I arrived at the designated cafe about 20 minutes ago to meet up with Jenny and write. I was a little later than I'd hoped, since today was my pace training day and not a short one at that. I was scheduled to do five miles, fast - or fast pace - something, whatever, language escapes me at this moment, which is not a good thing.
So I was supposed to do five miles - and I did five miles. After talking myself into getting out there to do it. "Skip it," I taunted myself. "No," I replied. "Yes, one day won't hurt. Go write. You know you want to." I almost caved. Then I thought that I really can't skip at this point because - well, the half marathon is only 27 days away (now if this was in my nanonovel I would have written twenty seven days because that gives me a word count of three instead of two - but I'm not so you get the contractions and the digits normally).
I did the five miles at a decent pace. And ran into construction on the way here - typical of Portland in the fall.
And now I have food and coffee and water and my laptop open, with Jenny in front of me.
Distracting myself.
Here I go, back to nanoland. My beginning word count for today is 3,956. I'll let you know where I land when I have to rush off the get to the trainers. Before the Write Around Portland group. And then end with a stint of work.
Procrastination is ending now.
NaNo - ho!
Showing posts with label write around portland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label write around portland. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
countdown: 5 days, 3 hours, 41 minutes
originally posted at The Writing Vein, by Dot.
...but who's counting? oh, me... right... and thousands of other hopeful writers
And so I've entered the final week before NaNoWriMo. Am I prepared? Maybe. Am I ready to jump into this novel? Yes, definitely.
Maybe I should be making lists. What I need and when and where. Or maybe not. Life has been hitting me from right and left these last two weeks and I feel like I've been in a battleground. I won't bore you with the details nor expose personal garbage by spilling it here *grin. So the one thing I have done is put out a request to the universe to stop with the messes and get those stars aligned because I am going to write another novel beginning at midnight:01 on November 1st. And I need a little help getting things straightened out before that time.
Despite all the drama and the too many things to do in too little time, I am excited. I am excited to see where this idea leads me. All you see on my author's page synopsis is what I know. I don't have specific characters in mind nor specific incidents. I don't know if what I wrote as a synopsis will be a scene, the start, or the setting in general.
But it will happen. It will go somewhere. It will be completed. As I work, and teach (which is work, yes) , and finish out the last three weeks of the writing group I'm facilitating, and wrap up the final two weeks of the writing workshop I'm taking, and train for and walk my first half marathon. I can.
...but who's counting? oh, me... right... and thousands of other hopeful writers
And so I've entered the final week before NaNoWriMo. Am I prepared? Maybe. Am I ready to jump into this novel? Yes, definitely.
Maybe I should be making lists. What I need and when and where. Or maybe not. Life has been hitting me from right and left these last two weeks and I feel like I've been in a battleground. I won't bore you with the details nor expose personal garbage by spilling it here *grin. So the one thing I have done is put out a request to the universe to stop with the messes and get those stars aligned because I am going to write another novel beginning at midnight:01 on November 1st. And I need a little help getting things straightened out before that time.
Despite all the drama and the too many things to do in too little time, I am excited. I am excited to see where this idea leads me. All you see on my author's page synopsis is what I know. I don't have specific characters in mind nor specific incidents. I don't know if what I wrote as a synopsis will be a scene, the start, or the setting in general.
But it will happen. It will go somewhere. It will be completed. As I work, and teach (which is work, yes) , and finish out the last three weeks of the writing group I'm facilitating, and wrap up the final two weeks of the writing workshop I'm taking, and train for and walk my first half marathon. I can.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Dot's intro
NaNo Screenname: dot. (oooh, I love originality)
Role: writer
Novel genre: 2008 was literary fiction, ghost story, mystery, lesbian/gay; 2009 : probably mystery, adventure, lesbian (since I don't have a plot or characters, I can't really say!)
Location: SE Portland (Mt Tabor/Montavilla area)
Goals: to be winner before the Seattle Marathon, where I'll be walking the half marathon, on November 29th.
