed than I was. In a few minutes, Fidget's going to go out and buy us mudslides to help the relaxation. (It's so nice having a roommate who's 21.) Keep in mind that I did this whole day with a bad head cold. I've had this beast since Saturday, and since yesterday I've been losing my voice. By the time I got to rehearsal tonight, I could barely talk; I greeted Shawn with more of a squawk than with actual words.

On the bright side, though, it's 9:35pm and I have no classes tomorrow. I've got the rest of the night to unwind and write, and I've already put down over 700 words. I suppose things could be worse. I'm trying to decide whether to go to work tomorrow or call in sick; I guess I'll see how I feel in the morning.