November Wrap Up: Noveling, NaNo, Travel,SNIPPETS, and Almost Zero Blogging

Despite the fact that I only wrote two posts during November, I am still going to do a month end wrap-up, because while I wasn't blogging, I was doing LOTS OF OTHER STUFF NaNoWriMo. And Thanksgiving, and visiting family, and driving, and *gasp* reading. I read a lot of books this November, and I plan on reviewing at least half of them this December (finally).

The monthly wrap-up is hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction. Make sure you click over and check out everyone's posts - and while you're at it, check out Nicole's monthly discussion post too!

-NaNo and Adventures

So I was NaNo - ing like crazy the past three days (well, when I wasn't driving up and down the country), and I decided something: November NEEDS JUST ONE MORE DAY. Seriously. I got home at 1am yesterday morning, got up at 6am, worked till 2:30, made it home around 3:30, and wrote furiously until about 5pm - when I fell asleep on my computer.

I awakened around 10pm, and got back to writing. This put me at just over 47K words. 47K words people . . . So close.

On the upside, I have 47K words of a new novel (and I managed to write over seven thousand words in a few hours, so I know I can do it). And I did better than last year (45K), and the year before (10K). So I'm not complaining. And most of the things I did when I wasn't writing were 100% worth it. On that note, one of the blog posts I did write was a handy, gif-filled guide to procrastination. You can check that out here.

My NaNo project, better known as "The Butler Did It," and my writing process, were the subject of my other post, part of the Beautiful Books link up hosted by Cait at Paper Fury and Sky at Further Up and Further In. You can read that here.

On November 20th, I went to a book event for Winter by Marissa Meyer. It was up in Petoskey, and it was masquerade ball themed. I brought two of my sisters, and two friends, and we made a party out of the weekend. Marissa was fun, hilarious, and a great story teller (erm, obviously). I loved Winter (spoiler-free review to come!), and I can't wait for the short stories to follow up the series.

After my drive up to Petoskey, my sister Grace and I drove the opposite direction - to Tennessee! I was off to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and precious niece. We hung out, played games, and Grace and I checked out exactly two places in Nashville: a giant used book/dvd/music wonderland with $2 manga, and an epic international market that had all of the things we needed to make dango and onigiri at more reasonable prices. And there were all sorts of other things, like live crabs that fell onto the floor and started crawling around - and eels swimming in tanks. I tried an, interesting, Korean rice drink (there was rice in the drink). And frozen mochi. If you haven't tried frozen mochi, you are missing out on something amazing. Anyhow, Grace and I loved this place and we were sort of glad we didn't have much spending money.

On Wednesday, we all drove to Arkansas. We had to drive Highway 40 (always a pain), but it was bearable because Grace and I had brought my music adapter. We listened to my book playlists, in the hope it would make me feel like writing. It sort of worked, but I was driving in intense traffic, so there wasn't much I could do about it.

The hunting lodge where we stayed from Wednesday to Friday had zero internet or cell coverage. This was great, because it took away a lot of distractions. On the other hand, the lodge also had a lot of board games and a pool table. I did a lot more "gaming" than writing, but it was also spending time with family I don't see as often. I also spent a bunch of time playing with my niece (she just turned one, and she's absolutely adorable).

After the lodge, we drove over to Little Rock (uhm, yes, lots of driving), and my phone exploded (well, almost) as soon as I got a signal. We played more games, and went to go see Creed (since we are all more or less Rocky fans). And then on Sunday, we drove back over to Memphis to go to church, and met a friend from my parent's college days. After that, we drove home. And the aforementioned getting in at 1 AM happened. So I had a lot of fun, but this explains how I bombed the last week of NaNo!

-Snippets- 

Congratulations! You made it through my travel rambles. As a (?) reward, here are a few snippets. I have been chatting back and forth with a few other writers, and I decided to (gulp) post a bit of my writing. I am notorious for keeping everything close to my chest (few people who know me have read any of my work in it's more raw state), but in an effort to thicken my skin, I decided to post some of my current work.

 Since I freak out about this stuff, I just decided to pick a random bit from my NaNo project and paste it here. It involves my three major characters. The narrator is my MC, Ernestine (Ernest), and you can read more about all three of them here.

