Monday, November 6, 2017

NaNoWriMo ‘17 Week One: In Which I Defeat Shelob’s Cousin and Fangirl Over My Own Characters

 


IT IS DAY 6 OF NANOWRIMO.


WHICH MEANS WE’VE ALMOST CONQUERED THE FIRST WEEK!!!


I can’t believe we’re already a week into NaNo! LIKE WUT? Wow. On the one hand, it feels like NaNo JUST started, on the other hand, I feel as if I’ve already been on a long, epic journey and probably need a nap or three (hundred). But psh. Sleeping is for December, right?


The past five days have been a blurry whirlwind of life and words and going to bed late and getting up early and wanting to marry coffee. Normal NaNo stuff.


The biggest highlight is MY SISTER IS DOING NANO WITH ME. I’ve never, ever, ever had someone in person to do NaNo with. But I’ve alwaaaaaaays desperately wish I had. THIS YEAR MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE. My little sister likes to write and has wanted to do NaNo for a while, she just hasn’t had the chance with school and everything. But this year she’s more free and chose to do it with me and WE’RE HAVING THE BEST TIME.


I thought I couldn’t write well with another person around. I do best when I’m alone and can fully immerse in my story, because people distract me. But when the other person is busy writing, too, there’s a quiet camaraderie there and I’ve been doing fine writing with someone around. We’ve spent a ton of time sitting outside writing, brainstorming with each other, fangirling together over our stories, and doing word wars. Soooo many word wars. Whenever one of us is stuck, we’re like, “Wanna do a word war?” and it fixes our block every single time. (DO WORD WARS, PEOPLE. THEY SAVE LIVES. At least NaNo participant’s lives.) IT’S BEEN SO FUN. Except she’s totally beating my wordcount, buuut thankfully I’m really only competitive with myself. Not really with others like…at all. So we’re good. XD HONESTLY I’M JUST SUPER PROUD OF HER. She’s rocking it, guys!


It has definitely, definitely been weird to not be writing a Colors of a Dragon Scale book (the fantasy series I worked on for all my last 7 NaNoWriMos for any newcomers). Between that and doing it with my sister and a couple of other things, this whole NaNo has just felt super different. And, like I knew I would, I’ve had quite a few bouts of nostalgia and moments of reminiscing over my past NaNos and missing my CoaDS cast. BUT, at the same time, I’m falling madly in love with the story I’m working on this NaNo, having the greatest time with my little sis, and just in general loving the newness and different things this whole NaNo experience is giving me. Every NaNo holds a special place in my heart, and I think this one will be extra memorable!


Buuuut since my memory is the actual worst, I thought it’d be fun to log each day of my NaNo for safe keeping. I’ve seen lots of other people do this, and I love reading those posts, so I’ve decided to try my hand at it. I have nooo idea if I’ll keep it up. I never really have any clue how my NaNo posts will turn out each week. I just kinda start typing in an exhausted state and hope something coherent comes out. (Spoiler: Nothing ever does.) But for this week, let’s give a daily log a shot! It’ll be fun!



FIRST WEEK OF NANO ‘17



DAY #1


I did not stay up until midnight on October 31st. Which made me WEEP. I have stayed up to countdown to midnight for NaNo and begin writing the moment the clock strikes twelve for every single NaNo I’ve ever done. It’s one of THE most exciting parts of NaNo. But this NaNo just had to have the first day land on a Wednesday, and I work Wednesdays. There was no way I could stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning writing like I normally would. I had to get my sleep so I could actually be a functioning human being for work. So, with much regret, I went to bed at a decent hour like a silly responsible adult. (I know! What has happened to me????) And worst yet, I couldn’t start writing until after I got off of work at 4. I guess I could have started my story on my phone. It was a very quiet day at work and I even got to finish reading a book while I was there. But I really wanted to at least start my story on my lovely Scrivener file, and I’m not wild about trying to type stories on my phone. So I just waited until I was home.


Right after work, I went straight home, made some coffee, snagged my laptop, and finally started the story I’ve been anxious to write since July! And it was glorious! That day was an overcast, drizzly day, and I just disappeared in my story all evening, immediately fell in love with my main character Karis, and was feeling excited for all the rest of the NaNo.


Buuuut I only got 3k words in. Which I know is good, but I’ve always used the first day to write the most amount of words. My average for first day NaNos is 7k-8k. And sometimes 9k. Yeeeah. This year was my record low wordcount for November 1st.


But then I reminded myself… I’m planning on going not as crazy with NaNo this year. I, erm, may go a little insane during NaNo. I actually basically always do a double NaNo and write 100k instead of the normal 50k. Buuuut well, after 7 years of that, and now that my CoaDS series is done, plus life is a bit busier, I decided I want to be at least a smidge more chill this year. So I told myself that writing 3k on the first day was FINE. Because THAT WAS THE PLAN. TO BE MORE CHILL.



Welllll, like I mentioned earlier, I like to compete with myself. And I get ridiculously obsessive with things. I just feel this urgent need to WRITE ALL THE WORDS EVER during NaNo. Buuut that’s not really even that healthy. So I’ve been forcing myself to be chill. It’s not easy, but I think it’s starting to work. Because as the days are going on, I’ve been a smiiiidge more laid back that my NaNo stats are much lower this year than they have been any other year. Though, at the same time, I’d really love to finish my story before November is over. Because that’s my actual goal for NaNo—not to write 50k, but to finish the novel. Unfortunately, I write really long novels. >.> I didn’t think this one would be quite as long as some, buuuut the chapters are turning out to be way longer than I anticipated. So I may actually do need to buckle down some this month and do some seriously high wordcount days. I DON’T KNOW. WE’LL SEE HOW THINGS GO. But for now I’m sorta kinda okayish with writing a smidgeon slower this year than usual. I’m even seeing that I’m way less weary and actually talking to my family some unlike most NaNos where I just hole away in my room for a month and turn into some frenzied, sleepless creature of the night. *cough*


But ANYWAYS. After the little hiccup of having work, the first day went really well!

