I Survived! Here I Go Again! And AGAIN (this time capitalized)

Only that second AGAIN isn't AGAIN, but the first time... but youknowwhatImean...

So NaBloWriMo is over... and I succeeded in blogging daily, but probably only get about a C- on getting to my fellow bloggers' blogs. I tried to get around... I really did. But my list of regulars is big enough now that just getting to THAT group is about all the time I have.

Before I dive into NaNoWriMo (because I am writing this last night), I thought I would give a few shout outs...


Elizabeth Mueller's Darkspell came out yesterday! Congratulations Elizabeth!

Jessica Bell's String Bridge comes out today! Congratulations, Jessica! (and Jessica is going to be a guest on the 15th, so you will get to see an interview and review)

Roland Yeomans is having a GREAT giveaway in relation to his book release The Legend of Victor Standish, which I just finished—a very fun read. Roland combines such a creative set of forces, it's like nothing I've read. I really enjoyed it! So go check out MORE and figure out how to win some great stuff!


So What is this Again?

NaNoWriMo, of Course!

I made my layered outline. I have my notes. I have a fair few details for the first few chapters. And I am READY! (so ready, I will probably start at 6:30 in the morning and try to get a few hundred words in before work!)

My Story? Gads, I almost don't want to jinx it. It is high concept... probably my first of those since Kahlotus... I figure a writer only gets a handful of these. Like I feel confident it will be easy to sell once it is written and cleaned up.

But here goes:

Amanda Harden is biding her time, trying to stay under her volatile father’s radar.  She is going to school, getting good grades, working a little. But all she really wants is for her brother to get home from college and balance out the tension in the house.

Unfortunately, his return coincides with the arrival of the letter expelling him from college and he is unceremoniously kicked out of the house.

Amanda decides to leave with him. They’ve learned from a master and figure they can get by running cons. Asher’s idea seems cruel at first—research the recently deceased and bring messages to their loved ones, but Amanda justifies it by thinking they can bring peace in addition to a little income.

The plan works pretty well for the most part, until the dead realize Amanda is open for business and the messages they bid her to carry are not the kind that will bring anyone peace.

Reactions? I'm really excited.

And the AGAIN!!!! (that isn't actually an again, but a first?)

It's official. Kahlotus Disposal Site is in the hands of six REAL Publishers... (big names—like panicky, heart-racing names). Harper Collins. Delecourt. FREAKING DISNEY. *falls over* Sorry. That just awakens dreams of 'movie deal'. I KNOW they are pipe dreams... long shots... but SO BAD, I would love to just be able to WRITE!

You don't think Disney gives you demerits for calling them FREAKING DISNEY do you?  Because ohmygawd, they are FREAKING DISNEY! Seriously... I know some of these are bigger names in publishing. I will be THRILLED if any of them love it (though not as thrilled as if they go to battle and have an auction about me *sigh*  (a girl can dream, yes?)) That was just the name that I hear 'cha ching' with...

Oh, man... I am possibly punch drunk and giddy thinking about this, but I will be panicking again soon. Stick around. It should be amusing.... for you.

Tuesday's Prompt

Yours truly at 15 (i'm the split one)

You know how my relationship with rules is sort of fast and loose? And you know how I said I was off today? (off work, I mean--not the kind of off I am always off)  And then there was tiny family emergency to handle, a bathroom to clean, laundry to fold and 200 pages worth of hard copy edits to enter...

So I scanned back over prompts for NaBloWriMo and thought HEY! That one's EASY! Never mind that it was for Tuesday... So here we are...

The Prompt?  
What Advice would you give your 15-year old self? 
(funny, I still have those leg warmers... funnier... I still wear them...)


On Boys: Don't be in such a darned hurry to have a boyfriend. Having a boyfriend for the sake of it forces you to give up something of yourself. You really don't want one until you meet someone who likes the authentic you.