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I gaped at this woman, blithely offering her servant tea when her own brother had been brutally murdered the evening before. Either she was incredibly strong minded, or a monster herself. Maybe this was what people whispered about?

Lady de Carrefour’s lips twisted into a bitter smile, “I know what you’re thinking. But someone has to take charge. And poor Sydney is at his wits’ end out there.”

“Hardly,” interrupted another voice, from the doorway. And the man himself entered with a tea tray in hand. Until I saw him, I couldn't even place the "Sydney" she meant. It was Sydney Smith, the surprisingly young Chief Butler – but even I wouldn’t have addressed him so intimately. That the lady of the house herself would do so was terribly untoward. Of course, I am the last person who could blame her. After all, I was the one who’d disguised as a man so I could follow her brother to the Citadel. But she couldn’t know that, or I’d be worse than dead.

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-And now, another unedited snippet from my current pet WIP - The Last Coffee Shop (more about it here and here).

 The last snippet I shared involved my MC Mads, and one of her best friends, Alan. This one features my other most important character, Luc, before the set of events that end up with him taking Mads hostage (and basically ruining her life). Again, I went for total randomness, which seems to make it easier.

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“What are you doing? Are those real chickens?”

Mads just barely avoided upsetting her stool. “Luc! Do you have to sneak up on me like that? I didn’t even hear the door! And yes those are chickens.” Mads closed her eyes and tried to stay calm. That had come out in a snarl, making Bette shift beside her and knock the ground with her hoof.

Luc came around the cow, so he was in Mads line of sight. “Sorry.” He looked a bit sheepish, but not guilty. “What are you doing?” he repeated.

“Milking the cow, what does it look like?” snapped Mads, still thrown off.

Bette let out a soft protesting moo and shifted again, so Mads had to reposition herself. “Now you’ve upset her.”

Luc was still staring at Bette, his wide eyes even wider than usual. “That’s a cow? I’ve never seen one before. I pictured something, smaller . . .” he skirted Bette to stand beside Mads. “Eugh.”

“What?” Mads continued to spray milk into the pail, finding her rhythm at last.

“That’s where our milk comes from?”

“Where did you think?” Mads rolled her eyes. “Seriously, don’t be a baby. You can’t be squeamish about this.”

“Hey, most of the milk I’ve had was synthetic, you know, with that blue tinge.” Luc shook his shaggy head. “I hope you sanitize it somehow.”
                “You think this is gross but you drink that chemical soup?” replied Mads. “This is natural, and it’s good for you. We only give our customers the real thing. That’s one of the reason we’re ‘The Last Coffee Shop.’ Sure, there are bars and shops everywhere in the galaxy serving synth coffee, that blue milk stuff, and powdered instant lattes, but none of them give you the reality, the experience that ancient Ithiran shops give you. It was a morning ritual for so many people.” Mads trailed off, flushing as she realized how emotional she sounded.

Luc whistled softly. “Well, you have to have your line in somewhere. Don’t blow a fuse.”

Mads shot him a lethal glare. “You’re here to help, not comment. Do you see that bag of oats up there,” she jerked her chin at a shelf above them.

Luc spun on his heel. “Yeah, sure.”

“Get a bucket full of those and put them in front of Bette. Then you can refill her water trough. That’s the black thing. The hose is by the door.”

- - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

-That wasn't so bad. I think I can handle this . . . maybe (hits post before she can hit delete)

So, do either of these strike your fancy? Are you brave enough to share a random, unedited snippet of your own in the comments? How was your November? Did you do anything fun/eat anything wonderful? I am back from NaNo and ready to read - and on that subject:

-Some of the Books I am Reading/Read in November:

Goodreads

Goodreads

Goodreads

 

Goodreads

Goodreads

Goodreads

20 Things to Do INSTEAD of Working on Your Novel: A Complete Guide to Procrastination (and gifs, because, gifs)

Just in case you didn't know:

It is November 23.

I'm not ready to part from 2015, people.

Thanksgiving is on Thursday. And NaNoWriMo is over in one week. I have not yet reached the 30K mark.

