Posts (page 2)
My dad died on Jan. 30, just after I was out of town for a week, and 9 days after I saw him for the last time. I spoke to him on Friday or Saturday, and he died on Tuesday. It wasn't a huge surprise, but it is altogether way too sad.
I'm still in shock with waves of grief breaking on shore at odd moments, and lately the waves are coming bigger and stronger.
The biggest issue right now, though, is what to eat. I have little energy for cooking, and the custom of legions of people showing up with food after someone dies has died, I think. So, we have Mrs. Pauls and the Stouffers in for dinner, and I hope I don't burn them. Way way preoccupied.
Howdy. Slowly coming out of my holiday/familydrama coma.
I found that Scrivener, that fab program I used to scribble my novel draft, has a new beta with an expiry date of 1/31/07. Download it here and give it a whirl. I love this program for its creativity and modularness. I can jump around and still keep track. I can be all organized and folder-ish, or I can flip over to full screen and just WRITE.
Here's the download link http://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=715 . The full version for sale is coming up soon, I hear. $34.99-ish. Not bad. I've seen "screenwriting" and "novelwriting" software for $399, $99, and inbetween.
And the Literature and Latte Forum is where you can discuss the joys and bugs of Scrivener.
I am finally back from the holidays, from holidaze and family matters (of the snarky and hurtful kind). My father is doing well and should come home to the "new normal" in a week.
I haven't even LOOKED at my NaNo manuscript, and that may be very good. I did read a novel over the holidays and really appreciated it for its standard narrative with one innovation. Ultimately, I don't think it was all that earth-shattering, but it was diverting and interesting. The Coffee Trader by David Liss
As far as writing goes, I will either have NO time to write in the upcoming weeks, or all the time in the world. Heh. This is the busy season for my job, and things won't simmer down until Feb. 1. After that, I will have loads of time or the same as usual, which isn't enough...
but as they say, and as NaNo proves, if you want something done, give the job to a busy person.
(I did end up writing a bunch at my other blog: http://www.lizardlodge.com/aspic/blog.html The Aspic & Spooon. Which was enjoyable.
More as the saga continues...
I've been dealing with a sick parent in another city (he nearly died), personal drama and that of a close friend. No time to write, edit or anything. I'm all burned out from NaNo and not even doing Holidailies on my other blog. Feh.
I've been scarce. The brain drain of NaNo made it so my life sorta backed up and all the little accordian folds have been barfing up their hidden treasures/errands/events/dramas, and I've been dealing with them.
The mss is printed out, here next to me and unedited. I still need to do more writing before I go back and edit. Still in writing/creator mode. DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU IT'S TIME TO EDIT, until it is.
love and kuesse,
Jay
but not finished... this is an incomplete first draft, rather an embarrassment to my literary executor if I get run over by a bus tonight.
BUT!
I have 50,558 words and I will tie up some loose thoughts later tonight. But I'm done for about a week or so. I got stuff to do, people!
I'll take a victory lap from now until Saturday night when the local TGIO party is. And then it's xmas cards, house clean-up, xmas tree, shopping, yoga, quilting, stuff.
I'm rather amazed at myself. I really was ready to quit at 25K. and even though there is a lot of stuff in this draft that will undoubtedly get chucked out, it's there now, adding flavors to the novel stew. (Like bay leaf!)
Time for some choccies. Reese's anyone?
Current word count: 49632 (99.26 %) with 3 days left, with current pace, expected to finish in 2 days.
You know, I have to say that I have the makings of an interesting, possibly funny, possibly literary novel here. But not at the moment, it's not a novel. It's like cats being gathered by Animal Control from a hoarder's house. It's like marbles at the Capitol Rotunda. It's like on open bag of linguine falling out of the cupboard.
But it's fun and it's mine and I'll get to play with it for weeks to come.
must.sleep.now.
While Friday and Saturday were all about throwing all kinds of crap onto the screen and making it stick (for now), last night and today have been all about getting back to that weird writing place that I love. Telling stories in a rambly style that is the way people talk and think (in my world). It's GREAT fun.
Had lunch with a friend who threw some ideas my way, but mostly we talked about stuff for which we already have a shorthand and foreknowledge... so it was like just coming into the middle of the decades long conversation.
Had a drink later with a newer friend who is sharp, witty, hawt, funny and full of his own kind of stories. He pitched me a character, and by the time I sat down at the keyboard later that night, I had her voice and her story. And I found a way to put her in Tucson. It was such fun. This morning, the main MC spoke to me from inside his heart and soul. That was an honor.
And I have 45K now. I'll "win" NaNo but I have about half a novel. There is still much to be done with these people... I'm thinking 80 or 100K. Still, I'm not.there.yet, so I press on for four and a half more days, and then party like it's 1999, and get the house ready for the holidays.
I'm over 30K. Rah. 31,038 and counting. I'm using all the dastardly fluff techniques *that will serve me later* that I can. EX: John is now John Paul. For now. Seriously. It will go back to John after NaNo. I'm so proud.
I discovered tonight that 7pm is my arsenic hour. We used to refer to "dinnertime" as arsenic hour when Wonder boy was little. Though I never had horrible trouble with him, it was the time of day when he just decompensated as a tiny colicky baby. And so he cried through until 8 or 9 (usually during Law & Order) and then he'd fall asleep.
Part of this had undoubtedly been hardwired into me, and so now I'm doing some kind of Post Colic Stress Disorder thing. Or perhaps it's a Pre-Alzheimer's "sundowning." Whatever it is, 7pm to around 9:30 is when I am the most anxious, freaky and unglued about whatever major stressor there is that day.
Maybe that's why Prime Time TV is scheduled then. Hmmmm.
Anyway, all the issues that I was facing at 7pm are still there, but not sitting in the chair and forcing myself to write during that was most wonderful. I don't even care now if I don't get to 50K by 11/30. I know when I need to write, when I can write and how much I could lay down in an hour, given a quiet, free hour.
I can't tell if I'm angsting about my own life, or about this novel. If I'm fretting about life and thus it spills over to the book, or vice versa.
Oh and, NaNo's website is so damn slow today. I am NOT going to be able to update my latest word count: 28408, thank you. So I do it here. *pout*
As a test of the above theory, I will go completely offline, away from the keyboard and off the cell phone tomorrow morning. I'm taking the kid on a hike.
