Friday, November 30, 2012

Rain.

For my essay writing class we had to use passive voice and write a paragraph about something we did the day before and then rewrite it in active voice. I thought I'd share.

Here is the passive voice sentence (names changed for security reasons. Also, writing in passive voice is really really hard after learning to use good word choice at an early age!):
After dropping Lucy off, we went home. The storm system we had seen approaching was here. It was raining really hard. Lots of water was on the road. We were afraid of hydroplaning. There were teenagers walking home from the Highschool in the downpour and I was glad I was warn in the car, out of the rain. As soon as we were at home in the garage, the rain stopped.


Here is the rewritten-in-active-voice paragraph:
The blue sky smiled down from fluffy Autumn clouds as Lucy grabbed her things and hurried to her house. Mom and I watched her reach the front door before driving to our own home. The clouds darkened as we drove through the back road neighborhoods. The storm system chased us from Starbucks - our location for literature class - and finally caught up. Suddenly the last wisps of blue sky and white cloud disappeared and the whole sky turned into a solid gray wall of cement. The rain began to fall, sipping its misty stage and going straight to Noah's flood. We were under siege, droplets pelting us like machine gun fire. Tiny bombs of water exploded everywhere. An electric guitar Carol of the Bells added to the suspense of the situation. Low visibility kept our eyes glued to the street, watching for danger. The road, coated in water, made hydroplaning a serious concern. I glanced out the window and though danger tugged at our tires, I didn't wish to be anywhere else for outside the Highschool's students walked home, shoulder hunched and hoods drawn up. We accelerated up the hill to our house, parking in the garage, safe from the storm. As we hurried into the house the rain fell to a drizzle and then stopped altogether. I settled down to my homeworking, wishing for the pitter patter of rain to accompany the scratch scratch of my pencil. But the storm passed, no doubt already waging war on the next neighborhood.

Live long and prosper!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Woooohoooo!!!

Whiiiiirrrr...... click! Clack. Whiiiiiiirrr... ARGH! Click. Rip rip rip rip rip rip rip. Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrr.......
Tappety tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap tap. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. Tip tap tappety tip. Tippety tap tap tap tip tip tap. Snicker, giggle, read-aloud. Tap tap tippety tap. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. Tip tippety tip tip tap tap tappety tap tap. Hum, hum, hummmm... lalala.... hmmmm.... HUM HUM HUMMM!
Flip flip flip flip. Quiet. Flip. Quiet. YEAH! Oh-ho ho ho yeah! *Insert sports team name HERE* just scored!!
Siiiiiiiigghhhh....... Click tip click tip click tip click tip. Jangle jangle jangle jangle jangle. Thump. Siiiiiigghhhhh...........

The evening sounds of my home.
Mom on her sewing machine.
Me typing furiously, trying to catch my word goal; the computer keys accompanied by George Gershwin melodies and my singing along.
Dad in the other room playing a strategy card game with himself while watching The Game on his computer.
Rosey going from one room to another, sighing depressedly while choosing which piece of furniture she would rather lie under.

Suddenly.....
FINISHED! There we go, THE END. I'm done!

I WON NANOWRIMO!!!!! =D

 
Not only did I reach my 50,000 words, I actually FINISHED my novel! Completely! Last year my novel wasn't finished until December or January (with a final word count of over 65,000 words).
This year's final word count?
51,070. 
I am soooooo happy to be finished! Yet, I will miss it! I will miss my characters. Though there are plot holes (I changed a briefcase to a bowling ball bag - gasp!) and my main female characters might be a tad bit annoying... and my last sentence is about chocolate chip cookies, it is finished! And it is my novel - my baby.
Now I am putting it away until mid-December or January. I'll go back to editing last year's NaNoWriMo (which I actually started editing last night - I got tired of waiting for my mom. :P)

Now I'm going because I am finished and I am relieved.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

'Tis the season....

....to torture your dog.


She hates me. But I don't care. I love her anyway. =)

Tonight I have been watching the live premier red carpet of The Hobbit in New Zealand!! It started with a band playing a bunch of music and ending with the Song of the Lonely Mountain (which their lead singer wrote). Then to the red carpet where the actors and producers and things began to appear! Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Elijah Wood, a whole bunch of the Dwarfs, and even John Rhys-Davies (Gimli)! They have been interviewed (some of them several times) and so far my favorite has been Sylvester McCoy who is playing Radagast the Brown wizard.


