Holiday Recap

Oh, don't the days seem lank and long,
When all goes right and nothing goes wrong,
And isn't your life extremely flat,
When you've nothing whatever to grumble at?
-- Sir William Gilbert, English Playwright and Poet (1836-1911)

It's been a busy week at the Thompson house. I won't bore you with all the gory details, but here are the major highlights:

3-1. Last Tuesday's game was a defensive struggle - final score 38-36 (Them). The Tall One was almost the heroine of the game, making two clutch free throws with less than a minute left to put us up by one. Unfortunately, the other team managed to get a score on the other end AND a foul, and with less than 10 seconds left one of our guards put up a three and missed. Tall One got the rebound, put up the shot to tie and was blatantly fouled - but the refs chose for some unknown reason not to blow the whistle and the game ended with us on the down side. Oh, well. Stuff happens. The up side is that the game was a good challenge for our girls, and we played better overall than we did the first three games. Oh, and in case you're wondering, she had 9.

Thanksgiving Eve in the ER. You know the conversation is not going to go well when it starts with, "Now don't freak out or anything, but I may have go to to the Emergency Room and get my leg stitched up." This from the WGH at about 8:30 on Wednesday night. Both sets of parents at the house, and he's closing the store with a 1-1/2 inch gash in his left calf from the brand new razor blade he had just put on the floor scraper. There is a praise in all this, however - you always say "it could've been worse", you know - it was the new blade and not the old, nasty one he had just taken off, it was a very clean cut and only required three staples, and it's approximating and healing quite well. And no restrictions on activity - which will become important in the paragraph after next.

Thanksgiving. 20-pound deep-fried turkey with all the extras. 16 people. We had very, very little in the way of leftovers - no turkey sandwiches on Friday. A lovely time was had by all. 'Nuff said.

An evening of culture. Friday night the WGH participated in his first performance with the Nashville Pipes & Drums (Scottish bagpipe band), at the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center downtown. They were part of a Thanksgiving concert celebration featuring the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and the NCO Gospel Choir, with special guests Wynonna Judd and Donna Summer. Wynonna was pretty good - although she tried something new, a rather contralto rendition of Ave Maria. When a country singer does opera it's something akin to yodeling. It wasn't bad, just ... different.

Donna Summer was phenomenal. I mean, wow. The Boy remarked that she looked like a walking disco ball - the lights were reflecting off her dress - but oh, Mylanta, can the woman SING. Still. Brought the house down with Amazing Grace. Just a splendid performance overall. Just before she came out, the NCO did Bartok's Adagio for Strings, and it was such a beautiful piece that The Boy actually leaned over to me, asked me the title of it, and said, "That's a great song." Yeah, we're working on the whole terminology thing. He said "piece" later - he's getting it. I was just impressed that he enjoyed it and thought enough of it to make a comment. Sigh. Every parent's dream, for her kids to have this kind of opportunity.

The Writing Weekend. All the company was gone by Saturday noon. My parents shifted locales to my brother's Friday, and the father-in-law went home. The mother-in-law stayed with us, then hung around long enough Saturday morning to hear The Tall One do the local radio show - Sports Round Table kind of thing, where she got to talk about her team and the games and did a terrific job filling in until the coach made it in - and then by midday it was quiet at my house. I took advantage of the opportunity by spreading my working copy of the manuscript out on the kitchen table with all my notes and settling into some serious work. One plot point I'd been struggling with gelled into focus quite nicely, and I wrote an entire new scene (by hand, oy) in about four hours. Got it typed into the file Saturday night and found that I'd bumped the word count quite a bit.

This week it should be relatively quiet around the household, at least during the day, so I'm pushing myself toward that December 1st deadline of having a good chunk of this thing ready to call a first draft. Good grief, that's Friday.

Better get to work.

Music to motivate. Apropos - on my radio, since I didn't switch to the CD player yet, is Joe Walsh's Life's Been Good to Me So Far.

Yes it has, Joe. Yes it has.

Read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB

Funk

Some of you have noticed that I haven't been around in a while - at least, some of you have pointed out to me that you've missed my posts for the last few days. For that, I apologize. I've been in a bit of a funk the last week - too much to do and too little time, I guess. Not much motivation to hop into the blogosphere just to say, "Hey, I'm working on the book."

