The novel continues! I'm up to 18,503 words now, which, for those of you who are counting, is a little over a day ahead of schedule. So that's good. The novel is evolving in odd, unpredictably interesting ways, which is why I'm able to be ahead a little bit.

On Sunday, I took a class at Richard Hugo House http://www.hugohouse.org/ from Jeff VanderMeer called "Exploring Your Booklife." The lessons were taken from his new book, "Booklife" which talks about how to balance one's writing life with other activities, as well as how to meet your writing goals. It was a medium-sized class, about 7-8 of us, which was good, because that way everyone had a chance to ask all the questions they wanted. Although we did some writing in the morning, it's the first class I've taken at Hugo House that wasn't craft oriented. That said, it was extremely helpful. Yesterday, I made myself a list of goals for 2010, including steps to take in order to reach said goals. So often, it seems like I'm either overly optimistic on when I'll finish projects, or I make myself arbitrary deadlines that don't mean anything. Now I think I've got a better grasp on what I want, and what I need to do to get there, so maybe I won't feel like I'm floundering around quite so much.

Well, time to figure out what's for dinner and get a few haiku things done. I'm still hoping to get to work on "Pawn" tonight. On Sunday night, I'd just finished getting ready for bed when an idea about Lucian's past popped into my head, so I opened my notebook and jotted it down on the bathroom counter. My muse must have seen that as an open invitation, because then she threw a few more ideas at me, and before I knew it, I was sitting on the bathroom floor, back against the cupboard, writing page after page of backstory. Some 45 minutes later, I finally exhausted that train of thought and finally went to bed. Even when the timing's weird like that, I really can't complain when the inspiration hits me.

Oh, one last thing: if you're a fan of Pink Martini, check out their new album, "Splendor in the Grass." I've been listening to it over and over, laughing and dancing around the kitchen, much to the cat's chagrin.

Yep, it's official. I've started my novel over. It was inevitable, I'm afraid. I mean, any time I spend half the afternoon outside planting over a hundred spring bulbs when I should be writing must mean that there's something seriously wrong with the story. So, having dirtied my hands and cleared my head, I came back inside, warmed up a bowl of leftover jasmine rice, and had that "aha!" moment that I've been waiting for. I could almost hear the door slam as my muse walked back into the house, waved her arms in the air, and announced, "I'm back! Did you miss me?"

So my word count has gone from 5,000ish to 1,004, but it's all good. I am not trying to write another fantasy novel. (Working on one--"Pawn"--is quite enough!) Instead, I am now writing a haiku novel. Or rather, a novel with haiku in it. And haiku poets. (No, they're no one you know.) And that's all I'm going to tell you, because that's all I know, and frankly, you aren't going to get to read it anyway. (Sorry.) So I'm glad I finally made the choice to bail and start fresh. I feel like a weight has been lifted from me, which may seem odd since I'm now 5,000 words behind for the day, but just being able to look forward to writing tomorrow morning means a lot. Why spend 30 days with a novel you hate?

Anyway, time to answer a few much-neglected emails and then to let my wrists rest for the night. Typing on my Eee PC is an interesting experience, and while I am getting used to the smaller keyboard, it just makes me love my Macbook all the more.

Oh, and did I explain why I'm using my EeePC (aka Immelman) for NaNoWriMo this year when I've got a perfectly wonderful Macbook? Well, I haven't used poor little Immelman for much since I got him, so I figured now is his chance to shine (yes, my laptops apparently have genders...don't ask). Anyway, since Immelman is considerably more convenient to tote around to cafes and libraries and such, he gets the honor of being my official NaNo laptop this year. It's also my way of separating my NaNo noveling from my "serious" work on "Pawn." Yes, it's confusing. Just trust me. It all makes sense in my head.

Why Immelman as a name? Go watch a few episodes of the anime show "Last Exile." You can find it on Netflix. The animation is gorgeous, and I loved Neo's character, but the ending of the series...well...let's just say someday I'm gonna write a better, more satisfying one.

Good night, all.

Maybe someday I'll be smart enough to prepare for NaNoWriMo. Not by plotting out my story or characters, but by simply getting in the right mindset to begin 30 days of frenzied writing. In previous years, I've been frantically finishing up other projects before changing gears and launching into NaNoing. This year, my intent was to do that and be done with this draft of "Pawn" before Nov. 1st rolled around.

Fail.

While Russ & I spent last week relaxing in Port Townsend, I did not get more than about 10 minutes of work done on "Pawn." Before that, it was getting ready for the Seabeck Retreat, going to said wonderful retreat, and basking in the aftermath. As a result, I was still only halfway through this draft of "Pawn" when the proverbial clock struck 12:00 on Nov. 1st.

That said, I have been dutifully working on my NaNo novel since then and just cleared 5,000 words a little while ago. This would be worth celebrating for several reasons, the first of which is that we're into day 3 of NaNoWriMo and I have yet to scrap this version and start over. The second is that 5,000 words by noon of the 3rd day means that I'm right on track to finish it early this year (before Thanksgiving, is my goal). And the third is that I'm finally making good use of my little laptop (Immelman).

