Novel In Review!

HeLLO!

So I am having a nice cup of hazelnut coffee after almost a week on coffee detox. Mmm. I missed that over caffeinated kick, but I needed to let myself recover a bit from the gallons of coffee I downed while finishing my novel.

That's right. I finished my novel!

I pulled it off--and with 3 whole hours to spare! Here's my certificate to prove it:

{Yay!}

 Let's hear it for a comeback! I started basically on day 14. That, my friends, was a bad idea. If you start at the beginning of the month, writing 1600 words a day or so, finishing on time is totally doable. Trying to catch up was a feat--especially when you throw in Thanksgiving week. In the end I made it to 30,000 words by day 27. That sounds pretty good until you realize that it left me with 20,000 words to write in THREE DAYS.

People told me to give up...but I was determined to finish--or at least go down typing. I dug deep, threw in some pointless stories, drank a lot of coffee, and almost went blind from staring at a computer screen--but I made it!

You copy and paste your novel onto the NaNoWriMo website for them to validate that you have at least 50,000 words when you are finished. Turns out Microsoft Word's word-counter is not quite the same. All finished, I had to go back in and add another 300 words to make it to the NaNoWriMo's word-counter's 50,000. (Those 300 words were really good examples of life altering prose, let me tell you.)

I finally made it though. My favorite part was that once you are validated as a winner (aka, finisher), a video pops up with their staff all yelling--You did it! They all clap and cheer, and considering I was sitting in Panera all by myself when I finished, it was a lot of fun.

Now to answer some of your questions:

When can I read your novel? Never! OK...maybe one day. But not any time soon.
When are you going to publish it? Never! (See above.)
Why can't we read it? My novel is "finished," true. But it is a draft. A rough draft. A makes burlap feel like Egyptian cotton kind of rough draft.
Why did you write a book no one is ever going to read? Well, because it was fun. Fun in a painful-lose-your-eyesight kind of way, sure, but fun nonetheless. I like a challenge. Plus, I always wanted to write a novel, and now I have. I can also now tell people I am a novelist. (Which is fun, no?) Finally, I learned a ton. Oh yeah, and its like a month's worth of free therapy.
What did you end up doing with your main character? As you saw here I got a little stuck and decided to take some advice to "Let the freak flag fly." I decided to have my main character just do something fun. Well, in a way that I never understood was possible before I started writing the novel, she refused. Yeah, I know. I did stumble upon the best plot device of all time (as far as I am concerned at least).
What is this "best plot device of all time"? (Spoiler alert!) I took another piece of advice to "Put your characters through hell" and sent mine into a coma.
Does writing a novel make you feel like God? In a weird way, kind of. When my characters refused to take my suggestions and ended up surprising me at times I had a nerdy discussion with myself about open theism. (Shout out to Dr. Stiver!).
What did you end up naming your main character? Yeah. She never got a name. See the "rough draft" bit above.
What's next? Who knows...

OK, that's my novel in review! Check out their website for more info so you can join in next November. (There are also a ton of great pep talks on there, too!)

Finally, I give you all permission to now answer the question Who is your favorite novelist? with my name.  : )

Progress Report

Things have been a little quiet here on the blog lately. What have I been up to? Well, I've been busy cooking butter laced dishes for Thanksgiving, visiting with friends and loved ones in from out of town, and getting very, very far behind on my novel. 

Don't get me wrong though. I have been writing almost every day. I even got 3,000 words written on Thanksgiving day! I even kinda-sorta sorted out my boring plot. The thing is, starting basically on day 14 was a worse idea than I originally thought. Not only have I been struggling to get past that original (ginormous) hurdle, I have had to try to make up for the days I have missed here and there in the last couple weeks. 

The NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) website has some fun graphs and stats set up to help you monitor your progress. I say they are fun graphs...but they stopped being fun a while ago. I am still very far away from where I should be and there are precious few days left in November and the words per day number needed to finish on time is creeping higher and higher... So, what is the plan you ask?

