Winner, neeneer neeneer

Thirty days typing
50,000 words written
Time for a long nap

I had every intention of finishing this quest Thursday night. With less than 1,000 words to go, I fell asleep on the couch, only to wake up at 12:07 Friday morning. So much for “best laid plans.” I gave in to my exhaustion and went to bed. Up early Friday, I had a spark of inspiration and typed out 1,400 words in no time. I’m not finished with the rough draft. Like so many other NaNoWriMo participants, there is some epic editing necessary, but for the purposes of the word count requirements, I wrote a 50,000+ novel in 30 days.

There is now laundry to wash, dishes to clean, rugs to vacuum and floors to mop. There are also two menfolk who would like their mom/wife back.

Regardless what I end up doing with this literary marvel, meeting this challenge is a personal victory. I recommend everyone who fancies themselves a writer, to try this dare at least once. If for nothing else, to get in the habit of writing, something, anything, every day.

Congratulations to all the other participants. You are all superheroes to me.

Hosted by Lou at LouCeeL

Greek chorus

When I go for walks in the morning, I’m out for at least an hour. During that time my mind is a constant whirl. I run through what I need to do for the day, I think about writing projects I have in drafts or need to begin, or I carry on full-blown conversations with myself about totally random stuff. Every moment is filled by a chorus of asides from the voices in my head.

On any given day, this is the type of stream of consciousness that is my brain…

~ I should really charge my point-n-shoot camera battery before my next walk instead of relying only on my camera phone. Can’t use my Nikon, neighbors get a little creeped out if they see a sketchy chick, dressed in clothes that most vagrants wouldn’t wear, taking photos with a full-size camera outside their homes.

~ Shopping list: Get poppy seeds for lemon/poppy seed muffins. I wonder if eating these would really flag a urine test for “presence of opiates?”

~ To do list: Write and send “Thank You” card to Dad for birthday present he sent two months ago. Apologize for being a bad daughter, or blame it on advancing age.

~ I need to remember to call the vet. Dog-Child is chewing on her nails again, and gnawed one into that quick.

~ Thanksgiving left-overs aren’t going away anytime soon, gotta make that gumbo I’ve been promising. Add andouille to shopping list, maybe that will counteract the poppies. Hmm… the grease burn scars from twenty-ten’s roux accident have completely faded.

~ Squirrel!

~ People have already set out Christmas decorations? Why does anyone need a six-foot inflatable snow globe? Should we decorate this year? I don’t know if I even want to decorate inside. I’ll ask the menfolk if they want to do anything.

~ Butt-head speeders! I wish I had the superpower of flattening tires with a flick of a wrist.

~ Damn shin-splints! Walk it off.

~ Gawd, I need to finish NaNoWriMo.

~ Eggs or cereal? Do we have any milk?

~ These sneakers are really purple. Next pair I think I’ll just go with white, maybe grey.

(Halfway through my walk, I get a text message from my daughter telling me she booked her flight home for Christmas.)

~ Day-um! That only gives me about two weeks to clear out her room. The menfolk need to stop using it as a storage shed.

~ Oh, pretty. I should go back and get a photo of that.

~ I need to write that down… naw.. I’ll remember it when I get home.

Inspired by the weekly prompts at Studio 30+. This week’s prompts are “running” and “15 bits of random thoughts.”

When I let my fingers do the hiking

It doesn’t happen often, but this weekend I stayed home and didn’t get out for my usual photo hike. Instead, I spent the holiday weekend with my kids. My daughter, who is living out-of-state attending grad school, was home for Thanksgiving, so when she wasn’t hanging with old friends (who were also visiting over their break), I wanted to enjoy her company. My still teenage son lives at home, and also wanted to spend time with his all-growed-up sister.

The other deterrent to my hike was this pesky thing called NaNoWriMo… with my kids at home, and wanting to do that whole family thing, I got woefully behind on my daily word count. Saturday, I was facing a 4,000+ deficit and the possibility of simply throwing in my keyboard.

While I do enjoy football, I was particularly grateful for the games this weekend. The College Kid is a FSU alum and with the bitter intra-state rivalry between Florida State and the University of Florida, she was busy watching the game with friends. My alma mater also had its final conference game that morning, so… I donned my Vols T-shirt, and hunkered down to type while I cheered on my team, and my daughter was out of the house cheering on hers.

Much caffeine and copious amounts of (good and bad) snacking later, and I had pounded out 4,581 words, getting me back on track and even ahead a little for Sunday. There was also a celebratory glass of wine once I could power down the old laptop.

I have less than 10,000 words, and six days, to finish my quest of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

So… for this weekend’s photos, I give you a few images of what helped me through my marathon day of writing.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.

Submitted to Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City

Inked

After a year of enduring the bite of Kile’s needle, Evie thought she’d be accustomed to the sting by now. With only a few short weeks between sessions, the itch and bruising didn’t have much time to heal before another sitting.

