No NaNoWriMo this year
I've completed National Novel Writing Month for the last two years in a row, but I can't do it this year. I'd love to, and could probably find the time, at the expense of many other things, but I don't think it would be wise. I'm just over a month into the first term of uni and not really into a proper routine yet; my work would undoubtedly suffer if I tried to write 1667 words per day around it, and I don't want to fall behind at this stage. If I'd plotted out the story this month and knew exactly what I was going to write each day then I might have managed it, but making it up as I go takes too long. I can reel off a list of excuses, but it comes down to being just a little too busy, which is annoying - the feeling of satisfaction at the end is immense, even if the project is at times hellish. Next year, hopefully.
Busywork
I finished a big project today, and am finally able to relax. It's possible there'll be more to do, but the main body should be out of the way now. It's a great relief - I was getting to the point where I felt guilty doing anything else. But now it's over, and there's now nothing standing between me and editing the NaNoWriMo novel. Yikes.
Lulu.com NaNoWriMo offer
Self-publishing website Lulu.com are offering NaNoWriMo winners one free bound copy of their novel. Unlike last year this applies to international customers too, and includes postage. I appreciate they get free advertising from it, but it strikes me as a kind thing to do and I'll certainly take them up on it. Last year I ordered a couple of copies of my 2005 novel and they came out very well; the binding and paper quality were excellent, and the only (technical) flaws were of my own making since you have to format it yourself.
Frozen Carousel
Much waltzing later I've decided it's called 'Frozen Carousel'. I managed to update my official profile with the title and excerpt (the first couple of paragraphs) just before the midnight deadline, and it's now too late for further changes. Total writing time: 70.5hrs.
Phew. Unlike last year, the story makes enough sense that I could hand it to somebody this evening and let them read it. This isn't going to happen, but it makes the editing process slightly less daunting. I'm determined to get it into a properly readable state within a few months.
It'll be great to wake up tomorrow with no pressure, but I think I'll miss it slightly...
NaNoWriMo: Finished
It is done. Hooray! 53,625 words at final count. I think I know what the title will be. I'll think about it this evening and finalise it later.
What time is it now? Time to dance.
Writings
I didn't win anything in a recent writing competition, nor was I 'highly commended' or even 'commended', but I did at least make the 'shortlist'. I think they capped it at 100 entries, so making the top 25 isn't too bad. I particularly like the third place entry.
Not much left in NaNoWriMo: the penultimate scene brought me to 49,650 words exactly. I was in Walsall this morning, but got back in time to write a fair chunk this afternoon, finishing off after the theatre this evening. Tomorrow is all about the ending, as well as a title! I wanted to call it Nutcrackers and Fireflies when I started, but that turned out to have nothing to do with anything, so perhaps not. Given that I have a fair idea what's going to happen in the finale, the title might cause me the most problems tomorrow.
Incidentally, Song of the Day is 'Whistle for the Choir' by The Fratellis. I like it a lot.
Dear Characters
If you could stop 'nodding', 'turning', 'smiling', 'walking' and 'looking', that'd be just great.
Job interview this morning
I had a job interview at the local library today. It's for a part-time assistant's post which I think would be just right for me, but we'll see whether they agree - they said I'll get a call tomorrow morning. I've never seen any male staff members there, but hopefully that's due to the average job applicant...Tomorrow will either be bad or good+scary depending on which way it goes, but the intermittent period of not knowing is actually quite good.
You know what I said a couple of days ago about having figured out the third act of my NaNoWriMo novel? Utter nonsense. It eventually struck me this evening that two major plot points were mutually exclusive. I've stopped at 750 words today, and plan to spend tomorrow morning figuring it all out. Then I'll be home free; perhaps.
Dancing, driving, juggling
A very busy day yesterday meant I didn't get back home until 0300, at which point I had no desire to write 1700 words, but I've caught up today, thankfully. I'm just starting to get an inkling of what's going to happen in the final act, which has been worrying me for a few days. I'd already included passages from the finale, but had no idea how I was going to get there. I suppose proper authors plan this kind of thing beforehand.
I thought it was an interesting Strictly this evening. The couples who normally do very well were a little lacklustre, while the underdogs caught up in a big way. Once Claire's gone - presumably next week - the remaining five couples will all be of a very high quality, more so than in any previous series. It looks like Matt Dawson has managed to shake his inhibitions, which has helped enormously. I remember being nervous to tell people I'd started ballroom dancing in case they made fun, but at some point decided I couldn't be bothered with that bollocks any more. There's still a what-would-the-cool-kids-at-school-think-of-this filter in my head, but it's diminishing in size and importance, which I guess is one of the advantages of getting older.
I drove back from Walsall at 1700 on Friday night and can only imagine I inadvertently performed a ritual to placate the traffic gods, as the M6 and M42 were clear all the way back to Solihull. That's just weird.
Finally, juggling inside an inverted glass cone is an oddly soothing sight:
Worth watching all the way through - he goes up to seven balls.
Hearing fixed, cheaper than expected
I went to the clinic this afternoon and had hot water fired into my ear at a high velocity, which unblocked it almost immediately. This was great, but promptly made the other feel like it was blocked in comparison, so they did that one too. I can now hear properly for the first time in ages - I so want one of those machines! Once they found out that I fix computers I was asked to help out with a problem, and they gave me a 50% discount!
1537 words left. Gotta go.
Hello!
Hey, thanks for coming! I'm Andrew, and this is where my headthinks come to breed. They often meander around humanism and photography, but they're flighty and you can't trust them, so anything is possible.
Do feel free to email me - I get lonely:
Your hair looks swish, by the way - have you done something new?
Recent Comments
- vicky: going up this weekend having done all the welsh peaks except 4 snowdon, cant wait
on Climbing Snowdon. - vicky: what, how can u live in the 21 c and say that, probably a sexist thing
on Climbing Snowdon. - vicky: da iawn laura, cant believe what im hearing, all this fuss, anyway love the site, and i agree, normal people who swear and curse clomb mountains cos we live in the...
on Climbing Snowdon. - Andrew: Did a few quick test shots to check the light levels, then balanced the camera on the arm of a bench, set it for a 20s exposure and hoped for the best
on ISS. - lynsey: Wow, how did you take that photograph?
on ISS.
