NaNoWriMo

[ksmith]

And November is almost upon us, and with it that exercise in group masochism known as National Novel Writing Month. 50K words by month's end. They don't have to be good, they just have to be there.

I tried to compete on an informal basis a few times, usually because the release schedule of the books meant that Fall-Winter was my peak writing time. I don't think I ever made 50K words, but I tried.

Anyway, I'll probably use it as an informal yardstick this November as well. I'll be starting in a hole thanks to the fact that I'll be spending 5 days in Madison for WFC--at 1667 words/days, that a lot of lost ground. But, we'll see how we do.

Comments

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I could conceivably end up with 1667 words at month's end, rewritten 15 times.

Aggh! Painful!

Is this just too much on your mind interfering, or is this Endbook Syndrome, so to speak? The tying up of way too many threads of plot?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I wish it was Endbook Syndrome. Not that close yet.

I'm an uneconomical writer, for one thing. Lots of wasted words until I say things well enough to feel comfortable moving forward. For another, yeah, I am easily distracted. The scenes are complicated. It's still flowing liked chopped rock.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Well, Jon surfaced and said MM is still interested. Perhaps we'll need to start tag-teaming...in some fashion...perhaps putting it on the schedule that we have to report activity twice a week or something?

Occasionally we'll be saying "Work demanded too many reports M-Tu for any fiction," or "My brain is LBb guac this time around," but it might work. Or are you already doing that with someone?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Nope, beyond the casual NaNoWriMo thing, I'm not on a schedule. We can do something, though--when would you want to start?

I'm glad MM surfaced...again. Lets hope they remain afloat this time.

Ye gods...

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

We can do something, though--when would you want to start?

Probably the best answer to that is, when is your manuscript due, and when do you want to have the beta ready for your first readers? Or are you sharing in sections?

I told Jon I wanted a year, since I have no idea how fast it will go with everything else that's in my life. Plus--I keep getting ideas for a romantic caper novel, as la Crusie...with magic. So I won't just be working on Allie 3--I will have this weird jigsaw puzzle thing going on.

Plus I would really like to attempt to lay out a prelim synopsis on Allie 3 and the other, so that's where I'll start. (Other than saying things like, "a running gag where a woman is trying to balance her hot tub. The tub is clean, clear, fine...and way too acidic. I suspect it's going to be a metaphor of her life, which is going better than she knows, but not textbook...but I don't know if she's in a current idea or still another book.")

This is the problem with being too sick to coherently write. When you begin to heal, everything backed up in the pipeline starts rushing for the exit, so to speak...

Re: Ye gods...

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Ok--I do have a release window for Jani 5, namely Winter 2007. This can cover any time from january through april, so I am guessing that given the usual 8-9 month cushion that is desirable between the book being completely finished and its date of release, we're talking possible wrap-up in April-May 2006, which is...pretty damned soon by the way I calculate time. Six months. I may be choking myself a little here, in that I could conceivably have until the end of the summer. But it's still a deadline that I can see, which means I am already feeling the first twinges of panic.

I would like the First Reader version ready to go by end of January, I really would. All in one piece--no sections. It means a serious crackdown, cutting back on online time. I don't want to have to drop guitar, and I need to walk 45 minutes 5x a week in order to drop the weight my doctor told me to drop. No pressure whatsoever. None.

There aren't enough hours in the day.

Winter may be a good time, though. Snow on the ground. Cold. No yard work.

Re: Ye gods...

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

and I need to walk 45 minutes 5x a week in order to drop the weight my doctor told me to drop. No pressure whatsoever. None.

Clearly it's time for me to give the South Beach Diet speech in my blog. It will be a serious critique--and I think you could try the slow way of doing it, which is don't try to fix most of heir meals, just try to cut out things they warn you about. They even have a couple of paragraphs about "dining out."

Sounds like we need to get to work! Okay--you are going on the list of people to keep in touch with--yes, a list to make sure my brain doesn't turn off the Kris portion. My life has reached that point--I'm about to do a checklist of exercises, supplements, Rx and other things I MUST do in a day to get well.

Sort of like those walks. And just as destroying of my time.

Re: Ye gods...

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Clearly it's time for me to give the South Beach Diet speech in my blog. It will be a serious critique--and I think you could try the slow way of doing it, which is don't try to fix most of heir meals, just try to cut out things they warn you about. They even have a couple of paragraphs about "dining out.

I can get with the program regarding some aspects of these diets, but there are some things I will not give up. Cookies. Refined flour and sugar or not, a day without cookies is a day without sunshine. I can turn my back on just about all varieties of cake and pie, but cookies...

Now I confess that I am not altogether a fan of storebought. Can safey ignore even Oreos. But a decent oatmeal or chocolate chip, and I'm there. Craisin. Brownies. Not peanut butter, I like peanut butter alot, but not in cookies. You could strap the damned things to your shoes and skate to Newark.

Most everything else--whole wheat breads, lots of veggies, smaller servings of meat--I'm probably ok with. My problem is portion control.

Sort of like those walks. And just as destroying of my time.

Not enough hours...

Re: Ye gods...

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I understand the need for cookies. Those flourless cookies kept me going when I'd given up everything else. However--in my case, the LBb is fed by refined carbohydrates.

I now get to have McCann's regular oatmeal every AM with berries for breakfast, and I am a happy camper, indeed. But I also get 4 strawberries in 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate and whiping cream as dessert (this is Part 2 of the diet.) I can definitely use that as a good cookie substitute. And potentially, I can have sourdough bread, too (the onyl kindI crave--acid works just like multi-grain to slow absorption...)

In my case, until I go into remission, I will have to eventually figure out how to make roughage cookies with chocolate, cranberries, and all good things. That's the secret with South Beach--learn how to pair carbs, especially things that trigger too much insulin, with fat/protein.

But sometimes, you fall off the wagon. The doctor who created SB says that everyone does. The important thing is, have the night out cheating, and as long as you don't start to put weight back on, you're fine. If you do start to gain, you drop back to Phase 1, get the weight off, and then figure out what the trigger was...and if you really want it, just eat less of it, or plan to automatically go back to Phase 1 after returning from WFC, for example.

I have to stick with this for medical reasons. You and W, among others, are using it as a tool. And the weirdest thing is, the more we eat (of the right things) the better we feel and the more we lose. He's lost 14 lb and I've lost 8, so far. Occasional refined carb cravings, but not too bad.

So I can recommend it. But for now, I need to think about sleep....

Re: Ye gods...

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

My problem is portion control.

No portion control at meals of what you are allowed to eat. Only control on limited sweets during Phase 2, and dessert measurement.

I've never eaten so much--and the recipes are mostly great.