I WON!!! NaNoWriMo 2009

I just won NaNoWriMo 2009! It was tough this year with Baby Anna showing up on the 7th. I squeaked over the line with 50,552 words at 5:30 am on the 30th. And some major plot holes. And a bunch of minor characters that need names due to me using Write or Die and not being ready with a name when I introduced a character.

I have officially decided that doing NaNo while preparing for a Black Belt Test is much easier than doing NaNo while pregnant (when you’re a grumpy pregnant person like me) or with a newborn. So now you know.

My novel this year is fantasy (same as last year). No romance this year at all (I forbade my characters). I have a magic teleportation to another world, a unicorn (possibly more than one – can we say sequel?) and some mountain trolls. The trolls were from the dares thread.

Dare: Have ten trolls appear in your novel, whatever genre it may be.
BP: The trolls don’t know why they’re there
DBP: You make it make sense
TBP: They become integral to the plot
QBP: The trolls turn out to be enchanted princes and the MC marries them all irrespective of troll/MC gender.

I got triple bonus points. I couldn’t do the quadruple bonus points because of the no romance rule above. I did a few subplots: a backpack that is always with the character and has everything needed for every situation. Also an item that keeps appearing through-out the novel (I used a key). (Dares and subplots are from the NaNo forums.)

Anyway, it was a great November again, but I hope to be a tad more consistent next year. And as there will be no babies and no Black Belt tests next November, I think I’m going to try for 75,000 words at least.

So now the plan is to write some non-fiction in December, and then start revising my novel in January 2010.

I’d like to thank Kevin and the kids, and my parents (Steve and Susan) who inspired me to write because they are now BOTH published writers in several magazines.

And I need a few more exclamation points!!! Because I wasn’t sure I could do it this year!!!! And I did!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

Project 365

I have started a new craziness that is actually working out well. Its called Project 365, wherein you take a photo everyday. I’ve been posting mine here, and it’s almost a public diary. Its only been four days and its already very revealing.

My Challenge this Year

I have a problem. I’m an introvert. I’m not shy. I’m not afraid of being in public. But I am horrible at chit-chat and gossip.

– From Business Pundit.

Many people already know that I am trying to get a business degree – mainly for the noble purpose of making money by doing what I love (web development & writing) from my favorite place (my home office). So my challenge this year is to learn to self-promote, network, socialize, etc. One of my challenges. My other one is to switch gears a few times a day, instead of focusing on one thing all day and ignoring the rest of my life.

I WIN!!!!!

I just passed the 50,000 words to win NaNoWriMo! I am SO excited. I have four more chapters to write by the 30th (after all, I can’t leave the characters on a mountain top – winter is coming). This has been a great month. Oh – my room is clean AND the dishes are done. So there!

Gotta Love NaNoWriMo

What other time can you google things like “how many ribs does a cat have” and actually use the answer? The answer, by the way, is thirteen pairs of ribs.

** Disclaimer: No cats are or will be harmed in the writing of my novel. **

Nucking Futs

Let me explain, no there is to much. Let me sum up.

– The Princess Bride

We have a new kitty. We agreed to take the female stray that was hanging around at work if they could get the spay/neuter task force to fix her. She was going to be an outdoor cat, until she journeyed 2.5 miles back to work, including going over the bridge! So we moved her into my office. Unlike the other cats, she is super friendly, I was getting mauled every time I tried to work. So we have 2.5 house cats now (the boys’ cat goes in and out). This spring we will let Stella (guess what movie the kids watched before they named her) go in and out as well. After she knows where home is and comes to my patented food whistle. Pictures someday soon.

I have some wooly bunnies. I was able to get a breeding pair of Angora rabbits. A one year old purebred German Angora buck and a six month old 85% French/15% German Angora doe. The French Angoras are supposed to be the easiest to care for, due to the percentage of guard hairs. The German Angoras are excellent producers. I think this will be a good mix, and if I enjoy them I am going to try to find a purebred German Angora doe. I am looking forward to spinning (or perhaps selling) their fiber. The buck is a sweety too. I will try to get pictures soon.

Under two weeks until my Black Belt test. I promised Kevin I wouldn’t panic, but just typing that made me apprehensive. *Deep breath.*

I joined NaNoWriMo, with a goal to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. So now you know where I got the title of this post. That breaks down to 1,667 words a day. I set my goal at 2,000 just to be safe – 1 chapter a day. I have the chapter titles outlined, and I am doing a phase outline for the next chapter the night before (did that make sense?). I did chapter one today, 2,105 words. In case you are wondering, its a story about a cat (with human qualities) being drawn into a magical world and fighting an oppressive overlord. It has elements of my favorite books (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) and the MMORPGs I have played (Asheron’s Call, World of Warcraft). I have no intention of being held down by reality. It should be fun. If you want to see how I’m doing – and either cheer or give me a kick in the pants (or accuse me of being crazy), go here.