But I am, and that's what is taking up most of my time these days. That, and about six thousand other things.

3-0. With two more basketball games under our belt, the girls are getting off to a decent start. Last night's game was especially interesting - The Tall One did one little thing that set her coach off (she didn't take a shot where the opportunity presented itself), he lambasted her in front of the entire gymnasium, and she proceeded on the next three possessions to block a shot (stuffed the poor girl, actually), steal the ball and score two buckets. So there, I thought. The coach apologized to me after the game and explained that he's finally figured out how to motivate my daughter to play to her potential, and that is to ... well, tick her off (I would explain it a bit more eloquently than that but this is a family show). She ended the game with a team-high 12 points.

Dad's birthday. Last weekend the parents were down, and we had lots of family fun with concerts, football and basketball games. Sunday was Dad's birthday. I managed to remember to send him an e-card, but forgot to call him. So I'm sitting at the ball game last night and the cell phone rings - Dad told Mother to call me to make sure I was okay because I hadn't called and there was nothing on my blog. [Hangs her head in shame.] I am a terrible daughter. I'm blaming my short-term memory problems, but now I'm seriously thinking I need to address this issue with my doctor. How bad is this? I made myself a note to send Dad the e-card, sent the e-card, and threw the note away a couple hours later, which you would think would have reminded me to call the man and wish him a happy birthday in person. Wouldn't you? No. My brain did not process that logic for some reason. At about 10:30 Sunday night, lying in bed, I remembered that I hadn't called him. Sorry, Dad - I feel really bad about that. Happy belated birthday. We'll see you tomorrow.

Thanksgiving. It has become a Thompson family tradition that we throw sanity out the window and host Thanksgiving at our house. Table for 16, please? Both sets of parents, brother and sister-in-law, brother-in-law and his family ... fortunately, the big meal is nothing fancy - deep-fried turkey (we'll NEVER cook our turkey any other way again), sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn pudding, country-style green beans, rolls ... yep, carbohydrate heaven. Oh, and of course the deep-dish apple and pumpkin pies for dessert. Dad's bringing his famous cranberry-orange relish (yum) and cheese balls. Then there's the parade, and football ... most importantly, of course, it's all about family and being together and celebrating everything we have to be thankful for. I hope you and yours will do that on Thursday.

The book. After a very productive brainstorming session with the WMVR, Book Two now officially has a well planned out plot. Copious notes about the whats and the whos and the whys, and a bit of rewriting of what I already had written, but tons of new stuff in the works that will push me toward that goal of - no, not 50,000 words ... we're a little out of our league with that whole endeavor at this point - but to actually get the thing finished. Finished. Because as of December 1st, my dear, sweet, compassionate friend JT has threatened to kick my [ahem] if I don't start working on queries with "Book One". It does have a name, I'm just not at liberty to discuss that at this time. I will, however, follow her sage advice (which garnered hearty approval from both the WMVR and the BMWs) and write the synopsis and start punching out query letters. There will be progress by Christmas.

Darnit.

Thanks very much to all of you who wrote or called to check on me. I am here. I'm just a little buried. I promise to try to check in a little more often, but if you don't hear from me again for a few days at a stretch, please don't fear for my safety or well-being. Hmmm. You might fear for my well-being considering I'm going to have 11 extra people in my house in the next two days. But if that doesn't pull me out of my funk, then the quiet week between Thanksgiving and the 1st of December should do the trick.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

=) JB

The Halfway Point

It's raining and cold - the perfect kind of day to stay inside, get cozy and settle down with a good book. Am I doing this today? Of course not. But the plans I have are fun ones so I'm not complaining - I'm going to enjoy breakfast with JT and Pari Taichert, then spend a few hours working and head back into town for BMWs. Haven't decided yet what I'm taking to read tonight - something new from Book One, possibly. Even with the weather it's going to be a pleasant day.

1-0. Our girls didn't play exceptionally well last night, but they still managed to eke out a win. We're a little confused on the coach's philosophy, though - it's almost like watching a hockey game with the substitutions he makes (we call it "line change!"), five for five pretty much every time the clock stops. The Tall One scored 6 points and fouled out - not her best effort but she still did a lot more things right than she didn't, and we're proud as always. Maybe now that their first game jitters are out of the way, things will go more smoothly tomorrow night. Maybe.