On Friends: This is a small town. These people are GREAT people, but everybody can be lousy at 15 and 16... Don't take it to heart. (honestly, I did pretty good on this front—I had varied friends and if one set was bitchy, I just hung out with different people for a while. It could seem painful at the time, but I still think it was the way to go)


On School: Meh... I think I did okay on this one...


On Parties: Boys are NOT the be-all and end-all. Neither is beer. Hang with your girlfriends more. They are the part of this time you will savor later (and are least likely to regret).

Only 14 here, actually (braces give it away)

On Writing: This is something you achieve through hard work. Not alchemy. It won't magically happen that you suddenly write a novel. One page every day, though, is enough to write a book in a year if you just keep going. Persistence is where you excel. It is NOT the unachievable thing like modeling or being a movie star... you were made for this. And when that cute boy wants to see what you wrote, tell him its private and stick to your guns until you really DO want to share. If he can't understand that, let him walk away because he doesn't get what you need.

I have no clue what I was doing there (the picture)... I've always had a silly streak. Both these pictures were from year book stuff and I thank my friend Mary for sharing them (she was often the yearbook photographer and put tons of many people up on facebook--far easier than scanning stuff myself)

NaBloWriMo 2011

So October is SATURDAY, right?  I haven't heard much hype on this this year, and I'm not sure why. This was the first big blog event I participated in back in 2009, and my first cluster of new followers (you know... besides my friends I begged to follow me). I guess there are a couple really great things about this activity, and all of them make it a great one for October, so I am presenting my case in the hope YOU will join, too...

First though, I should probably tell you WHAT it is... NaBloWriMo stands for National Blog Writing Month and people who participate commit to writing a blog post every day for a month. WHY would you do that? Well see, it's like this...


1)  Daily Writing Habit: A lot of people need a bit of a push to write more regularly, and this is a nice way to get going—a group activity where you've committed to a daily blog. It doesn't need to be LONG, but getting into the habit can be good for #2...

2)  Good Prep for NaNoWriMo... You think BLOGGING every day is big, you oughta write a book in 30 days! But strangely, the habit... both the habit of daily writing, and the habit of following through on a commitment FOLLOWS...

3)  It is a good exercise in goal setting and planning. Surely, unless you live in a wind tunnel or mysterious vortex, there are going to be good days and bad days. It is good practice for scheduling a couple ahead.... it is a good practice for being scrappy and pulling something together ANYWAY... It is just a good practice at coming ACROSS as consistent, even if life persists in being unpredictable...

4)  It's a fun, interactive event—Now I am making some assumptions here, but in past years, the sidebar to the NaBloWriMo blog has had all the participants, so it was easy to meet others who were doing it—a great way to meet some new bloggers.

5)  It's a great tradition—some great people do this. They are fun and friendly. But besides that, it sort of sets off a marathon for me each year... NaBloWriMo, NaNoWriMo, prep for ABNA, ABNA...


As to what I will do differently around here to add weekends to my routine...

I've noticed I have a LOT of friends who've had book releases this fall... a lot more than made my guest list. So I am going to use weekends, at least partially, to share some new books by people we all know. I ALSo have intentions to change my recommended BOOKS page to just a recommendations page. It will include links to fellow bloggers who EDIT (as a business), as we have a few, and I will make an attempt to get my book recommendations up to snuff—I don't update nearly as often as I should.

And when all else fails, I can post llama pictures... I never get tired of llama pictures...

So Who's In?

Go let them know!

Zipping It

[Note:  all images are Google images and nobody I know]


Halo fine peoples! Today, in addition to being probably my favorite holiday, is also a WRAP for a couple things.

NaBloWriMo

I technically won here, but I have some hesitation saying so because while I blogged every day (the rules) October was a crazy BLUR and I didn't get around to nearly as many other bloggers as I should have. I had a fair amount of growth in October (follower-wise, I mean), but I think most of that was do to the Blogger Crusade and Guesting stuff... I am behind with the blog tag tit-for-tat thing, and I have some making up to do.

So if you dropped in HERE for the first time in October, and I MISSED IT somehow, PLEASE give a shout. It's my intent to follow back followers and to comment back on commenters... and when things are regular, to get people into my blog roll.

