tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13207243078104497622024-03-19T07:49:56.414-05:00Mary Kate's Writing Momentsthe writing moments of Maria Catalina, Novelista ExtraordinarioAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-1331601798754171652013-03-17T18:51:00.002-05:002013-03-17T18:51:54.749-05:00Goal 1: IncompleteMy first goal of the year was to edit "California Mermaid" and submit it to a contest on March 15, 2013.<br />
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I did not complete this goal :(<br />
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I did make some headway on the novel, though. Summer project, perhaps? I would love to actually edit a novel, ha! That would be nice.<br />
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How are your 2013 goals coming along?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-36609557039904918152013-02-01T09:36:00.000-06:002013-02-01T09:36:10.440-06:002013 Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I can't believe it's February 1st and I am just now posting my 2013 goals! Oh, well. It's never too late to get started (:</div>
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<b>1) Edit "California Mermaid" by March 15 and submit to WWC for their Starbright Novel Writing Contest.</b> This is a huge goal and would be a big accomplishment. I am mostly trying to submit a novel not so much to win, but to receive 3 judges comments back. How awesome would that be?</div>
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<b>2) Spend March 16-March 31 in preparation for Script Frenzy. </b>You know that NaNoWriMo thing I do every year? Well, this is the script version. The goal is to write a 100 page script or screenplay in April. I tried it (for about a day) back in 2009. This will be my first year to really be committed and give it a go.</div>
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<b>3) Participate in and win Script Frenzy 2013. </b>This is going to be fun!</div>
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<b>4) Submit 6 works (or more) to publications and/or contests this year.</b> This is a few less than my goal last year (which I think was 12) but it's reasonable and still productive. You can't win if you don't play! </div>
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<b>5) Participate in and win NaNoWriMo 2013. </b>This will be year number 5. *So excited!*</div>
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These are huge goals and accomplishing them all would be incredible! </div>
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Thank you, family and friends, for all the support and love y'all continue to give me. I hope all of you reach your 2013 goals as well! </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-4260354955545123952012-12-21T21:03:00.001-06:002012-12-21T21:03:08.392-06:00Published!Finally published something other than a poem! PegLeg published me in their e-magazine called GlassFire Magazine. Check it out! :D<br />
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<a href="http://www.peglegpublishing.com/glassfire15/glassfire15intro.html">http://www.peglegpublishing.com/glassfire15/glassfire15intro.html</a><br />
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Click on "A Chance" under the Fiction section. It's pretty short (under 500 words). Let me know what you think (:<br />
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Thanks!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-60321697711786976912012-11-30T23:01:00.002-06:002012-11-30T23:10:22.790-06:00NaNoWriMo - the Final Days (& Stats & Post Card #3)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeRFVeUbG3mReAtHCgY4o0zwk4XD5GzgjFQlxCmLeM5qnUHwB1934nw_olqi0X0mSe4OnkBLTG0emnA2JS-4xmYH0xBlRsVD3Z4rqPczaHwcQML1bpbGV0T0pn5fOsKkdY4kC2kjittNY/s1600/Winner+2012+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeRFVeUbG3mReAtHCgY4o0zwk4XD5GzgjFQlxCmLeM5qnUHwB1934nw_olqi0X0mSe4OnkBLTG0emnA2JS-4xmYH0xBlRsVD3Z4rqPczaHwcQML1bpbGV0T0pn5fOsKkdY4kC2kjittNY/s1600/Winner+2012+1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2012 Winner!<br /></td></tr>
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VICTORY DANCE TIME! </h2>
That's right, people! I won NaNoWriMo for the fourth year in a row! And guess what my final wordcount is??<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">53,191 words!!!!!!!!</span></h2>
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Yes, you read that correctly. I am almost two days of quotas ahead in this year's NaNoWriMo challenge. (Disclaimer: Some of these words were re-typed from my blog posts, journals, and a few old papers I wrote. I still wrote thousands of original words this month though and I'm proud of all that I have accomplished.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My last postcard -- homemade <br />and absolutely adorable! <br />Thanks, Tessa :)</td></tr>
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Sad part? I still have 1.5 years of my life to document. My goal is to be completely done with the first draft of this project by Christmas day.<br />
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<u>Stats for this year's NaNoWriMo:</u><br />
Most words written in one day: around 5,000 words<br />
Least amount of words written in one day: 0 (this happened twice... one of those days being today)<br />
Cups of coffee consumed this month: I would say at least 60 (2/day). Some days I had zero, most days I had 2-5 cups. Yeah, I'm addicted.<br />
Hours of music played while noveling: 0 (yup, did this NaNo fairly quietly)<br />
Number of different places I wrote: 2 (my room and the school room...)<br />
Post cards exchanged: 3 (this was super cool!)<br />
Level of fun had writing this month on a 1 to 10 scale: 5,342,918<br />
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Thanks for a great year, everyone! Mom, Dad, sisters, family, friends... y'all are all awesome!<br />
I have several friends participating this year. Some won, others didn't quite make it. I'm proud of them all and it's just cool to be participating together and supporting each other. Writers of the world, unite! :)<br />
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Last, but not least...<br />
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<b>30 days. 53,191 words. NaNoWriMo 2012 winner.</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-79338816720774422322012-11-28T23:08:00.001-06:002012-11-28T23:08:21.398-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 28Just a quick update to say...<br />
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<b>2,000 words. Two days. Two chapters.</b><br />