I am finally sitting somewhere that is A. Not work, or B. Not a car, so I really have no excuse for not writing. But if you're like me, and you're looking for reasons to procrastinate, here are some tips from a Master* (Note: I have tried every single one of these, and they are guaranteed to work)

1. Write a Blog Post

You sit down, flex those writing fingers, turn on some music to set the mood, and . . . you can't remember what you were writing. It's all gone. Your plot, your characters, what are words? Before you panic, you can always stretch that writer's brain by writing a blog post. You'll end up with a page full of writing, and feel a sense of achievement. So maybe none of it was your novel, but you did something productive! Give yourself a pat on the back, writer.

2. Read a Book, or Three

It's American Thanksgiving this week - which might mean a day or two off from work! Time for food and family, or even writing . . . or you could just read one of those delightful shiny books that are already written for you! Imagine that?

3. Go to a Book Event

If you are feeling down about your book, I highly recommend going to watch another author talk about how wonderful it was to see their book in print. I had the (incredible) privilege of going to the final event of Marissa Meyer's Winter Tour** - and it was so much fun! Hearing her talk about her books and her characters made me want to write, and I really would have - if I hadn't had to drive home!

4. Go on a Roadtrip

Whether it's books on tape, or just a playlist of your favorite writing tracks, you can think about your book a lot if you have to spend several hours in the car. Or you could just listen to 4 straight hours of K-pop for no apparent reason.*** I did one of those things while I drove down to Tennessee on Sunday.

5. Go Outside and Enjoy the Bizarre November Sunshine****

 

There's nothing like a little fresh air to jumpstart that creative writer's brain. Go walk outside and talk over your plot problems with a bosom friend. You may not get anything on paper, but you'll feel refreshed.

6. Watch Death Note

Death Note was an anime I never watched, but heard a ton about. Mostly about how incredible it was. So, naturally, I ignored it. But when I was too tired to write, I started watching Death Note instead, entirely on a whim. From the fascinating moral quandaries, to the great plotting and pacing, it's one of the most interesting distractions I've ever come across. And it inspired some great discussions!

7. Work on Christmas Presents

I don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving - but since I like to make handmade Christmas presents, I usually start those a few months in advance. Or at least, I try to. But I take it a little more seriously by November. And just look at all those half-finished projects you could be doing!

8. Take a Nap

Snoopy has it right. Sometimes you just need to curl up and take a nap. Scientists and other knowledgeable people also recommend it. And who argues with Snoopy and science?

9. Go Grocery Shopping

After three weeks of NaNo-ing hard, that pantry and fridge are starting to look bare. And as much as you love instant ramen, it isn't the healthiest choice. An no one needs to subsist on tea alone.

10. Sort All Those Emails Sitting In Your Inbox

 

And consider unsubscribing to the 2.5 thousand newsletters that are trying to get you to buy things.

11. Cook a Gourmet Meal

Remember #9 had you at the store? Well, there were a lot of Thanksgiving sales, and now you have too many ingredients. Google is your friend: just type in what you have, and then make something awesome.

11. Wash the Dishes

Trust me, you'll feel better if you have a clean working environment. Even if you're not writing in the kitchen. Just because you can't see the pile of dishes, it doesn't mean they're not there.

12. Scroll Through Your Twitter Feed

#amwriting #NaNoWriMo #noamrlywritingsrsly #stahp . . .

13. Or If You're Not Into Twitter, There's Instagram

Looking at everyone's vacation photos, food snaps, or book hauls strategically placed to look incredible, might make you feel like writing about your own far off adventure?

14. Facebook? Tumblr?

Hey, you never know where an idea might come from.

15. Let's Not Forget Pinterest

Because sometimes, pinning pictures to my book themed boards ACTUALLY helps. As long as I don't get too distracted . . .

16. And Catching Up On Your Favorite Blogs is Always a Good Idea

Writer-bloggers usually have something very useful for you to read.

17. Work

I can't write at work. However, I am off of work today. But there's a lot of other kinds of work that I need to finish (reviews with a deadline, for example). I need to do these things. Really.

18. Play a Board Game

It's good for your brain. And it's something you can do with your relatives, if you're at a loss this week.

19. Research

This is a very useful thing to do, and it always makes you seem so studious and focused. So if you sit down to write, and nothing happens - you can always look up that rare strain of bacteria. Just don't blame me if after five hours of research, you're reading about someone's scheme to rehydrate deserts.

20. Write a Different Novel

Because words on the page are words on the page. Even if they aren't on the same page.

