Je suis finis!

At around 9:30, November 30th, 2007, I wrote a 50,000-word novel! I'm proudly wearing my pin now that says, "Novelist"! Ohhh, I can't wait until I go pick up my cheesecake that I ordered from the band... it's Oreo and I'm salivating just thinking about it... mmmm Oreo... *Homer Simpson gargle/drool*

Anyway, I'm still not done with the plot though. No worries, it was expected. :-P I'll finish it after a bit of rest. I've also decided to write everyday, even though I'm done with NaNo. It's a very good habit to get into. I won't be writing 1,667 words a day, but hey, at least I'll be writing something!

Yes, perhaps I will use this blog to do that, though I know that I will most definitely write things I don't want people to see, like the extra personal stuff I never write here. Why? Because... actually, I can't think of a good reason, other than offending someone just in case they stumble upon a nasty comment that I write.

::coughcoughihatethatbradleykidfrommyscienceclasswithaburningpassioncougcough::

Anyway, with the writing thing, there are other things I don't want to post here. You know, just in case I do become famous, and have to worry about publishing/copyrighting stuff. Yeah, I've heard that if you post something online, on a website such as FictionPress.com, which I used to use a lot, until sometime last November. What a coincidence!

It's gotta be the coffee.

So, today I took another trip down memory lane. It's good to revisit something that happened at most 3 years ago, because while I remember all the feelings I had, I don't have them anymore, and now I can laugh at all the stupid things I did. No, this isn't a bad thing I'm talking about, it's a good thing.

It's weird, I had my first boyfriend three years ago, and while we only went out for a month, we really liked each other, and now I don't even think of him in that way anymore. He's just a friend now. Well, I was surfing the net and stumbled upon his old blog, that he didn't know I knew about at the time, and reading it has only made me laugh. Directly after we broke up I looked at it, and it made me sad, but now all I can think about is how funny and naive we used to be, and how much we've changed. I can remember it all like it was yesterday...

And now I realize that I don't wanna get all caught up in the "love thing" anymore. (I really should be writing my novel right now... just 1900 words left!) I don't want to pretend I like a guy just to fill some void that isn't there, I have realized. I've decided to focus on what I love doing (writing!!) and being with people who matter to me, because I haven't gotten too much lately (I can after midnight though!) and I really should do that more, especially since I'm going to college next year and won't see any of my friends.

Okay, the part of my brain that is dedicated to Nano, also known medically, as the NaNoThalamus, is telling me to stop blogging, and START WRITING! even though I AM writing right now!

Ahh, I'll check in here later with the latest NaNo progress updates from yours truly!

(Note: the parentheses are there to describe my inner writer's thoughts, which interrupt my blog and my train of thought, because I only have 4 hours and 30 minutes left!!)

Wait! before I go, I made up a new word! It's called "congrastination," basically the opposite of procrastination. So right now, I am off to congrastinate, so when I'm done, you can congratulate!

Oh no!!

I thouhgt that I was going to blog every day this month, but I forgot to post since last monday! Boo hoo... :-(

It's alright, the point is that I'm doing pretty good with the novel, at the moment, I'm at 28264/50000. i got past the halfway point!! It's all downhill from here. Ever since I downloaded a timer/alarm for my computer, it's been easier for me to get more done. Now I can write in specific amounts of time, and this has increased my productivity. i also time my breaks to make sure i don't get distracted doing other things. Well, i have only a minute left of my break for now, and then it's another 20 minutes of writing, writing, writing!!

23735/50000

Felt very productive today, yet the day is not yet over! I can still write more, but alas, homework s calling my name once again, and I have to get it done because tomorrow's the last day before Thanksgiving break, and I'm missing half my classes to work on the Grandparents Day video. If only my grandpa could fly in just a few days earlier, so I could join in... oh well, I guess it'll be good experience working in the media center for half the day. Plus, I'll get free food, and more experience with Final Cut. I made a logo for the event today, and while I'm not too impressed with myself, it's still pretty good. It's passable. But I guess I'm just saying that because I've done cooler, more creative things. Maybe tomorrow I'll work on more logos, or something, but our tech director said he liked the one I made already, and I don't think I'll give him too many choices, as he'll be busy enough tomorrow.

