NaNoWriMo Update: A sad state of affairs.

Alright. I'll admit. It's harder than I thought it was going to be.

I thought I had enough time in each day to pound out 1,667 words. I thought I could do that much. However, I ended up busy with other things.

For example, November was the month I volunteered to work at a voting booth. It was also the month McDonald's starting making the Peppermint mocha again (not a sponsor yet). It was also the month I was a witness to a minor car accident. It was also the month I posted a couple times to this blog. It was also the month I celebrated Thanksgiving. It was also the month I didn't participate in Black Friday (again). It was also the month that I would look at my novel document and say 'nah, I haven't got anything new to say yet' even though I probably could have. Who knew I was going to be this busy?

I was so busy, in fact, I made this update for you all:

So here's to a somewhat finished novel in a few days! To all you NaNoWriMers out there, I hope you are doing better than I am. Don't give up, November ain't over yet!

Is It Christmas Yet?

Depends on who you ask.

Already, radio stations everywhere are playing music about snow and Rudolph and even some are Heralding Christ's birth in Bethlehem. Stores are throwing garlands in their window displays. I've ordered the Peppermint Mocha twice in a row at McDonald's (not a sponsor yet).

Am I missing something here? Did we skip a holiday? Or is Thanksgiving not a thing anymore?

Don't get me wrong, I often find myself in the "Need a little Christmas right this very minute" mood. And that mood is increasing as the weeks go on and the season feels more winter-like. Walking through Old Town today, I was kicking through huge piles of leaves of all sorts of different colors! It was fun! Then, the gardener chased me away with a rake. Also, did you know the thermometer plunged down to 71 degrees today!! Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way!

But I sure could go for some turkey and gravy and I think we need to take a moment and show thanks to God that 2016, despite all its problems, still finds us, for the most part, intact. We should declare a holiday of thanks right before Christmas and the new year. Oh wait, we have.

Allow me to help you counteract all the premature Christmas cheer with some well timed Thanksgiving music! Below is your new playlist:

I'll Say Thanks
Food On the Table
Thank You Lord
Simple Life
Turkey in the Straw (C'mon, you knew this one was coming.)
Fork in the Road (Okay, I included this one because the second verse says "frost on the pumpkin" and pumpkins are Thanksgiving-y)

Hopefully that gets you started in the right direction!
Merry Thanksgiving!

NaNoWriMo Progress Report: The First Milestone

I'm such a busy guy. I don't possibly have time everyday to write more of my novel. But somehow, someway, I've made it to 10,000 words.

For those of you cheering, throwing confetti, and celebrating with me, I might add I should be somewhere around 25,000 by now. Bummer, right?

But at least I'm getting somewhere. I'm also learning a lot! I'm learning how much I hate my writing style, I'm learning how bad I am at making story lines cohesive, I'm learning how hard Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must have worked to make Dr. Watson dumber than Sherlock Holmes, and I'm learning how Mark make word forming together to gives grammar thought on paper. That last lesson has been the hardest. This is way harder than it looks.

I would like to take this moment to recognize my NaNoWriMo Buddies for Word Sprinting me and doing better than me in all things Novel:

PaulWillis
Malachi Cyr
Lavinia Scott
hearthandhomeauthor
H. L. C.
Anna Willis
Allison Tebo

If I live through November and make it to the full 50,000 words, it'll be thanks to these brilliant people.