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That's all I have left. The only thing holding me back from winning is the Rapture. No joke.<br />
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Okay, that is all. And if you haven't captioned the photo in my post below, do it!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-16903840726316916782012-11-27T20:45:00.000-06:002012-11-27T20:55:40.203-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 27<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9DfRXx3CsGJasdM7OsOiwCEML5pVrN4YNvTGpjQM8l0PlTVIYiGJW0ZX3jc-PX2-DY12j6GfXSeRLoImVPmmj3ddKZN_Zrx5O1iU9doPvtvRk2ObMMPQOuZTtS3EB04R5YLzye11GDTG/s1600/121127_0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9DfRXx3CsGJasdM7OsOiwCEML5pVrN4YNvTGpjQM8l0PlTVIYiGJW0ZX3jc-PX2-DY12j6GfXSeRLoImVPmmj3ddKZN_Zrx5O1iU9doPvtvRk2ObMMPQOuZTtS3EB04R5YLzye11GDTG/s400/121127_0016.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My caption: "The right way to write."<br />
Colleen's caption: "Burning the midnight oil!"<br />
What's YOUR caption?</td></tr>
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Word count goal for today: 45,000 words<br />
Total word count as of today: 46,667 words<br />
Words ahead: 1,667 words (exactly one day's quota)<br />
46,667th words: Virginia (talking about taking Kelsey to college :))<br />
Days remaining this month: three!<br />
Words left to write to reach 50k: 3,333 words!<br />
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It's been an awesome day. I had classes all day, took a walk on my lunch break, watched about an hour of High School Musical (don't judge.), and then wrote! I'm only two day's of word quota away from the 50,000 word finish line! I'm hoping to write a quota in each of the three remaining days though just so I can get more info in there. Who knew writing about yourself could be so easy =P It's been an awesome month!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-18433903689687401082012-11-26T21:26:00.000-06:002012-11-26T21:26:04.617-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 26Okay, my stats:<br />
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Word count goal for today: 43,333 words<br />
Total word count at the end of today: 45,535 words<br />
Words ahead: 2,202<br />
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That's. Amazing. No seriously -- I'm not sure if I've ever been that ahead in NaNoWriMo. I always seem to be right on track or a little behind.<br />
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But let me admit to you why I'm ahead and you might not be so impressed...<br />
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All of the words in that word count are, indeed, my original words. Well, I've quoted Mom's journal occasionally, but most of it is indeed mine. However, some of those words I've written in the past. Like, before this November. <b>*gasp* </b>I know. I'm typing up some journal entries or picking excerpts from my blogs to include in my novel. I've done this particularly the past two days because I was a heavy journalist (journaler?) and blogger during the years I am writing about.<br />
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But I have two good reasons for using past words in my auto-bio:<br />
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<b>1. Those source documents, so to speak, are the best way to tell my story. </b>Rather than re-telling about my trip to Mt. Rushmore, wouldn't I rather record some of the thoughts I wrote down in my journal four years ago from the day I was actually there? The second choice sounds better to me. In fact, that's exactly what I did. And by re-reading and typing up those journal entries, I was reminded of the actual timeline of that trip. I would have had it all jumbled up if I'd tried to write that trip from memory. After typing up the journal entries, I expanded my thoughts and details with some original words.<br />
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<b>2. I want to have a unified record of my journal/blog entries.</b> (I consider my blogs to be public journals.) Let's pretend my house burns down, the internet completely crashes, or I'm an old woman who can't remember a thing about her life. Wouldn't <i>you </i>want <i>your </i>life story all in one, handy-dandy book that you could just grab and go or read through on a whim. If I lost my pictures or journals or if my blogs suddenly disappeared from the internet, I want at least one hard copy of all the highlights.<br />
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So, I am using words I've written before. But big deal. I am adding thousands and thousands of more words, original words from <i>this month</i>, to the stockpile. In just a little over three days, I'll have a masterpiece that I'll call my first 18 years.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-64376397847363126012012-11-25T18:46:00.000-06:002012-11-25T18:55:49.827-06:00NaNoWriMo Days 21, 22, 23, 24, & 25 (& I donated this year!)Notice how my updates/stats/excerpts/etc. are becoming less frequent. That normally happens during NaNo... I start to get behind in writing, in school, in life. I get overwhelmed (it's pretty overwhelming, okay?). But it's fun, too. As of today I'm only at 38,200 words. I need to be at 41,667 words by midnight tonight to be considered on track... I'm not sure if I'll get there (I still have some Odyssey to read...) but I'm gonna try. It's only 3,500+ words. How hard could it be? Ha.<br />
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But anyway... better go write. Thanks for the support, y'all! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I did!<br />
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Oh, and by the way, my name is now on the "NaNoWriMo is brought to you by" page... booyah! Check it out and see if you can find me under the $10 section. You can always use the Control F function if you're having trouble (that's what I did! haha!) ... <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/en/donations">http://nanowrimo.org/en/donations</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-31276555022980361052012-11-20T10:51:00.003-06:002012-11-25T21:16:38.465-06:00NaNoWriMo Days 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20I was not able to write at all on Saturday (day 17) but I managed to get caught up for the most part on Sunday and Monday. (Maybe that day off was good for me?) I am currently only 200 words behind (supposing I write today's word count) which is hardly anything. Granted, I did use an old essay to help me out with one of those memories (which added quite a few words to the word count)... but all of those words are still originally mine!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmZkP0NGzfM2tUoNs5Z8naGtLzfeJPml2i17CxHx18a1vYR_R0vwFYRe8NxQew7wui2qddVl8ZZdXJUOUEL3ldSCxZrqsUm3qU-1QHw2MInJyhjJyQoYYBpXtinJJMQRfHd8iK49DZeSf/s1600/warning-novelist-at-work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmZkP0NGzfM2tUoNs5Z8naGtLzfeJPml2i17CxHx18a1vYR_R0vwFYRe8NxQew7wui2qddVl8ZZdXJUOUEL3ldSCxZrqsUm3qU-1QHw2MInJyhjJyQoYYBpXtinJJMQRfHd8iK49DZeSf/s1600/warning-novelist-at-work.jpg" /></a>Right now, my word count is 31,503 words. By the end of today I should be at 33,333 words (isn't that a pretty number?).<br />