Throw in the towel? Try again next year?

Nope. I'm not giving up. Not yet at least. 

As of this morning I had a whopping 20,000 words to write before midnight on Wednesday. (You know, just 2/5ths of the entire novel.) I am not deterred though. I'm still pre-tired and just as determined as ever to complete this unreadable piece of literature before the arbitrary deadline. 

I've dug deep into some of my old motivational and writing strategies and I'm proud to say that at the moment I'm already at 35,000 words--meaning 5000 words written today (a record for me this month). My eyes are tired of looking at a computer screen and I'm tired of sitting, but I am pressing on. 

Today's writing blitz strategies have included: 

• Self-imposed word count requirements before I can eat/have another cup of coffee/get up to go to the bathroom. (So far nothing makes me write faster than really having to pee.)
• Coffee. I just took the last sip of the fourth cup. 
• A place away from my house with just enough movement to keep me from getting restless, but not distracted--Panera is today's winner! (And three cheers for Panera's bottomless coffee cup!)
• Placing a singing quartet in my story. A quartet which likes to sing songs in their entirety. Lots of songs in their entirety. 
• Lots of obscure details about Marco Polo (hooray for wikipedia!). 
• A character that likes to read passages from the Lonely Planet. 
• My patented combination of water/coffee/chocolate--it keeps you hydrated, caffeinated and happy!

Yeah. As you can see I have no shame. You can also see that you can stop asking me if you can read my novel when it's done--believe me, you won't want to. I don't care though, I am going to finish this thing! Even if my main character has to pull up a chair in the library and start reading passages from the encyclopedia. 

OK, I'm taking my last bathroom break and diving back into my story. Wish me luck and feel free to leave me suggestions for the next 15,000 words!

NaNoWriMo

So you know how I was talking about studying for the GRE a while back? Yeah. Well, I changed my mind. (Surprise, surprise. I know!)


What am I doing now, you ask?

I'm writing a novel. 

(I love how when I say that in person it garners a round of uproarious laughter.) 

OK, so here is the deal: For those of you who are uninformed, November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, if you will). People all over the world sign up to write an entire 50,000 word novel in the month of November. I love the idea and the challenge of it. I decided way back in Belgrade, as I browsed through a bookstore on a rainy evening that I would give novel writing a shot this November. Even though I already have a book with my name on the cover, writing a novel has always been on my bucket list. This seemed like a fun way to spend the month!

Until I decided to study for the GRE, and well, when you are learning 100 math concepts and memorizing Greek and Latin roots you don't have a lot of time for novel writing. I thought, maybe next year. That is until I put the whole PhD idea on pause...

And now, it's novel time! Why not? At least I'll have something to show for myself a the end of the month. Besides, it's incredibly fun to tell people you are writing a novel. I started a whole 9 days late, but hey, I like a good challenge!

So far, it hasn't been too bad. But, in what seems happens around the 5-10,000 word mark, last night I was so sick of my main character. My plot was boring me. You know what is the worst though? Well, my main character is mainly me. The plot? It's pretty much my life.

Why I decided to do that is beyond me--I have no idea what to do with my life at the moment, so how am I supposed to move my character along? I'm much better at solving problems that aren't my own though, so what did I do? I drank 4 cups of coffee, got a piece of scratch paper and let the ideas flow.

Nobody's actually going to read this, so I might as well have some fun, right? So, just for fun here are the random things I'm contemplating for my character (and...may or may not be contemplating for myself):

• Alpaca farming (Oprah gave me that one!)
• Move to Haiti
• Learn to make coconut flan
• Marry a crown prince
• Become a mail carrier
• Be a professional canned-laughter laugher
• Go to the circus
• Fortune cookie fortune writer
• hot air balloon racer
• quilt sewer
• befriend monks
• turn Nancy Drew on her neighbors
• Road trip!
• become a travel agent
• set more things on fire
• move to the north pole
• get a grant doing research somewhere
• sail the Mississippi
• start a band
• learn to dance flamenco
• volunteer at a hospital?/prison?/nursing home? and meet some interesting people
• deliver flowers
• give myself an education in the public library
• write a lot of postcards 
• raise armadillos

See? The novel is looking much better. I'm at 10,000 words and things are about to get interesting!

