Day 27....SUCCESS!!!

I did it! I'm done! I can't believe it.

I consolidated my chapters into one humungous text file, and scrambled the heck out of it to the point where it looks like it is written in Klingon. Then I uploaded the file into the nanowrimo word count verifier, and ***poof*** I was finished.

I felt like there should be a celebration or something, so I went to the nanowrimo site, made a donation, and then sat here feeling good for several minutes. And now, I want more.

I guess this is the end of the road for this portion of my blog. It has been an interesting road to travel and I have learned lots of things about the world, about myself and about writing. I do know that I must keep writing, and that I better get a new project (or several new projects) started immediately. And I LOVED writing and recording the fun radio portions for WrimoRadio so much that I'm going to pursue more of that too. I don't know how it will all come together, all I know is that I'm throwing the intentions out there and will work my buns off while the Universe responds in a favorable way. Remember, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

Most important things I learned along the way:
-espresso makes the world go 'round
-a written-down half-cooked idea is better than a brilliant idea that is still rolling around in your head
-when life gives you lemons....shove 'em up life's tail-pipe, and have another espresso

Onwards and upwards!

Day 27...I'm just about there

I need only a few thousand words to make the 50,000 word mark. And I am out of ideas. Out. So desperate times call for desperate measures and I'm thinking of having my main character sit cross-legged on the floor and staring into one of those glass Christmas globes (the ones that 'snow' when you shake them), have the camera pan back and we discover that she is just a 5 year old child who has been dreaming the whole thing up. I'll call this part of the story: The St. Elsewhere Stolen Finale. And then spend the last 1000 words having my character write a long note that says "all work and no play makes Gabriella a dull girl", repeated a few hundred times.

The only thing I didn't throw in my 'novel' is a fateful trip that started as a three hour tour. But luckily there's always NaNoWriMo 2007.

It is too early in the morning to list things I've learned so far. Gotta get writing those last bits.

Day 23...where did the time go?

Happy Thanksgiving! I know I'm in Toronto and am Canadian and already had a big honking turkey dinner just over a month ago, but any reason to have another turkey is good enough for me. So as I write, my little 12 pound bundle of crispy-skinned yumminess is baking along with other tidbits of joy to celebrate American Thanksgiving!

No procrastinating here though. I went up and over the 40,000 mark today. Actually just a whisper over 41,000. Barring any major distractions (like winning a really big lottery), I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it to 50,000 by end of the month.

The weather has been quite lovely, and even the drone of huge construction vehicles, beeping as they backup all over pedestrians and passing busses, can't keep me from feeling good today. I got turkey, a good word count, and I can smell the espresso brewing. Sometimes you really just gotta sit back and count your blessings.

Things I learned today:
-taking a guitar on the subway during rush hour is not the smartest idea
-the smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the morning makes the world a nicer place
-wild raccoons do NOT like to be petted

Day 21....Fruits of Procrastination

Here's what I've been working on when I am busy procrastinating. It is a table-top Christmas tree that I crocheted.

Day 20.... crunch time

Okay, I'm lagging behind, but still in the ballpark at just over 32,000 words. I'm not going to bother trying to figure out some algebra equation that tells me I need to do x number of words over y number of days because that's NOT how it works. Some days I feel like I have to squeeze just 400 words out of my soul. Other days, the writing fairies are with me and 6 or 7 or 8 thousand words will spill out of me like Lay's plain natural potato chips out of a value-size bag. And I don't care if that analogy works or not. This is nanowrimo month and ANYTHING goes.

I've already figured out that my story idea really isn't rich enough to be a novel or even a novella. But distilled down to its bare molecules, I think it would make a pretty entertaining short story. Or birthday card. Or at least an episode of House (picture this: a 22 year old woman looks like she's dying from heavy metal toxicity. The young doctors search her house and discover she's been drinking the juice collected from the miniature fruits of her beloved bonsai lemon tree that used to belong to her much older and now dead mobster husband. Except House figures out there's a diamond and sapphire and platinum necklace (stolen from a museum) that the old mobster hid in the trunk of the bonsai tree 70 years ago, and which has been leaking a soup of toxic metals into the tiny lemons and into the woman's blood stream. After being saved by the wily/crusty doctor, the woman recalls that her husband's last dying words were strangely: *no eat da froot. Case solved.)

