Aaaaaand, it's (almost) a wrap

Another year of NaNo is coming to a close -- and not a moment too soon. While friends have pounded out masterpieces involving clowns and hearses, I have fallen, once again, along the wayside. No excuses, I was struck down by too much plot and not enough ppffffffttt to get it done. Will I try again next year? Hmmmm, probably. But this time I'll cheat and combine last year's NaNo with this year's NaNo and... dammit, I'm still short of 50k. Meh.

Congratulations to those who finished and will live to edit and to those who are still shy of the shiny winner's button, I look forward to finishing it with you in 2009!

Oh crap, I forgot one more thing--

Touch yer nosies - touch your toesies. HAPPY NOW?

Just had to do this once more--
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Just call me the Queen of Denial

Okay. I realize there are only a scant number of days to whip out the rest of my word count and I'm sitting here blogging, contemplating creating a new blog skin and faintly remembering I have to work on the house today. I swear there was fire in my pants when I started this thing 23 days ago. Yikes. That's a long time. Where does the fire go? How do we lose our lack of focus or does the focus just shift like that time you decided to go all dark chocolate and give up milk chocolate because you were told it would grow bigger boobies? Er, not that that happened to me.

I've wrangled Write or Die (still love it), stopped giving myself self-defeating lectures ("hey you, put down the Almond Joy and get back to work, you slacker...hey, is that a leftover Mounds bar?") and promised to have very large margarita at the Thank God It's Over party in December (or two). What lies do you tell yourself to get you through the last few days o'NaNo?

Give us your tired, your cranky, your NaNo slackers...

I recently started a thread at Absolute Write for NaNo slackers. We of the "my dog ate my NaNo" persuasion. When it began, I was thinking it would be more of an excuse thread, why they hadn't gotten as far as they had intended due to acts of god, etc. and it's turned into one of backhanded support. I'm rooting for these people to get to 10k or 35k or 500 words, whatever they are happy to achieve because it's not the flippin' finish line that's important, it's how we got there.

So if you're a little lacking in the word department (and you know who you are, don't make me out you), come on by and say hello. I have cookies. :)

NaNo update

Sigh.

I just haaaaaaaaaad to write that outline, didn't I? I broke from tradition and wrote an the most awesomey awesome outline that ever was and NaNo spit on it, ground it into the ground and laughed at my tears. Then I kicked its ass and started over. This time I'm putting in odd characters like Mrs. Tiggywinkle, the propriestress of the Three Headed Mistress boarding house. So there, NaNo. That'll teach you to mess with the Zohan. Wait. Wrong storyline. I could never shoot a fish out of my buttocks, god knows I've tried.

My outline, crumpled, tear-stained and smelling a bit like cheese is still operable but do I need it? How about the index cards I lovingly wrote upon with action-packed scenes and snappy one-liners? I have a long way to go (like I'm 10k words behind, don't look shocked, you know you are too) so I think I'm going to hold onto it for now. I can always sacrifice it to the literary gods later, I hear they like cheese.


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Fog in the Afternoon

So it's not my most inspired posting title but I'm working on that like Bill Clinton works on his intern pick-up lines.

Vyolette and I are hanging out today due to bronchitis and we're stuck in a fog. Literally. We live on a mountaintop and the clouds are hung up on our trees refusing to budge. My NaNo feels a bit like this (like the segue? That's why I'm a professional writer, people) so my choice is to give up and whine that I didn't like that mean, stinky NaNo anyway or to push through it and come out on the other side a better writer due to the sheer force of stubbornness.

Bah. After watching morning PBS with Vy, I know I can do better than this drivel - "touch your nosey, touch your toes-ies." Seriously?

I think I'll use that as my inspiration. If I don't finish NaNo, I'll be doomed to writing Dragon Tales-esque crap for the rest of my life. Short story: years ago I dropped my two oldest girls off at a community center class that featured Dragon Tales crafts - wha? It was the big thing back then. Anyway, as I was leaving, two moms started reciting the Dragon Tales mantra together while holding hands and hugging. I knew then I was not part of the herd.

What's your inspiration for finishing NaNo (or your WIP)? Go ahead and use Dragon Tales if it helps, I'm sure those two moms would make room for more...

Write or Die

Okay people, this is just short of fabulous or that KY Jelly that warms up your... wait. Nevermind.

I followed a link from Absolute Write about Write or Die, a dandy little application that helps you meet your word goal. You plug in how many words you'd like to write in how many minutes, then if you wander off (physically or mentally) it'll bring you back by a series of annoying events. First the background will change colors, then, so I hear, you will be assaulted by hideous music. I didn't tarry too long so only saw the colors change.

At the end of your time limit, you are greeted with a cacaphony of lovely sounds to herald your achievement and you get a festive button to display until you best yourself the next time.

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I smell NaNo gold!

Wisecrack Zodiac

Have I told you how much I love Wisecrack Zodiac yet? My friend, Beth Bartlett, has cornered the market on how the stars rip you a new one each week - and yet she's so gentle about it:

"Scorpio: You’ve never been afraid of things that go bump in the night; in fact, you’ve made some very good friends that way. Take someone else by the hand and lead them through the mysteries of the dark, then be a sport and treat them to breakfast afterward."

Kinda brings a tear to your eye, eh?

No No NaNo?

Okay, this has not been the most productive NaNo ever for me. Time, work, five kids and a cold have sucked the lovin' right out of me this past week and I'm woefully behind. However, I will persevere *raises fist to sky* and at least crank out 15k by the end of the month. I'd better or my MLs, LaMishia and Susan, will take back my stickers. Oh noes! The t-shirt is awesome this year, by the way, makes me feel all author-y. Well, that and gin.

The Spirit Closet is humming away nicely in its outline, however, so I simply need to jot down all those thoughts into some weird mildly-coherent form. I keep forgetting to break down NaNo to its most basic points: write - don't edit. As soon as I turn off that freak function, I'll be fine. Right?

Stop laughing.

How is your NaNo coming along (or WIP)?