Yes, Miss Jack (and John), that IS a hedgehog! =D
Sylvester McCoy played the Seventh Doctor in Doctor Who and that is not the only reason his interview was my favorite (though he did mention Doctor Who! He said that Peter Jackson has his costume). Sylvester McCoy is quite a character. He was really funny and just sweet. He had a super cool jacket as well. It was all stars and timey wimey. And he had a fun hat. And he actually mentioned hedgehogs in his interview! I thought of you, Miss Jack (and John too!). He said something like, "I was allowed to do some improv... go save this bird! Help this hedgehog!"
I also loved the guy who played The Great Goblin's interview. He was nice and sweet as well.

And now (since it is STILL going on!) Andy Serkis is running all the way back down the red carpet (which is really long) giving people high fives. Andy Serkis is one of my favorite actors, as I've mentioned before.

Anyway, The Hobbit is going to be a fantastic movie. SO much work has been put into it and SO many wonderful actors in it. I am getting seriously excited for this movie. It will be the best movie of the year. I bet it will top even the second Twilight movie.


Sadly Benedict Cumberbatch isn't at this premier. Oh well, I suppose he doesn't have a big enough role in the first movie.
Speaking of Benedict Cumberbatch.... the synopsis for the next Star Trek movie has been released! As you may know, he plays the villain. The synopsis is very vague and really doesn't tell much at all - but it is still a synopsis!

While I'm at it, NaNoWriMo is going well. I hit 46,000 words today and it is looking like my novel will hit 50k after all! Huzzah! Huzzah!
My bad guy has finally been introduced in person.... He is now grappling with one of my main characters. I've left all my characters sticky situations tonight.... And I've accidentally told my invisible audience who my bad guy is which isn't supposed to happen until the fifth book....

It is now nearly 10:00. I have been watching this premier for 3 hours and it still isn't over! The official speeches are to start soon and I'm not altogether sure my mother will let me stay up and watch it.


None the less..... I really want to go re-read the Hobbit for the second time this year. I need to finish the Two Towers first, though.


The great Tolkien himself, with his ever present pipe.

And now the official Hobbit speeches are starting and I should really be going.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

She finally did it.

My friend Jessica and I have been having a friendly write off for NaNoWriMo and she's finally managed to beat my word count... She's about a thousand words ahead of me and though I could still get a thousand words in tonight (since I'm two hours behind her) I won't. :P
(Ok.... Really, you want the pitiful truth? I can't. I can't even squeeze one more word out today. I'm just too tired. You win Jessica! I surrender!)




So you know how last night I posted that I was going to watch Little Dorrit?


Well, we started watching it and I kept expecting the Doctor to pop up because there are THREE people from Doctor Who in it!
Alonso (who is also Baskerville, if you are a Sherlock fan).



Martha Jones.
And Rory Pond!

Mr. Darcy from the Kiera Knightley Pride and Prejudice is also in Little Dorrit.


AND Gollum! AKA Captain Haddock. AKA Andy Serkis one of my favorite actors on this earth.... He is brilliant. He is originally from London England but he is amazing at voice acting! In the Tintin movie he played Captain Haddock as a Scottish gentlemen. Gollum from Lord of the Rings is, of course, a shiveling, gulping stinker. The guy that Serkis plays in Little Dorrit is a French murderer with a very VERY thick French accent. I am very impressed with Andy Serkis' acting.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mr. Thick and a whole lot of random.

Today I went to a lovely store called Costco which is right up there with Barnes and Nobles on my list of favorite stores.
I drove to Costco... And all the other stores Mom and I went to today. We were gone shopping all afternoon, thus I didn't have anytime to write until 7:30ish. (I also had saxophone lessons tonight which didn't help). Driving has become easier and I think I know what I'm doing now.

My word count for NaNoWriMo is at approximately 41,075 right now (:P I got 9 more words than you Jess!) and I'm hoping to get at least to 41,100 tonight, which shouldn't be that hard.
I am almost at the climax of my story. I have some denouement planned but I am doubtful that my novel will reach 50,000 words. I'm expecting it to reach 49,000 odd words because I absolutely hate any number with "9" in it because I always think it would be so east just to go to "10." Why can't they go to ten???!*
Anyway, I'm pretty much fishing for words, trying to make the novel longer and longer.
This little snippet is partly for my word count and partly because I couldn't think of anything thicker than the layer of dust on the floor at the moment.... It will (probably, most likely...) be edited out.... But I couldn't help myself.

