urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:aparkeradams or, How the Hell Did I Wake Up Here? aparkeradams 2008-12-01T02:42:06Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:aparkeradams:2500 2008-12-01T02:42:06Z 2008-12-01T02:42:06Z So... I haven't been around much lately... life got complicated, k? But here i have a previously typed (as in a few minutes ago) bit for all to enjoy. If any of you also read my blog on MySpace or Facebook, this will be a crosspost... <br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br />****<br />In 2005, I began an insane journey. I started to write more. See, there's this 'thing' called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and although it had been running for a few years before I joined in, I kept forgetting. I knew about it, but remember too late to join in each year. <br /><br />For the uninitiated: NaNo is a personal journey. Your goal is to write a 50,000 word novel (short novel at least) in 30 days, the span of November. It averages out to 1,667 words per day. There are no prizes, no cash, just personal glory and lots of bragging rights!<br /><br />Am I nuts?<br /><br />Possibly...<br /><br />I did it easily in 2005, of course, I wasn't working outside my home that year. 2006 was tough. I procrastinated (my usual M.O.) for the first half of the month and then kicked my own butt into gear... but coming up 11,500 words short the morning of the final day. I pulled through. I won that year. Sounds tough. Well, it was. I don't honestly remember much of that day... except lots of coffee, a few naps and my timer going off (I use it because of my ADD). <br /><br />Last year, 2007, was also tough. I had less on my final day than the previous year, but honestly, for the month of December, I could not remember what my novel was about. I remembered writing it, but not what I wrote. Sad, in a way. It wasn't bad. I've gone back and looked at it. it could be publishable someday... with a LOT of work. <br /><br />That brings me to this year. I went into it with friends telling me I really should reconsider doing it this time. Naturally I didn't listen to them. See, I was just coming off of a major illness (Cellulitis, look it up, nasty stuff), with a week in the hospital and over a month off work after that to get close to 100%. Don't even ask about the meds I had to take. Really. Don't. And then there was OryCon. A local science fiction convention. I was part of Opening Ceremonies, part of Programming (figuring out what panels and who to put on them), doing the compilation and editing of the Pocket Program (handy mini-guide to the Con), and last but certainly not least, RUNNING the Green Room for the guests (think: teacher's lounge). That all happened the week before Thanksgiving. Yes, during NaNoWriMo. <br /><br />Am I nuts?<br /><br />Most definitely... maybe.<br /><br />By the time I was done with the convention i had all of 20,000 words... out of 50,000. And a week to go. Then I got sick. Again. Three colds within three months. I'd rather not try for a fourth, thank you. So, as I sneezed, coughed, finished stashing things away from the Green Room (I have enough Chinet to run three more years of Green Room), and botched another attempt at turkey (must monitor the crock pot, darn it, well, I have a ton of it left for Turkey Tetrazzini), I managed a few thousand more words... well, 30,000 to be exact. At 5:30pm on November 30th, 2008, I finished my fourth NaNoWriMo novel. <br /><br />Am I nuts?<br /><br />Most definitely, positively... YES!!!<br /><br />But it is well worth it. See, for years I had struggled with the idea of doing anything longer than short stories... I couldn't wrap my brain cells around a longer story arc. Now, not only do I have two single novels well on their way to completion, but I have two thirds of a trilogy. Yes, a trilogy... three books. The second volume of which I completed earlier this evening. Whenever I tell people basic story plots of any of my novels... people seem interested. I hope that interest is genuine. I do intend to publish, one way or another. after some much needed editing on all four.<br /><br />So, thus closes yet another month of insanity. I am proud, once again, of my accomplishments... will i do it again next year?<br /><br />Most definitely. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:aparkeradams:2124 2006-11-02T17:33:40Z 2006-11-02T17:33:40Z Hello by Evanescence I'm back to some sense of normalcy... HAH!!!