 

DAY #2


Since I didn’t get to write as much as I wanted the previous day, I was determined to get at least 5k words in this day. And once I set a goal, I will move Mt. Everest to make it. Again, I can be a bit obsessive…


Unfortunately, it turned out to be a pretty full day. I had written 3k during the day, but still needed that 2k more. And my determined self ended up  throwing together words right before bed in a crazed, exhausted fashion. Good gracious alive, I was so, sooooooo tired that night for some reason. But I had to make my daily goal! Well, just before midnight, I made it! *cue trumpets and fanfare*


Relieved, but utterly wiped out, I stumbled to my feet to go get ready for bed, when my sister (who was already at 10k words that day because she’s awesome) suddenly LOST HER STORY.



*CUE FREAK OUT MODE*


Something happened to the file and it just disappeared. There were tears. There was much freaking out. I was literally scouring through her files both crying and panicking and praying that I could find it. And, praise God, WE FOUND IT! I still don’t know what happened, but it got lost in the dark depths of some weird files BUT IT WAS THERE AND EVERYTHING WAS OKAY AND WE BACKED IT UP FOR EXTRA SECURITY AND NOBODY DIED. I’m still praising Jesus for that one.


Whew. Okay, so everything was good there. Now I could get ready for bed and SLEEP…


Well, I went to the kitchen to do something and right there, chilling on the washroom door like it owned the place, was SHELOB’S COUSIN.



This spider, guys! It was solid black and I declare as big as my hand. I actually don’t mind spider. I find them very fascinating, really. As long as they’re small or outside. But this thing just hanging in our kitchen… NOPE. THE OPPOSITE OF OKAY.


Just then, my sister came into the kitchen and I screamed at her to backup lest she be eaten by the monstrosity before me. Neither of us had any desire to kill it, but we also couldn’t just go to bed with that thing roaming the house. I could picture it—all of us awaking wrapped up in web, a nice tasty breakfast for the beast to feed on.


NUH-UH. I HAD TO PROTECT MY FAMILY AND BATTLE THE BEAST.


………


After I stood there cowering in fear and staring at it in horror wondering hoooooow I was going to do this thing. My sister had the brilliant idea of using a fly swatter instead of a shoe like I was considering so I wouldn’t have to get within too close proximity. Heart pounding, I edged toward it, wielding my fly swatter, and slashed. Annnnd…the spider fell on the floor, unharmed. Not that my sister and I squealed and staggered away or anything. Noooo. Ahem.


Naturally, as bugs love to do, it got in the corner of the baseboards making it nearly impossibly to smush it with the fly swatter. But I had to. So I futilely swiped at it, making it scurry to another position. Well, after that, I was starting to get up my courage and I didn’t hesitate this time to hash at it again. Still, it evaded my attacks.


OKAY. Forget being scared. Now I was mad. How dare he come into my domain and mock me like this! I stepped right up to the beast and hacked at it like a raving berserker.


AND I WONNNN!!!



I smashed the beast so hard, it didn’t even look like a spider anymore. Just a distorted ball of black. HA!


And let us not forget I was doing this while I was so tired I could barely stand on my feet and two minutes earlier I had a mental breakdown due to my sister almost losing 10k words. Needless to say, I got to bed very late and fell asleep within 0.2 seconds and slept like nobody’s business. And no spider wrapped me up for breakfast because I was victorious.


Erm, yeah. Thursday was a wild ride…


But I managed to write 5k words annnd wrote the part where Karis finds the magic camera that takes pictures of the past. (Fun stuff, guys!) It was actually a good day after all. Just that night was…something.

 

DAY #3


Day 3, Friday, was absolutely lovely! (And, thankfully, a lot less adventurous and emotional than the previous day.)


My sister and I had the house to ourselves all day, and we took full advantage of it. We sat in the living room and wrote together for a while, made lattes, did word wars. Later we took a walk and wrote outside until the evening. Even though it was actually the warmest day of the week and way too warm for November. (I have not been pleased with the weather. I WANT IT TO BE COLD FOR NANO. *pouts* Okay, I want it to be cold all the time, I detest warm weather. But I especially want it to be cold during the months it’s supposed to be cold! #Rant)


I actually only got 4k words that day. I was sort of hoping for 5k, but knew 4k would probably be more realistic because that evening I had some things to do plus couldn’t stay up too late due to having work again the next day. And, at this point, I was starting to get a liiiittle more chill and learn to take NaNo slightly more easy and still enjoy life. (I’M TRYING, GUYS.) So I was mostly okay with the 4k. (Despite having dreams of grandeur of making it to 5k-7k for that day.)


DAY #4


I had work again this day, but it was Saturday, and we close at 2 on Saturdays (I work part-time at a little secondhand bookshop for any who doesn’t know) so it didn’t cut into my writing time much at all. (I’m not exactly one to be very productive in the mornings anyway. Honestly, I don’t really start getting busy with just about anything until after lunch most of the time… *sheepish grin*)


I was itching to write that day, super excited over the next scene that was coming up, and got busy the moment I came home. (I mean, after making coffee, obviously.)


THIS was the day I truly fell in love with the story.


I had been very much enjoying myself before. But, to be honest, I struggle with beginnings. It takes me a bit to really get immersed into my story. With the beginning, I’m having to set everything up and learning the feel of my story and figuring out my character’s voices, and it’s just a bit of a struggle for me. So the first few days of NaNo really aren’t my favorite.


