I saw the sign...

"and it opened up my eyes I saw the sign, life is demanding without understanding..."

Oops. Ok, so no, not that sign. I feel like I spent all weekend trying to read signs, though. Especially on the way home from Scranton yesterday.

"Babe, did you see that sign? Perkins was at the last exit."

"No, it's ok, there's another one coming in 3 exits from now."

"Wait a minute, was that the sign for Hagerstown?"

"Yeah, but that's ok, there are another 8 billion signs for Hagerstown...but we hate them. We boycott Hagerstown."

"Why?"

"Because their signs say 'Roy Rogers at this exit' when what they really mean is 'Drive 20 miles away from the exit and you'll get to a sign that directs you to Roy Rogers.' Fuck You, Hagerstown!"

Anyway, it was an awesome weekend. I feel I have some very close, good friends and that makes me happy. I just hate that we're all so far apart.

meanwhile, I need to figure out when we can visit Texas again.

Back to work now, trying to not look too bored and find a new job. Most of my day is just me browsing the net while waiting for Mark to get in. Then we talk a bit, go get lunch, talk some more, look at the servers, see if there's stuff we can improve, then go home at the end of the day. Mark makes me not hate my job 100%. He's awesome. :)

I am now down to the wire, with only 9 days left until I can start writing my NaNo novel. Shit.

I have no story idea. The one I had went bye-bye long ago and left me with a miserable shell of a character. No story, no plot, no real characters. WTF? What am I supposed to do with this? I need inspiration.

Everything Old Is New Again

It's time to NaNo again. National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo as we crazy NaNo people call it) comes around once every November to suck me in. 30 days after I begin, I'll have a shiny new novel (50 thousand words or more) and a sense of accomplishment...not to mention a nice little Pdf printout saying what a "Winner!" I am.

Usually about this time (just under two weeks away from the writing frenzy) I usually have a bunch of ideas running through my head, along with some strong contenders for main characters. Things don't start getting hairy for me until week 2 of NaNo.

Last year, I wasn't able to complete my novel. I was a new-ish mom with a son in the hospital for a few days. (gotta love RSV season) This year, I'm more determined than ever. I must win. I must complete my novel. Or at the bare minimum, I must hit 50k.

So tonight I've been searching through the NaNo site, trying to find inspiration. I usually end up looking through the Adopt-A-Plot section and finding ideas that sound good, but not quite my speed. Usually something sparks an idea, though. Tonight, it sparked weirdness. Screw the idea of a plot or story-line. What I need is a group of characters. So I'm holding interviews. That's right, I'm holding interviews for people who don't exist. (now you see why the blog is titled the way it is)

I'm going to interview, by way of Word documents and eLouai dolls, several candidates for main characters and choose my players. Once I've 'hired' them on, we'll start to discuss what type of story they'd like to participate in. (oooh what kind of writer am I? Ending in a preposition like that...)

Along with that, I have my usual rituals. I'll be watching Buffy, starting with season 1, skipping the craptacular episodes and getting to Band Candy (my favorite episode) around the time that week 2 approaches. That's the time when I need it most. I need to be able to play that episode on repeat a few thousand times, get out of the second week rut, and move forward into week 3.

I'll support my caffeine habit whenever the mood strikes, preferably with Obsidian coffee from Caribou Cafe. I'll indulge in some Asian candies and treats, along with the typical writing fare. (yanno...veggies and dip, Chex mix, the occasional Little Debbie Snack Cake...) Lots of ice water to keep hydrated, and lots of distractions such as web sites, forums, and video games. These are the things that keep me writing.

Smoking used to be a writing staple. Now, I guess I'll just fill that void with long walks outside. Not quite the same, but better for me, for sure.

I'll enter into my NaNo month full of self-doubt, frustration, and a sliver of hope. I'll come out of NaNo with over 50 thousand words, a partial novel, a shiny new Pdf saying I 'won', and a feeling of slight accomplishment.

Now I have to go. There are characters to interview and the first one is getting bitchy.