NaNoWriMo Day 24

Posted on November 24, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

No words today. I got a flu shot yesterday and I feel kind of cruddy.

Someone posted on some website I saw in passing where they asked the following question: If you died in your sleep tonight, how long would it take someone to notice?

For me–I predict a week. Good luck to whoever found me. I think, however, that this is an excellent writing prompt. The odd things you find on the internet. Sheesh.

Check this old school dancing out on this Soul Train clip. There’s something interesting at about 0:40. I think I saw that same move in Gangnam Style, or somewhere else recently. Just goes to show you, everything old is new again!

NaNoWriMo Day 23 – Back in the Saddle

Posted on November 23, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – 1,730. Whee!

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Writing is tiring when you’ve not been feeling well. At least the fire has turned to coals, which a well-timed 600 milligrams of ibuprofen is more than capable of handling.

Oh yeah, much better.

Image: snty-tact (Talk) / Wikimedia Commons

I’m very close to the end of this novel. So I decided to merge a copy of all my pages in PageFour and get a total word count. I have 65,031 words so far. So I’m well over the NaNoWriMo limit. Since I’m cheating by finishing something I’d already started, that’s no surprise.

What does surprise me is this: I thought this stinking book was longer than that. A mainstream novel is usually between 80,000 and 100,000 words. I’ll need 15,000 more just to reach the minimum there.

I’m sure it will work itself out. I’m not quite finished, and there will be copious rewrites. There are also a few things I’ll probably add after the fact. Rose’s Hostage ended its first draft at 125,000 words, roughly, and the first rewrite took it up to 165,000! It took about nine edits to get it to its current state of 97,000 words. I can still probably cut, but I need to have someone look at it and that I can’t afford.

Today’s video was posted on Facebook a few days ago. I laughed so hard I nearly cried. Enjoy!

WARNING: Contains a bad word.

NaNoWriMo Day 22 – Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 22, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

NO WORDS TODAY ONLY FOOOOOOD

Clockwise from top right: Frodo goblet full of milk, sweet potato patties, mashed potatoes and gravy, ham slice cooked in apricot jam sauce, carrots with butter and dill, crescent rolls.

I made a metric ton of mashed potatoes. I like to do that and make potato patties later. Besides, I had too many potatoes. They don’t keep forever. Probably won’t be doing this again ever. It’s super depressing to cook for yourself on a holiday.

Some things I am thankful for today include:

My parents, for finding me a good car when I really needed it.
Whoever approved extended unemployment benefits.
Whoever is going to give me a good job very soon. Ha!
A roof over my head.
Food in the fridge.
Chocolate cupcakes with pink icing. Mmm.
People who are there when I am sad.
People who don’t judge me for being sad.
People who post really funny things on Facebook, like George Takei and my friends Heiko and Cheryl J.
My kitty, although she drives me nuts most of the time.
That even though my mower broke, it was a nice day so I could get the leaves raked up.
That I can actually write, since I like doing it so much.
Everyone who reads my blog and follows me on Twitter, even if I don’t actually know you in person. Thank you so very much!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! And NaNoWriMo 2012 – Day 21 update (blackanddarknight.wordpress.com)
I’m Thankful For….. (daphnepropst.wordpress.com)

NaNoWriMo Day 21 – Blanket Day

Posted on November 21, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – nope.

Minor procedure caused major pain. It’s now receded, but I’m hanging on to these Tylenol 3 pills for a while. Just. In. Case.

A similar dosage of this substance was helpful.

Image: piyato / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today was a rest day. It was very nice out, so I opened the window. Tomorrow will be our last nice day, so if I feel up to it, I’m going to mow my leaves in the front yard. Hopefully I can find a gas station open. My little can is empty.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. If you’re traveling today or tomorrow, please be safe. Enjoy this video of the ultimate epic Thanksgiving entrée. Vegetarians and vegans may want to leave the theater.

NaNoWriMo Day 20 – Fire in the Hole

Posted on November 20, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – 0.

Holy cabbage farts, Batman, what a stinky day.

I called my vet this morning re the research for that one scene. Left message.
Could not find one single job to apply to.
Had a Happy Meal for lunch while running errands. Bleah.
Had a doctor’s appointment at two. Showed up early, sat in the waiting room for thirty minutes, sat in the exam room for another thirty.
Was told the minor procedure (don’t ask) I was expecting was going to hurt for at least a week.
Whilst waiting for some topical lidocaine to take effect, vet called me back. Hopped off table half-naked to answer call, in case it was an employer. Made appointment for next Tuesday. Phone battery died.
Had minor procedure. Ugh.
Went to buy pain medication at supermarket pharmacy. $24.00 for the generic. Urp. Also bought supermarket chicken and chocolate cupcakes, because chocolate makes me feel better. $3.50 and $3.49, respectively.
Drove home in rush hour traffic, with phone plugged into car charger. Discovered that dead phone battery made me miss a call from employer I had interviewed with. Was too late to call back, but I did it anyway, so they would know I wasn’t blowing them off. Don’t know if it’s good news or bad news.
Got home. Found letter from police department in mailbox. Uh oh.
Letter turned out to be a vehicle claim notification because the old car I gave someone, which they never registered, was towed and sitting in impound.
Called police department. Was told by very nice officer that I didn’t have to do anything.
Sat down to eat chicken, which was now almost cold.
Realized the nice injection the doctor gave me to, as he put it, “numb the area” is wearing off. 0_0 >_<

Image: Malene Thyssen / Wikimedia Commons

Now waiting for the generic Tylenol with codeine to take effect. COME ON CODEINE!!!!