Hey, that sounds pretty good to me. I'm sending that off to the show producers right now. Well, right after I get at least 1200 nanowrimo words in. Unless of course, my character writes a screenplay!!!! Then I can include the whole thing in my novel. Remember....ANYTHING goes.

P.S. I am Italian...so no hatemail about stereotypes, okay?


Things I've learned today....
-procrastination can be used as a creativity tool
-so can Lay's plain potato chips
-with espresso....yessssss!

Day 17...update

Whew! And let me say again. Whew. I've dodged a bullet. Turns out the coffee dud I drank this morning came from a package of coffee that I had opened this morning...the same brand I've been using forever....and I'm happy to say that it was stale! Yippeeeee. Hurrah! I checked the expiry date on the package and it was almost 2 years ago......even though I just bought the package 2 weeks ago at one of my favourite Italian grocery stores. So I opened another fresh package of coffee (expiry date in six days) and praise all that can be praised....it worked beautifully. I'm enjoying it now. Dark. Rich. Aromatic. And most of all....nice and buzzy. Just how I like it.

The exhiliaration and creativity has already kicked in, as evidenced by the fact that I'm
-updating my blog
-making up my christmas card list and writing my yearly christmas letter
-doing the laundry
-creating some groovy dance tracks on my GarageBand software
-knitting a christmas stocking in multi-colours
-and working on my novel

And all of these above items are being done at the SAME time. I'm weeping with gratitude. Chris Baty, director and big kahuna of nanowrimo, sent out a grain of 'good-luck' sand to all nanowrimo participants this morning in his e-mail message, and I can testify that my grain definitely worked.

Things I learned today...
-espresso rocks again
-always read the expiry date on the bottom of the package
-if you can't make out the expiry date....just leave it and walk on by

Day 17....uh-oh!

I'm having an espresso nightmare as I write. Today, just 17 days into nanowrimo, my espresso has STOPPED having a boost effect on me. So I had a second espresso and waited for the swell of invigoration and creativity. All I got was jittery hands. Holy crud! I can't believe this is happening to me. I need my boost! Is it possible that I've become dependent and tolerant all at the same time?

I'm going to do what I always do in unbelievable circumstances: live in denial, and get on the Dr. Phil website to see if they've ever done a show on this topic. Maybe I can download the show transcripts or something. I will investigate and post more on this later.....

Day 16...ant carrying watermelon

I've been very busy making up new business cards for myself since I gave all of my old (and boring) ones away. I wanted my new cards to convey a bit of my personality. So I could go with a dinner-menu sized business card, which would be okay with me, except I'd have to fold it up to fit in my purse, and get creases all over it. Or I coud stick with a regular sized business card and do something punchy. I decided to add an icon. Of an ant with little stick legs. And he's carrying a wedge of pink and green watermelon ten times his size. Yep. That has 'me' written all over it.

In writing news....nothing exciting to report. It is raining here in Toronto, so of course it is raining in my story today, which takes place in Toronto. I also got accosted by a guy in front of the Four Seasons hotel who, (this is absolutely true) asked me if I could spare $50,000. I asked him if he had change for a million, but he was too busy accosting another pedestrian. You know it. And I know it. Let's not pretend. I put the whole thing directly into my story, even the part about the guy in the Bentley who raced through the traffic light to catch the yellow, and splashed about 20 people including me and the accoster guy. But I didn't feel too bad for the accoster guy. He can get his clothing looking good as new at the cleaners. You can do quite a bit with $50,000 and a dry cleaner these days. At least that's how it works in my story.

Things I learned today:
-decaf espresso is an oxymoron
-riboflavin deficiency is not pleasant
-food eaten while standing up over the sink ***contains*** calories :(

Day 15....a 'House' call

I'm lagging behind at just over 15,000 words, but I've turned up the volume on things. Gone is the need to write something publishable. Banished are things like consistency, believability and interest. Now, there are no holds barred. And since this won't ever be made public, everything goes. No copyright infringements to worry about. I can quote everybody, talk about products on the market, and even make wry comments about public services and such. Nobody will ever know!

So I decided to add some spice to things. My main character's boss was sort of languishing away somewhere at her ancestral home in Scotland. She is a 50-ish diva with a stash of diamonds and ex-husbands. And she desperately needed a love interest....so who could be better than Dr. House, the character from the current, top-rated medical drama by the same name. Turns out they 'knew' eachother back when House used to ride his motorcycles without a helmet. Now they are holed up together in a B&B on the shores of Loch Ness where they eat breakfast on the balcony in the drizzle and make cutting remarks to eachother over the margarine and spotted dicks. Nobody told me this was going to be so much fun..