<br /><br />Lessee... I'm working roughly 30 hours a week, volunteering at the local shelter (kitties... MUST RESIST THE CUTENESS!!!) about 5 hours a week, go to acupuncture, all while trying to keep up my web design (not doing so well at the moment), starting my first quilt (shut up, it's one of the casualties of working in a fabric store), and doing NaNoWriMo again this year... I did the midnight write kick-off here in Portland and it damn near killed me the next morning as I had to work... I think, after sleeping nearly 12 hours last night, I'm doing much better... <br /><br />Oh yeah, I still have to send in my inspection certificate to the dealership for the new vehicle (Van Crisium died during my road trip south a month ago, I now have an Explorer) ... find a second job, clean up my infernal apartment so I can start dancing again (need exercise badly, and I miss dancing), locate what's left of my sanity, etc, etc, etc... can't forget Orycon, for which I've promised one of my signed photos of Nana Visitor for our raffle (although it would probably bring lots of cash in an auction)<br /><br />All that said, my NaNo book this year is sci-fi... it'll be more serious than Thyme Warped last year, but there are already elements of humor in it... and I've barely broken the surface... unfortunately, I've gotten caught up in the MC's history and need to STOP THAT so I can get the story moving... it'll go faster then... <br /><br />I have an hour now to get dressed, write a bit, and a couple other mundane things... <br /><br />I'll probably be more active on here this month due to NaNo... <br /><br />I'm going to win... I HAVE to win... I mistakenly already painted 2006 in gold on my laptop... meant to paint 2005... whoops. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:aparkeradams:2027 2006-09-04T20:36:48Z 2006-09-04T20:36:48Z Watson, Groban, Bocelli, Frangoulis, on my iPod I've been playing with RSS feeds and trying to get them on one of my sites (all as a test for a client of mine). I think I have success. Now I'll start an LJ for him and format everything and then send him the methods he can post. I'm happy and he will be as soon as this is up and running for him as well. So I have this LJ (aparkeradams) feeding to one of the WiP indexes the companion website, <a href="http://www.aparkeradams.com">http://www.aparkeradams.com</a>. I'm focusing on his site for right now, but once it's done, i'll work on a couple others and then my own bevvy of sites. Maybe I can even be convinced to switch over to that index before next weekend. <br /><br />One of my wolfeangel sites is officially dead, and i'm not renewing. It's one that I didn't really tell folks about because it was my personal site. I'm thinking of turning wolfeangel.net back into my personal site and making the aforementioned companion site to this blog as my "writing" site. it's either that or buy another d*** domain name and use that... I'm trying to avoid that. I have five as it stands. I think my first plan will work fine. <br /><br />Hi. My name is Amanda, and I'm a domain name addict. <br /><br />That's all for now. I promise to write more, I swear. I've been busy. Movie nights, potlucks, crafting parties, job hunting, etc... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:aparkeradams:1062 2006-04-07T15:21:34Z 2006-09-04T20:54:59Z well, now with two LJ names, I've decided to make the Great_Penguini one my random silliness place. This one may still have 'friends only' content that isn't literary-related... <br /><br />I guess what I'd like to do here is post short freewrites and such... and also when I do NaNoWriMo again this year, I'll also post tidbits of whatever I'm writing. But that won't be until November. I'm also in dire need of sitting down at the Dinosaur (the laptop) and doingsome more writing. I still haven't finished the novel. I've been slacking lately. *slaps hand* BAD ME! BAD ME!<br /><br />I'm just so wrapped up in planning/worrying/packing for the move in TWO MONTHS, that my mind just isn't willing to sit down and write. I'm sure once I power Dino back up, the creative juices will start going again... that reminds me, I need to type up my newest poetry. Damn. the group is on Sunday. now, if only I can find the pad of paper I wrote them on... <br /><br />I have plenty of time to pack... but I feel like I need to do it now, or the weeks will get away from me. Then I'll be in the same situation I was in back in Syracuse: the day before the move and NOTHING is packed. Nearly all the books are packed, except the paperbacks. These will go into a larger box, and they should be able to fit in one big box. <br /><br />If anyone here wants my homemade paperback shelves, let me know. there's two of them, each with two rows for paperbacks. they ideally mount to the wall, but can be set on top of something else. One is painted blue, the other one is still unfinished pine. Crude, but can hold a fair number of books. my other bookcases are coming with me. I'm mostly trying to minimize how much the movers have to pack up, in terms of furniture. those paperback bookshelves are easily made. No fancy carpentry there. If i so choose, I can make new ones out there. <br /><br />Okay... back to whatever I *should* be doing. I really don't want to pack up the hall closet yet, but I need the space for the boxes... grrr.