Winner!

Alas! It is December 1st.

I'm feeling a mix of emotions right now. I'm happy because November is over, I wrote the 50,000 words in 30 days, and now I can get back to novel-reading. But I'm sad because I'll miss the weekly write-ins with an awesome group of Central Iowa Authors, my story only hit the half-way point at 50k words and will probably need at least another 40k to get to "The End," and next November seems so far away.

This was my second NaNoWriMo and definitely my best. Last year I wrote over 54,000 words and did it all on my own. There was nobody (that I knew of) in my town to have write-ins with. This year I wrote just over 50,000, but I had the greatest time doing it! I attended several write-ins in Ames and Des Moines with wonderful fellow writers. I was much more active in the forums. And I truly had a blast.

I'm not sure how quickly I'll get back to reading Slammerkin, but I hope to finish it and get a review up soonly. After that I'll be on to Harem, The White Queen, and Through a Glass Darkly. It's going to be a fantastic winter full of pageturners! (As soon as I get through my final exams, that is.)

Amore.

25k and pressing onward...

(click on image for original source)

It is still November, so in case you've been wondering where I've been...

I've had my fingertips glued to my new purple netbook. I've been from coffee shop to coffee shop with an amazing set of Central Iowa authors. I've been in faroff, hidden corners of the library. I've been hiding in my dorm room.

I've been typing, typing, typing... writing, writing, writing.

I broke 25k on Wednesday, which means I'm still behind. But today is the first full day of my long Thanksgiving Break. So I have a lot of writing to do and fortunately a lot of time to do it. Come December, I should have another 50,000 novel under my belt... and I'll be ready to stick my nose back into some pageturning novels!

Amore.

November is Near!

Coffee? Check. Characters? Check. Loads of research on 1st Century AD Pompeii? Check. Intrigue and infidelity among the elite? Double check. Plot outline? I better be finishing that...

Oh my goodness! The month I've been waiting for since December 1st of last year is finally looming nearer than ever! GreenEyedGirl is my username if you happen to frequent the NaNo forums. ;) November 1st at midnight, I'll be typing away (hopefully into the wee hours of the morning). And to think that Day Savings is kindly bestowing an extra hour to all of us insane NaNo-ers out there!

I'm quite looking forward to this hectic month. Yes, I have a BIG research paper to write. Yes, I have Latin and Psychology homework and tests up the wazzooo. Yes, I will probably have a short story, poem, or chapters of a novel to read every night from one of my two English classes. And yes, I will continue to read whatever book my nose is currently stuck in. On top of all that academia, I'll be striving to church out a novel composed of at least 50k words! (Last year I won with a little over 54k.) Oh, and I'll try to maintain my relationships with my boyfriend, friends, and family amid all the literary abandon! Heh.

You can still sign up tomorrow! Last year I signed up in the last few hours of Halloween---so don't think it's too late!

Amore.

30 Days & Nights of Literary Abandon | NaNoWriMo 2009

Oh, how wonderfully close November is! Yes, it is that time of year again. NaNoWriMo is fast approaching. What is NaNoWriMo, you ask? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Beginning on November 1st and continuing til the very end of November 30, participants around the world write and type their way to completing a 50,000 word novel. I know, I know. That does sound terribly daunting. I was terrified when I signed up at about 11:45 pm on October 31st of last year. I had no idea what I was getting into! But with some alone time, classical music, the encouragement of fellow NaNo writers, and a LOT of coffee... I managed to win my first year with over 54,000 words. Yeah, that's right... I made it to 50k and kept on going! I surprised and impressed not only my family and friends, but myself.

I'm really looking forward to NaNo '09 because it's going to be a whole new experience for me this year. Last year I was going to school near my hometown at a community college, living at home and writing in my inspiring bedroom, working part-time, and had never consumed coffee in my life. Oh, and I only knew one other person participating in NaNoWriMo. This year I'm at a new school, having transferred to Iowa State University. I'll be writing in my not-so-inspiring dorm, but I'm going to use October to decorate it and make it as inspiring as possible. (My surroundings really effect my writing.) I have no job, but loads more homework and lots of papers to write in November. I'm a pro at making delicious, strong coffee. And there are people in the surrounding area that get together and have write-ins, which is soooo exciting!

There's no cost to signing up. There's no penalty if you don't make it to 50k. And there are no prizes if you do. But the satisfaction of composing your own 50,000 word story is truly amazing. Yeah, it'll probably consist primarily of crap... but that's what editing and re-writing is for. So head on over, sign up, and get ready to write your novel this year.

Oh, and if you'd rather sit back and watch my NaNo progress, I should have a widget on the right-hand sidebar of this blog around the start of November. You and I'll will be reminded constantly of my (hopefully speedily growing) wordcount throughout the month.

Amore.