The beginning of basketball season also marks the halfway point of NaNoWriMo. By now I should have 25,000 words written. As you have probably guessed I'm well below that, but with the invocation of the Zokutou Clause I am allowed to not reach that goal as long as I finish the book. One down, one to go. I still have a ways on Book Two, but plotlines and characters are starting to gel a bit, and with a little more time on my hands starting tomorrow I should be able to do some serious boosting to my word count and flesh this story out quite nicely.

The past couple of weeks I haven't been quite as thoughtful, perhaps, in my little daily essays, but I hope you'll forgive that as I am deeply ensconced in actually writing something. Come December 1st I should be able to locate my brain again. In the meantime, if anyone sees it, please treat it with TLC - keep it in a warm, dry place until I can turn in my claim check.

In the meantime, I'm putting Holst (excerpts from The Planets) on the CD player and am diving into my day.

Read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB

It's Here!

It's a day buzzing with excitement in the Thompson household - the first official day of basketball season! The Tall One is looking forward to tonight's game with a mix of enthusiasm and sentiment - her first game of the season, and her last "first game of the season" for high school ball.

We're pretty much a basketball loving family. The WGH and I grew up in a state that eats, sleeps, lives and breathes basketball basically year-round. Ever see Hoosiers? My high school principal was a member of the real-life team on which that film was based, and actually had a cameo appearance in the movie. Several of our friends from our college band were extras - one trombone player who marched with us was actually one of the opposing team's players and had an actual speaking part (one line, but still ...).

We were the die-hard band geeks, the #1 supporters of our sports teams. Everyone has a "claim to fame" or "brush with greatness" story, right? Ours is that we were AT the game when Coach Knight threw the chair across the floor. The WGH was in the pep band and I was in the student section across the court from the bench. What an experience - 17,000 people, all deathly quiet at the exact same time. I've never heard silence so deafening.

On a brighter note, the WGH was also in the pep band, partying with the team on Bourbon Street in New Orleans in 1987, the night we won the NCAA Championship. Um, yeah, if you haven't guessed by now or don't know us or haven't read it here before - we're Indiana University alums. It's where we met - in the Marching Hundred. I knew he was the man I was going to marry when he tried to run over me with a snare drum strapped to his chest. Ahhh, the memories - 21 years ago and I can still see it in my mind like it was yesterday. ;)

So here we are 21 years later with a child who in less than a year will be a college student herself. Is it just me, or is that old saying about the older we get, the faster time flies actually true?

Today my goal is to get at least 1,000 words written. The meter on Book Two stands at 52,934. If I'm following the NaNo formula, I have 42,156 words to go ... or 2,480 words a day between now and the 30th. Hmmm. Is this doable? With everything going on in my life at the moment? Maybe. Quite possibly.

Yes.

I can do this.

So I'm a little behind, and have parents, basketball games, Thanksgiving and about six thousand other things going on, but by Jiminy Cricket, I am a writer, and as such I thrive on deadlines.

I can do it!!

You there - go read a book. When mine's finished, I'll let you know.

=) JB

Doggie on the Deck; Kitty on the Computer

It's a foggy cold morning in Middle Tennessee. McCartney went out this morning and stood there looking around for a few minutes before he puttered off to have his morning constitutional. Right now he's sprawled out on the deck with his chin on the bottom part of the railing, looking around a little more. Oh, to be a dog.

Sebastian's favorite hangout of late has been my writing desk. The Pickles cartoon from this morning (which I tried to load as an image but Blogger balked at it) is pretty much the norm at my house. For those of you who are not cat people, you won't get that. Those of you who are know what I'm talking about.

Most days the cat does not prevent me from working. He just keeps me company. Throws ideas my way every so often. Okay, first she's talking to imaginary men in her kitchen and now she's listening to the cat. Um, yeah. Call the little men in the long white coats ...

The preceding reference to talking cats is my homage to this month's Sisters in Crime - Middle Tennessee chapter guest Pari Noskin Taichert, whose series protagonist, Sasha Solomon, has a cat who occasionally does offer her a bit of friendly advice. If I remember correctly, it's a bit more hallucination on Sasha's part, but it is entertaining.