But by day 4, I had really gotten a grasp on my story, was getting into the thick of things, and JONAH ENTERED THE PICTURE!!! <3


Before, it was mostly just Karis wandering around on her own. Which was good. I loved getting a feel for my Karis bby girl. She amuses me endlessly and I’m adoring being in her head. But then when Jonah appeared, I realized just how precious they BOTH are. THE AMOUNT OF ADORKABLENESS. I CAN’T. Karis is such a ridiculous bean who never thinks before saying or doing anything, and Jonah is totally an awkward, shy puppy. I was squealing and grinning and just wanting to hug my laptop while writing their meeting.


*sneaks snippet in*


The moment she made it to the tree line, what little sense she had left kicked in. She released the boy’s arm, snagged the hammer still in her pocket, and swerved to face him. “Are you a serial killer?”

He backed up, eyes widening as he took her in. It occurred to her what she must look like to him. A five-foot-five girl with torn clothes, blood and dirt caked all across her body, hair more knotted than a bird’s nest, threatening him with a hammer of all things right after he saved her life.

Heat rose to her cheeks. She lowered the hammer, breathing out a nervous laugh. “I’m so sorry, it’s just hard to know who you can trust on this island, you know? I think a lot of serial killers get sent here. And assassins. You’re not an assassin, are you? Wait. Sorry.” She shook her head, as if that would erase all the babbles that had spilled out of her mouth. “Um. I’m Karis.”

There you go, Karis. Tell the would-be serial killer/assassin your name.

Though she was really beginning to think this boy wasn’t a murderer of any kind. The more she talked, the more his face relaxed, until she could have sworn a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. Though it could be a trick of the shadows. If only it were daylight and she could see him better.

“Jonah.”

She just barely caught the soft word, and it momentarily stunned her. Jonah? Grandfather had a friend named Jonah—a big, bearded man who ate too much and always talked with a slur. Nothing like this boy before her.


My babies. <3


I was having so much fun writing that day, I wrote nearly 5k words without much trouble. It was also donation day on the NaNo site and I donated some, which is something I’ve been wanting to do for YEARS. I was so happy this year I was able to. NaNo has done so, so, so much for me. It honestly changed my world, and I was so happy to give back, at least a little.


So that day I donated, enjoyed keeping up with the donation day progress on Twitter (the NaNo community is my favorite, it’s so fun!), and happily wrote. IT WAS A GOOD DAY! My favorite day of NaNo thus far.

 

DAY #5


Now completely pumped for writing after the success of the previous day, I dove in right away. (Even got a smidge written before lunch. :O) I ended up only writing 3k though, because some life-ness. Annnd I had to take time to write this blog post. Usually I prewrite my blog posts on Thursdays. But since I want to properly log what’s going on with my NaNo, I’ll probably put my posts together on Sunday nights this month. We’ll see if I can keep it up. If posts end up being late, I apologize. It is NaNo after all. Sticking to real schedules this month basically…doesn’t happen.


Anywhoozle, yesterday writing was lovely as I wrote more adorkable scenes between Karis and Jonah and continued to fall in love with this crazy story. And I was okay with stopping writing after 3k words becaaaaause…


I HIT 20K WORDS!!!



I figured that was a good place to end the week. And I’m so very much looking forward to the rest of the month and getting deeper into the novel. IT’S GONNA BE SO FUN!



CONCLUSION


To sum this monster up (if I keep doing this, I need to summarize each day in way fewer words, sheesh), this NaNo is very different but in many good ways, I’m having a blast having my sister join me for the first time, I’m adoring my story, and I’m taking this NaNo a bit more slowly than any of the others and tryyyying to be okay with that.


Onward to week #2!

 

Now that I’ve talked way, way, way more about my week than I should have, I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR FIRST WEEK OF NANO. Are you having fun? Have you already gone over the safe limit of caffeine consumption? What’s something fun that’s happening in your story? I want to hear about it ALL. And if you’re not doing NaNo, how was your first week of November? (Am I the only one suffering through a warm November so far? Bleh.) LET’S CHAT. (Although if it takes me longer to reply to comments than usual I apologize. It is NaNo…)

55 comments:

  1. This was great. XD Hurray for NaNo thiiings! I'm sorry about your lack of being able to write at midnight, and about the spider/lost file emergencies! o.o But so glad they turned out okay!!! <3

    Karis and Jonah are precious. XD I NEED THIS BOOK.

    BUT OH MY WORD LAURI YOU'RE AT 20K AND AND AND ALSKDJFLKSJDFLKJSLJ YOU'RE AMAZIIIING! You're totally going to finish this novel and do great--I just know it!! :)

    My week was... insane, and I had delusions of getting 2K per day and 4K a couple of times, but I only got in the BARE MINIMUM and didn't do any yesterday because I was gone so NOW I'M BEHIND HALP. D: I haven't even started my novel yet and feel like a massive failure and am afraid I'll not know how to start it and and and. *hyperventilating* I did write a short story though and stayed on track for the first four days, so... yay?

