Writing, Not Shopping

For all of those people out shopping today on Black Friday - Good luck to you!  Me, I slept in late and now I'm home with the Murph and the Boy and the Jazz cats and plan to do most of my Christmas shopping online.  No crowded malls for me.  I did the Friday after Thanksgiving shopping frenzy once and that's enough.  I was at the mall before 3 a.m. and did find some good deals, mostly gift with purchase type deals or more money off if you shop by 9 a.m or 12 p.m, etc.  Other than that, it just isn't worth it.  I actually bought more stuff for myself than I did Christmas presents and right now I am cleaning out junk, not adding it.  I have plenty of junk to pack when we move.  I still have furniture at my house that need a home and clothes from the 80's.  Besides I need to be writing, not shopping.

I have gotten a little behind in my novel writing since we moved back home from the beach.  I only have a week to go for NaNoWrMo (national novel writing month) and I am only half way finished.  I need about 25,000 more words.  For the next week writing is first priority, well 2nd after working out.  I want to make sure I have the 50,000 words by the end of the month to finish my novel.  I didn't realize how hard it is to come up with things to write about!  I'm halfway finished and I have written about all I can think of to write about.  It's time to get a little more creative.  I can do it!

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo) and I have taken on the challenge.  Starting Nov. 1, I have until midnight Nov. 30 to write a novel of 50,000 words.  I am writing every night before margarita/cocktail hour and so far I am averaging about 1,500 words a day.  This puts me only a little behind schedule. (I think I need about 1,600 or so words a day).  I figure I can make it up at the end of the month if I am still behind.  This is all about quantity, not quality.  Once the first draft is down I can go back and clean up the mess.  And at this moment it is a mess!

I have always wanted to write a novel.  Fiction is what I am most interested in writing, but this novel is decidedly not fiction.  It is much easier to write non fiction at this pace for me because fiction seemed too vast, endless possibilities.  I just couldn't narrow things down and come up with a good story so fast.  What I decided I need to do is just write.  I am very rusty.  It didn't use to be this hard!   I haven't written anything since my son was born 19 years ago, except to fill in his baby book with documented evidence of his first word, steps, teeth, etc.  I wrote down details of all his birthday parties, presents and friends.  I even have his first haircut clipping and most all of his baby teeth.  That's as close to writing as I have done in all these years.

I am sorry I haven't been blogging as much to past few days.  The novel writing has taken center stage now.  I am on track to have 50,000 words of garbage by the end I this month.  My first best selling novel!  Ha!