Things I learned today....
-if you run out of kaopectate, boiled UNSALTED chicken skin will do the trick
-where there's smoke, there could be BBQ
-I'm pretty sure my down-filled house-coat has fleas

Day 14...old habits die hard

Sigh. It had to happen. Over the years I've noticed a couple of motifs running through my stories. And anyone who has read my stuff knows that those two are: cemetaries and mobsters. Well, since I incorporated the construction crew into my novel, the inevitable has happened, and it turns out they are freelance mobsters, and one of them (the guy in the red hard hat) owns a tombstone manufacturing company.

But it helps the story out quite a bit. The construction crew uses a giant earth pounding machine to rip up the concrete roadway, and the vibration causes the bonsai to get very very sick. Actually, it dies. And my main character ends up giving it to the mobster in the red hat so he can bury it somewhere where nobody will ever find it. But our little bonsai has a few dazzling secrets to tell before giving up the ghost....

Things I've learned today...
-staying up late to read Stephen King makes for some baaaad dreams
-Stephen King stories are irresistible
-I gotta find a way to make a living from my mobster and cemetary stories

Day 13...yadda yadda yadda

So I pledged my writing buddies that I would do 5,000 words today to make up for my tortoise-like progress. Well, I didn't quite make 5,000, but did get pretty dang close at 4,100. I had to throw in some extra descriptions of things to push it up over 4,000, but I did what I had to do. I've figured out how to overcome the whole yadda yadda yadda thing. I just skip to the next part without explanation. Hey, this is a first draft. I'll know when I go back (if I go back) that these parts will need to be filled in. It is sort of like pinning the story together, knowing that things need to be sewn up afterwards. So that's what I'm doing. And it is fun. When things are lagging, I throw a wrench into the deal like a sudden snow storm (can you tell I'm writing in Canada?), or a transit strike or a power black-out, or the plant version of the bubonic plague.

And since the construction crew is not leaving my neighbourhood anytime soon, I'd like to announce that from this day forward, they will be a regular feature in my novel. So the guy in the yellow hard-hat, his buddy with the red hard-hat and their cement truck will be appearing intermittently to block the driveway, wake up the neighbourhood at 5am, and to cause vibrations that are enough to make a little sick bonsai tree lose all of its leaves. Yup.

Things I learned today:
-I think you can get an extra caffeine buzz by deeply inhaling the vapours coming off your espresso while it is still piping hot
-the middle part of the chicken wing (the part with two bones) is NOT calorie free, and must be eaten in moderation only :(
-burnt fried eggs smell worse than burnt popcorn

Day 12...Sunday

Never, in the history of humankind, have I known a long, wet and dreary November to be passing by so quickly! How is it possible that it is November 12th already???? I'm making slow headway on my word count. There. I've said it. Maybe I wasn't cut out to write long novels. Maybe micro-fiction is more up my alley. You know, those stories that are told from A-Z in just a few paragraphs. That sounds like more of my style.

I'm getting more and more into podcasting and have to admit, I've caught the bug. I'm just doing audio for now, but I can feel the video coming very very soon.

That's it for Sunday. If I'm going to write...then it'll be for my novel.

Day 10...just breathe

The good folks at NaNoWriMo sent out a very timely e-mail today urging participants to not give up. At least to not give up this week. They said get through week two however you can. Then you can give up in the third week if you want. I'm glad they sent out that message. Not that I was exactly thinking of giving up. Well, okay, I was. Things were getting slow. Suddenly there was so much story to explain, and not a lot of ideas on how to exactly explain it all in a coherent and logical fashion. Is it allowable to write in point form? Or to tell the story via a PowerPoint presentation? Writing a story is much different than telling someone about your story. You can't say stuff like: the girl goes to the office and yadda yadda yadda she gets trapped in the elevator with a lunatic. Nope. Not allowed.

So, I'm squeaking by at this point. And of course have taken much great interest in long forgotten projects like that Valentine's day quilt I started 3 years ago, and getting around to cataloguing my Stargate SG1 DVDs seasons 1-7. But I write instead. Wordcount for today is kinda embarassing. .