The folks are still in town - basketball tomorrow, breakfast Wednesday and then they're headed home, only to turn around and come back again next week for Thanksgiving. Whoa. Next week is Thanksgiving. For someone who takes her holidays one at a time, they sure are coming at me fast. Seems like only yesterday I was talking about the 250 trick-or-treaters we had at our house ...

Time to get the paper and start my day. We'll see how much writing I get done. I sort of got on a roll last night, so I hope I can get a little time in on it again today.

Read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB

Pause and Effect

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
seen on a church marquee

Last night, The Boy went to a birthday party for a friend from band while the rest of us went to the chili supper. I had to go pick him up at somewhere around midnight (yawn). On the way home, we were talking about the homemade card he had drawn up for his friend (sort of a traditional thing with him), and he asked me if he had used the ellipses correctly. (I told you he had my brain.) Anyway, he said some people used a comma, so we talked about the difference between a comma and an ellipsis. A comma, I said, is a short pause. An ellipsis is a pause used for effect. He said, "Pause and effect! Ah-hah-hah ..."

The Boy does have my sense of humor. Of course, at midnight, just about anything is funny. (By the way, he did use the ellipsis correctly.)

I made a little more progress on Book Two last night after we got home. Since I have the basics down, I'm more or less filling in holes at this point. The church marquee from which I got the above quote is near the grocery store in our tiny town, and when I went up to get the newspaper this morning it struck me again - wisdom like that always inspires me. That, and JT has threatened me with bodily harm ;) if I don't get a few things submitted that I've written (one short story in particular), so I'm trying to get my act together yet again.

Today is a ketchup day. There's football to watch, work to do, words to write ...

Sundays are good for recharging your batteries. Read a book. Enjoy the day.

=) JB

P.S. - This is actually getting posted at 10:35 p.m. instead of the original 9:20 a.m. due to some apparent connectivity issues.

Updated Word Count: 7,104 for NaNoWriMo total. We're at 52,194 on Book Two.

How Long is a Week?

In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write.
-- Pearl S. Buck, U.S. writer (1802-1973)

Remember Steve Martin's blockbuster movie The Jerk? There was a scene after he'd ... spent some quality time ... with Bernadette Peters [ahem], where he was musing about how long the days had seemed since they met. The first day felt like four days, and the second day felt like two days, and the third day felt like less than a day, or something to that effect. I was thinking about that because it doesn't seem like it's been over a week since I posted "Funny Farm Friday", and yet here we are.

Veterans' Day. As most of you know, my Dad was a USAF combat pilot in Viet Nam. Yesterday our middle school's band director put together a special commemorative concert - something he has done for years (since he lost his best friend in Saudi during the first war in the Middle East in '91). Little Bit was very proud to have her Grandpoppy sitting on the floor in the specially designated seats with the other veterans. There was a gentleman there who had fought in both World War II and Korea. Think about the men and women who are putting their lives on the line for your freedom today, and thank a veteran.

Back to work. Mother and Dad being here have not put too many kinks in my writing plans. I haven't really done anything I wouldn't have had they not been here - the concert, last night's football game ...

Regarding which I have to take a quick detour off the track of my original train of thought to say - WAH-hoooooooo!!!! Yeah, that means we won. What an exciting game! We had a great turnout on our side of the stands, the band did their show and it went well, and it was a good "payback" victory for our young men, who had lost to this same team during the regular season after having a lead until the last two minutes of the game. Most teams break through a big sign that says "Go Team" or something to that effect at the beginning of the game - last night our sign said "NOT THIS TIME", and then the boys played to back it up. My son doesn't have much of a voice left after cheering and screaming (oh, sorry, those terms are too "girlie" for The Boy ... make that yelling and shouting) with the band for the whole game. But what fun it was! This is the farthest our team has gone in football playoffs since the school's inception 10 years ago. It's a very exciting time, and I'm just glad my kids can be a part of it. Next week should be interesting - I don't think we've ever had football season and basketball season overlap before, and we have two basketball games Tuesday and Thursday before football on Friday. My head is spinning just thinking about it. Sorry, can you tell I'm both a proud parent and a sports fanatic?