This is my second NaNoWriMo. Last year I became a winner the day before Thanksgiving. I had, I think, 56,001 words by midnight November 30th. I completed the novel on December 1st with another 3,000 words in that one day.
Come to think of it, it's funny that I didn't have a plot, characters, setting - anything - when I opened my laptop at midnight on November 1st -- and I didn't have an ending at midnight on November 30th.
But, see, it all came together! And I'm very pleased with my ending and like the storyline in the rest of it.
Right now, to prepare for November, I am *not* making an outline or researching characters or periods or anything. I like the surprise of seeing who shows up at the beginning. I will, again, be armed with my word bag (thanks to Ariel Gore) and a list of prompts (thanks to my Write Around Portland facilitator training) just in case nothing comes to me at the magic 12:01 AM time.
To prepare for November I *am* blocking out time in my work schedule. I sent some proposed dates for getting together to write with my writing buddy so we can have it on our books and not forget to do it. Actually, she and I met during the 2008 nano-adventure. And I did arrange to go up to Seattle 2 days before the marathon so I have time to not only relax and view the course and do all the other things I need to do two days before, but also to give myself time to write by being away from work and home and all of the distractions which tempt me away from my writing. I will also be staying in Seattle until Monday afternoon - either hastily typing away to cross the nano finish line or basking in the glory of being done!
Oh - and I think I'm going to take the train up and back so that I don't lose those precious 7 hours of writing. Which reminds me, I need to see if there are electrical outlets on the train. Hmm?
I'm not doing any writing training right now, other than being in my 4th Lit Star Training writing course with Ariel Gore and by writing weekly with the Write Around Portland group I am facilitating.
I will also be doing postings on my website as things go along from now until November 30th! Some of them will be duplicates and many will not. Last year's nanoposts are archived. If you want to take a look, I'm at The Writing Vein.
Role: writer
Novel genre: 2008 was literary fiction, ghost story, mystery, lesbian/gay; 2009 : probably mystery, adventure, lesbian (since I don't have a plot or characters, I can't really say!)
Location: SE Portland (Mt Tabor/Montavilla area)
Goals: to be winner before the Seattle Marathon, where I'll be walking the half marathon, on November 29th.
This is my second NaNoWriMo. Last year I became a winner the day before Thanksgiving. I had, I think, 56,001 words by midnight November 30th. I completed the novel on December 1st with another 3,000 words in that one day.
Come to think of it, it's funny that I didn't have a plot, characters, setting - anything - when I opened my laptop at midnight on November 1st -- and I didn't have an ending at midnight on November 30th.
But, see, it all came together! And I'm very pleased with my ending and like the storyline in the rest of it.
Right now, to prepare for November, I am *not* making an outline or researching characters or periods or anything. I like the surprise of seeing who shows up at the beginning. I will, again, be armed with my word bag (thanks to Ariel Gore) and a list of prompts (thanks to my Write Around Portland facilitator training) just in case nothing comes to me at the magic 12:01 AM time.
To prepare for November I *am* blocking out time in my work schedule. I sent some proposed dates for getting together to write with my writing buddy so we can have it on our books and not forget to do it. Actually, she and I met during the 2008 nano-adventure. And I did arrange to go up to Seattle 2 days before the marathon so I have time to not only relax and view the course and do all the other things I need to do two days before, but also to give myself time to write by being away from work and home and all of the distractions which tempt me away from my writing. I will also be staying in Seattle until Monday afternoon - either hastily typing away to cross the nano finish line or basking in the glory of being done!
Oh - and I think I'm going to take the train up and back so that I don't lose those precious 7 hours of writing. Which reminds me, I need to see if there are electrical outlets on the train. Hmm?
I'm not doing any writing training right now, other than being in my 4th Lit Star Training writing course with Ariel Gore and by writing weekly with the Write Around Portland group I am facilitating.
I will also be doing postings on my website as things go along from now until November 30th! Some of them will be duplicates and many will not. Last year's nanoposts are archived. If you want to take a look, I'm at The Writing Vein.
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