Things I learned today...
-about 5000 words into a story, you will always get 3 or 4 great ideas for other, better, more exciting stories to write
-the smell of eggnog and spiced pumpkin cake is irresistable to humans
-Nokia needs to add a 'save me' button on their cell phones, that when pressed, makes your phone ring like someone is calling you so that you have a quick and elegant way to disengage yourself from the conversation the old Italian man started with you about his need for love from a good woman....arising after you politely smiled at him while you were waiting for your espresso

Day 9....drillers are ba-a-a-ck

Here I am, trying to write this story about an underpaid junior copywriter at a big TO advertising agency who has to live in her absent boss' Yorkville condo to take care of a priceless bonsai named The Duchess. My main character is feeling weird living in the exquisite luxury building and being catered to by an army of doormen, elevatormen, and Pusateri's delivery guys.

I should be deep into the witty observations of life in the Tenderloin District, and having my main character bump into the wealthy love interest who turns out to be one of her father's college chums........but instead my brain is awash with the droning of those inhuman drills underneath my window. And some sort of banging noise coming from the condo construction site across the street. It sounds like five or six guys bashing out BMW X5 windshields with lead-lined steel guitars. (but I checked...that isn't it).

What's a writer to do? The answer is always the same. More coffee. Stronger coffee. And perhaps something doughy.

Things I'm learning today...
-there is something called cat poo coffee
-it comes from real cat poo
-I must get my paws on some
-and must pick up some Listerine breath strips along the way ;)

Day 8....cut to the chase

I'm up to almost 8,000 words so far. Still behind, but I have lots of thinking to do while I'm writing. Since I did not plot out my story (on purpose) before starting, I have lots of far-reaching decisions to make as I write out the beginning. If I set this in mid-October and the story takes place over the course of let's say 3 months, then I have to remember to work the holidays into the story. And to remember that the weather is different in October vs. January, etc. I'm also making up names on the fly. Okay, so I want to name everyone with an M. So I have to sit there and think: Melanie. No. Marvin. No. Kelly. Maybe. Andoria. Maybe. etc.

All this thinking is pretty tedious, but necessary. Working out the details is what makes a story work. What I would love to do is just plunge in and write all the exciting bits. Like cutting to the chase. But even an action movie has to have a story inbetween the action scenes. And that's what I must work through. Without solid bridges stringing the islands of intense action and moments of great wit and excitement together, all that remains are unconnected blobs of plot points. The connection part is the important part. I've got some more bridge-building to do. (more construction work. only this time the drilling of the concrete is going on in my head)

This is an educational experience for me. I tend to be someone who likes and needs to plan things out, and chew on the details before I start a story. But I always wondered if this was necessary and if I didn't have some easy-spirit living inside of me that could just pick up a pen and write at will. As part of my experiment, I am not allowing myself to do any planning on this story. No plotting sessions. No flow charts. And I'm not allowing myself to even think about the ending. It is freeing on one hand, but on the other quite scarey and sort of weird. I feel like a long-time parachutist who has decided to make a jump....without checking her own parachute. Gulp!

I'll reserve judgement on what I think about all of this until the experiment plays itself out.

Day 7...drilling on

Just had to mention that the construction crew is back and has been steadily drilling the concrete beneath my balcony since 7:30am. That's already 3.5 hours of mind-numbing adrenaline-raising unbearableness.
I am no longer confident that my microwave oven will have any significant effect on stopping the drilling. Luckily I have a sub-zero fridge.......on sliders. I'm pretty sure I can push it across the floor without causing too many scratches, and get it out onto the balcony. How hard can it be to just lean my weight against the shiny brushed aluminum doors and push it over the balcony? By my calculations, this could take out the drill and part of the cement truck (well, if I aim right and get the front windshield.) And I'm pretty sure if I yell "Look out below" or something to that effect, that the workers will have time to get outta the way.

A girl can dream, can't she?

Day 6...back in the saddle

Whew! Sunday turned out to be a sleeper. But a much needed rest. Today I got off to a slooooow start, but then had an espresso. My keyboard has been smokin' ever since. I'm going at a bit of a slower pace because I'm in the beginning of the story where I have to carefully introduce all my characters and set up various themes.

(warning...crochet analogy approaching)

It is a little like starting a complicated crochet project...like a multi-colored English rose patterned bedspread. You've got to sort out the foundation rows and any new stitch combinations before you can go ahead and crochet like crazy. If the foundation isn't right, you'll have to do a lot of pulling out later.