Okay, back on track now - I am still working on Book Two, and have made a touch of progress. I'm hoping to get some serious word count boosting done over the next week or so, especially since I had another flash of brilliance about this story yesterday. The word count is at 50,739 and climbing - a total addition of 431 words. Not a great accomplishment, but then I haven't had much time to work on it just yet, have I?

Today is the day. We have a few things going on around the house, but overall it should be relatively calm and I'm planning to get some serious writing done.

Good creative writing vibes sent in my direction would be appreciated.

It's feeling like fall again around here -- enjoy your day.

=) JB

Notable Progress

"Slow and steady wins the race."
-- The Tortoise and The Hare (Aesop's Fables)

Well, by this point in NaNoWriMo we should be somewhere just over 13,000 words. I'm somewhere around the 5,500 mark - BUT, what I'm doing is not entirely new but acceptable thanks to the Zokutou Clause. AND, yesterday I finished rewriting the end of Book One. After some discussion I turned it over to the WMVR for a scouring from the reader's perspective, and when she's finished with it I'll be sending it on to JT for my critique partner's scrutiny and line editing.

In the meantime, I took a nose-dive into Book Two just to refamiliarize myself with the story. Considering I haven't looked at it in nearly a year, I was rather pleasantly surprised by some of what I'd written. It's actually not half bad, if I say so myself, and I might just be able to make a book out of it. For those of you who are itching to know, it's the third book following the two I already have published [yep, the FBI's 3J team is back - see my website for details =) ].

Mother and Dad are heading down today to spend the weekend (well, Thursday night to next Wednesday) doing family things. They'll actually get to see all three kids do their respective thing - Little Bit has a Veterans' Day concert tomorrow afternoon at the middle school, The Boy will be performing with the high school band at our second playoff game (go, team!), the Basketball Boosters' 2nd Annual Chili Supper & Auction is Saturday night, and Tuesday is our first home basketball game (again, go team!). There's a big kick-off celebration/community pep rally at the high school tonight, where they'll introduce the men's and women's teams (that would be The Tall One), the coaches, the cheerleaders and the dance team, and all of them will do some kind of exhibition for the spectators. Should be fun, at least for those of us who live, sleep, eat and breathe basketball starting in November. My parents might be a bit worn out by next week, so you guys send some energy their way, 'kay?

My other hats are calling me today, so I'm hoping to find as much time to write as I can. Here's a quick update on the word meters:

Book One. "Final Draft" complete at 89,690 words. We may eke the remaining 310 (or more) words out if there are last-minute touches that need to be added, but mostly, the thing is done.

Book Two. Currently at 50,510 words. I discovered yesterday that Word doesn't recognize the ellipsis (...) if you don't put a space between. In other words, it counts...this as one word, whereas this ... is two. Hmmm. So, either I cheated myself out of 202 words last year, or I'm cheating by upping my count by 202 words this year. We'll call it making up the difference, just for the sake of argument, how's that? No cheaters here, no sir, nuh-unh.

Got a note from the Best Friend the other day (hey, BF!). Some days I miss her so much it hurts. Living next door to each other for the years we did really spoiled us, but that was 30 years ago and we're still friends, so I figure God must have intended it that way. You've probably seen that email that circulates every so often about how people are brought into our lives for a "reason, a season or a lifetime". I've had all three in my nearly 40 years, and consider myself quite lucky that I have more "lifetime" friends now than I can count on one hand - all of whom I've mentioned here at one time or another. Are you so lucky? Do you have lifetime friends? If so, tell them you love them today.

It's good for you (and them).

I have to go find all those hats now.
=) JB

Madness is Relative

88,685 / 90,000
(97.0%)

Okay, so the writing like a mad woman thing didn't exactly work out like I'd planned, but I did cover some serious ground. I am now working on revamping the last three chapters. Once that's done, it'll be one more time through from the beginning just to make sure I've added everything that needs to be added, then I'm letting that baby go for a while and transferring my madness to the second manuscript.

