The other two years I did Nano I was absolutely writing up until the midnight Nov. 30 deadline. This year, I sort of accidentally crossed 50k without realizing. OK, I realized I was close, but I figured I had another session ahead of me. The book itself isn't finished, but I wrote to a pretty good stopping point.
What I'm Reading
Not much since I'm focused on writing. I started Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, but I haven't made much progress with it. I was the first to get it from my library branch, and I'm ashamed to say--a travel mug spilled all over it. The pages are all wavy and stained. Yeah, I'm THAT person who ruined a brand new library book. I kind of feel like buying them a replacement.
What I'm Writing
I finished 50k in SUNSET SUMMER. I'm most impressed that I came up with a title before I started the book. That never happens.
First drafts are tough. I wanted to go back and fix stuff a hundred dozen times, but Nano, got to keep pressing forward. I allowed myself one quick re-read and tweak of each scene right after I wrote it, but no going back chapters. I did have to re-do a couple scenes once I realized I was being too nice to my characters and the ending would never work if I didn't set it up right. So where I left off, I still need an ending, but I should be able to pick that up in a few weeks.
Because I have a revision to get to, and a manuscript to enter into RWA's Golden Heart. Part of why I was so driven to finish Nano is these other projects waiting for me.
What Inspires Me
Deadlines. Seriously.
Other than that, it's a season of giving and I'm glad to see how generous people can be. Tornadoes wrecked entire towns in my state and across the Midwest last week. My workplace has a community service committee at work who researched different reputable charity agencies and my team is donating to relief efforts here in Illinois and also to the Philippines (one of my coworkers is from the Philippines and still has family there--they are all OK). It shifted my focus at the right time from: what can I buy for Black Friday? to: how much and where can I give?
What Else I've Been Up To
Our downstairs was gutted for weeks after a water heater leak. Workers have been in and out, the cat's litter box was relocated into a not-very-desirable area, my home office was stuffed with things that belonged elsewhere, and my living room has been crowded with guitars, amps, and stuff I'm not sure of (though the cat enjoyed climbing the boxes). Now all the work is done and I can have my space back!
Planning for holidays. I'm the potato queen this year, cooking up this fabulous and easy Bourbon Sweet Potatoes recipe, along with mashed. I'm also doing a croissant and brie appetizer which makes me feel fancy.
Additionally, I'm stoked for a new Muppets Thanksgiving special (with Lady Gaga-OMG). It airs Thanksgiving night on ABC! I would attach a link but everything I found had slow buffering video content and pop-up ads. UGH. So just know: MUPPETS.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Please visit the other blogs and check in!
Posts
Happy Thanksgiving! And congrats on finishing NaNo! Like you, I reached 50k but still haven't finished the MS yet. But I'm really trying to get it done before November ends... just because.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on winning NaNo! Deadlines inspire me, too, even though I haven't "won" NaNo this year because of so many other projects needing work on. I try not to fix things mid-draft, too, but it's tough sometimes!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on winning NaNo! It must have felt good to finish before the holidays start up. Happy Thanksgiving! That recipe for bourbon sweet potatoes sounds AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing NaNo! I finished on Monday, it's such an awesome feeling. Good luck finishing your novel :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing your NaNo project over the minimum length! I guess I'm inspired by deadlines too, since I tend to do my best, most focused work when I put off papers and assignments till a week or few days before the due date.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing NaNo! And early to boot. Awesome! Now you'll be able to enjoy Thanksgiving without NaNo hanging over your head. It is wonderful that people think of others less fortunate this time of year. I really hope that this spirit of generosity helps those who have been impacted by recent tragic events like in the Philippines and the Midwest.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Thanksgiving, Stephanie!
Congratulations on finishing NaNo! That's amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt never fails to astound me how caring people are towards others. Really puts life into perspective, doesn't it?
Have a great Thanksgiving!
YAY for finishing NaNo early!! That's so awesome, and now you really get to enjoy the holidays.
ReplyDeleteHope you like Coldest Girl. I think it's my favorite Holly Black novel I've read. :) Happy Thanksgiving!! (I'm looking forward to the Muppets/Gaga special too!)
Awesome job on finishing NaNo. That's great. I've never done it before but have been inspired by the writers that have been participating.
ReplyDeleteAnd yay to the potato! I'll have to check out the link for the recipe. Sounds pretty amazing.
Have a Happy Turkey Day. If you eat turkey, that is.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and nice to meet you.
Let me be the first, uh, second, er, okay, I'm far down the list of folk who've congratulated you on your NaNo success, but, CONGRATS! all the same. :D
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about wanting to go back to edit - its difficult not to do when you know there's something back there that just doesn't work. And as for endings, well, I had one in my outline when I began, until about halfway I realized that it just wouldn't work.
Happy American Thanksgiving!
YAY!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS on finishing NaNo!!! Deadlines ARE inspiring, aren't they? I have self-imposed deadlines right now. They're not as inspiring, lol.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Congratulations on finishing your NaNo project! You are so lucky that deadlines inspire you. They tend to paralyze me a little. I have to WORK HARD to not freak out.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving.
Congrats on the NaNo accomplishment -- that's fantastic :) :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked Coldest Girl -- but I love pretty much anything Holly Black writes. The Curseworkers series is one of my favorite in all of YA.
Jen @ YA Romantics