    Thanks for sharing this hilarious post! XD Now I should go write... >.>

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwwwwww, Deb. YOU'RE NOT A FAILURE AT ALL. I can understand how you feel, though - I had this same feeling during July's Camp NaNo. But it's okay! Sometimes, life just takes the driver's seat. (Darn you, Life. xD) You're still an epic human being regardless of how much you write and I'm SO PROUD OF YOU CELTI. <33

      (And no, this is totally not also a pep talk to myself. Hehe. :P)

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Mary! <3 You're the sweetest. ^_^

      Delete
    3. Thank you! And yes, NANO! ALL THE NANO THINGS! :D
      Hahaha. Yeeeah. There's definitely been a few mishaps this NaNo, but it's mostly gone smoothly. As smoothly as NaNo CAN go. XD

      *flaaaails* THANK YOU! I LOVE THEMMMM. Annnd probably shouldn't fangirl over my own characters so much...but I CAN'T HELP IT. <3

      Thank you for the encouragement! The novel is turning out waaaay longer than I intended, so hopefully I'll be able to finish it at a reasonable time. o.O

      AWWW, CELTI! I AM SO SORRY YOU HAD SUCH A STRESSFUL FIRST WEEK. That breaks my heart! D: But GIRL. You have bounced back like a rock star and are getting those words in and just sldkfjlsjfs I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! And like Mary said, YOU'RE AN EPIC HUMAN BEING. <3333

      I SO HOPE WRITING IS GOING WELL! *tackle-glomps*

      Delete
  2. Seriously, this story is gonna be GREATTTTTT. Karis and Jonah sound awesome. Totally awesome!!!

    I've been relaxing this NaNo, tbh. Finishing up a trilogy, and so I'm not even listening to music or speed-typing - just sitting back and enjoying my last bit of first drafting with these guys.

    GUARD THAT FILE LIKE IT'S YOUR BABY AND MAKE BACKUPS AND MAKE BACKUPS OF THE BACKUPS. I know what it's like to loose writing and AHHHHH I'm freaking out just thinking of it happening to someone else....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is so nice you think so! Thank yooouuuu!!! The actual writing has been pretty disastrous because, well, NaNo. But hopefully after edits it won't be so bad. XD I AM enjoying the storyline, my sentences are just much to be desired. Eheh.

      Okay but that sounds like the BESSST. I sooo admire you for just relaxing and enjoying your finale. What a awesome thing! I need to learn from your epic relaxing skills. XD

      YES. I AGREE. I backup my own stories on EVERY computer we own (which is a lot), a flashdrive, AND on two different clouds, plus sometimes email them to myself. I...may be a bit paranoid. XD I explained the necessity of backing up stories to my sister after the tragic incident, so we're good now. THANK GOODNESS! That's so terrible you've experienced losing writing. D: GAH. It's the WORST thing that can happen to a writer!

      Delete
  3. I'M TOTALLY NOT FLAILING OVER HERE LIKE A MASS OF MANGLED JELLO NOPE.

    But Christineeeeeee!!! THIS POST GIVES ME LIFE. *more jello flailing* I LOVED seeing every day of your NaNo week - I did that once or twice last year and it was really fun. :D And you're doing SO EPIC, girlfriend. I'm just floored by your brilliance as usual.

    OKAY BUT YOUR SISTER IS DOING IT?! How funnnn! I've never done NaNo with anyone in person before, but I'd love to rope someone into doing it. *mischievous grin* Ackkk, I'm so glad she didn't end up losing her story, though! That is a writer's greatest fear. o.o

    *is trying not to have a panic attack because GIANT SPIDERS* Omw, I cannot stand those eight-legged horrors. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU FOR DEFEATING IT. (And I found your account highly amusing...mostly because it's very, very relatable. xD)

    IT'S NOT OKAY HOW MUCH YOU ALREADY MADE ME LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS. Not. Fair. I just...I just...I CAN'T HANDLE THEM. They are the cutest little babies. <33333333 Please give us more snippets, Lauri!! *begs*

    Basically, you are a wizard and 10000% the coolest. GO YOU CONQUERING NANO!!!

    This comment is already a monster (ha, when are my comments ever NOT?) but since you did ask...my NaNo is going pretty fabulously. I'm TRYING not to compare myself to last year when I was completely insane and wrote 90k *cough* because it definitely looks like this will be a chiller year. I've just got waaaaay more things going on - which I didn't know was possible - so I'm going to have to try to be somewhat sensible with my goals. BUT STILL. It's going wonderful, overall! I LOVE my characters and story and have been really productive with ALL THE COLLEGE STUFF so yes. It's going well. ;) I might have to do a "real" update on my blog if I find time...no promises. xD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my word! MARY. XDDD I CAN'T WITH YOU. I'M SO HAPPY YOU LOVED THIS POST. I remember your NaNo posts from last year! I LOVED THEM. I think it's so fun doing a daily log.

      YES. My sister is doing it and still beating my word count and just being all around amazing. We're having a blast! Other than her almost losing her story... But it's all good now. Phew.

      THANK YOU, MARY! The spider had to diiiiiie. Like...ugh. It was not okay that that thing was hanging out in our house. Nuh uh!

      AWK! Now I'M the flailing jello. THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY YOU ALREADY LOVE MY CHARACTERS EEEEEEEEE!!!!!! I'll...try to give more snippets, possibly maybe perhaps. I'm writing this book REALLY messily. Like reeeeally messily, so...finding snippets that doesn't burn everyone's eyeballs out may prove to be challenging. XD BUT STILL. YOUR INTEREST IN MY STORY JUST GIVES ME ALL THE HAPPY FEELS.

      *blushes* MARY. YOU ARE TOO PRECIOUS.

      Aaaahhhhhh, Mary! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am that your NaNo is going well. If anyone is the wizard here it's YOU. You're writing a gazillion words AND doing college and just. HOOOOWWWWW???? I AM SO IN AWE. But I feel you on comparing yourself to last year's stats. I'm doing the EXACT SAME THING. Last year I broke all my NaNo records, while this year so far has been my slowest NaNo pace ever. So comparing the two is hard. But, like you, life is busier, we're older, more is going on. We both just have to remember that and be proud that we ARE still getting words in, despite the busyness. *nods*

      But ANYWAYS. Your whole comment just made me squeal with happiness! <3333 KEEP ROCKIN', GIRL!