The museum was astounding, even in the dark. Of course, many of the exhibitions had been removed to storage and a layer of dust thicker than Mr. Thick, Thick, Thickety Thickface from Thick Town, Thickania (and his dad) coated the floor.
You see what the BBC and Doctor Who has reduced me to?! Moffat!


Now I bid thee all a fond farewell for this post has been a bunch of babble and I still need to write 20 or 30 more words before I can settle back watch the BBC's production of Little Dorrit which we have borrowed from the library.


(I want to make one!)

*James Fenimore Cooper, the author of The Last of the Mohicans (which I am supposed to be reading right now but Starcross by Philip Reeve keeps getting in the way**) was born on September 15. He died (some sixty or so years later) on September 14. I was so annoyed by that... He could live just ONE more day?? Then it would have been even! I bet I'll die on the eve of my 100th birthday. How the people who know my little pet peeve will laugh.....
**I was hanging out at the quilt store with my mom before saxophone lessons (we were early) and she was looking at the quilt books and I was reading Starcross and one of the worker ladies came up to us and said, "I just want to let you know that the store is closing in 10 minutes." My mom said thank you and then the lady asked me what I was reading and if I was enjoying it. I showed her the cover and said I was enjoying it. Her face lit up (she was an older lady - in her 50's perhaps?) and she said, "Oh I love Philip Reeve! Did you read Larklight? How about his Mortal Engines series? They are so good! I love him!"
As C.S. Lewis says.... "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one!'"

Friday, November 23, 2012

Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stayin' Alive!

I heard that song on the radio the other day and immediately thought of Moriarty....


Anyway, I survived Black Friday!
Did I crumble
Did I lay down and die
Oh no, not I! I will survive!
Oh and as long as I know how to love I know I stay alive.
I've got all my life to live, I've got all my love to give.
And I'll survive!
I will survive! Hey, hey.


First we had to drop off a load of stuff at a mission thrift store which just opened.
Then we went to the American Girl Doll store and I bought Caroline's Travel Outfit, Spencer, and Hat which my heart hath longed for since before it was out. It is likely to be one of the last pieces of AG clothing I buy since in a few years I'll be headed off to college where dolls would not be welcome.
Here is the lovely Linda (who accompanied me to the AG store) modeling the outfit!
Without the spencer and hat.


With the spencer, hat, and Martha the dog.


This is one of my new favorite outfits. I LOVE the shoes.

After the American Girl store we went to Barnes and Nobles which is my absolute favorite store in the entire universe! What a wrong move.... SO much wonderfulness was on sale.
We went to CD/DVD section because I had originally come for a Vince Guaraldi Trio CD (he does the music for the Peanuts).
We ended up looking at the DVDs and movies and finding Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (in blue-ray) for a really cheap.
Did you know that Doctor Who has its OWN section at my Barnes and Nobles? I was looking through the TV section going, "Where's Star Trek? Where's Doctor Who? I've seen Doctor Who here before... So where is it?" My dad found it. It has its own section. B+N had episodes from all 11 of the doctors and I just stood staring for a few moments in awe. Partly at so much Doctor Who (and sci-fi history) in one place and also partly because of the prices! Doctor Who must be imported from England because no way would they cost $80 a season if they were made in the United States.

Running 3 seasons in the early '90's, the Tintin books were made into 30 minutes cartoons. My dad has a friend who owns all the episodes and when I was younger we borrowed them all (several times) and watched them. I was enchanted and ever since, my dad - who grew up with Tintin - has been keeping an eye out for them.
At Barnes and Nobles we found all three seasons for a really good price. We could not resist and I can now - ecstatically - say that we own the cartoon series! I am SO happy! I was not expecting to find Tintin in America (not the book... we saw the Tintin movie at B+N as well!).
However, I think that the cartoons will go under the Christmas tree so that means we can't watch them yet.
They also have a really cool Hobbit display at B+N - a table set out with all sorts of Hobbit merchandise and things. It's pretty cool. =)

We didn't buy any big screen TVs or anything today.... Who needs them? I'm satisfied with what we have. God has really blessed us and I am very thankful.

