Thursday 12 November 2009

Sticking to Goals

Since my daughter came to visit yesterday, I wasn't able to do many of the things I usually do. One of those things is write 1,667 words a day for Nanowrimo. I got no writing done yesterday, so this morning I wrote 1667 words. Which means I wrote enough for today, but I still have to make up for two days of not writing. So I really need to write another 3334 words today so I don't get hopelessly far behind. But at least I have the rest of the day to do it in.

Another goal I'm reaching today is mailing a chemo cap to a dear lady. I tried to mail it yesterday but I forgot it was Veteran's Day and the post offices were closed. Once I get that mailed I'll feel a lot better about myself.

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Bonding With Family

My daughter was in town so I dropped everything to spend as much time with her as possible. She lives about 350 miles away and works 3 jobs so I don't see her often. We got some shopping done, talked about her new photography business, ate lots and had a great time. My boyfriend took us to the Asian Buffet for lunch. My daughter has a business meeting tomorrow all day in Long Beach. So she may go straight home from there, or she may come back over. We'll see.

Monday 9 November 2009

Mon. Nov9 Taking Things in Stride

Tonight I had a writer's meeting at a Starbucks for Nanowrimo. Only when I got there, it was closed. A little note was stuck to the door that our meeting had been moved to Brookhurst and Crescent. The note didn't say if that was another Starbucks, another house, or if we were going to be standing on a street corner with our laptops. So note to self...write more thorough notes. So I had to do a bit of exploring in the dark to find the other Starbucks. It's not even at that intersection, but half a block up. And because of the layout of the tables and chairs I couldn't even sit with the writers. I ended up sitting by myself on the other side. But they all had laptops, so I had more flexibility in where I could sit. There are some advantages to writing long hand. So I wrote with a pen in a notebook. I left early though, because I figured if I'm just going to sit alone and write, I may as well be at home.
Of course then when I got home I had to type it all into my computer. But that gives me a chance to do a bit of editing while I'm writing.

So taking things in stride means to be flexible with changes in plans. Don't let it ruin your whole day.

Sunday 8 November 2009

Sun. Nov. 8 Being Yourself in a Crowd

I probably didn't win any brownie points today but at least I had integrity. Our Nanowrimo writing group went to Build-a-Bear in Downtown Disney presumably to make writing mascots. Though a popular and fun idea for most, I had no interest in dropping $50 at Build-a-Bear and another $25 at the expensive restaurant they chose to have lunch at. I'm doing my best to live within my means, and not only that, but I'd rather make a one of a kind original bear if I wanted to have a bear. If they'd had a pot luck make your own bear bash I would have been all over that. I had to struggle to stand up to them and say over and over again 'no I'm not making a bear today'. And also, I ate a cheap lunch on the way there, so at the restaurant I only got a coke to tide me over.  I saw no reason to pay over $9.00 for a bowl of soup and a plate of bread. I was going to order dessert to be social, but the cheapest dessert was $9 as well. Either those people are thriving in this economy more than I am, or they are charging everything to keep up with the Joneses.

So either the Nanowrimo in Orange County is unique and more into this writing thing for their parties or the serious writers are holed up in their dens and apartments writing like crazy while everyone else is building bears at Downtown Disney.

So my theme today is being yourself even when peer pressure is trying to control you.

Saturday 7 November 2009

Focus on Fiction

Today's theme is to work on my Nanowrimo.org novel. I have almost 8,000 words done. I'm not complaining but I should have 11,000 words done.

Friday 6 November 2009

Vlogging

Documenting my life with videos. A live journal captures so much more than words on a page can.

Thursday 5 November 2009

In Memory Of

Today's theme is to do something in memory of a departed loved one. So I'm doing embroidery, which I learned from my mother when I was a child. I remember her teaching me the lazy daisy stitch and the chain stitch. I can't believe I don't have a single thing my mother made. Out of all the things she crocheted, tatted, sewed or embroidered. I'm not sure if my other siblings got anything like that, or if her sisters sold it all off at the swap or tossed it out. I remembered I asked for her sewing tools at least, but my aunt tried to find them and couldn't. But I will still have my memories, right?

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Being Manipulated

Manipulation. Do you recognize it when it happens to you? Many of us don't. People can manipulate us with tears, with guilt, with anger, with sarcasm. Give some thought to how you are being manipulated, but also to how you manipulate others.

Monday 2 November 2009

Doing the Impossible

Today I committed to doing Nanowrimo again. The National Novel Writer's Month challenge. I can't even remember my user name on the site. Oh well, I'll make a new one if I have to. I went ahead and started writing my novel though. I decided to make it about Theodora's Theater of the Absurd, to match a blog I have.

The reason I call it doing the impossible is that I've never won the Nanowrimo challenge. November is like the worst month ever for this because as an artist Nov. is crunch time for making and listing potential Christmas gifts in my Etsy shops. And also for finishing holiday presents. I would prefer any other month except Nov, and Dec. Also, Thanksgiving is right in the middle of the Nanowrimo adventure. Whoever picked November must have been a masochist. But once I heard that not only is Freakishlemon doing it, but also that he succeeded last year, made me feel like I was a loser if I didn't go for it. So suckered in again.

Also yesterday my daughter made an offhand remark about how I'd written a lot for someone that wasn't a 'professional writer'. I guess it makes me sad that my family doesn't take my endeavors seriously, though maybe she didn't mean anything by it. I consider myself as professional as any other writer that writes every single day, even if I don't have ten novels on a bestsellers list somewhere, Hmphf. So after that remark I was spurred on even more to get back to novel writing and Nanowrimo 2009.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Supporting Other Writers

As a writer it's easy to get busy and lost in one's own world and forget about everyone else out there that is working really hard and writing all the time. So my theme today is honoring other writers, specifically bloggers. I'm off to read some other blogs and leave comments and appreciate the online community. After all, without readers it's just another journal.