PS. Want to join me?!? It's not too late! (And as you can tell from the list above, no skill or grammar is required.) I know some people who have barely started, and next week is Thanksgiving--lots of time to write folks! Check out NaNoWriMo.org for more info (and graphs and pep talks!)

PPS. Friends are giving me even more fun ideas! Feel free to comment with more ideas! : )

Finally!

A break from the norm because, well, I'm in a celebratory mood!

This week I've been in Abilene catching up with friends and former coworkers/professors/ students/roommates. I also caught up on the progress of a project I haven't thought about in a while.

Years ago I signed on to help out on an editing project which aimed to turn a giant stack of photocopied excerpts into a book containing a collection of T. B. Maston's writings. It was only supposed to last a semester, but, of course, it stretched on. I spent part of one summer typing up the articles into 749 single spaced pages of text (and also developing a case of self-diagnosed carpal tunnel!) and the duration of another summer hunting down copyrights. I spent hours upon hours reading, editing and hauling the thing around. It was not always an entertaining job, but I started to really love T.B. Maston.

Maybe it was just a byproduct of my stressed and sleep deprived state of mind at the time, but after so much time working on his writings I began to feel like I knew the guy (who died in 1988). In fact, it was my respect for Maston--who was an early supporter of racial equality in the volatile mess of racial tensions in the South, who along with his wife lovingly cared for their severely handicapped son in their home and, even though he had a degree from Yale, always tried to write so that his mom, who only had a 4th grade education, could understand it--that kept me going when my cynicism inched higher and higher.

My love for Maston kept me interested in the project and ended with me digging up bricks from his demolished house (...that's another story). I used to wear a locket quite frequently, but never got around to putting anything inside. You guessed it--(through an overly caffeinated decision and the luck that I happened to have a flyer with a perfectly sized picture of Maston at my fingertips) TB made his way into my locket.

Anyway, I signed off on the project way back in May of last year, but the book has been bogged down in formatting and publishing challenges ever since. I talked with one of the professors on the project and we both agreed that it seemed the thing might never get finished. Fifteen minutes later someone stopped me in the hall to tell me that they had just sent the final version of the reader to the publishers and the thing should be printed and bound (with my name on the cover!) in around 45 days.

In honor of this accomplishment, and of Maston, I'm rocking the locket today and digging up some old articles and videos of Ol' TB. I won't lie, its like visiting an old friend. 

Week in Review Sabbatical Style: Week 9!

It's the end of another week. Last week I realized that I had lost count of how many weeks I have been on my "sabbatical journey" so I just counted it up--9 weeks! That's crazy! Some other tidbits from the week:

