50k the NaNoWriMo way!

I did it. I made it. I have arrived. 50 000 words later and I have hit that euphoria and relief that is always there, regardless of how many times you 'win' - this would be my fourth in the seven times I've done nano.

I'm not done yet. My story isn't done and I'm now hitting on some of the big points in the story that took all willpower I had NOT to start writing right then and there. So no. I'm not going to stop just yet. I won't be hitting my 100k. Life has just been awful in throwing obstacles at me. I'm just glad to have 'finished'.

My story did some weird and wonderful things so far. As is known, I have been planning my fanfic from June/July. I've spent hours making notes and working through scenarios and deciding where I want characters to go and what I want them to do and how I want them to develop. One would think that, given the preparation that has gone into the story, things would have followed as it was set out step by grudging step. You'd be wrong though. While the sections to the story stayed the same, characters got added, characters died, relationships got forged and torn apart... it's been crazy.

A friend told me recently that you find the soul of characters in the moments they go beyond your planning. Some of my characters have a LOT of soul and they were all too happy to share it.

I've had to write scenes that I never thought I would. Ones that made me laugh, cry, feel sick to my stomach,  and shiver with anxiety. And in it all, I've learnt. And that's what is the most amazing thing about writing. You learn. You see things differently. You gain insights. You grow.

I want to finish this story. And I want to post it at some point. I'd have to rework quite a bit of it. Add scenes, remove scenes, tone down scenes (especially the creeeeeeeeepiest, most awkward one I've ever written) and finally really sit and figure out whether I am going to be posting it or not). But that's for later. For now, there are six days of nanowrimo left. The pressure to finish the race is off. Now it's to see where this story takes me.

Nanowrimo update

Gaaaaaahhhhh I missed a week somewhere. I've been an evil blogger.

Short and sweet summary for you

• I'm not going to reach my target because life is evil
• I'm incredibly busy because life is evil
• I hardly feel like I have a brain left because life is evil
• Life is evil

But I will be hitting 50k at least. That's a given.

*sigh*

I wish I could think of something more to say... *goes to bed instead*

Babble - Nanowrimo - the first week

The first week was rather frustrating, but then I knew it would be. Work has gone from crazy to the point of "Please someone come fetch us and make sure the strait-jackets have purple buckles!" Which means, I had a couple of really awesome writing days and then some really crappy ones.

Also, I missed my one coursera deadline which means I won't actually have my course be 'complete'... ever. That's a little disappointing too. The task just completely slipped my mind and yeah... I still have one essay I need to do and a couple of quizzes - which basically consists of single questions that you end up guessing, but anyhoo.

This week is not necessarily going to be any easier. Work is work and everyone wants me to do something they gave me which means I'm bringing stuff home to do as well. There simply isn't enough time in a workday. And it's not a matter of "oh, stuff that, just finish when you can." Some of the  funding we're getting is dependent on this and that funding needs to still be paid out this year. If we don't get the funding next year, the boat sinks. It's really as simple as that. So yeah... stress.

I want to crawl my way back. I really do. If I can somehow manage to make my target, I'll be absolutely ecstatic.

We'll see.

For now I'm giving myself two hours of writing and then I need to get back to work. Joy.

Babble: Nanowrimo Kick-off party and the first couple of days of writing

I was exhausted when I got to our kick-off venue. I had spent most of the night still putting some goodie stuff together. It still didn't seem like all that much.. The waiter told me that despite my emailing the owner and arranging the table booking over a week in advance, they had no booking for me. Fortunately, they had virtually zero clientele at that moment and tables quickly got moved to accommodate ten people. I didn't know how many would come. We knew of four confirmed, two who may be gatecrashing. I figured ten would be enough. My co-ML brought his lot of goodies and that made the packets rather awesome, I thought.

We ended up being seven wrimos in total, one +1 there for moral support. Not bad at all.

Our region has always been the one with very few actual participants. What we lack in numbers, however, we more than make up in enthusiasm. We are known for our enthusiasm. That tells you something.

So the kick-off went rather well. 

As for the actual writing. My months of planning is really paying off. I'm having a lot of fun writing. Every time the planning falters, spontaneity steps in.When my mind fails to think of something, my handy-dandy file has the answers. I'm about 954 words short of 10 000. I might actually make 100k this year. I really want to. I was pretty darn close last year, but my story was virtually non-existent and I couldn't think of any other crap to write down. Not that I would have made the goal even if I had continued, but still. 

This time I can totally make it, I think what I'm writing isn't all that bad and if I like it then what else matters, right? Right.

So... so far so good.