Tales of the Not-So-Weird!

I'm writing and later on during Fringe, I'll be knitting or crocheting Idle hands and all that ;-)

I'm working on a short story, that I thought was going to be weird, strange, Lynchesque... but instead it's turning out pretty mundance and boring. While in life I don't mind being boring, I can't be boring in my fiction. That just seems like a sin. Part of me is thinking I should just put it up and work on another short story (I seem to be up to my ears in little story snippets), but part of me thinks I should work through it and finish it.

Actually now that I'm writing this, I think I'm going to finish it. I made a commitment on 70 days of sweat. Maybe I'll be able to fix it once it's done.

I've Finished NaNoWriMo 2008!

I've finally finished NaNoWriMo 2008. My novel isn't finished yet; but a HUGE chunk is done. I'm still doing 70 Days of Sweat, so I've still got work to do.

I'm a 15, 690 words

I woke up early this morning to throw myself into this writing. I do this every year. I think I can make the deadline of 50,000 words by Sunday; but geez... I do this every year. At least because this is NaNoWriMo, I can detour and experiment, go down plot paths that I might not try otherwise. At least I'm well past my goals for 1000 Club and I'm keeping up with 70 Days of Sweat. Sven would be proud. Well, I'm going to get back to my writing. I've still got 34,310 words to go.

The 1000 Club!

I was just on the Speculative Romance Online site and I read an article on the 100 Club. The quick story--you write at least 100 words a day for 100 consecutive days on your current WIP. If you miss writing 100 words one day, you have to start all over again. What a cool idea! If there's something writers are good at, it's "tricking" themselves into writing.

Well I've decided to adopt and change that idea a little. I usually have more than one WIP swimming in my katra at any given moment AND I have no problem writing 100 words daily. So how do I make this a challenge to myself...

1,000 words on anything (WIP, free-writes, exercises) for the next 20 days.

I'll post my daily word count at the end of each day (or first thing the next day if I need to get to sleep.) Don't worry, I'll be honest. I'm interested to see if I can make it that far. My "reward" for writing 1,000 a day for 20 days will be to buy myself a book the next day.

Good gracious! That means I can't buy ANY BOOKS for the next 20 days. (Anyone who knows me will know that this is a TRUE sacrifice!) Aww man, if I f$^$^^k up it will be LONGER THAN 20 DAYS BEFORE I CAN BUY A BOOK! Well, I'd better stick to the plan.

I think I can do it. I'm starting to work on a short story for the Romance Divas' February Challenge (man, I'm behind schedule) and of course I've got that epic series that's seized my interest and won't let go. This is a labor of love, so I'm taking my time.

Well, I'd better get going. I've got a lot of writing to do.

I LOVE Rhapsody

I've been using Rhapsody for about a week now. I think it's great! I've been able to start some "soundtracks" for each of my WIPs.

Rhapsody also has a "Dynamic" Playlist feature that keeps track of what you've been listening and creates a playlist based on that. Some of the songs are songs you listened to, some of the songs are songs I guess they think you'd be interested based on your listening choices. How cool is that? So here is my playlist for this week...

1. Simpatico - William Ellwood
2. Charango - Oregon
3. Tom's Diner (A Capella) - Suzanne Vega
4. The First Cut is the Deepest - Sheryl Crow
5. Run To The Sun - N.E.R.D.
6. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Alana Davis
7. Nothing Seems To Matter - Bonnie Raitt
8. Raised On Robbery - Joni Mitchell
9. I Must Be High - Wilco
10. Boogie On Reggae Woman - Stevie Wonder
11. Be Still My Beating Heart - Sting
12. Just Like Anyone - Aimee Mann
13. Crazy (Radio 1 Live Lounge Session) - Nelly Furtado
14. I Am So Ordinary - Paula Cole
15. Pieces Of The Night - Gin Blossoms
16. Brick - Ben Folds
17. Hurt - Christina Aguilera
18. Chelsea Morning - Joni Mitchell
19. Are You Happy Now? - Michelle Branch
20. Little Sister - Jewel
21. Bombastic Love - Britney Spears
22. Flux - Penguin Cafe Orchestra
23. Redwood Nocturne - Spencer Brewer
24. Cold Tea Blues - Cowboy Junkies
25. Vogue - Madonna

Interesting! I've been listening to a lot of popular stuff and 80's stuff, looking for the right combination for one of my WIPs. I guess it shows. I've never even heard of some of this stuff. Well, I'd better get to listening. I may find something cool for one of my characters!