Um, that's the end of the crochet explanation. I'll try and use some other analogy in the future for non-knitting types. Maybe a pressure-cooker analogy. Or one of those train-your-budgie-now-to-prevent-heartbreak-later analogies.

Things I learned today:
-espresso made from a machine that uses concentrated coffee syrup instead of fresh ground beans is not real coffee and does not count towards my daily limit of 2 cups of the real stuff
-it is not lawful to drop a microwave oven from the balcony onto the guy drilling the concrete below my apartment, even if it interrupts my writing concentration (the drilling, not the dropping of the microwave)
-you might love chocolate, but (sadly) chocolate will never return the sentiment

Onwards and upwards!

Day 4. Introducing: procrastination!

Yikes! I've been very bad today and got 342 words done. Whoopppeeeee. That's so low that I'm not even going to post my word count today. I guess weekends get me all out of my writing routine.

I've also figured out that it is close to impossible for anyone to post comments on my blog. I, in my infinite technical wisdom, have turned on so many filters and spam traps that any comment featuring letters from the alphabet have only a narrow chance of being let through. I will try to rectify this without destroying the entire site.

Things I learned today:
-trying to write before having coffee results in very boring prose
-popcorn left forgotten on the stove will burn pretty badly and the smell will linger long after you've thrown the offending stuff (still smoking) down the garbage chute
-it takes only 17 minutes for a memo to be delivered to all building residents warning people not to throw still smoking burnt popcorn down the garbage chute
-

Day 3 count

Whew. I won out over the toaster and all the other counter-top kitchen appliances begging for my attention. I managed a grand total of: 1066 words today! Hurray for me. I've introduced all of my major characters, except for one important guy, and I'm set.

What I've learned so far:
-I can do this on just one cup of coffee
-but it has to be espresso
-really good espresso
-from a nearby coffee shop
-oh, and I've learned that if I can see the people in their offices in the building next to my apartment....then they can see me too. Note to self: shut the curtains or make sure that your housecoat is always done up properly ;)

Day 3.....toaster attack

Why is it that my toaster is screaming to be cleaned? Right now. This instant. I've got 46,738 words to write in just under a month...can't the toaster wait? And what's with the constant whining from my cupboard drawers. "Come change the drawer linings," they breathe into my ear.

I am ignoring them all for now. I'm 472 words into this morning's writing, and NOTHING is going to tear me away from my keyboard. Except maybe a cup of hot coffee. And a bowl of popcorn. Yeah. Popcorn sounds just about right. Of course I don't have any in the cupboards, so I'll have to go out and get some at the store.

But not just yet.......

Day 2. Couple hiccups

The nanowrimo website is extrordinarily slow. Too slow. Haven't been able to post or to connect with any writing buddies. I think I'll just be entering my word count for now because this whole business of trying to save text in MSWord then scrambling it and then trying to upload it is too time consuming and the website is too busy to accept it. Grrr. so much for building community for now. I'm hoping they'll get things sorted out quickly. Otherwise, without connections to other people who are doing the event...it seems kinda like it's not really happening (insert lonely sound of single cricket here).

But I got over 3600 words done, and it is coming together. I already don't like the names I've picked, but I can always change those in the end.

Things to note:
-everything is better after coffee
-everything gets a little fuzzy after more coffee
-thank heavens my MacBook gets so hot after working on it for two hours because I get to have a break to get more coffee (plus it keeps my wrists nice and burnt, I mean toasty :)

Day 1...so far so good

I got up early, had my coffee and breakfast and then wrote for 3 solid hours, producing 1662 words. That 3 hours included deciding upon names, (there was one M in there...marty), picking the season and making plotting decisions. I have a general idea of where I want this story to go, but have not structured or planned it in any way. this month is all about freeform for me. No editing. No worrying about run on sentences, dangling participles and trying to make it look like the story takes place somewhere in the US. I set the thing in Toronto so I can just refer to the city, the streets and the landmarks with ease.

The nanowrimo website is jammed right now and I can't get on there, so I'll post my word count later tonight or tomorrow.

Notes for tomorrow:
-don't eat while you write..it slows you down. better to take a 5 minute break to eat
-no matter how much you want it, DO NOT drink too much coffee.
-when you're done, go for a walk and cool off