Unfortunately, there's just one tiny problem: I'm not in love with my novel. Sure, it's in 1st person present tense with an elf, a winged guy, and even haiku in it, but for some reason, it's just not exciting me. Could I write 45,000 more words of it? Maybe. But if I'm not enjoying it, if I'm not itching to sit down and work on it at least some of the time, then something's fundamentally wrong.

In going back through my word count sheets for the previous 4 NaNo novels, I determined that Day 3 & 5,000 words is not the latest that I've restarted a novel. In 2006, I scrapped all 6,668 words on Day 4 and started over, somehow managing to finish 3 days early with over 51,000 words. So it's not impossible. Not recommended, but not impossible.

So am I going to stick with this start and grind through the mediocrity, or am I going to jump ship like I always do (okay, except for year 1, but I started that one a day late & on a complete whim)? I'm hoping that a cheddar, mustard, lettuce sandwich and a cookie will help me decide. Stay tuned!

Is anyone else trying to figure out where the hell the month of September went? I am. My calendar says I've been busy, but I think I've been TOO busy! More writing, that's what I need to balance out my life. You laugh, but I'm serious. I love going to events & going on adventures, but I am still woefully behind on my revision of "Pawn." Still, as much as I love disappearing into the world of my story, reality does need to be tended to now & then.

That said, I did get over 2 pages written this afternoon, which makes me feel good. (When stuck on a part in "Pawn," just add Nivalis & everything just gets much easier & fun to write.) With the return of the rain, tomorrow should be an excellent day to stay home, nestle down in my chair with an afghan blanket & copious cups of tea, & write equally copious pages . . . at least if I get a decent night's sleep. So boa noite! I will put up some photos from last weekend's South Seattle meet-up with the Port Townsend haiku folks soon.

In spite of the fact that it's a beautiful last day of summer (as opposed to pouring down rain, which it did much of yesterday), there are two pots of vegetable soup on the stove, simmering away. Since I'm heading down to Salem tomorrow, that should keep Russ fed for a few nights, plus leave plenty to put in the freezer.

Last Tuesday evening, I had a fantabulous time at a signing/reading given by Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi at the Redmond Borders. I've been wanting to meet Holly in particular for ages and nearly tried to figure out how to get myself to Vancouver, B.C. a number of months ago to go see her (and Cassandra Clare) at a signing there. But this was great. Both she and Tony are such warm, funny people. For some reason, it always surprises me when I discover that writers I have admired for years are, in fact, people, as opposed to untouchable gods. I had the same experience with Charles deLint last Fall at Hugo House. Holly and Tony chatted about the Spiderwick books and how they collaborated on them, including their sources of inspiration (old bestieries, fairytales, etc.), then Tony drew some pictures, which was great fun. They also talked about their involvement with and opinions of the Spiderwick movie, which was interesting. Then they signed books, as many as one had. I bought two there and brought two with me, and had a pleasant chat with Holly while she cheerfully signed them. It was truly a delightful evening and I left there glowing.

The next day, I read the final "Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles" book, a little sad that it was the last, but satisfied that it ended how it did. If you haven't read the series yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy them (as evidenced by yours truly). Now I'm reading "Tithe," which I credit as the book that got me started down the Urban Fantasy path. (Followed closely by Charles deLint's "The Onion Girl.") I also just finished reading "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare and am eager to start the second of her Mortal Instruments books, "City of Ashes," which I read a couple years ago. "City of Glass," her third in the series, came out this year and I am very keen to read it before I accidentally find out anything that happens in it from Cassandra's tweets.

So that's my book/author news for the day. Oh, one final thing: I'm going to Wordstock in Portland on the weekend of Oct. 10-11th. http://www.wordstockfestival.com/#/page_id=110/ It sounds like a ridiculous amount of fun!

Well, time to check the soup and clean up the house a bit before I head down to Salem tomorrow. The biggest challenge will be getting some writing done while I'm there, but I'm determined to make it happen. I've been going strong all weekend and although I've hit a sticky patch in Ch. 5, I shall wrestle my way through it on the train tomorrow and all will be well.

Well, with just 42 days left to finish this draft of "The Pawn of Faery" (formerly known as "Nullum Desiderium: Book One"), I am making decent progress. I'm up to 66,746 words and am confident that it will be easy to bump that up past 80,000. I'm liking this version even more than the previous rough draft, so that's good. If anyone wants to be a first reader, by the way, just give a shout and I can supply you with pages. It's a bit darker this time around, but that just makes it all that more delightful to write (and hopefully read).

Last weekend, though, I didn't get much writing done because I was at the Haiku Northwest table at Aki Matsuri. It was fun, but exhausting (I'm not used to being "on" for so long). Here I am at the table. The colored sheets on the wall are haiku from members in our group. If you'd like to read some, you can follow this link: http://sites.google.com/site/haikunorthwest/poems-by-members



I didn't get many haiku written that weekend, either, but I did have fun watching folks. We were right next to the Sakura-Con table, so we got to see the interesting characters who passed by there.



Well, Belle is meowing at me, reminding me that my tea is going cold, so I'd best get on with writing. I'm hoping to finish Ch. 4 today and move on to Ch. 5. I shall try to be more diligent about updating these postings. My life's just not terribly exciting, but I shall see what adventures I can have this weekend to change that.