Mis Escritos Y Pensamientos

It is only a few hours until NANOWRIMO officially begins.  However, since it starts on a Sunday this year, I will actually not begin writing for several more hours.  Right now, all I have in mind is a basic plot, and a first line.  :)  Well, that's more than some people have.  (I know so; they told me so yesterday.)  Hopefully, the next post will bring you the first of many word counts.  For now, off I go to revel in my last moments of "freedom."  As a friend of mine says, "Cheers!" 

Last year's NANO novel had a soundtrack.  It's true.  That's another thing that has made me nervous this year.  I don't have a soundtrack ready!  So I have to remind myself that my soundtrack built itself up during the month of November.

Here's the listing for last year's NANO novel (Anca).

Amazing Grace  - Chris Tomlin
Beautiful - Shawn McDonald
Deep Sludge - Goofy Movie Soundtrack
Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
How to Save a Life - The Fray
The Door in the Air - Prince Caspian Soundtrack
The Call - Regina Spektor
So Close - Jon McLaughlin
Transformation  - Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack
Red Sea - Prince of Egypt Soundtrack
August Rhapsody - August Rush Soundtrack
Grace Flows Down - Christy Nockles
Your Grace Still Amazes Me - Phillips, Craig and Dean
On A Night Like This - Dave Barnes
Brighter Day - Three Empty Chairs
Jesus Loves Me - Brian Oaks

I can't believe that it's only three days until the madness begins.  I'm not going to lie. I'm pretty nervous this year.  My novel this year deals with a lot darker topic than anything I've written before, and not only will writing that be difficult, but it is a little nerve racking to think that people will be reading it.  What will they think? 

Something else that really gets me, as Sunday quickly approaches, is the fear that I am completely ill-prepared for the task at hand.  I wish I would have blogged last year as I wrote Anca, because I don't remember how much I had in my mind before I started writing.  I have this funny feeling that I only had the first line in mind when I started on the 1st of November last year.  The story just came from there. 

Goodness...we'll see how this goes this year.

I am a very goal oriented person.  If I am going to complete a task, I need a "prize" waiting for me at the finish line.  I had decided sometime during last November that if I completed the contest, I could by myself a gift.  Here's what I set my sights on winning...

Well, the big question for NANO is...What do I write about?  It's all well and good to have an idea, but when you hit 20,000 words and the story is over, you sometimes have to start over.  Hopefully this won't happen.  As for now, here is my story for this year's NANO...

Every account must have a user name.  Oh the curse of the coming up with said information.  I try to keep the same one for most places, but for NANO I had to do something special.  What would it be?  Well, finally, after many attempts and  "This user name is already in existence" I came up with....

Alcottgirl

Hopefully, most of my readers are not completely lost by this.  I first read Louisa May Alcott's Little Women when I was probably 8 or so years old.  (Ok, it was the Great Illustrated Classics edition, but still.)  Soon I acquired the non-abridged version, and since then I have read it about 6-8 times.  I'm not sure if you realize how big of a book this is.  My reading copy is over two inches thick.  Reading copy?   Well, yes, because since that first introduction to Alcott I've begun collecting antique copies of her works.  I have several copies that were printed in the early 1900's.  I also have several "reading copies" of the books because I don't want to damage the antique ones.

Little Women is actually not even my favorite of her works, and it saddens me that so few have read her other books.  If you haven't quite grasped my interest when it comes to all things Alcott, I wrote a 25 page paper as my senior research project in order to complete the Honor's program in college.  Yes, I enjoy Louisa May Alcott.  So, the name make sense now, eh?

Something fun about NANOWRIMO, is that they send you an email every week with helpful hints and bits of encouragement.  On the website, there are a bunch of discussion forms and other things too.

There's a little thing that several NANO writers insert into their stories, and it's a character called Mr. Ian Woon.  There are several other names for this character, and usually, they are fairly minor characters in the plot.  What's so significant about Mr. Ian Woon?  Well, look at the letters in his name.  There's an N,A,N,O,W,R,I,M, and O!  Like I said, Mr. Ian Woon comes in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes even in different names, but it's a lot of fun to see him appear in so many different stories.

I mentioned that last year I competed in NANOWRIMO.  I completed the competition with over 51,000 words, and then continued to finish my novel with a total of 67, 000 words.  Everyone then asks, well, when are you going to have it published?  They have no idea what this entails.  No publisher accepts manuscripts anymore.  You need an agent to get your novel "discovered."  However, there are a few things called self-publishing companies.  I've done all kinds of research on all of this, and my husband and I are still praying about what to do next.  God will have to direct us greatly.  However, if He provides us with about 2,000 dollars, I do have what seems like a good opportunity for publication through a place called Cross Books.  It's what seems the best option at the time  (minus the lack of money.)

This year, my novel seems like it might be a little bit darker than Anca (last year's novel).  We shall see how it turns out, but yes, I do have a plot and character already in mind for November.  15 days!    

Today is October 15th, and it's almost over.  That means that there are 16 days until November 1st.  I know, I'm a bright cookie, but there really is a purpose for this countdown.  November 1st is the beginning of NANOWRIMO.   I get lots of questions about this, and really the best place for information is the website, but essentially, I have chosen to participate in a contest where people try to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.  Last year I did the same thing, and completed the task!  Hopefully, this year will not be more difficult than last year.

So, what I'm going to attempt, we'll see if it actually works out, is to use this blog as a place to keep you updated.  I can use all of the support and encouragement I can get.  Be prepared, mayhem will ensue.  Sleepless nights, my husband living on frozen food (well, not all of the time), and chaos, lots of chaos.  Doesn't it sound exciting?!?!?  So, countdown with me, and let's see what November brings.