Math--not my strong subject

Last month, when I was setting up my writing spreadsheet, I copied my October page and pasted it into November, just like I do for every month. I decided on 500 words a day for the days I worked, gave myself a low word count for my birthday, and blocked out Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Then I divided the rest of the words between my off days, plugged in the numbers, and came up with a little more the 50,000.

I was sailing right along until last night. I got to the point where I had to scroll down to see the line for the day. That's when I found my mistake. November has 30 days, not 31. I've been behind the power curve all month. I have seven writing days left. I have to write another 13,000+ to be able to take Thursday and Friday off.

As of tonight, I have 32,704 words. I have 18,616 left to go. Any guesses what I'll be doing tomorrow?

Almost out of candy bar scenes

I have most of the bones of my NaNo book in place. I broke 27k, and I'm about through the original plot points. This book is flowing a lot better than most I've done. Writing in small chunks and in no particular order seems to be doing the trick. Thank goodness for WriteItNow; it gives me the ability to see where scenes are so I can put them in the right place. Writing like this in Word would be a nightmare. I don't think I've mentioned it here, but I wrote the first chapter and then skipped right to the climax. I've been filling in the middle spaces and it's been helpful to know how the story ends, sort of like knowing the start and end points of a road trip. There are plenty of routes from New York to LA; you just have to pick one based on time and money constraints.

Writing in segments is also helping me to see where I need to flesh things out. I can see sub-plots I need to weave in. I've got the major bones laid out in the right places; now I'm working in the smaller bits, which by their nature tend to slow the process. (Kind of like folding baby clothes; one basket takes forever.)

OK, so before I wax poetic with comparisons and imagery, I think I'd better pull myself together and go to the store. I'm doing Thanksgiving shopping today in hopes of avoiding the worst of the crowds. I'm afraid I may have left it a little late, but I didn't want to have to find a place in the freezer to store a turkey. My spare fridge is cold enough that it will take a week to thaw there. I might have to hit the coffee shop afterward and reward myself.

This was posted yesterday on I Can Has Cheeseburger. Coincidentally (or not), it was my birthday. Since it's not my cat, I know my kids didn't post it, which leads me to conclude that someone else had a birthday, too, but it's all right. I'm old enough to share.

Val's Reading Meme

Val tagged me yesterday to post seven book related things. Based on her seven, it seems fairly painless, so here goes.

1. I won an award in 3rd grade for a short story I wrote. All I remember is that the title was, "The Little Kitten," and that I got to go to some special party. They also typed the story and made a cloth cover for it, but I have no idea what happened to it.

2. I didn't read well until I was about eight, but by twelve or so, I was reading Stephen King.

3. My kids took after me--slow in coming to reading, but once they started there was no holding them back.

4. I went through a Nancy Drew phase, during which my mom bought me some 1930's and 1940's editions at a yard sale. I still have them. I also have a 1920's copy of Tom Sawyer. I didn't intend to start collecting antique books, but I've ended up with my grandmother's books.

5. Speaking of Grandma, she was a teacher, so we always got at least one book for Christmas. Her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, James Herriot, and Catherine Marshall. I don't think she would have liked my fantasy writing much, but the Christian fiction I'm getting into would appeal to her.

6. Between Eric and his dad, I think we have everything ever written by Piers Anthony, Mercedes Lackey, and Anne McCaffrey.

7. If I won the lotto (won't happen since I don't play), I'd buy the building across the street from The Day Job. The bottom floor would be a bookstore, and the top would be office space and my writing loft. I'd hire someone to work mornings so I could write, and the afternoons I'd handle the store. Eric would split his time between the store and our website. We wouldn't even need to have a coffee shop in our store--I'd just send them across the street!

I'm supposed to tag people, but I think I'll just tag everyone. Leave me a comment if you decide to play!

24,234

I know, I'm a little shy of 25k. Today's word count is 3,249--what's that tell you? If you guessed that I got nothing done over the weekend, you're right. I worked extra shifts last week, including two on Saturday. Friday I called in sick with a migraine. Not a banner week, but I'm pleased to be on target with my goals. I wasn't scheduled to break 25k until tomorrow anyway. At the rate I'm going I'll still be able to take Thanksgiving and Black Friday off.

On the bright side, I got to listen to live bluegrass this weekend, and I've located a couple of mandolin teachers so I can maybe take a couple lessons to get the basics down. Thus far I'm self-taught with the aid of a book and You Tube, which in my experience is a great way to form habits I'll have to break later.

Time to go make coffee for tomorrow and take care of a few chores I've been neglecting, and then off to bed early. I need to do another 3,000 words tomorrow.