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The fun thing about NaNoWriMo is you never know what is going to come next in your story. Well, that's one of the many fun things about NaNoWriMo. This year, I <i>already know </i>what is coming in my life's story. I already know that the main character lives, what happens when people get sick, what happens when a friend is lost or a love-interest is found, what happens when a bully messes with the main character, or what happens when there is a spiritual revelation. I already know because I'm writing about me and these things have already happened. But remembering these moments, days, or seasons brings smiles to my face and/or tears to my eyes. It just depends. I've had an exceptionally blessed life; but, my story has some rough patches too. Some of these patches were totally out of my control, while for others I must take full responsibility.<br />
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I'm writing through the smiles and the tears, though. And in about 20,000 words/10 days, I should be able to read through my auto-biography and praise God that I've made it this far, that I've grown through it all, and that I still have the Holy Spirit to guide me in the next season(s) in my life.<br />
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Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-35996039091062730562012-11-15T21:29:00.001-06:002012-11-15T21:29:35.792-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncu8iJ3QWdnS6wRU4YH7Itnl0UPJPpDcRlIgQCGdCa9zVbps8CiQEe_8bhP2UO2oj-5ibtK938b0pNAAa-AXPlgc0ERBGE_G8AvBX3oVGgsmdQa304XIWKEigSDL_YtNRBYFQAZecXafn/s1600/halfway+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncu8iJ3QWdnS6wRU4YH7Itnl0UPJPpDcRlIgQCGdCa9zVbps8CiQEe_8bhP2UO2oj-5ibtK938b0pNAAa-AXPlgc0ERBGE_G8AvBX3oVGgsmdQa304XIWKEigSDL_YtNRBYFQAZecXafn/s200/halfway+1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Halfway through the month! Halfway through the word count! That's right: 25,000 words!!<br />
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I crammed our whole trip to China into about 1,200 words. I know it's not enough but I need to keep moving for now or I will not get trough everything! I also wrote about my Pine Cove days as well and my baptism. So many memories... I'm enjoying this project :)<br />
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I probably won't have a chance to write much Saturday or Sunday. I'm aiming to write 2,000 words tomorrow morning, but that won't put me ahead for those lost days. Hopefully I can catch up over Thanksgiving. That's what Turkey Day is for, right?<br />
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Have a nice weekend!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-67123220750373088762012-11-14T22:44:00.002-06:002012-11-14T22:47:16.338-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 14<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, that's basically where I am right now. I need to be at 23,333 words but alas, I am a bit behind. Only 600 words, but I need to get ahead two days wordcount before Friday afternoon. Goodness me. </div>
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By the way, my 20,000th word was "conventions". I was talking about Mom's Usborne books and MLM days :) </div>
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Hopefully I will write, write, write tomorrow (that is, when I'm not doing the other thousands of things on my list.</div>
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I realized that I'm only just starting 2002 and I'm almost halfway to my wordcount. I've only written about seven years and I need to be at year nine (at least) to finish my life story before November ends. Either I need to write more words (around 60k) or I need to write less words about each year to finish on time. Oh dear...</div>
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Thanks for the continued support and patience this month. Y'all are the best! </div>
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Oh, and I donated to NaNoWriMo today! It wasn't much (10 bucks) but I'm glad I finally contributed to the awesome organization that has helped me achieve so much! </div>
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One last thing: If you're on figment (or if you aren't...), please read and heart my short story The Hungarian Girl. Thanks! I still need to make a few edits to it but I'll get to that later... Here's the link: http://figment.com/books/471115-The-Hungarian-Girl</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-74046002696639021872012-11-13T17:50:00.000-06:002012-11-13T17:50:50.012-06:00NaNoWriMo Days 11, 12, & 13Okay, I messed up my count yesterday and realized this morning that I was 600 words behind what I should be. So, I tried to catch up this morning but am still about 600 words behind. Just opened up my word doc. and about to work on those keys for about 20 minutes or so. I will hopefully be caught up but I'm not making any promises.<br />
<br />
But hey, this can't be very exciting if I don't get behind at least once, right?<br />
<br />
I am going out of town Friday evening through Sunday morning. I am not supposed to bring electronics on this trip (it's a retreat) so I'm not sure how that will go over with my auto-bio. Hopefully I can get ahead before then but again, no promises.<br />
<br />
Just gonna keep chucking along and see what I can do. As long as I don't have to do another 10,000-words-in-a-day thing again like last year I should be good.<br />
<br />
