I’m 6 days in, and I haven’t touched my manuscript. That means I have 12 hours of editing to make up. Eep..

On Friday the 28th of November I passed the 50k mark, making me:

Andy was supposed to be finishing off the story [I left it at a bit of a cliff-hanger] over the weekend but didn’t get much further than he had been. Ah well. Come March [or National Novel Editing Month, as we like to call it] he’s got the task of finishing it off and sorting it out, while I work on editing the MOW files.

I’ve been really quiet on the nano front, mostly been recording my anguish and triumphs on Jaiku, but I just had to let y’all know: I’m on the home stretch now! I hit 40k tonight, now only another 10k words till I reach the target. How amazingly awesome is that? *does the happy dance*

I know it’s only been a couple of days, and I have the rest of the month to go, but so far our story is shaping up nicely, and so far I’ve managed to get a nice healthy word count. I hope I’ll have a good buffer by the end of tonight

8450 done, only another 41550 to go

Okay, I’m a little late with this but:

Another months on highly caffinated, sugar-high, Noveling. Bring on the crazy!

I’m not feeling terribly confident about this years Nano. Since my last post back in the summer, we haven’t worked on… well, anything.. I still don’t exactly know how we’re going to be able to writ this together. Up till the mid-way point things will be okay ish, because we’ll each be looking after a few charas, but once they all come together and continue on from that point I’m not sure how it’s going to work out. Andy wanted this to be all plotsy and conniving, but so far it just reads like a straight a-to-b story. I’m still feeling iffy about the fact that it’s high fantasy, I’m not very good at that genre. Oh and did I mention we still don’t exactly have an end? But it’s too late to turn back, neither of us have a story idea that we can fall back on [well, I suppose I have a few but… neh] And… there’s something else. My desire to write and be read has waned a lot in the past year, I’m not sure I’m even interested in competing this year, especially as Dorset now have a municipal liaison and I won’t be able to make it to any of the pre-parties this year [where as last couple of years I organised them] I just can’t get into the whole swing of things this year. I hope it’s just because I’m slightly emotionally tired for everything else that’s happened. Gah, this is turning into a ramble.

I have a day off tomorrow, I was planning on writing up a couple of Fragment of Time RP session and doing my homework for the NVQ. I guess it might help if I went into the Stone of Tides Wiki and tidied it up [atm, we have a page of actual plot that is different to the info dump page of plots], it would at least re familiarize myself with everything. Some other Nano prep would probably be good, like getting some mountain dew and making meals I can just shove in the fridge and re-heat later.

Looks like it’s going to be busy, and oddly enough I can feel myself getting excited about it again [Oh the power of the rambling chat to self]

This year’s Nano is going to be a join venture by Andy and I. We’re going to be writing a High Fantasy piece called The Stone of Tides. It’s going to be epic, and Gothic, and China Miéville-’New Weird’-esqu. And that’s all I’m going to say about what it’s like, for the rest you’ll just have to read and see.

I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to work out with the actual writing side of things, but so far the planning has gone well - the world is mapped out, with most of it’s cultures and oddities, and the plot is down apart from exactly how the end will turn out. I will be mentioning Luke in the dedication, because it was his input that helped us focus on things and helped us draw all our disparate ideas together. He even added his own flavours to the ideas we already had that will hopefully make a delectable and devour-able novel.

So far I’m pleased with it, and I don’t think we should have any trouble with the month of November - we will be married and honeymooned by then, and our major ’see mates’ outing will be taking place in October, to celebrate our being in our flat for a year.

So fingers crossed for a good Nano this year

I did it! I did it! I did iiiiiiiiit!

Oh My fucking gods, I can’t belive I actually managed to do it this year, it was such a struggle, but Ive finished and now I never have to look at this novel again!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Victory is sweet

so far, in no particualr order, I’ve either mentioned or had these people in the novel:
andy, me, kat, owen, kelly, luke, ryan, woddy, amy, barry, phyco dan, gay dan, monkey jade, major, james, jamie, chip, sarah, bill, charlie, ian and ross…

If I know you in real life and you’re not mentioned here, please let me know and I’ll find a way to add you as a chara.

I have noted greg is missing. I’m working on it okay?

[ps you have 4 days to respond to have any chance of getting in]

Yay! I just finished writing the pirate comedy, scheduled for release next Monday, so now I can concentrate on Nano

I’m still not certain what I’m going to be writing about, but I think I’ll try re-writing/ finishing The Ultimate Story of my Friends, aka tUSomF.

I started it back at the end of high school, when I was about 15/ 16 and based it heavily on the people I knew at the time. Of course, the first 6k reads like a 16 yr old wrote them, but the last 3k are slightly better as I’ve added to it over the years. Other than what I’ve already written and a few extra future bits, I have no real idea of where it’s going to head. I’m going to try and include other people who’ve entered our lives, and maybe some of the events that have shaped our lives since high school that’ll hopefully lead to fuller chars.