And for those out there who didn't get any turkey yesterday..... (gotta love Danny Kaye!)

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Happy thanksgiving!" said Varina, and she meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Daniel looked at her from under his mop of blond hair.
"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a Happy Thanksgiving, or mean that it is Thanksgiving whether I want it or not; or that you feel thankful this morning, or that it is a morning to be thankful on?"
"All of them at once," said Varina. Then she paused. "Wait a minute... Daniel! Are you quoting something again?"
Daniel grinned. "Tolkien himself this time!"
Varina rolled her eyes. "Just cut the turkey, jack!"
"We don't have Thanksgiving in England," Daniel said wistfully. He pointed the carving knife towards the turkey,"This is one of the reasons I am thankful I came to America."
"I'm thankful that you came to America as well," Varina smiled. "And I am thankful for your friendship."
"And I am thankful for yours," Daniel smiled back. Daniel and Varina drifted off into wistful reverie, remembering their past adventures together. Varina was the first to break the silence:
"Cut the turkey! I'm hungry!"

A short story for you starring Daniel and Varina, the hero and heroine of my NaNoWriMo novel. =)


Charlie Brown has been a part of my holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etcetera etcetera) ever since I can remember. Right now I'm sitting back on the couch watching the second half of their Thanksgiving special - Mayflower Voyages. It's pretty fun to watch since on our long trip this past summer, we saw Plimoth and a re-constructed Mayflower.

Tomorrow is Black Friday. Usually we are in Canada for (American) Thanksgiving, thus evading the sales. Tomorrow, however, we may actually brave the traffic and crazy people. More on that tomorrow, if we survive.

What are YOU thankful for?

Live long and prosper!

Monday, November 19, 2012

I should be writing.


After battling blackberries with my youth group yesterday afternoon (we were victorious!) I was so exhausted that I lay on the couch and spent countless hours stealing pictures from people's Pinterest boards (I think I got the above picture from Clair's?). I don't have Pinterest... Never let me get one. I already spend too much time on it without an account.
Anyway, I'm trying to get to 35,000 words tonight. I'm at 34,000 right now but I just wrote something positively brilliant that just has to be shared so here it is:
 

Cal smiled at them. “While I go talk with Millie – she’s the innkeeper – you two are welcome to wander about and talk with people – you can even dance if you are feelin’ brave!” Cal pointed out a number of people to Daniel and Varina, “Over there is Justin Case our sheriff. And over there playin’ the piano is our oldest livin’ resident, Fun Gus!” Cal winked at Daniel. “You might enjoy talkin’ to Gus. You’re a musical person, I can tell by your hands.” Then Cal walked away leaving Daniel and Varina stared dumbfounded at each other.
“My…. hands?” Daniel asked while Varina grabbed Daniel’s hands and examined them.
“How did he know that? Even I can’t tell that…. You have it wrong Daniel. I’m not like Sherlock Holmes, he is!” Varina exclaimed.

Live long and prosper!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Life goes on.

Contrary to popular belief, life still goes on during National Novel Writing Month. At least for me it does. I've been very busy with school.... Lots of music - about 12 hours a week.
Here is a Beethoven song on piano:


I have also been practicing essays and paragraphs to be put into essays.... Here is a paragraph I'm particularly proud of (except for the fact I used the word 'essay' a million times):

Ignorance of proper technique breeds improper essays. Treating an essay like a close friend leads to first and second person writing and words such as, "me, you, they, I, their, and your." Such words are inappropriate for essays as the point of the essay is to convince. Personification makes arguments weaker. Essays also need to pop with creative sentences and colorful descriptions. Too many words, however, may clutter the point and confuse the reader. Succinct sentences that prove points without personification take practice but pave the way to proper papers.

I have also been doing science.... We did an experiment with an egg which was very interesting. It went this way....
Take an egg and soak it in white vinegar for 24 hours (I did 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 apple cider vinegar).



The shell disolved off the egg and it was very squishy. The egg also swelled from 5 1/2 inches to 6 inches because of osmosis.
After rinsing off the egg, we put it in some syrup for 24 hours. In the morning we were pleasantly suprised with a deflated egg that measure 4 1/2 inches!