Going to a poetry reading tonight. I hope I'll be inspired to write, write, write when I get home :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-46400680207091382622012-11-10T22:15:00.000-06:002012-11-10T22:15:42.163-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 10 (& post card #2 & an injury & an excerpt!)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZja4tsmkZ4q_KIU_iQ8kI-qqH9CfbSmHi6WKyQibORrIo_BJcnwaoG5L81jj4Hxxhk1dk5FclhzgJJCQ3RmjlbHLSkNzViiDyY9KV7o52kjsf1dtwt_QvU7uYyvV92mealojB95qNZAP/s1600/November+10+injury+with+cutco+knife+avengers+bandaid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZja4tsmkZ4q_KIU_iQ8kI-qqH9CfbSmHi6WKyQibORrIo_BJcnwaoG5L81jj4Hxxhk1dk5FclhzgJJCQ3RmjlbHLSkNzViiDyY9KV7o52kjsf1dtwt_QvU7uYyvV92mealojB95qNZAP/s320/November+10+injury+with+cutco+knife+avengers+bandaid.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How am I supposed to write with an injured thumb? <br />I have to use that space button a lot, ya know? <br />And yes, that is an Iron Man bandaid :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lots of fun things today! Went on a college visit all morning. I had two hours in the car and did absolutely no writing or school work. I know. I'm bad. But I enjoyed visiting with my dad :)<br />
<br />
Sad thing happened while I was cleaning the kitchen, though. I cut my thumb with a Cutco knife. Those things are sharp!! I was bleeding all over the place. My thumb is in intense pain -- I can hardly push the space bar. Okay, okay, just kidding. But it is a minor set back =P<br />
<br />
I made it to 16,705 words today! I am barely on track/ahead, but I haven't fallen behind yet! Will hopefully wake up early tomorrow and write so that I can work on school Sunday afternoon :)<br />
<br />
Have a great weekend!<br />
<br />
Oh, and one. More. Excerpt. Seriously, I am having way too much fun with these!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;">We loved our small frame house on Circle Way. It was
a nice size, especially with the new add-on that Mom and Dad put in (an office
and a small bathroom). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> There
were disadvantages to living in that house, though. Basically every little
critter you could ever think of lived in the attic or in the floor of that
house. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Opossums,
rats, mice, raccoons… you name it! Probably the raccoons were the worst of them
all. The other animals we could catch or poison. But not those pesky raccoons.
They were much, much harder to get rid of. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8PVCCylYlxPRcuAVVWMyFMjiztgVMUvEkYHyRHDeNx3Lkc43rsaTXYAHpHW3SH4U7eU2_HnrjKQiHut48FqS9StzryJXAqXUOC4W0MlPLNS1434Rn_oJqWjplssq1oQD_-YO4EQygVsO/s1600/post+card+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8PVCCylYlxPRcuAVVWMyFMjiztgVMUvEkYHyRHDeNx3Lkc43rsaTXYAHpHW3SH4U7eU2_HnrjKQiHut48FqS9StzryJXAqXUOC4W0MlPLNS1434Rn_oJqWjplssq1oQD_-YO4EQygVsO/s320/post+card+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post card #2 from Williamsburg! <br />Sent by Monica. Thank you!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
think our first attempt at getting rid of the beasts was with some bait and a
cage. The only problem with that was that those raccoons were smarter than we
thought. They would either ignore the bait altogether or somehow get the bait and
avoid getting captured by the cage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Our
next attempt was music. We read or heard somewhere that if you play loud music
all day so that they can’t sleep, the night-creatures will find a quieter, more
peaceful place to live. But alas, that was also to no avail.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Poor
7-year-old Kelsey couldn’t sleep sometimes because of the nasty critters living
in our attic. They would roll around or fight just above her bed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> She
staggered into our parent’s bedroom one night, half sobbing as she said,
“Daddy, the ca-coons are keeping me up again!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> That
was the final straw for Dad. He had tried to catch them in a humane way, to
drive them off without even making contact, but they had to make this
difficult, didn’t they?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> He
jumped out of bed and headed for the closet where he kept his only weapon: a
shot gun.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “Lance,”
Mom said, a bit panicky.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> He
was already in the hallway, pulling the attic stares down from the ceiling with
a loud squeak and a thump as they reached the floor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “Lance!”
Mom said again, a little louder, but to no avail. He was already halfway up the
stairs by now, shot gun in hand. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “Come
on,” Mom told Kelsey. They grabbed Colleen and me and we sleepily made our way
to the front porch. All four of us could fit on the green swing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “What’s
Daddy doing?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “We’re
just going to sit out here for a minute sweetie until—“<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> <i>Boom! Boom!</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Mom
winced. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
covered my ears. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Colleen
cried.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Kelsey
inhaled sharply.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “What
was that?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Before
Mom could answer Dad was on the front porch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “Honey,”
he said, serious and stern, “find us a new house.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> 35
days later, we called Daffodil our home. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-4701724611629778202012-11-09T09:38:00.000-06:002012-11-09T09:38:12.274-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 9 (& one more excerpt...)Just passed the 15,000 word mark!!! I am currently in September of 1999. My 15,000th word? Racoons. I'm in the middle of talking about our lovely "pets" on Circle Way. I'll have to wrap the story up later after I get some school work done :)<br />
<br />
Here is yet another excerpt. Please enjoy :) and remember, this is a <b>first draft</b>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;">There was an old train open for passengers that
traveled from Rusk to Palestine, Texas. I couldn’t have been more excited! What
four-year-old doesn’t dream of riding on a real train? Even for a girl, this
was going to be fun. Paw, Dad, Kelsey, our cousin Travis, and I all boarded. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Well,
it was pretty neat. But as the drive went on and on I began to grow weary. When
would it end? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> We
had my window opened and I just rested my head on the windowsill, enjoying the
fresh air and the smell of all the pine trees as it passed me by. I suppose the
burst of fresh air and the excitement from that morning put me right to sleep.