The basic synopses runs like this:
The galaxy is made up of 3 main classes: Royalty, Business and Workers. This caste system runs everything and it’s impossible to advance, say, from a worker to business. The previous emperor, Zethor, had been trying to undo the cast system put in place by his ancestors and make life better for the workers, however he died and his daughter Zeta took over and basically threw out the old emperor’s good work. Athen L’Ruh, with a couple of friends, created Coltra, a ‘terrorists’ organization, to basically oust the evil Empress Zeta from power and form a democratic government to make things like they had been under Emperor Zethor.

The story so far follows Krin L’Ruh, Athen’s sister, as she is unwittingly picked up by a Coltra cell and discovers her brother’s clandestine activities. I’m hoping that the rest of the story will follow Coltra’s activities against the Empress, and Krin finding she feels accepted and part of something within Coltra.

Here’s also hoping it doesn’t turn into ’star wars’!

Yep, it’s coming up to the start of National Novel Writing Month, the time of year when I will be cranky, over caffinated and doing nothing but writing. Your support and energy drinks will be greatly recived; your invites out will not.

I've reached 50 thousand words. See, I even have a pretty picture to prove it:

So, why don't I feel like celebrating? Why do I feel like, so what, it's only 50k. it wwasn't hard at all. Why don't I feel good about finally being about to dye my hair a funny colour, or drink three cans of mountain dew or eat the chocolates I've been saving. Why don't I feel like ordering pizza or going out for a steak dinner?

Merr. I think these must be the post- nano blues everyone tells me about. It sucks

My total word count, at time of writing, and according to the official NaNo verifiyer, is thirty nine thousand, nine hundred and thirty two. Or 39,932 for those of you who don't like long words.

I'm begining to think I might actually win this thing

Well, I am, to 50k. However I'm not sure I can get: Brianna getting killed, the plan being developed, the journy to Earth, the plan being executed and flying off into the sunset; to fit into 14,500 words.

Poo.

Dakar has a snooty camp secretary. I don't know wehere he came from, but he just turned up. This world never ceases to amaze me at the richness, variety and kookyness of it's inhabitanse.

My dramatis personael ['real', not aluded to] now includes, aside from the obvious:
* Dakar, a tall and sallow neo-victorian lawyer.
* Bulldog, a big black 'mechanic' who has a new orleans accent
* Little Japanise Lady, who speak real broken english and shouts at people that they should drink tea
* Dakar's secratery, who is as noted above, male, camp and snooty.
* The teenage boy from 'byte me' who is a general geek, and a virgin.
* Owener of 'byte me', who hasn't been introduced yet but will be soon, who has the same menality as most in the allied trades: he sleeps and drinks tea for most of the day, does maybe a couple of hours of work a day and charges the earth for it.

And you know what, I love them all. They're such fun to play with. This writing thing is fun

I said at the start of this crazy adventure they call NaNoWriMo that if I got over my final word count of last year I would be happy. On a whim I just checked to see what said WC was for last year. It's 27,233. And what's my WC at the moment? 31,922.

That's 4,689 words more than I wrote last year. I'm chuffed about that, but it's not making me as estaically happy as I thought it would. Humm. Odd that.

Brianna, Gurn, I know this is hard for you, but would you please just suck it up and start having angry sex already! Or at least sex that passonate enough that when Asuka walks in, she thinks there's been a fight and almost shoots Brianna!!!!

Oooooh,
We're half way there!
Oooh Oh,
Living onna prayer!
Take my hand, and we'll make it I swear,
Ooooh oh,
Living onna prayer!

Guess who just breezed though 25k today? *does the happy dance* Halfway through the novel, and halfway through the month. Dude, I so rock

I've written all of 209 word today. I went to work, felt really dizzy and cold. End of shift I had to wait in the rain for 30mins for the bus to come, and when it did, I practicaaly fell asleap on the bloke sat next to me. Managed to get home, still feeling dizzy and now nausious as well. Made myself some hot chocholate and a toasted teacake. Felt a little better, bashed out those 206 words and promptly went and curled up in bed. I think I pretty much passed out. Woke up at 1230, sat up, tried to make lunch felt really light headed, so e-mailed work to say I wasn't going to do the afternoon shift, and pretty much passed out again. Woke up at 430 and started to make food. I've only eatebn about half of it because now I feel full and sick again.

I don't know what's wrong, but I don't half feel crapy.

I'm going to watch heros and prison break and maybe attempt to bash out some more words, and then go to sleep again I think.

Well, I'm not super extatically happy at how I'm doing any more, more sort of 'Ho hum, what's going to happen now?'.

I've been treated to quite a lot of food from Andy though for doing so well. At the moment I'm about a day ahead of schedule, so I should finish with plenty of time to spare.

I've had a few supprising turns, the most recent some strange wisened japanise woman who keeps speaking broken english and insisting that Gurn have a nice cup of tea. Other suprises include: Asuka breifly bursting into tears; Asuka's father [and mybe her lawyer, Dakar] going to the same 'spy' school that Asuka went to; A mysterious box; Asuka's dad being some kind of high ranking civil servant [Not the president of MOW - that's too cliche]; Asuka is rich.