In other news, it hurts when I breath for some odd reason. My mom, who knows mostly everything about the human body, says that one of the muscles that is attached to my ribcage is to blame. That's not what she said exactly, but it was something like that. Anyway, it just hurts the breath deeply, and it kills me to yawn.

Ugh, I need this Thanksgiving break so badly... lots and food and lots of words! I think I should make that my motto for this break.

"Lots of food and even more words!"

I hope I don't get a stomach ache. Or, in this case, a hand cramp, from writing so much!

Oh, and thanks to those who left me comments from the NaNoWriMo forums, I 'ppreciate it!

21280/50000

Went to a write-in today. I got a lot done, but I still didn't feel productive. Blaaaahhh, I need some good motivation!

nineteen-six-four-five

Went to visit UIC.

Got little writing done.

Will write more tomorrow.

Probably reach 20,000 words.

Four words per sentence.

Kinda hard, yet easy.

Reminds me of haiku.

You should try it.

It is really fun!

Thou shalt leave comment.

Or I be sad.

19645/50000

lalalalala

Word counts getting better, but still behind. I'm totally going to catch up at the write-in, I promise! I think I'll write myself one of those "onerosity" coupons that came with my NaNo kit.

Halfway Over, or Halfway Begun?

I got soooooo much done today!!! Check it out:

I'm still behind, but this was a big jump. And I'm going to the write-in on Sunday, so that should help immensely.

I helped do the announcements this week, and they are going to be sooo funny tomorrow! We dubbed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and it was awesome!

I found a cool French song, it's called "Avant Garde Bubblegum Factory," by French Disco. I have noooo idea what it means though, but it's sweet.

Speaking of music, I've decided to "abandon" my last.fm account for a while. It makes me think that I should listen to music that I don't usually listen to, and the statistics aren't accurate on it because of that. So I'm just not even going on the site anymore. =P

You say you cannot live with(out) me, you need your own identity.

Haven't gotten too much writing done today. I'm just too busy!! I've been watching more TV, which might have some impact on my word count. But I usually never watch TV, and I've finally found shows that I love, like the Office!

I have a confession to make...

Today I was working on my novel in my English class, when we were supposed to be writing our papers! XD

I worked on the paper, but then I decided that I had worked on it as much as I possibly could at that specific moment, so I worked on my novel. I didn't get too much done, but at least it was a good something.

Today was a great day, filled with lots of laughter. I said and did things that made me feel stupid, but I don't care! The important thing is that I laughed a lot, which is something I've really needed lately.

I have a new favorite song... "Intermittently" by Barenaked Ladies. I just love this one part where Steven Page just screams with so much anger, and it makes me wanna scream too, without caring what other people think.

I am coming out of my shell.

AHHHHHHHOHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Tomorrow I'm going to scream in my car as loud as I can, when I'm driving to school. I don't care if anyone notices, I just need to SCREAM! Not because I'm sad, or stressed, or frusterated, or angry even... I don't know. The reason why still lies a mystery, which I will find out.)

P.S. I know I'm weird, you have a problem with that, bitch? *slap*

XP

15033/50000

I sat down and got at least 2000 words today, which made me feel very accomplished. I'm only 5,000 behind, but I think I'll just continue doing a daily 2000 until Thanksgiving Break, when I'll get at least twice a daily word count in every day I have off. That should catch me up completely! My plot is developing at an amazingly nice pace. I haven't gotten too far into the plot yet, so I have a good chance of finishing the actually story after I get to 50000.

My characters are amazing! I love them! I'm going to slowly build up a love story between two of my characters, and when they realize that they love each other, they won't know what hit them! Seriously, they LOATHE each other now, they can't STAND each other! And that's going to make them so perfect for each other, when they realize their attraction towards the end.

