Monday, November 30, 2009

from the "home sweet home" dept.

Moved into my new place. 23rd floor. Commanding view of the west. Free WiFi (so far). Goodies include washer/dryer and a dishwasher. The place is rather barren without furnishings. Those are to come. As are pictures.

Please stand by.

Cheers!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

from the "the end" dept.

Tonight, after 28 days and spewing forth 52,027 words, I typed the final two: The End.

I already have an idea for a second book, but it will have to wait until I finish revising and editing the first one.

I never thought I could write something so long. Of course, it's really a first draft full of bad grammar, awkward structure, and plot holes big enough to drive a truck through -- but it's mine.

I also finished with two days to spare!

On the list of life's 'to do' list, I can now cross off: Write a book.

Cheers!

Tropical Depression


Tropical Depression
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

I've written over 51,000 words, so, technically, I've written my first book in a month. However, I'm not quite at the end -- which I'll have to do before the end of November...

Monday, November 23, 2009

from the "write, right?" dept.

I'm now over 47,000 words deep into my novel. And I have about a week to go before the end-of-the-month deadline to reach 50,000 words.

Trouble is I'm still more than 3,000 words away from wrapping it all up -- so this first novel is going to chime in at more than 50,000 words.

Who'd have thunk?

Cheers!

Writey Writerson

Saturday, November 21, 2009

from the "words don't fail me now" dept.

As of today (Saturday, Nov 21), my novel is over 37,000 words. 13,000 to go. And 13,000 doesn't seem like it will be enough to wrap up the story. We'll see.

I've taken two days off from writing but remain ahead of the average word count. Hope to slam off a few thousand today before I drive to Calgary. My pal Wendy has some household furnishings she's lending me... so I'm picking them up this weekend. This way I'll have something to move into my house with next Sunday.

Work is going well... settling in to the groove. And Edmonton is fine, although it snowed this morning. Blerk.

And so it goes...

Cheers!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

from the "man of many words" dept.

Today is day 14 of National Novel Writing Month and (surprise, surprise) I'm already past the half-way point -- a day early! As I write this, I'm over 28,000 words -- which is nearly 5000 ahead of schedule. Yay, me!

What I'm written certainly isn't great, but there is now a decent plot, a few sub-plots and characters that I think are interesting. And I know how it ends!

Meanwhile, I've finished my second week at my new job. 50 to go. But who's counting! The weather has been bearable, if much colder than I'm used to. And, so far, no snow.

And I have a place to move into on Dec 1. Looking forward to having an actual home for the first time in a very long time. Dec 2006? Sheesh!

That's enough writing for one day. Time to go exploring!

Cheers!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

from the "yee haw" dept.

Greetings from Calgary where I'm just wrapping up two days of training. The last few weeks have flown by and at times I can't quite believe I'm back in Canada and immersed in work again.

As of this morning, I've written more than 18,500 words of my 50,000 word novel. I'm actually ahead of the game, and hope to bang off another couple of thousand before I leave Calgary and return to Edmonton this afternoon.

I'm getting closer to having the housing dilemma solved. I should have word on that by the end of the week. It looks like I'll be living in a downtown Edmonton condo. I can walk to work, so no need for a car -- at least initially. And several people have offered to lend me all the bits and pieces I'll need to furnish it -- everything from forks to a bed.

I'll be without a car as of Saturday night, unless I decide to extend my rental. It's certainly handy, but expensive. There are some tax benefits, however.

At least the weather has been nice. No snow yet and lots of sun. So far, so good.

Cheers!

Thursday, November 05, 2009

from the "nanowrimo" dept.


It's day five of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). To be on track for finishing a 50,000 word first draft, I need to write 1666 words a day. Sounds easy. It isn't.

At midnight tonight I should have written 8330 words. My count as of this morning: 8337! I've got a 7 word cushion!

And so it goes...

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

from the "bedtime story" dept.

You'd think that the biggest thing in life right now would be settling into Edmonton and the new job. But you'd be wrong.

No, the biggest thing right now is my participation in the National Novel Writing Month. The idea: write a 50,000 word first draft in 30 days.

I've been at it since November 1. And as of early on November 4, I'm doing OK. The average daily word count one needs to crank out is 1666. I'm at 5200 or so... which is just a little ahead of schedule. I need to do another 1400 today.

It's hard letting go and not worrying about editing as I write. But that's the point. It's a brain dump.

Other than the novel, I've been searching for a new home. Nothing to report there. But all is good. Day three of work begins shortly. Day four of novel writing begins right now.

Cheers!