Editing Marathon

I have managed to SUCCEED getting LEGACY edited for this particular draft. I have a fair amount of writing and editing to do in the NEXT draft but I have a very detail list of what needs to go in WHERE—a full plan for how to get it REALLY DONE. So I am pleased there. I will do THAT in December.

The Cozy: all my changes from peer readers are in (and there was much rejoicing), and I have read out loud 250+ pages of it. While I have 50 more pages to read and all the CHANGES from the read left to put in, I think this was pretty darned good work. So feeling good there, too... Though it means today is still SWAMPED.

What that means? Today's blog is SHORT! Just a couple little monsters to share.

I WISH I'd been carrying my camera Friday. I went to the library to return a couple DVDs and they were having a pre-school Halloween parade-- dozens of tiny people in costume. They seemed to be mostly animals and bugs (there might have been a 'no scary costume' rule—I was surprised though at the lack of Disney or Superhero characters. But the BEST? An ARMADILLO!



Everyone have a fabulous Halloween!!!

NaXXXWriMo

You guessed it! You have stepped into the pornography mode of WriMos... *snort * or not... Okay, seriously... I just wanted to talk about both WriMos and that was the easiest way to get it across... so sue me...

NaBloWriMo

If you aren't a sidebar cruising kind of reader, it's possible you missed it entirely... I always blog almost every day... I am just sort of an exhibitionist and it is how I swing... but in October I formally COMMITTED to NaBloWriMo—writing a blog post every day in October... and while I have a bizillion weaknesses, one of my strengths is that I ALWAYS follow through. If I say I will... I will. (it doesn't hold QUITE the same strength if I share with YOU a commitment I make to MYSELF, but when I commit to YOU...) so here we have it.. I will blog every day...

I've discovered though, that COMMITTING to blogging every day is, in some ways, making it harder. I apologize if any of my themes seem strained... I don't think it is the alphabetical thing—I think it is the HAVE TO every day thing... I don't TAKE the option not to.. but it is always there... I think it is messing with my creative flow or something... or maybe it is editing—that is equally likely—editing and creativity are mutually exclusive... But there we have it... I am committed to blogging... and committed to editing... and should possibly be committed.

NaNoWriMo

So I talked earlier about WHAT I'd write. It is fairly (but not completely) decided that this round will by the YA mystery Player Down. This was in the top three among all of you, but was really CHOSEN for being the most complete concept. Everything else has stuff to work out, or higher stakes for not getting it just right.

Today though, my interest is in WHY WriMo.

Did you know that in the last 14 months I finished 6 novels? That sounds just a little insane, doesn't it? Do you want know know how many novels I've CLEANED in that time? I've done the 3rd cleaning of CONFLUENCE... the first cleaning of LEGACY and two cleans of the Garden Cozy. NONE of them is 'Clean enough'. In other words last year was a WRITING year and it really needs to be balanced by an EDITING year.


But I am not willing to give up the WriMo. Why?

I could say the ideas keep coming. (They do.)
I could tell you it is important to appease the muse. (Also true)
I could tell you how I love the group energy (BOY HOWDY!)

But the reality of it is the unavoidability of my FOMS. FOMS, for the uninitiated, is my deep seeded Fear of Missing Something. What if something COOL happened and I wasn't participating? I couldn't handle that at all! I HAVE TO BE THERE!!!

Plus the five novel ideas and the knowledge that I could not possibly wait until six months from now to start one...

So if any of YOU are doing it, please join ME in doing it... (no matter WHAT your motivation)


http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/534564

Alphabetical Assembly

So this is a wild hair and a little nutso and all but I thought... since I am blogging every day in October, that maybe I'd do the alphabetic thing that I first saw from arleebird last April. I figure with yesterday's tribute and my guest post, the leftover days are about right for the alphabet, so hey, why not...

Ass Acquisition

While I'd PREFER not to do this, it seems to be the state of things... I can't resist eating... the size of my back side grows... I think we should all hold a moment of silence for the ass ascension that we'd like to occur....