At least I thought to get the chicken instead of standing around cooking when I feel kind of pain-ish. Chased that codeine with a chocolate cupcake too. Chocolate makes everything better.

Since the fall sports season is in full swing, please enjoy this video of the excellent John Cleese on soccer vs. football.

How Not to Starve During NaNoWriMo (khrystleraineduste.wordpress.com)

NaNoWriMo Day 19 – And Not a Verb to Link!

Posted on November 19, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – 0.

I wrote so much yesterday my hands are killing me. Or maybe it’s the yo-yo temperatures we’ve had lately. Anyway, I plan to sit here cracking my knuckles and resting up so I can get some work done tomorrow morning. I have to go to the doctor (you don’t want to know why) and I might not feel like doing anything tomorrow night.

Here’s a video that made me laugh really hard. Some of these are a reach, but the others damn near made me bust a blood vessel. Probably not totally safe for work. You’ll need sound.

The Dangers of NaNoWriMo (lynnreynolds.wordpress.com)

NaNoWriMo Day 18 – Words, words, everywhere

Posted on November 18, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – 3,384.

Holy catfish, Batman!

I rewrote the pivotal scene and then a short transition after it. It ended up being two different things; that wasn’t all one. I think it will actually be two chapters.

Yes, I still feel like dog poo. I asked someone a question to which I don’t want to know the answer, so perhaps it’s a good thing I got so much done tonight. I may not be able to even think if I hear something bad.

Tonight, I’ll give you two videos; the first one is a friend who paints amazingly, and has a ton of followers on her YouTube channel, Bananajamana. You’ll see why.

The second is insane cuteness from everybody’s favorite internet kitty, Maru!

Enjoy.

NaNoWriMo Day 17 – Sigh

Posted on November 17, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – 280.

Tweaked some bits here and there, reordered some scenes/chapters (love how PageFour lets you drag stuff around). Did some research for the pivotal scene, the one I’m going to have to change.

I found something I think will work. However, I’m going to have to call my veterinarian’s office and ask them a few questions. I hope they don’t think I’m nuts. Perhaps it will be best to scrape up some cash and make an appointment, or offer to buy the doctor lunch.

Things suck so much right now. I’m not sure it was a good idea to do NaNo. I feel like I’m never going to finish this book, and at this moment in time, I really don’t care if I never write another word again.

Just my luck.

Image: dailydawdle.com

And of course, the holidays are coming. At least with no money and no one to buy for, I won’t have to drag myself through the stores searching for the perfect gift.

Everyone enjoy your hoarded Twinkies this weekend. I leave you with this:

Oh yeah. He’s got the moves.

NaNoWriMo – Aaarrrgggghhhh! (lisaframe.wordpress.com)

NaNoWriMo Day 16 – Home Improvement

Posted on November 16, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – 0.

It’s unlikely I’ll be writing tonight. I had to recaulk the bathtub. Again. At this point, it’s basically a tub, a faucet and the rest IS caulk. I desperately need an Extreme Bathroom Makeover.

Also, I finally got one of those things you put on the wall that holds brooms and mops. Now when I look into the kitchen, I see a nice orderly row of them on the wall instead of a jumble in the corner.

Hopefully tomorrow, I’ll be able to work through the big scene I had to change. Tonight will be a good time to do some research for it before I veg out in front of Netflix.

Final thought for today: as I tweeted earlier, don’t be lazy about throwing out old receipts. When you go through them, you risk getting your heart broken all over again. :(

NaNoWriMo Day 15 – Getting Out

Posted on November 15, 2012 by A. Elizabeth West

Word count – 1,732.

I had a fragment of a scene where another character withdrew from my protagonist. I tried to finish it tonight and did, ending up with a little bit where he went out for food (people in my books sure do eat a lot!) and ended up getting into a bit of a tiff with someone.

Kind of like this, but without fur.

Image: Liz Noffsinger / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I also stopped in at the flea market today, just to look around. I was walking around on the lower level, and I saw this:

Photograph by Elizabeth West

Aww, kitty! He was friendly, too.

Yes, I should have been writing this afternoon, but since I had to go to the grocery store, I took a much needed brain break. Wandering around among the booths is relaxing, and helps me think. I’m getting close to being finished. Then the real work begins—rewriting and editing.

I hope if you are doing NaNoWriMo that you are taking a little time for yourself and not pushing too hard. Meanwhile, please take a moment and enjoy this interesting science thing—a crazy wandering planet!