I'm Back Now!

I can't believe it has been over two weeks since I was last here, so if there is anyone out there that actually reads this (and I believe there may be), I am sorry if I have disappointed you. Anyway, I am back!

The reason for my absence is good old NaNoWriMo - it has take over my life in a way I could not have envisaged. I am obsessed by it. If I don't write on any particular day, I get twitchy and feel dreadfully guilty. I am constantly thinking about my characters everywhere I go, whether I am in the shower, out with the dogs or on a run. And I am actually beginning to think that they may actually be real!

My YA story has taken on twists and turns I could not have imagined. I have smugglers, wreckers, a twenty first century girl in love with a seventeenth century boy. There is a murder, a ghost and a seance! Oh and my lead character quite fancies and has had a few dates with a twenty first century boy! What a tangled web I have weaved. I LOVE IT!

The reason I started this blog was to encourage me to write, as I am a bit of a lazy mare to be honest, but the one thing I like about NaNo is that I feel that I have deadlines. I love deadlines. I work so much better under pressure and I have managed to keep up with the daily word count. I think my story is probably a pile of poo and will need so much editing. I would absolutely love it to be published, but I am so not that lucky, or talented. I am under no illusions, I am not an author, or a novelist - that is a prestigious title awarded to a few hard working and wonderfully talented writers. I have been fortunate to meet a few, and I follow some on Twitter. I am also fortunate to have known one from school. (You know who you are!) These writers do inspire me and continue to do so on a daily basis - for this I thank them.

You may have noticed that my blog space is devoid of any widget thingy to do with NaNo. I have visited the NaNo website to see if I can get a widget thingy for my site. Lets just say, that me and technology do not go together. I can't do it so I have given up. Anyone? All technical help welcome!

To brighten up the page, below is a photo of my desk - my work space - my oasis of calm - or rather my kitchen table!

I have had quite a lot of encouragement from my friends and my running club, they think it's great, but not so much from my hubby. As I am a housewife, my job is tending to house, husband and daughter, which I don't do too badly at. But and this is a big but, if I forget to do something like the ironing, well stand back. I get into so much trouble! Now hubby sees my writing as my hobby! Let me tell you, I am not impressed by that reference to my, erm, well, future career!

I can see his point though, as I have only earned fifty quid from my writing all year. I think if I ever manage to publish more than one article he might change his mind. I think if I do publish a book, he will have to eat his words. Not sure I will acknowledge him though!

Party Dilemmas 2 and NaNoWriMo

My daughter's party is fast approaching. I have survived her actual birthday (which was yesterday), cakes were baked, presents were opened and oodles of fun was had by all, I think. So last night I took on the dreaded task of making up the party bags. I feel that I must apologise in advance to all parents for the amount of sweets in said bags. It is not my fault! I have so many sweets left over from Halloween I need to get rid of them before I eat them all! So party bags were the answer. I never thought I would ever, ever say this, but I AM SICK OF HARIBOS!

Update - Party bags nearly completed apart from the obligatory crappy plastic toys that I will buy today.

I thought I should check I had everything else. A week or so ago I ordered some stuff from 'Party Pieces', a mail/internet company which sells all things party. Now, I am making pink sparkly cupcakes for my daughter this year, as they are easier and it saves having to cut a cake up. Party pieces had cellophane bags, a pack of 20 for just over one pound. Bargain, I will take a pack. I ordered them, along with some party bags, cupcake cases (pink and spotty), and a cardboard (flat packed) cupcake stand. All relatively small items, which pack flat for ease of transportation.

Or so I thought. A few days later my 'Party Pieces' package arrived. Imagine my excitement when I saw the box. It was huge! You could have fitted a microwave in it, it was that big, ginormous in fact. I was convinced they must have sent me an exciting free gift, so I ripped off the tape and delved into the box. I was disappointed. There was no exciting free gift, just my rather small, flat (ish) order at the bottom of copious amounts of totally unnecessary packaging.

In these modern times of 'reduce, reuse and recycle' I was astonished at the amount of packaging used to distribute my items. Take note 'Party Pieces'. It's just not necessary.

My gripe with 'Party Pieces' hasn't ended. I decided to count the cupcake bags. They came in a neat and tidy roll, which looked thick enough to contain 20 bags, as per the advertisement. They didn't. They had sent me 10! 10 I ask you, what good are they to me. I have sent a strongly worded email and unless they are going to send bags by motorbike courier, direct to the venue by 10 o'clock, tomorrow, I am scuppered! Have you ever tried to send cupcakes home with 6 year olds wrapped in paper napkins? No, me neither!

I am quite impressed with myself. This week, I have managed to conquer the common cold, bake furiously for children's parties, organise said party, wrap presents and (more importantly) keep up with NaNo.

A few people have asked me why I am doing it? I wasn't sure, was my standard response. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But now I have started, I have had time to think about Why? Well, I actually like deadlines. Mad I know, but I work better under pressure. I need to know what, when, how, why and whom, and I love the satisfaction of seeing the word count at the end of the day. I am the Queen of procrastination (although I am sure many of you will claim my title), but if I have a deadline, I fly!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I can function past 7 o'clock!

It's Started!

The countdown has ended, the biscuits have been bought (and nearly eaten) and the cupboards are stocked full of every possible kind of tea you could imagine. (Including plenty of PG tips). NaNoWri has begun.

I have a plot, sort of, a setting, and a few characters, so it should be a breeze. If only.

Today I got off to a flying start and in between dog walking, the school run and physio, I have actually only had an hour or so to write, and write I did. I managed to churn out 1889 words of comprehensible paragraphs and sentences, and I managed to complete a chapter. I am actually really pleased and have rewarded myself with a couple of choccie biscuits. Yay, 50,000 words here I come.

Watch this space!