• That dinner I was telling you about yesterday? The one under the Acropolis? It was the best meal I've had in a long time. (And no doubt probably the best I will have for a long time to come!) I had a pork fillet stuffed with sundried tomatoes, peppers and gruyere cheese. De-licious. The meal was also started off with a round of the Greek version of homemade Raki (which increased the general splendor of the evening even more!). 
• Greeks win on yogurt making. 
• I love my new replacement computer. My one complaint is that they changed some of the buttons around. For 5 years I hit F12 for the dashboard, but now this is the volume key. I was working out the conversions on my budget and kept going back and forth between the dashboard and EVERY time would hit the wrong button. 
• Speaking of conversions...the Euro is brutal! 
• After 11 days in Greece I am headed off to Cyprus tomorrow. I don't really have many expectations (or plans!) but the general idea is to relax for a bit before heading off to walk the Camino. I have been excited to hear that the wildflowers in Cyprus at this time are said to be extraordinarily beautiful right about now. 
• I'm getting really excited (and...a bit apprehensive) about walking all 800 kilometers of the Camino De Santiago. I still haven't decided if I am going to start the walk in St Jean Pied de Port, France (the place generally viewed as the starting point) or in the much easier to get to (and leave my bag in) Pamplona, Spain. I have the time to start in France, but Pamplona would be so much more hassle-free (ok...and save me the trial-by-fire first few days trekking through the Pyrenees). Pamplona is also a common starting place, but I don't want to get to the end and feel like I cheated. (But seriously, after almost 800 km, will I care?) Thoughts? 
• I got to help out in English classes for Albanian immigrants 3 nights this week. I almost forgot how much I love working with English students. These students were especially awesome--one group took us out for gyros after class and another night a class brought some Albanian goodies for us to munch on during class.  
• After teaching me a few words in Albanian (po, po!) the students also gave me a few tips on places to visit in Albania (which I will be doing in June or so). 
• Nonprofit spotlight: This week we also had a chance to work with Nea Zoi (Greek for "new life") which works to counter human trafficking here in Athens. They operate out of a hospitality model which, to me, is fascinating (while they provide services such as alternate job searching assistance, help with medical and legal matters, etc. they also make weekly trips into the brothels or streets and offer tea and conversation to the girls). Check them out here. 
• I listened to a lot of Bon Iver this week. (Thanks again to my brother Casey!)
• Schedule for tonight: Pack (!) and then meet up with an Albanian student group who is teaching Albanian folk/wedding dances tonight (!!). 
• Advanced warning: The hotel I have booked for the first 3 nights in Cyprus does not have wifi. So, (parents) don't freak out if you don't hear from me. 

Alright, mirupafshim! And a random smattering of photos below: 

Hadrian's bust in the Agora

Ancient temple in the Agora

Springtime in Athens

There are SO many stray animals, but they all get fed! We saw a lady going around feeding them in this neighborhood. 

A shot of the sea out at Sounio

One of our students made the mistake of ordering "small fried fish" expecting to find a fillet of Long John Silver's-esque fish. Instead he found a fish grave yard. We all got a kick out of it...but he was not amused. 

A blurry shot of some of my new Albanian friends/English students

More Albanian friends

We stopped in Syntagma Square to watch the changing of the guard. We passed group after group of police in riot gear. As we waited they all started to line up behind us. After waiting a bit I went to ask one of the guards on patrol if we should leave. His answer? Yes. Moving on!

My amazing dinner 

The amazing view

I feel like there should be some church bells ringing. Or some tambourines. Some celebratory music and dancing.

Why? Because I just finished this:

That is a screen shot of the very last paper I have to write to complete my masters degree. I've written so many papers this last year (even pulling 2-a-days all through August), that it might take a while for it to sink in that I'll never have to write another one. But then again, maybe not!

Now, I do have to admit, the paper was in no way the best paper I have ever written, and was really just a write up, nothing special. But to honor the occasion, I actually typed it up in Times New Roman, proof read it, and even took the time to put page numbers on it. It has been submitted, the only thing that stands between and walking across that stage is the completion of my portfolio, which is basically finished as well.

I guess it is time to send out these:

November

I talked to Abby tonight and she sold me some story about November being National Blog month, or something like that. She tried to talk me into joining her and Krystal in writing a blog a day for the month. The problem is, I don't have time for things like that right now.

But, the bigger problem is that I have a very hard time telling people no. So you know what? I decided I'll try to give it a go. Now, too bad I am already a day behind...and that should I actually get a blog up everyday they won't all be witty or interesting. But who cares. I'll try.

In other ambitious challenges, part of me would really love to participate in NaNoWiMo (or National Novel Writing Month). Basically you sign up and try to write an entire novel during the month of November. How fun does that sound? Now of course the problem there is that I probably won't even get a novel read during the month of November, much less written. (Seriously--I haven't finished a single non-school book since I got here!). But maybe one day.

For now I'll just try for 29 blogs.