I was snoozing in the window in just a few minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Meanwhile,
Kelsey is sitting across from me, her heart sunk from worry. <i>The windows gonna fall, the windows gonna
fall…</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Finally,
she couldn’t contain herself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “Mary!”
she said, and shook me. “Wake up!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
was startled awake and mad as all get-out. “Kelsey!” I shouted, extremely
upset. “Don’t you <i>ever</i> wake me up if
I’m asleep on a train again!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Little
did I know she was simply concerned for my life.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-21129157319568954662012-11-08T14:53:00.000-06:002012-11-08T21:49:19.288-06:00NaNoWriMo Days 7 & 8 (& yet another excerpt!)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRU5ysnzDWDrf-xpuEhMkzk7CZGr2i8XGv4gW1aSmqBrmDnCw6B-kP-QkoP_OsCysMUgjX7y-36PsKxnSkbWta2za5VK5MmsvJAG4vMvoIIgH9D6tBCfKIN254dskpmUsmYL84bEEHyD2/s1600/Suzanne+Collins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRU5ysnzDWDrf-xpuEhMkzk7CZGr2i8XGv4gW1aSmqBrmDnCw6B-kP-QkoP_OsCysMUgjX7y-36PsKxnSkbWta2za5VK5MmsvJAG4vMvoIIgH9D6tBCfKIN254dskpmUsmYL84bEEHyD2/s400/Suzanne+Collins.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes I wonder if I should really be writing such vastly different "novels". I have a sci-fi/teen romance fiction novel, a serious Christian-themed novel, a spy/teen romance novel, and now a non-fiction (duh) auto-bio. But then I saw this on Pinterest last night and it made me feel better --></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, I'm not posting stats for yesterday or today because... I don't have any, lol. Well, I'm currently at 13,074 words and I need to be at 13,333 so I'm super close to my goal today. But, I'm at such a nice stopping point. I just finished 1998. So, here is an excerpt from the end of that chapter. Enjoy :) and remember that this is the <b>first draft</b>! It is not perfect in any way. But it's just a taste of what I'm writing :) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;">Papa Don came down to Lake Jackson on Christmas day
of ’98. We had just spent a few days in East Texas and the fun continued with
Papa Don in town. We opened gifts and went driving around . We tried
to fish but didn’t have much luck at our location.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Now,
Papa Don smoked. He’d been doing so since about the age of 14. He was, at this
time, in his 60’s. Today, he’s in his 70’s. He still smokes. Sometimes he
smokes less, but he has to have that </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">nicotine</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> kick every day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Well,
his trip was no exception. He would sit out on the front porch
and smoke his cigarette.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
was extremely intrigued by this process. I had never seen someone smoke before.
Or if I had, I didn’t even know what they were doing. But I now had an
opportunity to watch my grandfather smoke up close and personal. I could sit
next to him, stand in front of him, watch from the window. Wherever! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Papa
Don was only in town for a few days. When he left, so did the cigarettes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> But
that didn’t stop my interest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> As
Kelsey and I were coloring one morning soon after, I realized that the white
crayons kind of looked like something I had seen before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Yes,
a cigarette! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
started to peel the paper off the crayon (which took several minutes) and
proceeded to stick it in my mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> <i>That’s what the white crayon is for,</i> I
probably thought. I mean, no one actually drew anything with the white crayon.
It was supposed to be my own personal cigarette – duh. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> So,
I started “smoking”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “That’s
gross!” Kelsey said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
didn’t care.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> My
habit went off and on. Mom and Dad didn’t know about it, though, for quite some
time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Finally,
I got out a new white crayon on day. As I began to peel the paper off Mom could hear
Kelsey say, “You’re not gonna smoke that, are you?” in a totally grossed-out
tone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> But,
of course, I smoked away. And I don’t think Mom or Dad even tried to stop me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Instead
of going into the New Year with a goal to quit smoking, I decided to take it
up. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Don't worry. That habit didn't last long. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-89353265925164047572012-11-06T18:52:00.000-06:002012-11-06T18:52:37.297-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 6 (& another excerpt!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJx-pvkXu2MCKHgN_7OI42b-CJLlX6_koK9azukS_q34NPyuNoG_sY-2uzMaF0PFCZg42kDfiZFek_9od6ckCupVIpYCa4EOxtkjXqn4o7I0n-Z_q2C6Mw0d3NYExXGC36DShC7_qpDOd/s1600/Generic-180x180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJx-pvkXu2MCKHgN_7OI42b-CJLlX6_koK9azukS_q34NPyuNoG_sY-2uzMaF0PFCZg42kDfiZFek_9od6ckCupVIpYCa4EOxtkjXqn4o7I0n-Z_q2C6Mw0d3NYExXGC36DShC7_qpDOd/s1600/Generic-180x180.jpg" /></a></div>
I can't believe I've managed to blog every day of NaNo up to this point... I wonder how long that will last, haha!<br />
<br />
Anyways... today's stats:<br />
<br />
Word goal for today: 10,000 words<br />
Total words written: 10,883<br />
Words ahead: 883<br />
10,000th word: Africa (talking about my Dad's mission trip!)<br />
<br />
I got through to April 1998 today. Tomorrow, Colleen is going to be born and Dad is going to get Malaria ;)<br />
<br />
And, I talked a girl I know into trying NaNoWriMo. I told her it wasn't too late to join in this year (lol!) but she's going to opt to try it sometime next year if she goes for it. I told her maybe she and I could try a different month than November and do it earlier in the year together. We'll see...<br />
<br />
Another excerpt was requested so here is a short one from Chapter 5: 1998 --<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;">Mom records January 6, 1998 as a day where Kelsey
and I played “Mary and Joseph” all morning. She said the piano bench was our
donkey. I guess the Christmas story was still fresh in our minds and we didn’t
want the festivities to stop.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Apparently
we had just purchased two fish the day before. When Kelsey and I finally took a
break from playing to go into our room and check on our new pets, they were both dead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> One
of them was floating on top, upside down. The other one had sunk to the bottom.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Kelsey
exclaimed, “We better call the pound, quick!” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Mom
tried to explain that they could probably handle this type of thing without the
pound getting involved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Kelsey
said, “Well, Jessica just flushes them down the toilet when her fish die.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Mom
didn’t think this was such a bad idea. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
remember Dad later that day taking the fish bowl into the bathroom and flushing
our two little goldfish down the toilet. It was rather dramatic to see the
little gold things swirling around the toilet and then watching them disappear.
