Barely!

Ack!

I... just... barely... reached... 2300 words!

I'm way ready for bed (Mondays will do that to me) so I'm calling it quits for the night just before the end of chapter three dialogue. I'd like to stay up and finish it, but... no.

A couple times tonight I didn't think I'd make the 2300 word mark, but I did it. At 2375, I just barely did it.

Of course, I spent a good chunk of the evening just hanging out while Idiot#1 and his hunting buddies butchered the deer they shot on the weekend. I'd show you the pics, but I bet a lot of you don't want to see the dead deer in my garage... Long story short, it was a tiring evening.

But I'm done. Off to update my word count on the NaNo site!

Until tomorrow,
S.

Music to My Ears

I'm actually tossing around a blog idea in my head: Tuesday Tunes. I like the alliteration. Music is a huge part of my writing process, and I thought I would chat a bit about that - what inspires me, what I'm into at the moment, how different pieces play into certain parts of my writing. Why I own four iPods...

But wait, it's Wednesday.

The hell you say! Oh... Touché.

Well, this is kind of the unofficial start of Tuesday Tunes, because I'm not actually talking about any particular music yet. Today, I'm just excited to be finished the copy edit stage of my manuscript. That's right: I HAD TO FALL is all done. Complete. Fin. And I found (shockingly!) that music and copy editing don't go together. I read aloud during that stage, making sure everything sounds right. I kind of need absolute silence for that.

But now that it's done I can toss the headphones back on and bring music back into my writing time. Which is good, because I almost feel lost without it. Definitely less inspired.

Music simply draws me into another world, into a character's life right inside my head. You should see me out there cutting the grass. Get the old push mower out, plug in the iPod and lose myself in the monotonous task. I fall into the music and my imagination takes off. And then a great idea hits me upside the head, I drop the mower in the middle of the lawn and dash inside. I'm sure the neighbours all think I'm out of my mind.

Sanity is in the eye of the beholder...?

So you've been warned: next Tuesday, first installment of Tuesday Tunes!

To search, or not to search?

Another solid day of editing in the bag. Not ten hours like yesterday, simply because the garden was calling to me. After a week of rain the yard really needed my help! Tomatoes planted, strawberry patch weeded, vegetable garden turned and enriched with a bit of fresh compost nutrient, and the grass cut once again.

So now, at the end of the evening, I'm looking for something to kill the weekend. My first thought is, hey, I'll just go check out some recommended reads, find a great new author I haven't read yet. Problem: as I've mentioned before, I have a bit of an addiction to reading. Like, can't put the book down. Ever. I'll read until four in the morning and then try to get to the office for eight. I'll put the rest of my life - including my own writing! - on hold. Even the cat will feel neglected.

Maybe I shouldn't search for something new to read.

Maybe I should just re-read an old favourite. Or watch a movie.

You'll know what I decide to do: If I've found a great new book or series, you won't see a post from me here until I've finished reading!

Less than 24 hours...

I'm going out after work tomorrow to buy my new MacBook Air! This poor iBook is seeing it's last days. Well, sort of. I'm going to recycle it to my dad, who's running an even older computer. And they've changed the forecast (again) for the long weekend, giving us mostly sunny skies. Things are definitely looking up!

I finished re-writing chapter ten today, and got started on twelve and thirteen. Those will be hefty changes, so it might take a few days to finish them up. Plus, I'll be spending another good chunk of time setting up my new Mac and checking out Scrivener, which I think I'll go ahead and buy as well...

Seriously.

Seriously, I'm tired of having to sign a petition every time an election rolls around. The Green Party of Canada has nearly a million voters, and more than that in supporters. They shouldn't have to fight for a spot in the leaders debate each time our government fails. C'mon.