      Delete
  4. *Hearts eyes* I loooved the snippet that you shared Christine!
    And I like the daily log idea. So fun!

    AGHHH. I've met a few of Shelob's cousins, but oh my gosh! Nothing like fighting one at midnight...

    Catherine
    catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MEEP. THANK YOU!!! :D
      That's good to hear! I might have to keep it up through the month then!

      It was an adventure for sure. XD Those monstrous spiders don't mess around. Ugh.

      Delete
  5. I love spiders. Once, when I was little, my sister killed a house spider, and I cried. Haha. True story. I would've been super freaked-out, though, if a spider as big as my head was in my kitchen. Ahhhhh!!!!! Especially at night. *looks around for spiders*

    ACK!! THAT SNIPPET!!!!!!! I WANNA READ MORE!!! *cries in corner* You should totally give us MORE. *begs*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah! Congratz to you and your sister!!!! I don't know how many times I've thought I deleted a book. lol

      Delete
    2. Oh my goodness, that's so funny! I rather like them myself, when they're OUTSIDE. It's sooo fun and fascinating watching them spin webs. They can be really interesting creatures just...not in the kitchen. XD

      EEEEEEEEE!!!!!! THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY YOU LOVE IT SO MUCH. THANK YOOUUUU!!!! I might have to sneak in some more snippets in other posts. ;)

      Thanks!
      Oh man, that is the WORST. It's so terrifying losing writing!

      Delete
    3. I would like to hold one.... Yeah. My cousin and her husband had one named Moki, but she died last year. They got a new one names Lapis, but they don't know whether it's a boy or a girl yet. lol
      You're welcome!! YAY!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait!
      My poor sister lost her first WIP, and she was never able to recover it. It was the saddest thing ever. :'(

      Delete
    4. Oh my. o.o I don't mind spiders, but only from AFAR. I would NOT want to hold one. Eheh. You are a brave girl!
      Oh wow, your cousin keeps spiders as pets? It sounds like your whole family is full of brave people! Lol.

      D'awww, thank you! :D

      WHAT??? Oh my goodness! Reading this tore my heart in half. That is GUT WRENCHING! Your poor sister! D':

      Delete
    5. Most of my family doesn't like bugs, though. (My aunt would pour salt on slugs!) My cousin and I are about the only ones. :D She loves tarantulas. They are pretty awesome-looking. Her current one is blue and green. <3 I don't like the fangs, though. That's pretty gross. But if you ignore the faces, they're pretty darn cool.
      You're welcome!!!!!!!!!! :D XD
      I KNOW! I asked her about it a few weeks ago, though, and she said "it was bad anyway." lol. I'd be crying my eyes out. :)
      By the way, the snippets in your latest post were AWESOME. You did not disappoint. :D <3

      Delete
    6. A blue and green tarantula? Whoa! That sounds fascinating!!! Not sure I'd want it in the house...but it'd be awesome to look at! Lol.

      Awww! She's a trooper. But it's still heartbreaking!

      AWK. THANK YOU! I'm so glad you thought so! :D I was actually thinking of you when I slipped them in, because you had asked! ^_^

      Delete
  6. Omigoodness, did I enjoy this post. Lost words, spiders, and snippets.
    It's so cool that your sister is doing it too!
    I love your characters, they are adorable!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *BEAMS* I'M SO GLAD! :D

      We're having a ton of fun. I've never had someone do it with me, so this is just a great NaNo!

      AWK. Thank you! I'm having so much fun with them. ^_^

      Delete
  7. The spider story. Oh my word. I am dying over here. That's so totally me, and...yeah. Yikes. XD

    And your book sounds SO GOOD! I'm so excited to hear MORE about it! Karis, though. "Are you a serial killer?" I love it. I love it so much.

    Glad you found your sister's story-like, yikes much? Oy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was quite the experience! XD

      *flails happily* THANK YOU!!! THAT MAKES ME ABSURDLY HAPPY TO HEAR. Hahaha! My Karis girl is a mess. XD

      Ugh, yes! It was such a relief. Not exactly a fun night, but I guess it could have been worse! At least we found it!

      Delete
  8. GIMME JONAH. JUST... JUST GIVE HIM TO ME.

    Aaaaahhh sounds like you had a great first NaNo week!!! I needz your story. <3 You are a writing BEAST!! O.O *high-five*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *SQUEAKS* I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKE HIM. (Except sorry, he's mine. *takes him and runs away cackling*)

      It has been pretty great! :D And EEP. THANK YOU!!!!

      Delete
  9. That's so cool that your sister is doing NaNo too!! My sister is a writer and she does camp nano but sadly not actual NaNo. *sigh* :P

    That spider story is cracking me up though. XD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're having a lot of fun! ^_^
      Awww, that's sad your sister doesn't do actual NaNo. But I certainly understand doing just Camp. It's way less stressful. XD

      Hehehe. It's always an adventure in our house!