I can't wait for the actual plot to take shape, it's taking me so long!

13121/50000

I went to Barnes and Noble and did lots and lots of writing today! Woot!

Crossing The 10k Threshold

Today was awesomely productive, I write almost 3,000 words, and I crossed over into 10k! Working at the library really helped, and leaving my earphones behind worked too. That way I wasn't in my own little world, and nothing was distracting me other than people walking by me, but that happened intermittently, so it wasn't a big deal. Tomorrow I'm going to my first write-in this year, and I'm definitely going to get as much done as I possibly can.

11474/50000

Novelitis

I got into SAIC!! Yay! Now I have at least 3 schools to choose from! In other news, my word count's a little low, but I'm going to revive it before I get even further behind. Last year was worse, because I quit for a whole week! So this year I haven't quit, and I'm not going to, but I still have a chance to catch up and get ahead.

(#*^$@#(&&

I'm so mad, I didn't get much work done. I was going to use my extra long free period to work but then I had to organize my profile for when I visit The School of the Art Institute for my Immediate Decision appointment. I've been accepted into two schools! I'm so happy! (Wow, today was bipolar...) I've been accepted into Bradley University and Loyola. Tomorrow, there is a chance that I will have three acceptances under my belt! :-D Anyway, I was just talking about how MAD I was because I didn't get much writing done. I think I might have to go on Sunday to Barnes and Noble, though only if it doesn't interfere with my plans to hang out with someone. At least I got about 300ish words. My english teacher told me that I was an awesome journalist, and it comes naturally to me!! He said that out of all the editorials he read, he liked mine the best. :-) He told e to go to Northwestern and become a journalist. I'm thinking about that now, but I kinda wanted to double major with writing and graphic design, so I don't know. And Northwestern is incredibly hard to get into, only 1 out of 3 that apply get in. I'm crossing my fingers!

8,047/50,000

Every time I pass 1,000 words, I get so excited! But I know that once I get to 10,000, it will probably only get exciting every 5,000 or 10,000 words, from my experience. I need some kind of reward system with this thing, maybe every 1,000 words I can eat a cake? Naw, I don't wanna get tooooo fat this month! Suggestions for rewards would be appreciated!

Anyway, my video that I made for the announments was supposed to be on today, but it wasn't! *gasp* I think they just didn't have enough time, or something. I saved it onto a really weird hard drive thing, so maybe they couldn't get it off in time, I don't know. I'll probably see it on Friday.

I went to the library today, and for some reason I didn't get all that much work done. I did some studying with Sara, and that was just about the most productive part of it. My laptop just is way too distracting, and the free internet at the library is just so tempting! What do I do? I go to check y mail, and I have so much stuff that redirects me to do other things, which makes me do other things too. It's like a chain reaction. maybe I just shouldn't check my mail at all when I'm at the library? I'll just turn off the Airport, even though it's so incredibly easy to turn on again...

and there are people I wanna chat with online! Those people keep distracting me too. I had some great momentum just now, until someone IMed me with a question, which led to a discussion. I think I'm just gonna have to rip out the antennas that receive the wifi. Poor Gideon, my distracting MacBook.

Speaking of the library, when I was in iTunes, it automatically picks up other people playlists, if they choose to share them. I don't know who it was, but someone had really cool music. I was gonna listen to some of his Jack Johnson songs, but then I was scared he would find out I was listening to them, and come after me. O.0

Now listening to: Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper

The taste of noveling in the morning is just so delish!

Today was very successful, I wrote 2000 words! I'm going to use Thursday to have a hardcore writing marathon during my double free period. Hopefully, no one will be to distracting as I type, type, type in the A/V lab, especially SOMEONE I know, who loves to chatter and thinks he's soooo important! Arg. I bought a 4-pack of Starbucks Mocha frappucchino bottles, so that will be totally delish, as I can' have myself falling asleep on my laptop as I novel this month.

