My NaNoWriMo Word Count Widgets!

Monday 29 October 2012

Excellent News.....

......Hospital Corners has been shortlisted for the Luke Bitmead Bursary 2012!

I've spent the past four days feeling rather unwell so this has made my day! Actually, it's made my entire year because it suggests I'm doing something worthwhile with my time after all. Even if I don't win (which I'm not expecting), I get to go to an awards ceremony with the other 9 finalists in London! It's a good job the DWP worked out my benefits because I'm going to need a new posh frock :-)  I just hope the ceremony coincides with a time Lovely Boyfriend is onshore; I'm sure he'll look gorgeous in a tux. :-)

Writing-wise, although I haven't written anything over the past week since completing the first draft of Agoraphobics Anonymous, my mind has been working away for NaNoWriMo. I even came up with an entirely new character in a dream last night and I think I'm narrowing in on the focus of the book.

Moving Meditation: Cosmic harmony, spirituality, inner peace, depression and lies....

Monday 15 October 2012

Countdown to NaNo....

...has started.

You may have noticed a new NaNoWriMo widget at the top of the blog. It does the same kind of thing as the other widget - show how much I've written - but this one should display a graph of each day's count. That's because I've signed up to the Master Class Skeleton Marathon being held by my local region - Scotland, Elsewhere. I MUST write a minimum of 1000 words each and every day of November, otherwise my name will go up on Anastasia's Wall of Shame....not something I'm keen to happen!

I know I completed NaNo last year, including the basic Skeleton Marathon. I wrote something every day of the month, but some days were 3000 words, some simply a single sentence. Now I HAVE to write the bare bones of a chapter each and every day.....eek!

I haven't been writing today; I'm waiting on a phone call from Lovely Boyfriend to tell me he's ready to come round to Lovely Neighbour's flat and lay some carpet for her. She's the reason I didn't get any writing done yesterday either - we have a tendency to get talking! But I hope to get back to Agoraphobics Anonymous tomorrow and throughout the week, possibly even taking my wee purple netbook round to Lovely Boyfriend's for the evening, in order to get that final 10-15,000 words finished! He'll have to get used to sitting writing of an evening anyway, seeing as he's also participating in NaNo. Good luck, darling xx

Friday 12 October 2012

Spring clean in autumn.....

....that's how the Twotsies and I have spent our afternoon. Well, we weren't going outside with the rain - it was BUCKETING down all morning! The river at the end of our street is a gushing, brown mess and I'm glad the new flood prevention works (which meant closing the road for about 8 weeks over the summer and another 10 days last week) are, well, working!

We couldn't go out for the last day of our Tattie Holiday's, but we took the opportunity to work our way through the various boxes, drawers and shelves of toys. We now have two big bags for charity and I'm confident there's now room for Christmas to happen!

I'm also getting the girls bunk beds and some new storage systems from Ikea; which means it'll be easier for them to amuse themselves when I'm busy writing. At the moment, most of their favourite toys are in stacked crates - which they can't access without Mummy....annoying when they decide they "need" Polly Pocket halfway through Chapter 27.

How's the writing going? Well, I've taken quite a few days off this week - a fun shopping trip (saw boots, bought boots, love my boots), Lovely Boyfriend returning home and Big Toots' birthday yesterday (7....where did the time go?!). But I've been thinking over the ending of Agoraphobics Anonymous carefully and know where I'm taking the next few chapters. Then I simply have to decide how the characters are going to pair up (if at all) and finish off with a "6 months later" epilogue. I'm really pleased with how I've dropped in little clues and tips for the reader, but don't be taken in! There are twists and turns aplenty, as always with my work. Twisted mind = twisted fiction!

As for NaNoWriMo, I'm back with my Moving Meditation idea and I'll just have to see where it goes come November. I have a vague idea for each character, and I'm hoping they'll start talking to me once they're down on paper. Then I can let them lead me where they will to that all important 50,000 word target. I'm glad I've had October as a warm-up; I've managed 22,000 words in just over 2 weeks. And I didn't have a clue where the story was going either....here's hoping November goes as well!

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Victory is mine....

...to quote Josh Lyman in "The West Wing".

I checked my bank balance today and nearly fell off the sofa when I saw the total. After 4 months of scrimping, saving and living off packets of Beanfest, the DWP have filled my coffers with back-payments from their erroneous benefits judgement. I can now afford Christmas.....:)

And in other Good News: I've written nearly 15,000 words in the past week! And I think I might even keep most of them....

Agoraphobics Anonymous is at the 2/3rds, nearly 3/4s point. Angela and David are making great strides with their recoveries and are now only a month away from meeting in person. They've admitted their feelings over the phone (awwwww) and poor old Ryan has had to come to terms with the fact the woman of his dreams is now also the woman of someone else's dreams. I feel quite sorry for Ryan - he's a decent bloke at heart; uncomplicated and lonely. His wife's left him, taking the kids with her, and now he 's realising Angie has been using him. He resents that, whilst at the same time wishing she'd use him some more.

I don't know exactly how things are going to turn out for Ryan, Angela or David. I have the big scene planned in my mind, when they meet up for the first time. But I don't know how they're all going to react to the news, and what it will mean for any of their relationships. I guess I'll find out in approximately 21 days (the deadline I've set myself to finish).

NaNoWriMo will re-start on the 1st November, which is why my little word-count-widget has set itself back to 0....I hope someone in NaNoWriMo Officialdom remembers to change the coding to 2012. I'm giving myself 21 days to finish Agoraphobics Anonymous, and therefore 10 days to plan the NaNovel, entitled Moving Meditation.

Yes...the madness continues. But now it's madness with the heating on :-) Thank you DWP.