      Delete
  10. It's great that you're having fun with NaNo! (although 20k is mY ENTIRE GOAL xD So now I feel like I should go do some writing??) And that snippet is awesome - but I just want to read the whole story xD
    - Jem Jones

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! ^_^
      Um,excuse me, but 20k is an AWESOME goal! I only have a part-time job and don't go to college or anything, so I have a good bit of free time. If I was busier there'd be nooo way I could write much during NaNo. You are doing AWESOME. Don't even think otherwise. 20k words in a month is waaaay more than most people in the world would ever even think of writing. The fact that you ARE writing is all that matters! Keep rockin' it! *fistpump*

      D'awwww! Thank you! Hahaha. It's turning out to be a MESS. I don't think anyone wants to read it in the state it's in right now. XD

      Delete
  11. What a great post! I love reading your daily log. It sounds like your week has been an absolute BLAST what with NaNo, partnering with your little sis (what a joy!!), and battling the icky cousin of Shelob. Well done, Samantha Gamgee!! *wink wink* (See wut I did there?? *cackles*) My week has been a long, but good one. And I totally agree with you on the life-ness interrupting needed writing-time. Definitely happened to me! But it's all good. I'm hoping to make up for it, and if not, I'm telling myself it'll be okay and to just have fun. :] Thanks for sharing your week, Lauri!! Looking forward to hearing more of NaNo '17 AND OF THE NETHER ISLE!!!!! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. D'awww, thanks, Sarah! ^_^
      It really has been a blast! And it's just kind of getting more fun as the month progresses. Samantha Gamgee. OH MY WORD. I just DIED. That is the greatest thing. XDDDD

      Life is quite rude in interrupting writing time. I mean, sheesh, doesn't Life know it's November??? We can't bother with it! Lol. But really, life DOES happen. But what matters is that we write when we can and just have fun, yes! That's the true goal. *nods*

      Thanks, Sarah! You're the sweetest! <3

      Delete
  12. Wow, one week into NaNo already? Haha, I feel the same, like time has flown by, yet so much has happened!

    Ooh, that sounds like fun! So glad you and your sister can work together this year! It sounds like you're having a lot of fun!

    LOGGING EACH DAY IS SUCH A GREAT IDEA! May I borrow your idea and do the same thing on my blog? :-)

    Well, good for you for being a responsible adult. Trying to adult on no sleep is no fun. :-)

    Okay, wow, I'm impressed with your average first-day word count! Still, 3K is great!!

    Nice to know I'm not alone in writing long novels! I just can't keep mine short...there's so much to explore!

    OH MY GOODNESS I nearly got a heart attack reading about that lost story!! Nothing is scarier!!! Praise God you found it again!!

    Whoa, two horror stories in one night! Okay, mean question...would you rather deal with another spider, or the lost story? *rubs hands together evilly* But congratulations for reaching a good word count (and that scene sounds like a fun one to write!!)

    Ugh, it's been unseasonably warm over here too, and I want the cold weather as well! *joins pout* But it sounds like you had a lovely writing day with your sister, regardless!

    Y'know, I think I'm starting to grasp my story now and settle into things and find my characters' voice...so I totally understand!!

    I LOVE THE WAY KARIS TALKS/THINKS! It's so impulsive and natural and real and awesome! And Jonah being almost silent by contrast! Thank you so much for sharing that snippet!

    Haha, I am starting to learn how much fall by the wayside during NaNo! But it'll be good to get updates whenever you can post them!

    CONGRATULATIONS FOR HITTING 20K WORDS!! That's an impressive achievement!

    Haha, my NaNo has been up and down because I've fallen behind, tried to catch up, fallen behind again...but it's still been great. I've leaned to kinda go with the flow and change scenes or dialogue at the last minute if it works out that way. And I'm accomplishing more than I thought I could! Whether or not I'll go crazy by the end remains to be seen. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TIME HAS FLOWN SO QUICKLY I CAN'T. But yeah, NaNo is a paradox. I think 'cause we're spending so much time in our stories, it FEELS like we're going on epic journeys, while in real life the days are just zipping by. So, for me at least, Novembers always somehow feel like the longest AND shortest months of the year. o.o Just another addition to the NaNo craziness. XD

      It is the greatest having my sister join for the wild ride. We're having a blast!

      Absolutely borrow this idea!!! In fact, it's not even my idea, I stole it from some other bloggers. So you'd just be stealing something that's already stolen. XD

      Well, I try my best to not be an adult, but sometimes I just gotta. ;P

      Thanks! I go a leetle wild on the first day usually. XD

      YES. SAME. It's great having someone who understands! I like to tell BIG and COMPLEX plots and it takes so many woooords. *collapses*

      It was definitely heart attack inducing, oh my gracious. o.o I am just so, so, SO grateful to God that it didn't get deleted completely.

      That's not a mean question, it's fun! XD And the answer is the SPIDER. Absolutely 100% the spider. I'd battle Shelob herself before having to deal with entire stories getting deleted. It's my actual worst nightmare.

      BOO ON WARM WEATHER IN NOVEMBER. It's fiiiinally gotten cool though and I'm ALL THE HAPPY! :D

      That is wonderful you're getting a grasp on your story! That is the best feeling!!!

      OH MY GOODNESS. That MADE. MY. DAY. Because that's PRECISELY what I was going for with her thought process. EEP. You just made me so happy! :D

      Yeppp. NaNo does not leave much room for things that AREN'T writing. XD Such as replying to blog comments... (Sorryforbeingsolate. *cough*) But there is always December to catch up!

      AWK. THANK YOU, GIRL!!!

      Oh man, I'm sorry your NaNo has been a roller coaster! But I'm so, SO happy it's been great anyway and that you're learning as you go. And I'm sorry to inform you, but there is no avoiding the crazy. We all go crazy in the end. ;D
      Hehehehe. But really! I'm happy it's going well and you're getting things accomplished. Keep being awesome, girl!

      Delete
  13. That's awesome, being able to be in this adventure with your sister- and I'm glad her story was found safe and sound! Sounds like a great start, and I can't wait to hear more!

    Egh, spiders.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Blue! We're having fun! ^_^

      I know, right? So not okay to have those things in the house.

