Melonade

Tomorrow is the day! My race to 50,000 words will officially begin tomorrow. I am just about to explode from the excitement that's built up in the last four days. The fantastic thing about my writing process is that it's as much of a discovery for me as I write as it is for those who get to read it later on. The thrill of writing gives me the same rush that I get for the few seconds I feel that I'm hanging in the air just before zooming down the first big hill on a roller coaster. The contents of this blog during the upcoming month will probably be limited to talk about the novel. I predict that word counts and progress updates will dominate.

I have spread the word to a few choice folk about my the plan, and most people have been enthusiastic. I hope they maintain that encouragement over the next four weeks, especially during those times that characters frustrate me or I've written myself into a corner (I am sure that most of them secretely think I'm insane, but at least they are considerate enough not to say that to my face.).



Enjoy your day.

I have decided to write a novel. This is not unusual to say, since I've been working on various writing projects for the last five years or so. This is unusual because I am going to write an entire novel (50,000 words) in 30 days. That's right, April is going to be my month, baby.

You may have heard of the National Novel Writing Month (lovingly referred to as NaNoWriMo by its fans). Every November, people around the world vow to devote 30 days to hardcore writing and turn out a solid first draft. No Internal Editor, no heavy research, just writing as quickly as possible in order to hit the 50,000-word mark by the end of the month.

Yesterday I picked up the NaNoWriMo creator's book called "No Plot, No Problem!" for a little pre-writing inspiration. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. By the time I'd read a few pages, I had decided I would follow this guy's advice and write my own 30-day masterpiece.

You may ask why I am not finishing the novel I am already working on that has about 35,000 words, and I would say that it's because that is against the rules.

And so I now ask you to pariticipate in my quest, because friend participation is an important part of the process. You are welcomed to do any of the following:
1) leave encouraging comments here on the blog or send emails that detail your complete faith in my ability to complete the task.
2) place your bet on my inability to do it and what you think I should give you if I don't come through (i.e., gooey desserts, movie tickets, housecleaning service, etc.). Most reasonable bets will be accepted. Please take my respectable income and debt repayment duties into account when choosing your terms.
3) do or say things that warrant character inspiration and possible inclusion in the story.
4) understand that I can't tell you what the book is about (sorry, it's in the rules, too.)
5) understand that I will have to be somewhat antisocial for the next 30 days and not think I'm crazy for choosing writing sessions over social activities every once in a while.

People at the office keep telling me not to work too hard. I hear this a lot from one of the drafters I work with and random delivery guys. I must admit that I can’t be accused of working too hard this week. Both my boss (the engineer from whom most of my workload comes) and the administrative coordinator (the other “office girl” who does everything that I don’t) were out all week on vacation, and other folks were out here and there through the week. Basically, it was the most boring week I’ve had since I started this job. The phones were pretty quiet (partially due to Spring Break, I’m sure), and it’s not one of our busy times, so I was actually desperate for work. Usually I love Thursdays because they are generally less hectic than the other four days of the week and it’s a nice balance, but this week was like having five Thursdays in a row. I hate leaving my office at night with the feeling that I didn’t accomplish anything. It’s very frustrating to know that the biggest moment of the day was proofreading angry letters to contractors who can’t get their act together or trying to give directions to our office over the phone. I’m really looking forward to the day when I won’t be responsible for answering the phones and licking envelopes. I hope that day comes soon.

There aren't too many things I miss about college life-- bad cafeteria food, mountains of homework, a constant lack of sleep-- these are things I can live without. What I do miss are the vacation days. I looked forward to the time when I could avoid cracking open a textbook and actually had a reason to justify doing so. (It's Spring Break...nobody should do homework on vacation!)

Now that I'm an 8-to-5 girl, I think that it's ridiculous to expect a few days off here and there to tide us over. I get a day each for the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and New Year's and two days for Christmas. And since I've put in a year with the company, I also will get a week's vacation (Tennessee, here I come!). 52 glorious weeks in the year, and I am obligated to work 50 of them. Does that seem right? What made anyone think that I could handle spending every beautiful sunny day trapped inside an office where the windows don't open?

So I propose the following: we hardworking adults should be rewarded with a Spring Break (it doesn't even have to be in the spring, since everyone in Oklahoma takes their break before spring actually arrives, and the weather here is so iffy anyway.) I know that it would do us all some good to breathe the fresh air and give our monitor-weary eyes some rest.

This morning I was shopping for a friend's wedding, and when the hunger pains hit I stopped in at a local Subway. (It's not difficult-- there seems to be one on every other corner.) While waiting in line, I noticed a sign taped to the sneezeguard. It asked patrons not to use their cell phones in line, and I applauded on the inside. Yay Subway!

But the next sign made me cringe. Here's what it said: "No bills larger than $20's excepted." Naturally, I'm thinking "Excepted from what?" even though I know that's probably not what the intention of the sign was. I've got to read 'em like I see 'em. (There were actually two mistakes, but I'm not going to comment on the other one.)

If you're a grammar nerd like I am or are interested in becoming one, you might want to read Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss (if you're not amused by the title, ask the first grammar nerd you can find to explain it to you). This is an entertaining book on common punctuation mistakes. Yes! Entertaining grammar books do exist! Just give it a chance. You may learn something new, and that's always fun.

Coincidentally, the same kinds of mistakes that make me cringe are the ones that make Jay Leno's Headlines segment such a hoot. If you miss his weekly insight into America's stupidity in print, you can always check out the website for past grammar and spelling goofs. (My recent favorite was the under-represented minority of the Puerto Raccoons.)

Tips for the Day: have a laugh, read a good book, and don't rely on spellcheck to catch all your mistakes.

Flummox tr. v. To confuse; perplex.

Can I use it in a sentence? You betcha.

I am often flummoxed by my own behavior. I know there should be a good reason for things I do, even if that good reason is nothing more than a sunny day or an afternoon nap or Tuesdays.

I remember days spent in the swimming pool during the middle of blistering summers. I loved just floating around with my eyes closed and my arms and legs stretched out, letting the motion of the waves lead me. After a while, one of two things would happen. Either I would stop myself and see how far I'd gone, or keep floating and eventually smack my head on the concrete border. Sometimes life is like that- just floating along without paying attention to what's happening, hearing voices around you muffled under the water. And all of a sudden, smack! You've got a tennis-ball size bump on your head and you don't know how you made it to the other end of the pool.

Not to sound too cheesy, but there are times when I feel like I'm just swimming through life. I'll think back to the last few weeks and wonder what I did to get where I am. That's really vague, so let's get specific.

It's already March 2005. I can clearly remember March 2004, which doesn't seem like it's 12 months past. I can remember thinking that in a year I'd be 25, and that's a quarter of a century, and I'm not sure I've spent my time all that wisely.

Fast forward to today. In about three weeks I'll celebrate (or at least acknowledge) birthday #25, and I've got to take stock. Around November '03 I made a promise to myself to finish writing my novel by my next birthday. A year past that deadline, and I'm no closer to reaching that goal. Yeah, it's a little depressing, and I certainly want to see my name on a shiny new book jacket. Even so, there are days when I can't seem to motivate myself enough to sit down at ye olde computer and suck it up, as it were. (Even though I can sit here and spout out a few words on a blog, go figure.)

So what's the point?

I need to get motivated. If you have any brilliant motivational tools, I will probably include you in the acknowledgement page of my first novel.

I am not going to wait until 2006 to become the person I want to be. You are all witnesses.

If nothing else, you learned a new word for the day...unless you've already forgotten it, and in that case you should probably work on your memory skills.

Enjoy your day and your words.