NaNo Update: Mid-Day-Two

Thanks to Katy Upperman for the NaNo Blog Template!

Progress (word count or a general status update): 3,002

Current Mood: Confident

Inspiration: Not writing-related, exactly, but I just read this account of how my childhood best friend helped evacuate babies and children in the pediatric ICU from a New York City hospital at the height of the storm.  I'm in awe that she could do something like that. She slept at the hospital Sunday night so she wouldn't miss her Monday shift, worked all day Monday, then stayed on after her shift ended.  That night, she hauled equipment up pitch-black stairs and helped evacuate patients down those same powerless stairwells.  She and her colleagues did so much on so little sleep in the midst of such chaos--really, if it's important to you, you can write a novel this month.  I mean, come on.  

Goals as of Today: I should be at 5000 words by the end of the day--my goal is to get my writing done during the week while Mr. S is at work, and I've left some low-word-count days for holidays and possible travel, so my daily goal is 2500 words per weekday. 

Recent Favorite NaNo WiP Line:  

 “Rob.  You weigh seventeen pounds.  If you could run a mile, it would be like a ninety-minute mile.  You can only do the first half of a pull-up--the part where you grab the bar and just hang there.  If your romantic prospects hinge on you becoming a varsity athlete, you are going to die alone.”  

In response, Rob looks hurt and steals what’s left of my pizza.  Cramming it into his mouth, he manages to get the words “Eighteen pounds now, dude” around the giant wad of crust.

Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on):  

Yesterday, I did most of my writing in bed as I nursed a migraine.  However, my plan to maintain my sanity and health during the rest of NaNo involves scheduling writing time, reading time, and MOVING time.  I want to get up to about an hour a day, in 20-30 min. increments.  If the weather is decent, I'm going to try to make some of that be walking outside (going days without leaving the house is not great for that whole "sanity" thing I mentioned) and if it's not...well, there's nothing about this sentence that is not a little embarrassing, but here goes.  My husband and I love the show Shark Tank, and after we saw Billy Blanks, Jr (son of the Tae Bo guy!) seeking funds for his hip-hop exercise DVD, we bought it.  It's actually really fun as long as I'm alone and no one can see how pathetic my dance moves are.  

 

In my downtime (ha!) I’m reading: Finished Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers yesterday--review this Sunday but OMG DUVAL, I have the biggest lit-crush right now--and pulled Audrey, Wait! from my TBR pile to start today. 

You should read this blog post: Bellevue Runs In My Veins, So I Cry By: Lydia Kang Because: She captures much of how I'm feeling about Sandy and New York much more eloquently than I could. 

You should also read this blog post: The Things Aspiring Writers Are Good At By: Steph Sinkhorn Because: She's one of my very favorite bloggers, and this is a great post for keeping spirits up during NaNoWriMo (although it's not specifically for NaNo).

 

Gratuitous Photograph:

Some of the bookshelves in my office (plus a painting my dad did just for me when I was little--he had a larger one of the same blue door, and I got upset when he sold it.  So he painted a little one for me.  Not many people got to commission oil paintings as four-year-olds; it's pretty much my prize possession.)

So, how’s NaNo going for you? (And if you’re not NaNo-ing, how’s your November shaping up?