NaNoWriMo: The Return

For those of you that remember, a couple of years ago, I wrote a "novel" during National Novel Writing Month.  Though I have submitted this novel to several agents in hopes of it being published, that has yet to happen.  However, that's neither here nor there and also not the subject of this post.

What is the subject of this post is the current NaNo that is set to conclude at the end of November.

Let's see.  It's currently November 22 (Happy 2 months Abby).  The suggested word count for today is: 36,667.  And what's my word cout?

23,350

I'll give you a moment to ponder that.  13,000 words away from the "suggested" word count for the current day.  Even at my best, I could not write 13,000 words in one day.  I think the most I have written in one sitting has been around 3,000.

I haven't conceded the attempt just yet, but with eight days left in the month, it is becoming increasingly clear that I will not be able to finish my story in the alloted time.  That is not to say that I will simply give up on the story.  I actually like how the story is panning out and perhaps with extra time, I can actually make it work.  We'll see.

As for NaNo, I will continue to write when I can (or am inspired, or ambitious enough at 2:30 am while the baby is feeding), until the end of the month.  I will post my final word count and if I don't make it, I'm actually not going to worry about it.  The entire point of NaNo is to get people to write consistently.  And while I have not been as consistent this year (job, baby, sleep deprivation), at least I am writing again and that's the important part to me.


Until next time.

Christmas in November

What's that song lyric, "Christmas comes this time each year".  Well, it seems to be coming sooner and sooner each year.  At some point in the future, Christmas merchandise will stay up throughout the year and we'll always be able to get Christmas trees or those funky mechanical reindeer for the front lawn.  Oh wait, they have those places already.

This is madness really. 

Now don't get me wrong.  I like Christmas as much as the next guy.  My birthday is around Christmas, so, naturally, I like it even more.  But what gets to me sometimes is the commercialism of Christmas.  I know what Christmas is all about - presents.  Kidding.  It's really about Jesus being born and coming to save the world and all that (blasphemous, I know).

But really, most people don't look at it that way.  Most people think of Christmas as a time for presents - not giving them, but getting them.  These days marketing teams are pushing Christmas earlier and earlier.  As of today, Starbucks is now offering their specially blended Christmas drinks.  And if you have Digital Cable, the Sounds of the Season channel is now offering Christmas music.  Really?  Wasn't it just Halloween?  Has Black Friday come and gone already?

For those of you that don't know, my wife loves Christmas music.  I happen to enjoy it also - in moderation, and after December 1st.  My wife tends to want to listen to Christmas all year long (which is her perogative), but there is a rule in our house that she cannot listen to Christmas music - in my presence - until November 1st.  If she wants to listen to Christmas music away from me, she is more than welcome.

And now that it's November, I get to listen to Christmas music (sarcastic "woo hoo").

Almost kidding.  I do like the two hundred variations of one song and seeing how many times I can hear The First Noel without screaming, so that's always fun.

I guess I've taken enough of your time.

Merry Christmas.

Until next time.