Over the 25k Mark: It's a Downhill Ride from Here

After writing over 4,000 words in 24 hours I have finally hit the halfway mark. Final word count for tonight: 26,184. And it's all thanks to Alternate Shift at Work who as far as I know actually showed up on the job today. Don't even think about calling in tomorrow. Seriously.

The Most Honorable Mentions go to:
1. My family and friends who have unceasingly cheered me on every day this month.
2. My Fellow Scribes on Facebook and Twitter. You are an invaluable source of inspiration. And I do have quite a few cheerleaders on both networks. Thanks Tammy, Kathy L. and Kathryn on FB. And KVLong, Devon Ellington, Kippras, Nanda, JordanDrew, tamlynleigh, MoonStaress and the rest of my fellow writers and my NaNo family on Twitter.
3. My Alabama North Regional Municipal Liasons on the NaNoWriMo site. Thanks so much Amy and Brian, and everyone else in the Region!
4. Liquid Story Binder. You make writing a wonderful experience. Even the times when I have no more words left and I want to pull my hair out. You have many pretty bells and whistles that I can play with while I'm waiting for my Muse to whisper in my ear. Or for inspiration to strike. Whichever comes first.
5. My awesome heating pad that has a "Stay On" feature. It's tied to the back of my chair with shoestrings. It's been like that since last November. I've never taken it down. I think it will take up permanent residence there due to the fact that I will be living in Edit Hell in December.
6. Elvira, the most wonderful computer in the world. She has been holding up wonderfully, but I'm starting to believe she'd telling me that I have been working her way too hard for the past year. She seems very tired. Along with her, my back and my knees are telling me I really need a netbook so I can cut this invisible chain that has me tied to my chair. Then writing at work with LSB won't be a problem when Alternate Shift @ Work calls in every week on one of my off days.
7. My AlphaSmart 2000. This thing has really saved me on the word count. If not for it I would be so far behind I would probably give up. I'm grateful I have it. It was a mere $20 on eBay. But it won't run LSB, and I find myself forgetting essential plot points when I'm writing at work because I can't go back in previous chapters and check the details. Yes, I do believe it's time for the netbook. I am already saving up.

I'll have more Honorable Mentions on the 30th. This is enough for today. It's off to bed now. I have tomorrow off as well (do you hear that AS@W?) and I want to get as far ahead as possible. It's too nerve-wracking for me to be behind. It aggravates me on a physical level to the nth degree. That's not good.

It's feels so good to be coasting downhill.

On to 50k!

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Digital Life: The Exponential Growth Rate of Information

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Just Check the Sidebar

I'm behind. To check my word count, just look on the sidebar for my widget. No. Time. To. Post. Must. Write. Faster.

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NaNoWriMo Day 6: 10,276

This includes names. But I'll mix and match them so it won't be a person from real life.

I would say something about my writing process, but I don't want to jinx it.

One more day off to try to get housework and yard work done.

Alternate Night Shift Worker has turned in her notice. I'm going full-time, but probably not until next month, thank goodness.

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NaNoWriMo Day 1: 1,774 words and counting

I got up at noon yesterday. I worked last night. I stayed up until 7:30 AM working on my outline of over 700 words that don't count towards the total word count. I got up at 9:15 AM to go see Buddy, and then came home and wrote some more. I have one hour to rest before I go back to work. My wrists already hurt. Tylenol, Advil and Aleve will be three of my best friends this month. But I'm having fun. That is the insanity of which I often speak.

After tonight I am off for three days. During those three days I will be a noveling fool. I want to get a buffer on the word count just in case something happens. Getting sick last year during Thanksgiving taught me a lesson I haven't forgotten: Get Ahead Early.

Having a blast, meeting people from all over the world on Twitter, in the NaNo Forums and NaNoChat. I'm too tired to make links for these sites. You can Google it. ;)

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NaNoWriMo 2009: No Pink Cloud This Year

I wasn't as excited about doing NaNoWriMo this year as I was last year. Last October I was all excited, anticipating finally writing my first novel. I fell off that little pink cloud around the third day. Writing a novel is damn hard work. NaNoWriMo will take over your life. If you're OCD like I am, your word count will be your dominant thought for the month, nagging you constantly in the back of your mind.

Honestly, I was contemplating not doing it this year. It's insanity at it's best. It's stressful, and stress takes a toll on me physically. But then I remembered that it was also fun. Yes, it was hard, but I enjoyed it. And the feeling when I hit the 50k mark? Well, let me just say that when I remembered how that felt, I changed my mind and decided to do it.

Just like last year, it's Oct. 31 (my absolute favorite day of the year), and I have nary an idea of what to write. But that's okay. I work well under pressure. Matter of fact, that's usually when I'm at my best.

Last minute prep: sync the Palm, find some chocolate, buy more coffee, and trust myself that I can do this.

Forgotten things that I just remembered: clean the coffeepot.

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