But to be honest, I thought they were going off to a better place. I thought
they were heading to a pond somewhere and would be revived and alive as soon as
they got there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I guess
I didn’t realize they were dead. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-33114070970778596492012-11-05T14:32:00.001-06:002012-11-05T14:32:52.627-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 5 (& an excerpt!)Done with 1997! And up to nearly 10,000 words<br />
<br />
Word count goal for today: 8,333 words<br />
8,333rd word: David<br />
Total words written: 9,352<br />
Words over word goal: 1019<br />
<br />
Yay! Going well. I'm a little worried that my early childhood is a bit boring. But, I tried to make this part of my life pretty humorous. Despite this, I keep reminding myself that the people who are going to ever read this are the people who are actually going to care about these little moments in my life. I'm not writing for a nation-wide audience.<br />
<br />
But, here is an excerpt if you are interested in reading about a moment in my life. This is from Chapter 4: 1997 --<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;">During this time in 1997 Mom and Dad were busy
making home improvements to our little frame house on Circle Way. Painting the
walls, improving the ceiling, adding on an extra bathroom. They were doing it
all! New sidewalk, plumbers coming and going, and bills for these improvements
piling up. But Mom and Dad were happy. They were making their house a home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> During
all this, Kelsey and I had to find a way to entertain ourselves. We certainly </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">weren't</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> going to do any of this hard work. We were ladies, after all. And
according to Kelsey, ladies don’t have to work. We had recently installed new
carpet. A blue carpet. It was pretty, but a little rough. Not so shaggy and
soft. But we still liked it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> However,
as a two year old, I’m still getting the hang of this whole walking thing. So
running was still a bit difficult. And on new carpet… that’s just asking for
trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> So
while Kelsey and I tried to entertain ourselves, we decided a game of Duck,
Duck, Goose would suffice. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Yes,
there were only two of us. Yes, you need more than two people to play Duck,
Duck, Goose.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> But
Kelsey and I </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">didn't</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> care. We would have this whole Duck, Duck, Goose thing down
without any help from anybody else. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> We
would use the coffee table! Yes, that would be perfect! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> So
whoever was “It” would start circling around the persons head saying the word “duck”
about a thousand times. Finally, they would say the word “goose” and the sister
sitting on the carpet would get up, run around the coffee table once, and try
to sit down without being tagged. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Now,
we played several peaceful rounds of this. Catching each other, missing each
other, laughing, playing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Kelsey
circled me, her hand on my head, saying, “Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck…” until
finally she shouted, “goose!!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
got up and started running. But I didn’t make it far.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> <i>Slip, </i>BOOM! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I
fell over on our new blue carpet, tripping over my own feet I’m sure. I hit the
corner of our coffee table – the one we had already had for years and the one
we would have for years to come.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> My
forehead busted open. Blood started spilling down the side of my face. Tears were falling and I began screaming. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> I’m
not sure exactly what happened next, but I know we went to Dr. Bottenfield’s
office and I had to get four stitches. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When
Mom and Dad later asked me what I was doing, I replied, “Playing Duck, Duck,
Goose with Kelsey.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “With
only two of you?” they asked, thinking maybe I meant to say a different game. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> “Yup,”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> Mom
and Dad would talk about this day for a long, long time. I don’t suppose their
laughing eyes as they recount this story has a thing to do with Kelsey and me
playing a two-person version of Duck, Duck, Goose, does it? Certainly not. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> At any rate, I certainly hope I didn't get any blood on the carpet...</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-39474829879499106122012-11-04T21:44:00.002-06:002012-11-04T21:44:29.963-06:00NaNoWriMo Day 4Well, with the time change, I didn't end up waking up at the proper time to write this morning. Darn alarm clocks! But hey, I got my words in. Here's the stats for today:<br />
<br />
Word count goal for today: 6,667 words<br />
6,667th word: apple<br />
Total words written to date: 7,410<br />
Words over word count: 743<br />
<br />
Hoping to write about 3,000 words tomorrow if I can get on a roll!<br />
<br />
I was writing about a seriously tough situation we went through early in 1997. I don't remember it, really, but reading about it through my mom's perspective was heart breaking. Brought tears to my eyes. I only hope my writing did it justice.<br />