I quite like the fact that I've developed a sub-plot whithout all that much efforet or really realising it [ie the 'Asuka finds out secrets about herself and her past, that her father kept from her' thing].

I've not managed to work in any of the dares I've taken yet. I was going to work in the 'Me and my freind Jim Beam are going to sit in this corner now' dare, but now there is this woman forcing Gurn to drink tea instead...

I think I'm enjoying the experience of being on track to win, but I think I preffered the manic 'staying up late/ getting up early, panic to write' style of Nano.

Here's hopeing that the week three 'omg this is really working' kicks in soon.

These are usually characterized by:
* Tiredness
* Inability to think straight
* Inability to type of even speak good english any more
* Inability to concentrate for more than a few seconds on anything
* Feelings of failure
* Second guessing one's self
* Second guessing the worthyness, decentness and cohrency of one's novel
and my personal faviourite
* Feeling that NaNoWriMo ate your mind, your soul and anything else it could get it's greasy little paws on.

These feeling can be summed up in one tidy phrase: Crash and Burn.
I've most cirtainly crashed, and the wreckage is starting to char a little. I'm still ahead at this point, but I think I might take the night off, have a bath, and get an early night.

I'm worried I might be being too verbose. I know, with Nano that's not supposed to be a problem, but I did want to write my novel so that it ended at 50k. That should mean that I should have 12,500 words for the begining, 25k for the middle and 12,500 for the end. But I've got to 13,600 and they're still at day 2, on their way to mars...

See I had it worked out like this:
Start - Asuka [A] and Gurn [G] get approched by Brianna [B] and G is told, by B, to go to mars. A and G get to mars. G goes to see The Organisation [O]. The O tell G what they want him to do.

Middle - A finds out indipendantly of G what the O want G to do. A also finds out additional info about G, the O and the job. A and G have a fight about the job. A and G make up, and plan the job. B gets involved [sexually] with G somehow, and so A and G write her into the plan. B gets killed.

End - A and G pull off job, screwing MOW and the O over in the process and saving G's Da. A and G fly into the sunset, and probably some kind of drinking establishment.

So you see, by now they should have not only gotten to mars, and Gurn recived his instructions, but asuka shopuld be in her final stages of finding out about the job. But instead, they are still in space, and asuka is still in the beginig stages of her investigation. Gah! These two do far to much thinking for their own good [since that's where most of the words are coming from]. I guess the only solution is to keep ploding on and hope for the best I think.

*does the happy dance* I wrote over 2k words today pretty much on one scene [okay a lot of that was the history of the wrold from 1980-2300, but I don't care]. That puts me 1095 words ahead of what I should be. I'm going to win! As well as that, I just came up with most coolest ever plot twist. I'm so goddamed chuffed with myself right now

****SPOILER!!****

So to sum it up for those of you who haven't been reading/ don't know anything about the MOW world: Brianna Sahrez has been sent to essentially blackmail Gurn into doing a job for the organisation of which she is a part. Now, beacuse Gurn is upset and hasn't told Asuka anything about it, Asuka [trained in the art of espionage] has taken it upon herself to find out about this woman and why Gurn is upset and stuff. Now in the process of finding out about her, Asuka has sumbled upon a file where it says that Bianna and her mum left MOW to become freelancers, but that Brianna's dad didn't go, and kept Brianna's little sister who was just a baby. Now Asuka has found the the profiles for Brianna and her mum are there, but the husband and the baby's aren't. My incredible amazing plot twist is this: That Brianna and Asuka are sisters. This fits in brilliantly, because I already decided that Brianna has had the organization take someone from her, only I haden't decided who yet, and Asuka never knew her mother and her father never talked about a woman who might have been Asuka's mum. Oh and Asuka would never guess, beacuse her father's surname is Rackell, but the mum changed her's back to Sahrez and gave Brianna that name, when she split with the dad.

Something else I've just decided on is that the familySahrez has this interal propaganda thing going on against MOW and the whole family is a terrorist organisation, smuggling stuff out of MOW to sell to freelancers.

For beating today's word count, comeing back from yesterday's deficit and generally being really enthusiastic and ahead of the game by 457 words, Andy actually offered to buy me dinner today [as opposed to me making him] Very soon I should have a huge donna kebab and be watching bullet proof monk Life is good.

After having a sucky morning and not being able to go anywhere with the novel, I just sat down and wrote almost 900 words in one sitting, taking me to within 200 words of where I should be for today. According to me, I'm still 600 words short of today's daily WC and I want to write that so I can stay ahead

But yay me. It's the launch squence for them leaving Callitsro and it's probably really poor and most of it's still left in my head and not on the page, but it was so exciting writing it!!

I think I deserve a break

Right now I'm a very happy bunny *does the happy dance*