      Delete
  14. Oh, Christine!!!! Awesome job! I'd love to do NaNo Wrimo sometime, it's just too busy lately. That's cool that you're doing it with your sister.
    You poor things!!! I know exactly how you guys feel; loosing a file like that. I'm so glad it wasn't deleted. *cringes at memory*
    Shelob's Cousin! Well, you handled it better than I would have. I most likely would've squealed like a maniac, and begged for a brave soul's help. I dislike bugs...with a passion. xD

    I hope the rest of November will go well for you, and that you have very productive camp NaNo days, like you're having. I totally agree with you about competing with ourselves. Most people write faster than I tend to, and it gets kind of depressing (especially in word wars when I have a number in the hundreds and they're in the thousands and I'm actually very excited when I have 2,000 words at the end of the day even though I did lots of wars...*deep breaths*. So, I don't move at a fast pace...*sigh*

    Anyway, God bless and I'm so excited for you, Christine!! I can't wait to see how this camp nano turns out for you! <3


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! ^_^
      That'd be amaziiiiiing if you did NaNo one year, but I absolutely understand being too busy for it. It can certainly be a huge commitment. You're probably wise in keeping your priorities straight and not abandoning everything to write like I am. XD

      OH NO! Have you lost a story before? Ugh ugh uggghhhhh. THAT IS THE WORST POSSIBLE THING! D:

      Oh trust me, I desperately wanted to go get my dad, and I totally would have if it wasn't 1 in the morning and he was sound asleep. XD But I sure wanted to! Lol.

      Isn't it crazy how we have competitions with OURSELVES??? We humans are strange creatures. XD But you should NEVER feel bad about your wordcounts. Nooooo! What matters is that you WRITE. And writing slow can be a GOOD THING. When I'm not doing NaNo, I often like to write at a slow and steady pace instead of just vomiting messy words on the page. Lol. You're doing awesome! We all write differently, and that's a GOOD thing. You do you! ^_^

      D'awwww! You're so sweet! Thank you! <333

      Delete
  15. Oooh, losing files is awful. It hurts! I know all about the panic that goes on while you're searching even in the most unlikely spots just in case it might be somewhere and refusing to give up even though your sensible side knows there's no hope. But then the relief when you /do/ find it! Those ups and downs of emotion are exhausting.

    The spider incident sounds like a proper battle, and I don't even mind spiders either. About the only thing more heroic, on a small scale, than that is killing snakes. Which can be hard to do because they're so good at getting into small spaces where you can't get to them.

    20k already! Congratulations!

    https://ofdreamsandswords.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely yes! You described it perfectly. So much panic and hopelessness and tears. But then when you DO find it...aaaahhhhhh! SUCH RELIEF. It was most definitely an emotionally exhausting night. XD

      OH MY GRACIOUS. SNAKES. NUH-UH. NO WAY. NOOOOPE. I'll kill big bugs if I must, but there ain't NO WAY I'm getting aaaanywhere near a snake. They're my LEAST favorite living thing on this earth. Which stinks, because I live in a place with a lot of them. >.> But uuuuuggghhh. I hate those things so much. I'd just burn the house down before I had to battle a snake by myself. XD Have you battled snakes before???? :O

      Thank you! :D

      Delete
  16. Haha, this post was so much fun to read! I'm so glad you managed to find your sister's story and I'm SO GLAD YOU KILLED THAT SPIDER. Bravo, Christine! The thought of spiders crawling around inside the house at night gives me the shivers, too. Ugh.

    Your Karis and Jonah sound absolutely adorable already. I can't wait for more snippets! :)

    Since I'm not doing NaNo this year, I can at least leave you and your sister with a writer's blessing: May the wells of your inspiration never run dry, may the plot holes be few, and may your computers have no more glitches.

    ~Lizzy :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *beams* I'm so glad to hear that! Because, honestly, I was worried it was just rambley and boring. Heh. And THANK YOU! I just couldn't leave it to crawl around the house all night. But ugh, I sure didn't want to battle it. XD

      D'awwww! That makes me so ridiculously happy you think so!

      AWk. GIRL. I'm grinning so hard! Your blessing is perfect. XD You're the best! *glomps*

      Delete
  17. Oh my gosh! I loved this NaNo recap! It was hilarious and perfect, and I think I love your characters just from the snippet you gave. XD
    It's so awesome to hear how much you love your story, it's making me feel inspired with my NaNo story. ;)
    *decides I need some shippy stuff to happen XD*
    -Emma-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MEEP. Your comment made me grin so hard! XD Thank you so much!

      D'awwww, how sweet! And yes do the shippy thiiiings. All the ships! :D (Except, honestly, my story isn't heavy on romance? Buuuut when has that ever stopped us from shipping? XD)

      I hope your NaNo goes well! <3

      Delete
  18. Eeeeep! I love, love, LOVED your journal of your NaNo adventure!!! So fun to hear about everyone's stories. I'm just living vicariously through all of you, because I decided to be responsible and work on editing Minstrel's Call so that I can get it to publication sooner... but I'm super envious of all the writing fun going on. I had to take a small break and write a short story, which hopefully will be included in the Fellowship of Fantasy's next anthology... so I wrote and edited and polished that in the first week of November. But now it's back to serious editing on MC. Unfortunately, I got hit with a cold yesterday, so motivation is at an all-time low.

    Good job defeating Shelob's cousin! What an exciting adventure!! :-D

    And GREAT JOB on hitting 20k words in the first week! I'm impressed. :hands you pumpkin bread:

    November here in Wisconsin is properly chilly. It's been hovering around 31 degrees for the past two weeks, and we've gotten some snow flurries already. I LOVE it. (Nice to know other people like chilly weather, too)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aaaahhhhhh! Thank you, Jenelle! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

      I admire how responsible you are! You're so dedicated to your stories and getting them published, it's so wonderful. Proof of an amazing author. ^_^ But how fun you took a break to write a short story. And EEP. That'd be so awesome if it made it into the anthology! I hope it does! *crosses fingers* But AGH. I am so sorry you have a cold! Ugh. Writing/editing + colds do NOT mix. I do so hope that nasty thing will get out of your system quickly. *sends soup and blankets* Take care of yourself! <3

      Tehehehe. Thanks! It was quite a night for sure. XD

      *grins* Thank you so much, Jenelle! *happily noms on pumpkin bread*

      31 degrees??? WHOA. In my neck of the woods we do not call 31 degrees "chilly", more like the winter apocalypse. XDDD Oookay, may be exaggerating a bit. We do occasionally get in the 30s as our lows, but never just regularly. I want to come live in Wisconsin! Your weather sounds delightful!