*cough *


Appetite

Not in control, or the ass problem would recede.


And finally AWARDS

Now FINALLY, I have something to say!


I've received two awards this week from fabulous friends, and it is time I pass them along.

So first... from Jan, at Crazy Jane I received the Literacy Builder Award, for which I feel inadequate, but thought I'd go through my blog roll and decide who most promoted READING, so I am awarding the Literacy Builder Award to:

HA!  And I totally forgot the five favorite words part!

NAKED
BENDY
INNUENDO
CACOPHONY
MISATTRIBUTING


Kimberly Loomis at the Perpetual Writer for her dedicated focus on what we READ as well as what we write.

Jane Kennedy, at Jane's Ride for being on top of the reading world and making sure we don't forget what is important

and to...

Jenny at Suspense Your Disbelief for her dedication to the publication process.

And then the Second Award, an original, created by Leigh at That's Right [http://leightmoore.blogspot.com/] for the Strangely Irresistable Award... though I have no idea what she's talking about... but I want to pass it on to the blogs I find strangely irresistable...

Simon, at Constant Revisions because Simon, as the only Man-tart I know, and my clear TWIN in this lifetime seems to have this magnetic draw... like a mirror... with special effects...

Boonsong at Boonie's Thailand Photos for his always interesting windows to Thailand, and his always chuckle-worthy translation of what's in those windows.

And Barb and Deb at The Middle Ages for r their unflinching look at the things in life, good and bad, that make it LIFE...

So there we have Saturday...


Have a great weekend, my friends!

NaBloWriMo

You may have noticed my new sidebar... looks something like:

  this. That is because October is quickly approaching.

And this month, one of my fabulous blogger buddies, Heather (who is NotHannah) is holding down the fort, so to speak. I suffer from something called FOMS (fear of missing something) so OF COURSE I am participating, but I'd like to encourage all of YOU to participate, too!

So what IS NaBloWriMo? (It's not actually naughty, at least not by definition) Simply this. Post a blog every day in October. It is good for discipline (and we all can use a spanking now and again) and a great way to increase your network, as there is a fabulous smorgasborg of participants involved.

I participated last year, as a relatively new blogger, and it was my first growth spurt of people I didn't have prior connections to, so I encourage you, especially if you are newish to blogging, to COMMIT.

How?

1) Go http://nablowrimo.blogspot.com/
2) Pick up the button (which I LOVE, by the way--nice and fally! Fall-ee? Fall like? Autumnesque? Yeah... I'm going with Autumnesque.
3) Email: NotHannah (at) comsouth (dot) net

Easy peasy!

Erm... other than that you then ALSO are supposed to write a blog every day in the month of October, but you can do it... get creative!

Obstacles and Excuses Debunked

But I'm GONE

Last year Mari was traveling a significant portion of the time... she dedicated a weekend before she left and wrote about nine blogs, then scheduled them, one a day, so she didn't have to count on computer access from the road/air/Tart House.


I Don't Have Enough To Say

DO! (This is a good test of persistence and creativity and it's good for you). You are allowed to fall back on sharing pics, funnies, telling family stories... whatever you need. You have PLENTY to say!


I Don't Have the Discipline!

DUH! What do you think it the POINT?! Developing discipline! (Erm, other than the making a lot of cool groovy friends part).


I Have to Make Halloween Costumes!

You mean to tell me you are not subjecting your children to the character building exercise of putting together their OWN darned costume? How on EARTH will they survive college without having obtained this scrappy skill? Not that mean? Go behind a grocery store, get a box the size of your child. Buy some paint and make them into their favorite snack. Two hours, tops (unless the cat gets in the paint, but never mind). Crayons are also popular... dress all in same color. Use black construction paper to make color letters, and a cone head.


But I'm Committed to NaNoWriMo in November

Join the club, my friend! This is good PRACTICE (not nearly the same level of commitment, honestly) and a good way to find buddies also doing NaNoWriMo.

So what are you waiting for?