Fashion!

Was bored last night, so I made this. Song is "Fashion" by David Bowie, and I hope to put it on the school announcements very soon!

As for writing, I've done a little today so far, but I think I'll use the weekend to catch up.


wordcount widgets

Tip #4: Try Copying the Styles of Authors You Love!

I had so much homework today that I couldn't work on my novel!! Ahhhh!

I'll catch up tomorrow though, for sho! :-D

Day 3: Aim Low, Hit High

Haven't done too much writing yet today, but I will! I only need 400 more for my daily goal, and then I'll be at 5,000. In the NaNo forums, I've gotten some help to figure out the background of my plot. I had some holes in that, but now I know pretty much what happens before the real story begins!

I'm reading the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, and there's a puzzle in it that a need to solve!! On pages 269-271, the pages are filled with just numbers, but it's the character using the numbers to try and say a message. Since numbers 2-9 on a phone have 3-4 letters on each of the buttons, I decided to try and decipher all two and a half pages of the numbers! It's like an extremely and incredibly difficult Myst puzzle.

It's not easy. I've tried googling this little puzzle to see if I could find someone who had already solved it, but no luck. I found someone who had translated the first sentence of it, but that was it. So, I've decided to be the first person to solve it and post the answer! I'll probably post it here when/if I get it right. Any help would be appreciated!

Anyway, I found a site where you can make a cool action character, so I made my main character, Katherine. Her face looks so white because I couldn't figure out how to put color in it at the time, hehe. The Katherine in my novel is probably younger than this picture, but this was the smallest/youngest body type the site had.

SOMEONE

I'm so ahead of my daily word goal, so I've decided to stop writing for now. :-)

4588/50000

Maybe I should shoot for a more ambitious word goal. I don't know if I could EVER get to 100,000 like some insane writers. Or maybe I could, I'm just way too busy to do that this year. I'm thinking 75,000 would be more realistic for me, but I don't think I'll shoot for it unless I get extremely ahead.

I have learned that typing at school is difficult. Not everyone brings their laptops to school, so I have to go to a place where a laptop would "blend in" and not raise any eyebrows. Also, I don't want many people to know I have it, because then THEY might want it!

I tried getting some work done in the A/V lab, because there are so many macs in there, that mine would kinda get camouflaged with the rest. But noooo, SOMEONE had to be loud and annoying like usually. I won't drop names, but it's a certain SOMEONE who won an emmy, and walks around like he owns the place!

The NaNo website is going so slow, and has so many errors, but whatevs. All I need to do is update my word count, I don't use the forums too much.

In other news, I a extremely HAPPY and incredibly CONTENT! My life has been slowly getting better, but today was just plain AWESOME! List of happy things:

• We started a ladder tournament for badminton in gym today. My doubles partner is a little annoying, but I wasn't missing too much, and it was fun to score lots of points!
• The announcements that Will, Talya, and I made were on today, and the people in my class actually watched (for the most part) instead of chatting (so I can't hear). They thought what we did was funny, and someone said, "the announcements are getting better!" I decided we need to make our creative announcements more often, so that's what I'm going to try to do.
• In my graphic design class, I was the only one who had used flash before, so I felt very smart when we were learning how to use it.
• Had a bagel and lox for lunch today, and two Reese's cups. Yummmy.
• In orchestra, I was able to play my part really well! I felt so awesome... like a violin superstar! Maybe I was so good because we played the only piece I've been practicing.
• Forgot to do my Psych homework, but she didn't check it today so I still have until Monday to do it!
• Life is good.

edit: I found some new word count widgets for this year! They were on this site for anyone who's interested in one. Here are what mine look like:

The Noveling Begins...

Here's my first word count update for NaNoWriMo 2007!!

1895/50000

As soon as they invent a widget for this year that automatically updates you're word count for you, I'll just have to type it out. Oh well, no biggie! This was my word count meter from last year: