Bethanie's Brain

You know that 8,000 words I wanted to crank out between Friday and Sunday - I actually did it! How? I have no idea - other than sheer bloody mindedness. I mean, there were distractions galore. Everyone is still sick. The Husband was gone part of Saturday and Sunday. The Mt. Everest of Laundry took over most of the house. Our TV died and we had to buy a new one (according to the TV watchers, anyway - I'd have been fine without it). So I had every excuse to give up on my lofty goal and settle for the minimum 1,667 each day. But I didn't, and now I'm back where I'm more used to being during NaNo - a couple days ahead. Not that I won't squander that over Thanksgiving, but hey, that's what a cushion is for, right?

I have yet to write a single word today, which bodes un-well for my previously advertised word count goal for the weekend. However, I have large piles of laundry and live with a bunch of people who think they need clean underwear every day (I know, I know, WTF??!?). But laundry is underway and I'm about to be myself --- armed with this: Yeah. That's, like, an inch of froth standing up over the edge of the cup. Clever, aren't I? Er, yeah, whatever. The trick is to let the froth set for a good five minutes before you dump the espresso in. Yum, yum!

My word count goal between now and Sunday night: 8,000 words. Chances of me actually achieving said goal: slim to none-ish. I mean, I have work-work to do. I have house-work to do. I have two sick kids. I have a sick husband. I have a sick self. I have email to catch up on. I have phone calls to make to family and friends. In other words, I am almost certainly setting myself up for failure. But what the hell. It's NaNo. Anything can happen. So, here we go. Word count as of this morning: 25,677. Ready? Set? GO.

Save the Earth! It's the only planet with chocolate! I didn't. Somebody at NaNo has it as their sig line. And even though I've labeled it as such, it's not technically a Bumpah Stickah either. But it should be.

I love widgets. Can you tell? -----------> EDIT: Curses! They don't update! @%*&#!! EDIT #2: OK, OK, they do update. Just not very consistently. Whatever. They are cute and I love them.

So the dude who started this whole NaNoWriMo thing asked his characters this question. And told everyone else. So now EVERYONE is doing it. Including me. And since I can't seem to post my stupid comment on the NaNo forums, I decided to post it here instead (or, eventually, in addition to). So. Here's how my characters answered the question: Luci: I want to find out who murdered my best friend 11 years ago. Wen-Shu: I want to go back in time and undo the mistakes that cost my father his throne; that way I get to be Empress of the World. Woo-hoo! Kesera: I want to get the hell out of this stinkin' Keep. Then I want everybody to shut the hell up and stop telling me what to do. Fenn: I want my dead wife and son back. Barring that, I'll stay high all the time, so I can forget about them. Lars: I want Fenn to stop getting high all the time, take his responsibilites seriously and go back to good ol' days before he met that crazy bitch. And Luci, I want Luci. Ma...

Yes, that rag. Why the public service announcement about it? Well, only because it's been almost exactly TWO YEARS since the last time. Yeah. Breastfeeding rocks.

Up to 8,375 words on the NaNo, which means I'm still keeping up with the daily word count goals. Still amazed by this very fact. It shouldn't be happening. Not with the way Ms. Baby sleeps. Not with the way everyone's been sick. Not with work being, well, there. Wish they had the widgets available, so I could stick my running word count on the side bar. Which reminds me -- that side bar is a friggin' MESS. Needs cleaning. Like my kitchen. And like my kitchen, it will likely have to wait until December... Except for the widgets.

So it's started. And - in spite of both kids being sick and work going bonkers - I've managed to get through the first day and make word count. Amazing. And it's actually going well. If you don't count Luci hijacking the plot. On page 5. Honestly, I'm amazed and happy-fied to have got this far. Especially considering that if you'd told me a month ago that I was going to do NaNo again, I would have said you were crazy. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

So here I am -- out of town at a professional training conference and I HAVE THE HOTEL ROOM TO MYSELF. No requests for snacks every 5 minutes from Ms. Five. No constant demands for attention from Ms. Baby. No grousing from The Husband about how much everything costs here in the middle of the Big City. In other words, it's QUIET . Like I said: REALLY weird.

Still debating doing NaNo. I think doing random chapters related to other novels would be a bad idea, though. Well, not bad in and of itself, but certainly doomed to failure as a NaNo project. The key to succeeding at NaNo is momentum and casually drifting from one project to another ain't gonna cut it. So to hell with that idea. And maybe to hell with NaNo. Right. And this would be the '...well, maybe...' part. See, I have this couple of characters from Novel #1. And I'd really like to know what they think they're doing there. They're interesting characters ('cuz they're women and they kick ass) - all the more so because one of them won't let me in her head, but she keeps doing these random things that I KNOW are important but I haven't had the time to figure out what her story is, what exactly she's really after or whose side she's actually on. And isn't NaNo the perfect vehicle for finding out shit like that? Of course it i...

Posted on the announcement board at the local Church o' Christ: O taste and see that the Lord is good Posted on the announcement board at the local 7th Day Adventist's church: Vegetarian tasting September 29th I know, I know, I'm reading it all wrong. But it makes ya wonder, yanno...

I'm debating about Nano this year. It's fun and all, and having done it 3 times already, I have no doubt I can write 50,000 words in a month. Which is pretty much the point. Or the problem. Or whatever. I mean, do I really need another half-assed novel sitting around begging me to work on it? I don't have time to work on the others and they make me feel guilty and inadequate enough. Do I really need to add another guilt trip to my life? No. Hell, no. So instead, I'm thinking about "cheating". Technically, as I understand it, it's against the rules to work on an existing project. You're supposed to create 50,000 words-o-crap on some brandy, spankin' new project. That seems sorta silly. So - if I do NaNo at all - it may just be random chapters that I've been meaning to write on the other three novels. Or I may work on a(nother) storyline to tack onto the already-gigantic Novel #1. ('cuz it needs more characters and plot. Really.) Or...

So Ms. Five is in kindergarten. This is very exciting for everyone, of course. A lot of changes - new schedule, new friends, going to school EVERY day (not just 2 days a week), etc. - but we're getting used to it. Harder to get used to is all the MONEY we're shelling out for various fees and fundraisers, all to benefit this public school, which, um, aren't I alreading funding by paying my taxes? Yes, yes, I know - if anything in this world is underfunded it's public schools. But I mean, really, c'mon. We have, thus far: paid a $45 kindergarten supply fee received a Wish List from the kindergarten teacher of things she still needs paid a $50 computer lab fee (OK, haven't actually paid that yet...) received a request to collect Box Tops for Education purchased $34-worth of items from the catalog fundraiser for myself purchased $57-worth of items from the catalog fundraiser for my mother, grandmother and sisters foisted the catalog fundraiser on all other relati...

It's raining. Actually raining. As in, wet stuff falling from the sky. It's the craziest thing. I mean, not counting a couple of 5-minute cloudbursts, it hasn't rained here in Hell in months (er, not that you'd expect it to, I suppose). It's been so hot and so dry for so long, it was starting to feel like it was never going to rain again. Now that it has, everyone is quite confused and nobody really knows what to do with it. It started this morning. It was only sprinkling when I left for work at 6AM, but I stood there, looking up at the sky, amazed and reveling in the feel of it on my face. All of a sudden, from directly behind me, came this massive rustling sound and this huge flock of birds - silent, except for their frantic wingbeats - went rushing past me about 30 feet overhead. I couldn't help thinking they were young birds fleeing from something totally unknown to them. I opened the door just now so I could listen to it falling and it sounds weird. ...

Holly Lisle has a really interesting post about trees (well, the 'really interesting' part is in the comments, actually) that got me thinking about trees and forests and how important they've always been to me. First, there was the Norway maple in the yard of the house I grew up in. Huge thing, taller than the house by 20 feet or more. I loved the thing. The whole neighborhood climbed it. It was home base for countless games of hide-and-seek. My best friend and I once vowed to spend a whole day in it (and we would have, had we not been stimied by the logistics of emptying our bladders - sucks, being a girl sometimes). Then there were the colossal oak trees in the park down the street. I think there were probably 20 or 30 of them. You could feel something in them just walking by. When I left New England to move Way Out West, I made a special trip to say good bye to those trees. I picked up an acorn from one of them, hoping to take some of their strength with me. I ...

So it turns out Sickness #2 was ANOTHER strep infection. Couldn't fucking believe it. But I've just finished my SECOND round of antibiotics in less than a month (slightly different drug, fewer side effects, hallelujah). Here's hoping it doesn't come back. Now that antibiotics are over and done with, Boss Lady is pushing the ginseng (" White ginseng, not red. Red too strong for you."). It's supposed to boost your immune system and thus keep the nasty-wasty strep bugs at bay. I'm supposed to take it only for a few weeks, just until my energy levels get back to normal. She even gave me a couple of tea bags to get started and promised me a website where I can buy it online ("Little more expensive, but high quality."). So I'm all excited - real Chinese medicine! From a real Chinese doctor! I tried a cup today. It tastes like crap. Well, not crap , exactly. I'm exaggerating. But it's really... woody . Yanno, like you just went ou...

Naturally, right when I thought it was over, The Sickness has come back. Not as big and bad as before (yet), but nonetheless, I am back to popping pain pills every few hours for my throat and running for the toilet every few minutes for what comes out the other end. It's just fucking joyous, lemmetellya.

I've been sick for weeks now. First, it was food poisoning. Then, a really bad strep infection. After that, side effects of the antibiotics. It's finally clearing up - an entire month later. It's the side effects that got to me worst, making me feel like I'll never be well again, never be healthy. Acute illness is easier to deal with. It's there. It's immediate. Then it's over with. Side effects are insidious. There, but not to be complained about because they are all part of "getting better", so you pop that pill KNOWING what it's going to do to you, knowing that's going to tear your insides out, make your guts gurgle, your stomach grind, your intestines writhe. You know you're going to be nauseated. You know your appetite is going to disappear. You know you're going to be pissing out your asshole. But you pop the pill anyway, because hey, when your tonsils are so swollen you can't swallow your own spit, what the h...

Because I am stumped on other current projects, I began a read-through of the 2006 NaNo. I'm about half-way through and I am finding it little more than a detailed outline of the story. The characters are paper-doll-ish. The plot resembles an ill-fitting, moth-eaten jacket. The world building is barely there. Exactly as expected, in other words. Which doesn't disappoint me really. It's something to work with and that's about all you can realistically expect from NaNo. With any luck, I'll get through it in the next couple of days, make some notes and let it sit another few months before I do any serious work on it. Perspective, that's the thing when editing...