Saturday, October 29, 2011

Into my arms: me and NaNoWriMo

One morning this week I woke up with the need to hug something. I hugged the cat, which was nice for both of us, but the feeling didn't go away. I was missing something.

Then I realised what it was: I haven't finished a manuscript in nearly a year. Going to Office Works with a flash drive containing a newly minted first draft hasn't been a ritual I've performed on many occasions, but it's a memorable one. There's nothing like taking the warm pages and giving them a hug. It's time to finish a book.

And lo! What month is it about to be but NaNoWriMo. I've always been editing a novel this time of year so it'll be the first time I'll be participating. I'm excited: 1666 words per day, that's entirely doable. I've had this whole damn book planned out in my head for about two years now and I'm dying to meet it face to face. So far its looking rather handsome, the nearly 5000 words I've written. I speak, of course, of Blood Queen, the third and last Book of Lharmell. For a while it seemed pimply and socially awkward, but I think it's straightening out and clearing up along the way.

Yes, everything's coming up Milhouse. BUT WHAT DID I GO AND DO LAST NIGHT? Well, it was raining rather heavily, and our roof leaks in a spot or two. And I left my laptop under one of the spots >.<

The screen started to fizzle alarmingly, so I forced a shut down and it's now sealed in a bag of kitty litter until tonight. There's about 3000 words of Blood Queen that haven't been backed up, but I'm not overly attached to them and bits of it are written out by hand anyway. It's more annoying than disastrous. I wanted to buy tickets to Thailand this week, not a new laptop.

Ah well. Three sleeps until NaNo starts. Are you giving it a go this year?

Note: There was a GIF going round with a guy pressing warm printed pages to his face and it would be perfect for this post. I can't FIND it. Where is it??

4 comments:

  1. Everything's coming up Milhouse <3

    I'm attempting NaNo again this year, but it'll be school report writing season in Novemeber, so who am I kidding?

    Good luck with it, Rhiannon! I didn't realize you had a three-book deal! Go you!!! :)

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  2. I hugged the cat, which was nice for both of us, but the feeling didn't go away.

    How is the cat going, by the way?

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  3. Thanks Kathy! It's actually three one-book deals. Haven't signed on the dotted line for the third, but it's a given.

    Tez, Tivali is going great. Queen of the damn house :)

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  4. I love the feel of warm paper in the morning. :-) Good luck with the NaNoWri thingie. Like Kathy, I've got reports to write and other school stuff. I do have 60,000 words of a book set in the Wolfborn universe, so I could cheat, I suppose, but I just cant get it going in school time, alas. December, I think.

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