I haven't checked in with the troops in Blogland for a while, but I promise I haven't abandoned you guys altogether. Is anyone else doing NaNo this year? I think I might be the last, lone, lonely "aspiring" writer out there among my circle who's not working on actual edits or writing another manuscript under contractual obligation. But someday soon, I hope to be among you, and that means it's time to slather on the elbow grease.

Dopo! (That's Italian for "Later!" - remember, I've been hanging out with a guy named Vitrelli.)

=) JB

It's Always Something

While we have the gift of life, it seems to me that only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness.
-- Gilda Radner, US actress & comedienne (1946 - 1989)

'Nuff said, really.

It looks like the Zokutou Word Meter is up and running again, so here is the latest count:

88,166 / 90,000 (97.0%)

After some connection issues with my computers this morning, I'm up and running again, too - so it's off to write like a mad woman. There are a few other things on my to-do plate this week, but unfortunately for them they're just going to have to wait until I get some serious work done on these manuscripts ...

Read a book, and have a great day!

=) JB

Not a lick ...

The word count on the WIP is exactly the same as it was at the end of the work day Friday. So I'm behind the eight-ball and have my work cut out for me today.

On the bright side, it was an absolutely beautiful weekend. The Boy's band did not place in the top 10 at the State competition, but they did receive superior ratings in several of the categories - overall, it was the best they've ever performed the show, and all of us parents are really, really proud of how hard our kids have worked this year. And they do have one more opportunity to perform their show - our football team won their first playoff game Friday night so we're advancing to the next round, and the band gets to go. The new band director has worked hard to establish a good relationship with the sports programs at our school, and the football team actually gave the band a card last week that said "Good Luck Saturday" - how cool is that? Even cooler, the band turned around and gave the football team a card wishing them luck at their game. That's what it's all about, folks - you all go to the same school, you should be supportive of each other. It's a proud moment in our little community (at least as far as I'm concerned).

I bought a gallon of apple cider at the grocery store Friday. To me, apple cider is the quintessential indication of fall - hot or cold. Yum! As a matter of fact, think I'll mosey down to the kitchen and get me a glass. Maybe share it with Vitrelli.

So much to do, so little time ... gotta go get those licks in now.

Read a book. It's good for you!

=) JB

A perfect day for marching ...

On this sunny, gorgeous fall Saturday morning, The Boy and his bandmates are headed to the Division II State Marching Band Competition - 22 high school marching bands from Division II schools all over the state come together in one venue to compete for the title of "State Champs". Last year our band came in 9th overall. This year we're just hoping they make it past prelims.

The Tall One has basketball stuff all day and the WGH is at work, so Little Bit and I are going into town to watch our band march their little hearts out to see if they can do the new director proud and make it to the finals for his first year. It's been an interesting season - lots of changes (for the better) - and the kids have worked really hard. They deserve to make finals, and I hope for their sake that the judges think so, too.

I was able to work on the WIP a little yesterday (between cleaning up in the study, writing two book reviews and grocery shopping), so the word count looks like this now:

87,243 / 90,000
96.9%

We're getting there. Just a few more plot holes to fill, some scenes to set, and making sure all the elements are in place. The 90K is still a guestimate, but we should have a final total in the very near future. I still have 45,000 words to write on the other book before the end of the month. I know 30 days sounds like a lot of time, but when you factor in ... well, life in general, then there never seem to be enough hours in the day. I write as much as I can, when I can, and the rest of the stuff sort of fills in the gaps.

Happy Saturday. We're going to go listen to some music and watch some marching and cheer for our kids. Whatever you're doing today, I hope you enjoy yourself. Life's too short not to.

=) JB

Funny Farm Friday

As I live and am a man, this is an unexaggerated tale - my dreams become the substances of my life.
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English writer (1772-1834)

I have a new article published over at AC. It's a review I did on the movie The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I'm a little excited about it, because Wednesday I got the note letting me know that I was actually getting paid for it. It dawned on me as I was on my way in to meet JT for dinner before our BMWs meeting that I am finally living my dream. I've always said that the perfect job for me would be as a movie critic - combining the two things I enjoy doing most: writing and watching movies. Yeah, hello? Let me watch a movie, write about it, and then pay me for it! Well, it's happened. I am officially there.