Need more ideas? Too bad - I'm going back to writing my novel, :)

How is your November going? If you're doing NaNo, how is your word count?

Footnotes:

*Not to brag, or anything, but I am really good at procrastinating.

**The book event was masquerade ball themed! It was worth missing two days of writing. And Marissa Meyer was fabulous to listen to :) (Author of The Lunar Chronicles)

***To be honest, I don't even know how we ended up with the K-pop. I've never really listened to it before. Okay, other than this Shinhwa song/video. But it's strangely mesmerizing.

****Bizarre for Michigan. Michigan November usually means pouring rain, and then loads of snow, or both. So I wanted to spend as much time outside as possible.

 

Doctor Who and My First Book Signing

A year ago, my lovely sister-in-law (follow her wonderful blog Freckles and Fireflies here*) Erin told me about an interesting post on her Facebook wall: someone was looking for Christian writers who also happened to love Doctor Who. Doctor Who is, of course, the amazing and quirky BBC sci-fi show that has been going strong for over 50 years (!). Since I fit into this very specific category, Erin passed on some contact info, and I wrote an essay.

And then, I basically forgot about it until the beginning of this year, when I got an email announcing the book launch party was scheduled for March 26th,** in Lancaster, PA.

The FB event poster.

Well, I live in West Michigan, which puts Lancaster at about 10 hours away. I thought, "Maybe next time," but then things worked out, I rented a car, and managed to make my very first book signing, as an author! This is a big milestone (after all, it's what I'd like to do for the rest of my life!), and I had a blast on my whirlwind drive to the east. My only regret was that I didn't have more time to sightsee or spend with the lovely people I met (or to take a detour down to Baltimore and go exploring!).

My drive from Ann Arbor (where I stopped for an ABA meeting) was pretty uneventful, even dull, but I had forgotten how lovely southeast Pennsylvania was. The mountains aren't huge here, but they are blue and hazy, and get The Hobbit's "Misty Mountains" song adequately stuck in your head.***

Maybe it's just me, but I'll take any bit of the mountains I can get

Anyhow, I also got to drive through tunnels. WHEEEEEEEE! (I honestly love them). After the fun of the tunnels, I had to stop and take a pretty picture of the backdrop:

It's hard to capture the size/scale from a parking lot, but what can you do. It's still pretty though.

So, anyway, after miles of driving (and lots of BBC news), I finally pulled into a drizzly Lancaster. I met my host Tom Becker (check out his cool ministry here), and then made myself at home.
I spent the next day exploring Lancaster with my friend Claire and her precious son, John. I sort of forgot (for real) that my phone has a camera until too late. As it was, I only got a few pics of historic, downtown Lancaster before it was time to go to the book signing. Here are few of the cool pictures I did take:

The Shippen House

That door though . . .

After the wandering, we ate a fabulous dinner and walked to the signing.The book signing was at an amazing old bank turned performance venue, the Lancaster Trust

Image taken from DiscoverLancaster.com

The talk was by Gregory Thornbury, president of Kings College in New York (and one of the book editors), and it was fantastic! From the fifth commandment to the Doctor's genesis, Mr. Thornbury was enthusiastic, varied, and a great speaker. He might have gotten me into Doctor Who if I wasn't already.

After the talk was the most exciting part: the book signing! At the store where I work, I've handled my fair share of these, from setting up to selling an author's books, but this was my first time on the other side of the table. It felt amazing, and I can't wait to do it again. Though the book has fourteen essays, there were only a handful of us in attendance, but it was still great. That's me in the center with the book (yellow leggings!).

The book is full of fascinating essays on everything from Prayer to Temptation to the Sanctity of Life (mine!), explored through Doctor Who. It's called Bigger on the Inside: Christianity and Doctor Who, and it's published through Square Halo books. You can read more about it here. You can also check out their cool blog Christianity and Doctor Who.

I am now an officially published author. How is that for a weekend?

Footnotes:

*Erin is a funny, talented writer. Follow her.

**March 26th, 2015 was a significant date because (drumroll) it was 10 years ago that day that the 9th Doctor and the reboot catapulted the show into the 21st century.

***I think that song is one thing book people, movie people, and people who had their dad sing it to them in a made-up tune all agreed on. Every version I've heard sounds a lot like this.