hafowler

I actually didn't do much online -- or on the computer -- at all yesterday. It was the first real computer day off I've taken in a while. I watched movies, mostly, and started watching Game of Thrones. It's okay, but I think I like the books better.

Anyway, my problem is that I did a ton of writing -- working on the outline sheets, finishing up the character portfolios I always fill out for stories. Now, I think that should count -- it's related to the novel, and it's a TON of writing. I don't know exactly how many words, because sorry, but I'm not sitting down and writing every longhand word I wrote. It's at least 2000. But then, it's not text within the story, so on that front I'm not sure whether it should count.

But guess what? I'm giving myself credit -- NaNo encourages you to count every word you write during November, even nonsense words, as long as you make the target. And these were NOT nonsense words, they're helping me move forward with the story. SO.

Yesterday's count -

DAY FIVE TARGET:



TOTAL COUNT SO FAR:

W00t! Far more successful day today. Still not caught up yet, but hopefully I'll be able to get there in the next couple of days!

I'm going to take the next few hours before bed to finish up the outline so I don't have to stop and think about where I'm going when I'm writing the chapters. So for today:

DAY FOUR TARGET:



TOTAL SO FAR:



More tomorrow!

You know, I shouldn't be allowed to title these posts with capital letters and joyous exclamation points until I actually meet a GOAL, you know? Hopefully this weekend I can catch up.

I was going to stay up a little later and get some more words in today, but I'm just too tired. SO, here's today's only slightly better count.

Day Three Target:



Total Thus Far:

You know it's a bad sign when you forget to even post about the lame amount you wrote that day. I was swamped yesterday, working on two projects due this morning (including a monstrous article on holiday charity events for the paper! Aiyee!) so I had about ten minutes before bed last night to get anything down.

As I've mentioned like, a billion times already, this is my first real foray into horror. I write dark/urban fantasy as a rule, so yucky, scary things happen all the time, but... it's weird that without the romance/action piece that's my comfort zone, I'm having such a problem getting the gorey/scary out. Of course, it's NaNo, so you're sort of encouraged just to write things like, "The creature went BOO! and the guy went OMG!" Which I've sort of done. And there's a lot of completely unnecessary swearing. And stupid pop culture references, some of which people under 35 would have NO CLUE about. But hey, that's the joy of NaNo, right? Let your inner word slut go wild with whatever nonsense comes to mind.

Maybe some catch up tonight or tomorrow, depending on if I take another project or not. I'm trying to get ready for the holidays AND save up for My Precious (the Kindle Fire).

So ANYhoo...

Day Two:



Total:

Glad I got ANY writing done, actually, considering how busy I was today. Out running a ton of errands, had an appointment, and had an 800 word job to finish. Still managed to get a little over half my target in today. Don't think I'll be able to get much more in tomorrow or Thursday due to similar schedule things. But I can do some catch up this weekend.

Today:


Total


More tomorrow! How did you do?

For those of you who are new around here... you're in for the most boring posts of my update blog for about a month. LOL. It's time for National Novel Writing Month, that 30 days of absolute madness when fools like me actually try to write something sort-of resembling an entire 50k draft of a novel.

It's almost time to start counting words every day, and talking about the garbage that passes as writing -- all the while patting myself on the back FOR writing fiction. Yay! It's fallen by the wayside for far too long.

So if you're participating, feel free to friend me at NaNoWriMo.org: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/hafowler

See you on the 1st!

As those of you who have been following my freelancing adventures know, I've been working for an awesome pet social and information site called Yeepet.com. I adore it -- some of my most fun is had doing pet related stuff. But anyway, this is why I'm posting today:

KatKabin Cutest Cat Photo Contest

Do you have a cute cat? Enter our contest and show us the cutest side of your adorable kitty. You need to be a registered user to enter this contest. After your registration, log in and upload one or more pet photos of your pet. Photos will be voted on by registered users of Yeepet.com. QUICK TIP: To have a better chance to win, enter multiple cats or add multiple photos of your cat to this contest.  The contest will end on Oct 16, 2011 at 11:59pm PST. The contest is proudly sponsored by Brinsea Products. Three (3) winners will be selected. Prizes include KatKabin or SkratchKabin.

See Terms and conditions here.

Stop by and join for the contest, but stay for the chance to talk with other pet parents about your bbs! ;)

So much to share today. It's nice to feel like all my work is generating something! W00t!

1. All the storms lately are a reminder that we need to be prepared, not just for our human families, but for our furry and feathered friends too! Disaster Preparation For Your Pets gives you a guide on how to get your animal babies ready for any emergency!

2. Winter, spring, summer or fall, it's any season for the crazy-making pain and pressure of sinusitis! Learn some simple ways to ease the misery: How to Get Relief For Sinusitus.

3. Magic is a fun literary theme. It's role in A Midummer Night's Dream is multilayered and interesting! Literary Themes: Magic in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

4. More Shakespeare? And I'm not even a fan! But you know how I love to analyze female characters in literature... How about a Character Analysis: Cordelia in King Lear by William Shakespeare.

And finally...

5. Have you ever wondered how the idea of the government helping care for the elderly, sick, and poor came to be? Well, we can all thank Queen Elizabeth (sort of): How the Government Helped the Poor in Elizabethan England.

There should be a little something for a lot of tastes today! :)

I don't think Lady Rowena gets enough love in literary scholarship. She's an interesting character. Character analysis: Lady Rowena in Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott

It's time for richer fall soups. This one is a yummy addition to any meal, but works particularly well for Thanksgiving! Recipes: Creamy sweet potato soup

But mushrooms are delicious too. Recipes: Wild Mushroom Soup -- yum.

Hope everyone had a good holiday and is recovering okay from all the terrible weather!

One of the great debates in mythology: Was Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae an adulterous, murderous harpy, or a righteous angry woman avenging the murder of her daughter? I examine this two thousand year old issue a little bit in Character Analysis: Clytemnestra in Electra by Sophocles.

Are you a procrastinator? I sure am. That bad habit shows itself a lot when I'm writing on a deadline! But it's worst in college, when you have deadlines all over the place. Check out Strategies to avoid procrastinating on college term papers.

I also changed the format of my freelance links page. It was getting to the point that one long list of articles by publish date was making it difficult to find anything, so I set up a nice grid showing articles by topic area. Take a look, if you like: http://hafowler.host56.com/articles.htm.

You know, I keep saying that Sunday is going to be my day off, but I either have a deadline, or I just automatically start working without thinking about it. Is that good or bad? I suppose it's good for my career, not so good for my brain... fingers... shoulders...wrists... etc.

I just love it so much!