      Delete
  19. Awesome job! This sounds like a really awesome story! I'm glad Nano is going fairly well, and I'm soooo glad your sister didn't lose her file permanently! I'm always terrified that's going to happen to me. XD Good luck with the rest of Nano!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! :D

      Oh man, yes. Losing my stories is my actual worst nightmare. I back them up obsessively because of it. XD

      You're so sweet. Thank you! <3

      Delete
  20. Way to go! You know when I first saw your writing stats on NaNo I thought to myself I could never write that many words in a day. So I was really surprised when I had written more than you on day 1 and then collectively on day 2 and day 3. But you surpassed me on day 4 and left me in the dust (not a bad thing) I just expected you to do that from the beginning. Why am I telling you all this? Because for some odd reason seeing your relaxed word counts encouraged me (maybe even pushed me to write more than I would have) that I might actually be able to do this (here was a pro with word counts similar to mine). I have three little boys to take care, of a family to feed, and a house to clean. They have all been so supportive of me: letting me go to write-ins and stuff like that. As for my story, I actually started with 50k on Nov. 1st and hope to come close to finishing it by the end. The most exciting part right now is that the parts I said would come later are now! I can hardly believe I'm approaching the climax. Suppose I ought to figure out exactly what that is! I'm a pantser (hint hint). I love your blog! Keep inspiring all of us first timers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwww! I absolutely loved hearing your story! I am so touched that *I* encouraged someone. But oh my goodness, you are inspiring ME. You have three little boys and a whole household to take care of??? YOU ARE A SUPERHUMAN. I am only able to write a fair amount because I have a good bit of free time. I can't imagine writing that much with children! I AM IN AWE! You are a true inspiration! I am so happy your family has been supportive of your endeavors. That is the sweetest! Your whole comment is just making me smile!

      That is so, SO awesome you're finishing up your story! And I absolutely know that epic feeling of coming on scenes that always seemed like you'd never actually reach. Climaxes always seem like those faraway things to dream about, but never actually make it to. It's the besssst finally for real WRITING those scenes.

      AWK. This just made me so happy. Thank you so, so much! You keep being amazing! I hope the rest of your story goes absolutely wonderfully! <3

      Delete
  21. I'm glad it's been a great first week! Hurray for victory over spiders and lost documents! It's been an okay first week and a rough second for me. Still trying to find that fall in love moment with my story like you were talking about. XD Best wishes!

    Storitorigrace.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tori! It was a wild ride, but I made it out pretty happy. And didn't get eaten by a spider, so there's that. XD

      Awwww! I am so sorry this second week has been rough! I do so hope it'll go better and you'll find that love for your story! *hugs* We need to find some time to do some word wars. ^_^

      Delete
  22. ASDLKFJASKL YOU'RE DOING SO AWESOOOOOME. :D It is SO fun to write with other people! It just feels like you're surrounded by creative energy and you feel connected in a Writerly way and just agh. So fun. :)

    ALSO THAT SNIPPET. *flails* <3333

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *SQUEES* THANK YOU!!! It is very fun! This is literally my first time experiencing it, and I'm loving it. I need to find more people I know in person who write!

      GAH. GIRL. What am I going to do with you? I'm grinning so hard right now! <3

      Delete
  23. Great job on Nano, Christine! XD Keep up the great work!
    Oooooh, nice; you killed Shelob's relative! I don't particularly mind spiders, but my sister HATES them, so I usually get the lovely job of disposing of them. :-Z ;-D
    LOVE the snippet! Can't wait to hear more about your WIP!!! XD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :D

      Yes, the Shelob cousin is vanquished. XD
      Aw man, yeah. I feel ya. As the older sister, I usually have to take on the task when it's just my sister and me. (I do have an older brother but he wasn't around at the time. Heh.)

      That's so nice of you to say! Thank you so much! <333

      Delete
  24. I love your updates! They're so entertaining, plus it's like I get to peek over your shoulder at all the writerly goings-on in your world. <3

    Your sister is doing NaNo with you? HOW FUN IS THAT? Online buddies are great, but it must be a new level of motivation and companionship to have another NaNo-er under the same room. :D

    But UGH. SPIDER. BLEGH. GET IT AWAY FROM ME. I...don't like spiders in case you couldn't tell. XD But I feel so accomplished when I manage to slay one in the house! (I agree, they're ten times worse *indoors* where they don't belong.) The one you conquered sounds huge, though. O.o

    Anyway, I'm so late as to be almost irrelevant! Off to your more recent updates!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awwww, thank you!!! That makes me happy! ^_^ Because I've been worried these updates are just boring. XD

      YESSSS. It's so cool! I've never had anyone to do NaNo with in person. My online buddies are the besssst, but it is totally great to have someone in person to do it with too! ^_^

      RIGHT??? I was so happy to have that thing slain. XD They are definitely worse indoors. I'm okay with them when they're outside, but in my HOUSE? NOPE. NOT OKAY.

      No way! I always love seeing your comments! They make my day every single time! <3 And the way this November is flying by, it feels like this first week was just yesterday! o.O

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...