 

 
After 24 hours we rinsed the egg again and put it in a glass of distilled water for another 24 hours.
What a surprise we had!! The egg swelled to 6 1/2 inches around the middle!! It was huge!




And it bounced like a ball.

I've also been drawing.... I got the idea from Doctor Who when he said, "The doctor is in!" It made me think of The Peanuts gang.


And then.... Well.... My imagination took off.


I spy with my little eye.....
The Doctor (wibbly wobbly timey wimey! And his sonic screwdriver!)


A Cyberman with a serious problem....


Snoopy, K-9, and a Dalek.....


And of course Woodstock is nearby. (You wouldn't believe how hard he was to draw!)

 
And the TARDIS.
 
 
Oh yeah, and a banana. Bananas are good.
 
 
 
I've also been reading.... I just finished Larklight by Philip Reeve which was really good! I wasn't planning on doing a review unless someone wants me to.
And oh oh oh! I FINALLY finished the Two Towers chapter I have been reading for the past two months!
 
NaNoWriMo is also going well.... I'm at 28,375 words. Here is a little snippet for you:
 
“Are you going to stand there and collect water or are you going to come aboard?” a friendly all-American voice called from the top of the stairwell leading into the plane. Daniel and Varina exchanged a glance and then hurried up the stairs. Two towels were waiting for them at the top.
“This is an airplane, not a lake,” explained the man. He was handsome with brown hair, swoon-worthy bright blue eyes and a broad smile filled with perfect, shining teeth.
“Thanks for the towels,” Varina was saying when suddenly her face flooded with recognition and she moaned, “Oh no….”
“I take it you know who I am,” said the man, his blue eyes sparkling with mirth and a smile playing around his lips.
“No no no,” said Varina. “I refuse to go anywhere with you as our pilot! Let me off this plane right now!”
Varina turned around and tried to push her way past Daniel but, thin as he was, he blocked the door.
“Hold on Webb, who is this man? Why can’t we fly with him?” Daniel asked.
“You don’t know who he is?” Varina asked incredulously.
Daniel shrugged. “I’ve never seen him in my life.”
“He’s Tony Leslie!” Varina spouted, as if by name alone Daniel would be able to decipher who their pilot was.
“Who is Tony Leslie?” Daniel asked, his face blank.
“You haven’t heard of me in the UK?” Tony Leslie said to Daniel, his face assuming a crushed look.
“I don’t know… Maybe we have,” Daniel shrugged. “I wouldn’t know because no one will tell me who you are!”
“He’s a stunt pilot!” Varina said.
“Not just a stunt pilot, but the best stunt pilot in the United States. No, in the world! Dare I say; the universe!” Tony Leslie smiled gallantly.
“I’ve seen his stunts on TV,” Varina said. “He purposefully puts his life in danger and does these outlandish tricks… I won’t fly with a stunt pilot!”
 
Don't get too attached to Tony Leslie (who looks like Captain Jack Harkness and is named after Tony Curtis who played the character The Great Leslie is one of my favorite movies). Just sayin'.
 


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

No Place Like Holmes: A review.

Title: No Place Like Holmes.


Author: Jason Lethcoe.

Synopsis: Griffin Sharpe is sent by his parents in Boston to spend the summer in London with his uncle who is an eccentric inventor who lives in 221A Baker Street, underneath the great detective Sherlock Holmes.
Griffin's uncle, who also happens to be a consulting detective who never gets work, hates his more popular neighbor.
When Griffin brings his uncle a case about a missing man who supposedly got eaten by the Loch Nes Monster, his uncle is grateful and the two go on an adventure together.

My rating: 8/10.

Why I liked the story: I was expecting the story to be set in modern days but instead I was pleasantly surprised to find out it took place in the early 1900's!
I loved Griffin's faith in God - how it was part of the story but not overwhelming.
Lots of fun twists that aren't expected!
Griffin's uncle's feud with Sherlock Holmes is great. I love the part where he bangs on the ceiling when Holmes is playing violin.
An interesting plot! The author gave me just enough information to keep me reading but not enough for me to guess the whole plot.
LOVED the part with the train things.... I may have stolen the idea for my NaNoWriMo novel....