<br />
Until tomorrow...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-13558955453093263952012-11-03T22:16:00.002-05:002012-11-03T22:16:15.932-05:00NaNoWriMo Day 3 (and Post Card #1)Two pieces of exciting news today (that are writing related...)!<br />
<br />
1) I made it to 6,000 words today!!<br />
2) I am doing a post card swap with 3 other NaNoWriMoers. Yesterday afternoon, I got my first post card from the swap!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E53NFqZtskJWYrI070biBc4JJFu4MWoShMdFYyxURSvlFejQxJtPkJJQ8pb2ZkAjwEDSecqMTwrcjunRWYbxEIp80DUgXo5No0Xrj74N-1FDkTyKfblhnVjJ163n-qpvBFHfdH_CTllm/s1600/2012+post+card+1+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E53NFqZtskJWYrI070biBc4JJFu4MWoShMdFYyxURSvlFejQxJtPkJJQ8pb2ZkAjwEDSecqMTwrcjunRWYbxEIp80DUgXo5No0Xrj74N-1FDkTyKfblhnVjJ163n-qpvBFHfdH_CTllm/s200/2012+post+card+1+back.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Some wise words from Yoda (well, actually, from jazzaholic17).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBidXH149one4xTKK8hadP_FqdrfyY4UAC-4NjRG0CPC2-q8sHnEXcL17HCYxTpz9BYFkaM45lxe1DcOGP3eac0h-gQYmbG15qahvqtBIwDlArJrXtWxlI0yi0yOFs3y4wpf0jOOXj8al/s1600/2012+post+card+1+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBidXH149one4xTKK8hadP_FqdrfyY4UAC-4NjRG0CPC2-q8sHnEXcL17HCYxTpz9BYFkaM45lxe1DcOGP3eac0h-gQYmbG15qahvqtBIwDlArJrXtWxlI0yi0yOFs3y4wpf0jOOXj8al/s200/2012+post+card+1+front.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Isn't it pretty? Thank you, fellow novelist!</div>
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Okay, here are the stats for today:</div>
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Total word count goal for the day: 5,000 words</div>
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Total word count at the end of the day: 6,038</div>
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Words ahead: About 1,038</div>
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5,000th word: to (I know. Boring.)</div>
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Thanks for the continued support fellow friends and family! I have several friends doing NaNo this year. I hope they're having as much fun as I am :D </div>
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Other non-writing exciting news: I participated in two competitions today. One was like a how to cook show and the other one was like Iron Chef America. I won second place in the first competition and first place in the second competition (haha!). So it was a pretty insane day. I woke up at 6:15 to write, went to the competitions from 8:30-3:30. Then I campaigned tonight from about 4:00-8:30. Going to bed right now and will be up again tomorrow at 6:00 for more writing, church, and then campaigning. Busy, busy! But you know what they say: busy people still have time to write ;) So write I shall! </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-45477276828749300472012-11-02T07:20:00.003-05:002012-11-02T07:20:48.408-05:00NaNoWriMo Day 2It's only 7:12am and I am done with day 2 of NaNoWriMo!<br />
<br />
I quickly finished up 1995 and moved on to 1996. I thought I didn't have much to say for these early years (which, I didn't for 1995), but Mom's "Record" book that she wrote in almost daily from March of 1996 through 1998 or so provides some amazing day-to-day insight into my life as a toddler and later into the elementary years. She wrote down things like words I was learning to say, when I brushed my teeth on my own, and little conversations Kelsey and I had. She also wrote down birthday parties, family visiting, and the like. It's so much fun to read and (sometimes) remember.<br />
<br />
It seemed to me that my family got together a lot in those days! We had a lot of fun together :) Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents... they're all in there.<br />
<br />
<br />
total word count goal for today: 3,333<br />
<div>
total word count: 4,403</div>
<br />
words ahead: 1,070<br />
3333rd word: would<br />
<br />
Preparing mentally for an insane weekend! We have a competition tomorrow morning and we are campaigning all weekend if we aren't at the competition or church... I'm going to be exhausted by the end of the weekend (which doesn't actually end until Monday for the campaigning part) but throw NaNoWriMo in there and I'll really be tired. But it'll be fun... right? Yup ^_^<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-45322781042548811422012-11-01T19:23:00.002-05:002012-11-01T20:09:52.103-05:00NaNoWriMo Day 1Day 1 is complete!<br />
<br />
I got through all of my birth and the rest of 1994. I moved on to 1995 already. Since I don't have a whole lot of things to say about my first few years, I'm going to have to write several thousand words on each of the later years. But in perspective: I still have a lot to say even about the days/moments I can't even remember anything about (ie. my birth). So I think I've done well today considering I don't remember a thing, haha.<br />
<br />
daily minimum word goal: 1667<br />
<div>
1,667th word written: when</div>
total words written today: 2,295<br />
<br />
Besides NaNo, I got a seasonal job today AND I got my first college acceptance letter -- how cool is that? NaNo, a new job, and college acceptance letter: woohoo!!!<br />
<br />
Looking forward to tomorrow!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-61998668239497626302012-10-26T22:52:00.002-05:002012-10-26T22:52:49.891-05:00Cover Art for My Auto-bio :DCheck out my autobiography's working title/cover!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IVTB_KBDQ0YrWwEpBlH9y1oB6BFlC7-Kwh4mnpxNZto2eHLdLVuBOEUzAfywLrL-fvEHTQZicNaYLhzLpOGztQhjOBkP1zdPMruVGkJuh6mVFhyphenhyphenBt-fEuqRX7vdtAgzdzx6AP884OUhf/s1600/Autobio+cover+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IVTB_KBDQ0YrWwEpBlH9y1oB6BFlC7-Kwh4mnpxNZto2eHLdLVuBOEUzAfywLrL-fvEHTQZicNaYLhzLpOGztQhjOBkP1zdPMruVGkJuh6mVFhyphenhyphenBt-fEuqRX7vdtAgzdzx6AP884OUhf/s1600/Autobio+cover+6.jpg" /></a></div>
