Nightly Noveling

Now Playing: AVATAR FILM SCORE by James Horner
Just Read: THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE--Enjoyed more than I thought I might going in. I have read all The Dark Tower series and thought opening at back up was a risky play, but I should have known to trust a master. Very fun and very inspiring.
Reading Now: STONE OF TEARS by Terry Goodkind

I am taking part in NaNoWriMo, where participants try their best to write 50,000 words of a new novel from Nov. 1 through Dec. 1. It's about the halfway point (yesterday) so I had to have 25,000 in the bank to be on track. I'm proud to say I touched 30,000.

The novel is about a girl who lives on a generation ship heading for a new planet. As the story opens, she seems to be the only one not thrilled about Deceleration Day, which begins the countdown to landing one year away. Seeking solace among the many catwalks and narrow maintenance corridors hidden throughout the ship, she accidentally overhears something that gives her chills--a plot to sabotage the ship and ensure it never reaches its destination.

I work night shift at a hospital 3 nights a week, and since I'm currently residing across the country from my home, there isn't much to do when I sleep all day on my days off. It's worked out--few distractions, few interruptions, few temptations to get away from writing and do anything else. Just what I need to accomplish 50,000 words in a month.

NaNoWriMo is a pretty cool concept, and they've done a great job with the online community. I'm a fan of the pep talks from writers I've read and admired for a long time. One recently spoke about "The Middle" and I was reminded of the Jimmy Eat World song. That's where I'm at now--the middle of the ride, and things seems a bit slow, a bit like wading through mud (or perhaps quicksand) with the end far away, not even in sight.

"Trudging. You know? Trudging, to trudge: the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing in life except the impulse to simply . . . soldier on." -Chaucer ;)

That's me here with this novel, not really knowing how I'm going to get from here to the end.

Wait. Actually, I do. One word at a time.