Why I didn't like the story: The biggest fault that I had with this book is that it was poorly written at times.... The author seemed to be trying too hard to write instead of just letting the words flow.
Also, his plot was almost - not quite - too unbelievable. It just seemed stretched... There were lots of little subplots that had to do with the big picture but some of the motives just didn't seem realistic.

Will I read it again? Yes! I own it after all.

Would I recommend this book? Despite the plot faults, I would definitely recommend this book! It's very good and I enjoyed it immensely. Just don't go in thinking it will be the best book in the world and you will have fun with it.

Live long and prosper!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

An update.

My wordcount in now somewhere upwards of 12,400!
And I finally got a summary and excerpt up on the NaNoWriMo website....

Summary:
The year is 2022 and Daniel Adams - the best code breaker in the world - is sent to America by the British Federal Intrigue to aid in a super secret mission: Get an audience with GiGi Knight and find the security code that unlocks the door to Liberace's museum before The Wolf's evil minions.
 
Excerpt:
“That building is the headquarters for Bumpits,” Varina explained as they walked down the crowded sidewalk.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Daniel said. “They have headquarters?”
“Yes. We bought the Bumpits Company so we could build our secret tunnels underneath to our headquarters building.”
“You’re crazy.” Daniel shook his head and hid a smile.
“Well it worked didn’t it? You would never guess that under the Bumpit Company was really a secret organization!” Varina whispered the last two words and glanced around as if she suspected enemy ears to be listening in.
 
Favorite line thus far:
"Pride comes before the fall Mr. Adams, we are not James Bond."
 
Remember a few blog posts ago I mentioned the book "No Place Like Holmes"? I finished reading it. But I'm not going to do a review on it quite yet.
 
Live long and prosper!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

3 Points.

First point: Doctor Who rocks even more than it did last week! They are seriously playing Gerswin's Rhapsody in Blue! I have been listening to that song over and over and over and over this past week! And now it's in a Doctor Who episode! EPIC!!
AND NOW THEY ARE PLAYING "Puttin' on the Ritz." Epic. EPIC I tell you. Doctor Who has good choice in music.
The only downfall.... It's a Dalek episode. Sigh. The poor Doctor.

Second point: I now have 5,611 words in my NaNo novel! Hurrah. And I still haven't introduced my plot... Tomorrow.

Third point: This one is for Miss Jack. I am doing a science experiment. I just found out about it yesterday. And you know what it is? I soaked an egg in vinegar. It now has no shell. Now it's soaking in syrup.

Live long and prosper!

Friday, November 2, 2012

NaNoWriMo: Day 2.

My word count for today in 3,144 words... I only got about 1,000 words written today. I hope to get at least 2,000 if not 3 written tomorrow.
Today was a veeery long day. Starting with schoolwork, and then to my friend's house for literature class and then to choir, which is from 2:45-4:45. Then back to drop my friends off... Then we had to run to a number of stores. We didn't get home until about 7:40. Then was a science experiment and dinner.... So I didn't start writing until 8.
Tomorrow I will have the morning to write. Then I'm going to church until four... Then some more writing. Then saxophone lessons. Then home again. And then? DOCTOR WHO! A double episode about the Daleks... They just don't die, do they? The evil things... And the poor Doctor just loses everything to them.

By the way... Did you guys hear that Disney bought Lucasfilm (and Star Wars) from George Lucas? I am very angry at this. Perhaps I will talk more about it when I'm more awake....


Snow White and the Seven Jawas....

Live long and prosper.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

The madness begins!

Day one of NaNoWriMo... I was nervous all day, the novel and it's plot in the back of my mind all day. Finally it came time to open the document and start the novel.... The first few words which had been spinning in my head for the past number of days.... Finally, on paper!

It was a cold, crisp night in October.

Mwahahaha....

Final word count for day #1?
2,101.
I call that a success. Even though it is now 11:30 and my mother desperately wants me to go to bed.
Thus far I have murdered someone and made someone else late for their plane.

We shall see how tomorrow goes!

I must say, however... I have already procrastinated. My dad showed me a forum on BoardGameGeek.com full of funny Doctor Who pictures.
When I came across the following, I determined that it must be a sign and that I should get back to work:


How about you all, how is NaNoWriMo coming for you?

Live long and prosper!