Now, the WGH looks at this from the standpoint that he looks at everything - that is, what is it worth monetarily? He's a very in-the-box, bottom-line kind of guy. I'm looking at it from the standpoint of it being a psychological reward. I have been paid for something I wrote. Not a substantial amount with it being my first time out and all, but still ... and the more I do, the more I'll make. Maybe even enough to pay my Netflix membership every month. ;) I laughingly told JT it was more than my last two royalty checks put together. Yeah, sales from my first two books have slacked way off, but that's okay. When I get a new publisher I'm looking for all that to change.

But to get to that point, I have to finish a book I can sell, so it's nose back to grindstone time. I made a little progress yesterday, added to the total. There seems to be a problem with the Zokutou word meter, so I'm having to rely on the NaNo widgets:



You can keep up with this one over to the right under the "NaNoWriMo" sections.

Had an email in my box this morning from Nephew #1 - he's a little worried about me, wants to know if they should go out and find me some real friends so I don't have to carry on conversations with imaginary men in my kitchen. I told him my real friends were the ones I called or emailed after said conversation occurred. All part of the process, babe, I told him. All part of the process.

Things to do. There are a great number of things on my list for today, of which working on upping my NaNo count ... er, finishing the book, that is ... is only one. I'm already working on my second cup of coffee (and those of you who know me know that's more than I usually consume on any given morning). No obligations to the J-O-B today, so I'm free and clear to be productive. We'll see how it goes.

It's going to be another gorgeous day in the South - enjoy!

=) JB

NaNo Day Two

A Smattering of Things. I discovered to my surprise and tremendous relief yesterday that November 1st was not, in fact, the deadline for most of the colleges we are applying to for The Tall One. After that revelation my afternoon went a whole lot better. Didn't get much done in the way of work-work, but after yesterday's encouraging NaNo beginning of 1933 words (and my apologies for the funky-fied way the word meter is coming up, I'll have to look into that) and last night's productive BMWs meeting, I feel rejuvenated.

Conversations in the Kitchen. Somewhere around the time Big Brother Brett began his blog (say that five times fast), he wrote an absolutely brilliant post about having conversations with his protagonist, Jonathan Quinn. Quinn began popping up in odd places, and Brett took the opportunity to dive into Quinn's background, ask questions, and get to know him. What a terrific way to get to know your character - something I have mentioned here as being very important for us writers.

Well, I've had a similar experience. I was in the kitchen Tuesday, chopping vegetables for the soup, and I turned around to find Vitrelli standing against my kitchen counter. He just wanted to talk about things. I immediately, of course, told JT and Brett about this, and we launched into a brief discussion of, among Quinn, Vitrelli and Taylor, who could kick whose ... well, you get the idea. (By the way, Taylor wins, hands down.)

The rest of the BMWs were a little less enthusiastic about Vitrelli's visit. As, most likely, are some of the rest of you who might not quite understand how my mind (or any other writer's, for that matter) works.

The good thing about having Vitrelli show up in my kitchen is that he provided me with some insight into this book and the direction in which I need to take it. So, here we are at dawn on NaNo Day Two, the coffee is on, the kids are on their way to school, the WGH is slumbering peacefully downstairs, and I'm stretching my fingers, getting ready to hit the Play button on the CD-boom box.

And we're off ...

I'll be back later this afternoon with another new word count. In the meantime, enjoy what promises to be a glorious autumn day here in the South. Read a book.

=) JB

P.S. - Here's another shot from the Leaf Cam, this one from the Lafayette Municipal Golf Course in Lafayette, Indiana.

Word Count Update

As of 11:45 a.m.:

86,405 / 90,000
(95.0%)

New words this morning = 1,933

NaNoWriMo

Work in Progress #1. 2006 BMW project. Current word count: 84,472. Goal: approx. 90,000.

Work in Progress #2. 2005 NaNo novel. Current word count: 50,308. Goal: approx. 95,000.

Thanks to the Zokutou Clause, my goal over the next 30 days is to complete both of these novels and make them marketable books. I may be ready for the Funny Farm by the end of November, but I will also be ready for New York.

My plan is to be here every day, but I may not be as prolific or insightful as normal ... er, well, you get the idea. I'll at least keep you posted on my progress with the handy-dandy word meter.

Wish me luck.

In the meantime, you know what to do.

=) JB