The stylized masterpiece covered her back from neck to waist. The red hawk perched in a protective stance. Wingtips wrapped around Evie’s left shoulder and under her ribs, tail feathers fanned out across the small of her back. His head rested against her right shoulder.

As Kile inked the final element, the bird’s ochre eye, the entire image vanished.

The 100 Word Challenge, to tell a story in only 100 words. This week’s theme is ‘Vanished’

*A bit more from my NaNoWriMo story, “Guardian.”

Guardian

A month before, Evie began preparing for the ritual that would begin at dawn of her 18th year.

The first daughter in four generations, Evie’s marking would be an occasion for her entire clan to celebrate. The ritual, which would take 12 months to complete, would start at midnight on her birthday, and end at midnight the day before she turned 19. Prior to the first line being laid, she had to name her guardian.

Evie already knew his name. She had known since she was six and met the first in a long line of guides. What she didn’t know, was if he would fulfill the pledge between his brethren and her family.

Evie’s great-great-grandmother, Móraí, was the last woman in her clan who had a guardian. Though she was nearly 100 years old now, she said she had never felt the full extend of her guardian’s power. Evie worried that she would take the mark for nothing. Yet, there was that small part of her heart that told her that there was already a bond between them. That the mark would only be an outward sign of their connection.

With Evie was her father Emmet, and Móraí, along with other members of her family. Joining them was Kile, great-great-grandson of Bruce, the artist who had prepared Móraí’s marking. Their two families were linked in this ritual.

As early as she could remember, she dreamed of flying, of being a large bird soaring over the lush forests of her homeland. The sensations were so vivid, that when she woke she often felt like she was still airborne. More than once she also found twigs and leaves, or tiny bits of bone, in her bed sheets, as if she had actually transformed and went on nocturnal hunts.

When it was time to name her guardian, to give him a form, Evie did not hesitate.

“He is a red hawk, and he is named, Ó Séaghda,” Evie proclaimed.

* I am attempting to complete NaNoWriMo this month. This is a short excerpt from the story I’m writing. These 331 words pushed me over the 10,000 mark, a full day ahead of schedule.

For Trifecta. This week’s prompt is Year [noun \yir\] 3 : a calendar year specified usually by a number

Next big thing

Recently, Lisa from “empty the well” tagged me as part of the Next Big Thing Blog Hop. It’s been quite a while since I’ve joined in this kind of blogging shenanigans, but I really like the questions involved with this one.

Here are 10 inquiries about my future, award-winning novel. Being that I am once again participating in NaNoWriMo this year, I’ll answer based on that attempt.

I’m still pondering if I’ll post my work in progress. I’m not writing the chapters in any sort of order, so it’s a bit haphazard now. The response to this post may be the deciding factor.

What is the working title of your book?
It will make no sense to anyone other than me, but it’s “Red Hawk.” I only used that to make it easier to find the rough draft on my desktop. A hawk is featured in the story, but this title won’t make the final edit.

Where did the idea for your book come from?
No kidding, it was a dream. And no, I wasn’t drinking or eating weird stuff the night before. I’m hoping to re-connect with the dream some night while I’m writing. I’d like to know how it ends.

What genre does your book fall under?
If it had to be designated something, I guess it would be fantasy. Though the story setting is modern-day America and Ireland.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I never really thought about it. I don’t watch a lot of movies so can’t say I’m familiar with too many of the current movie idols. If Jessica Tandy were still alive, she’d be great for the grandmother, but if not her, maybe Judi Dench. As for the lead female, Dakota Fanning, with Colin O’Donoghue as her dad.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
“A young woman, full-filling a family tradition, learns that tradition can often take on a life of its own.”

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
If it ever gets that far, I would probably look first to being self-published.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your novel?
I haven’t finished the first draft yet, but it is the focus of the National Novel Writing Month for me this year. I’m on track to write 50,000 words in 30 days, so ask again on Nov. 30.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
So far, I haven’t found a book that is similar to what I envision. I hope that is a good thing.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
See NaNoWriMo…

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Lisa offered her readers money, I’d have to pay people in Trident gum, so that probably won’t be a successful marketing ploy. The best I can offer are fantasy creatures and at least one tattoo that comes to life.

Now comes the meme part where I’m supposed to “tag” two more people to pimp their Next Big Thing. This was always the hardest part of memes for me, since there are either too many people I want to include, or not enough… and by not enough, I mean, I don’t know who would be willing to participate.

This time I just asked. Hopefully, the artistic powerhouse, husband/wife team of Lance and Deana will soon fill out this questionnaire to tell us all about their pending literary masterpieces.

National Novel Writing Month

My attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Hopefully somewhere in that jumble of words, a novel materializes.