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Isn't it pretty?</div>
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It's just a working title. My other favorites are "90's Kid" or "90's Child". I have some other ideas and after I actually write everything down I might come up with something all the more brilliant. If you know me, please feel free to comment below or send me some title suggestions ;)</div>
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Also, if I ever refer to my autobiography as a novel, I don't mean it that way. I'm going to keep my entire book non-fiction, okay? I just might refer to it as a novel accidentally since it IS National Novel Writing Month ^-^</div>
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Let me know what you think of the cover! Thanks! </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-18713949547205987822012-10-20T22:37:00.001-05:002012-10-20T22:43:12.377-05:00NaNoWriMo 2012 Prep :DHey, so, kinda haven't blogged since July. Oops! We are only 10 days away from NaNoWriMo 2012, though, and I am so happy to say that I'm participating this year!<br />
<br />
Yeah, no, I haven't edited a novel. I know I'm a horrible person. (Don't make me feel worse than I already do!) My mom isn't going to string me up by my toes or anything for not having edited a novel at this point in the year. She actually seems cool with my doing NaNoWriMo this year despite that fact that I didn't finish editing a novel first (which is what I told her I would do... Sorry Mom!!). But here is why I think she's chill with it:<br />
<br />
<b>I'm writing an autobiography this year instead of a novel!! </b><br />
<br />
I know, it's pretty cool.<br />
<br />
Okay, okay. To be honest, I'm a little worried it could get boring, haha. I mean, who <i>really </i>cares about my trip to Disney World when I was two or my starring role in the church musical back in 2001, or my first (and only) real train ride in East Texas? I mean, probably not that many people. But I care, I like to think my future husband and kids will care, and I even think some of my family and friends would be interested in it.<br />
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Honestly, I'm writing it for me.<i> </i>I want to remember some of the amazing adventures I've had in the past, some of my everyday activities and joys, and a ton of my awesome friends and family. By writing it down, I get to relive it. And when I re-read what I wrote, I'll get to relive it once again. Most of these memories are good. A few are depressing. Others I wish I could change. But either way, they've helped me grow and they've made me who I am.<br />
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I haven't done a whole lot of prep, although I did pull a bunch of memorabilia out of my closet. (I'm hoping I can rid of a large chunk after I write a few associated memories down :)):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGciHUrdVtOzv-_oH35xDtnOOR_ZCJcxFVE0vA4ADkwc2EBzwPyhRE-MSQSJMFmAuwZPOGC4pbb4-ZcXMhUFeUilkIKxIB3PWWjU1LQa5EGp2mRhT2wFcrOTfc5pd8QGLrPUuzdsko73v/s1600/2012+Nano+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivGciHUrdVtOzv-_oH35xDtnOOR_ZCJcxFVE0vA4ADkwc2EBzwPyhRE-MSQSJMFmAuwZPOGC4pbb4-ZcXMhUFeUilkIKxIB3PWWjU1LQa5EGp2mRhT2wFcrOTfc5pd8QGLrPUuzdsko73v/s320/2012+Nano+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course I won't get rid of all of it (like Bibles, scrap books, the poster, journals, etc.). But maybe I can let go of some of the handouts, letters/cards, and other little things. </div>
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Oh, and here is my time line so far. I don't plan to write about everything on the time line (and I have things I still need to add to the time line!), but if I need any stories (for word count purposes), I have plenty: </div>
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<i>(Apparently nothing happened in 1997...)</i></div>
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I'm hoping to write mostly about my last 2-3 years. They have been incredible and I have learned so much! My little sister claims that I don't have enough life experience to write an autobiography yet... that I should wait until I'm 60. Maybe she's right (about the life experiences part), but I want to write down my life so far while the memories and emotions are fresh (or, at least, fresher than when I turn 60). </div>
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Can't wait to get started!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-81708182979688423582012-07-24T11:40:00.004-05:002012-07-24T11:40:58.762-05:00I'm a guest blogger today!Hey guys! I'm a guest blogger today at <a href="http://www.pattishene.com/">http://www.pattishene.com/</a> under the Starsongs Magazine tab. Check it out and let me know what you think! Thanks :DAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320724307810449762.post-28643671349523600422012-06-20T21:34:00.000-05:002012-06-20T21:36:08.086-05:00The Book Learning PodcastI have a NaNoWriMo friend, <a href="http://gabrielletheauthoress.wordpress.com/">Gabrielle</a>, who is making a podcast series about writing with a writer (who I don't know, lol) named <a href="http://www.lifeinlimbo.org/">Steph</a>. They have two podcasts up right now and you can listen to them here: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-book-learning-podcast/id533607736">http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-book-learning-podcast/id533607736</a><br />
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They're great podcasts! If you like writing, take a listen :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15409086789684415297noreply@blogger.com0