Today Grant Faulkner did a live stream talk to support NaNoWriMo and today’s NaNoThon to raise money for the yearly works of the organization. It was fun, with he and his son wearing top hat and bowler, respectively. They chatted about goals and challenges and incentives. During livestreams there’s a chat going on and I mentioned I was sorry I wasn’t wearing my top hat but that I could wear it later when at home. @NaNoWriMo said they’d hold me to it! The Guardian Chicken and I obliged.
Been writing most of the afternoon, weaving in bits and scraps of the story that didn’t seem to fit in yet or very well. Now they seem to so I’m putting them in there cemented well with some surrounding story and emotion. My goal this year – “The End.” Whatever it takes.
You can keep an eye on my progress over there in the right sidebar. And get a load of this tally for the whole Albany New York Region! Way to go everyone. This was just before this blog post and since today is NaNoWriMo Marathon day, no doubt that number will be much higher later tonight.
Now it’s time for some food and beverage and some new ideas. Last night was productive despite the side trips of research. I love it when research takes you down roads you hope might exist and turns out they really really do.
This just in from the quote box:
Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am not a slave to reality here but I do like to have sense of where things are happening, how the places relate to each other, distances etc. As you saw in a recent post, sometimes you just can’t get better than reality for geography. C’mon, a place called “The Mumbles“?
Tonight I’m trying to bring in a new idea and introduced a new character. I thought she might be just someone who initiates an idea but no. She needs to live in a certain geographic area. A reasonable driving distance. Unfortunately Chipping Sodbury was a little too close. I move the map a bit.
And there it was. A place called Bishop’s Cleeve. I could not make up names like these. I google it.
Bishop’s Cleeve is an urbanised village in the …Bishop’s Cleeve dates back at least to the 8th century AD, though Iron Age and Roman remains have also been found. At the time of Domesday Book in 1086, about 100 people lived there. The oldest houses still standing are from the 12th and 13th centuries. The centrepiece of the village is the church, St Michael & All Angels, which has many Norman features. The tower and the nave arches were rebuilt in the 17th century when other features were enlarged.
I zoom in on the google maps and find all sorts of people wandering the streets of Bishop’s Cleeve: a man pruning a hedge, a woman with a walker, a youth having a cig… what’s down this street? Oh, a store for rent. Cool. Nice archway next to it… Tarling’s Yard. Looks like it’s now shops. Zoom in some more… Just Perfect.
Good night and thank you Google.
Not for lack of trying, the NaNoWriMo planning department has failed to procure mini-Heath Bars to use as dire times incentives.
Because of this, it was forced to break out the Goetze’s Original Caramel Creams…
And in the “that only happens in cartoons, right? Dept:
Earlier today I managed to explode my morning coffee all over me and the inside of my car. About a literal cup of coffee went astray. Luckily I didn’t get burned but my plan to dress nicely, with one of my new sweaters was squashed like a bug. I was on my way to Mom’s to drive her to a dental appointment. Luckily I had allowed some visiting time before we needed to go AND her washer had a really short wash cycle available. Washed my skirt and slip and threw it in the dryer and was able to leave on time in a barely damp state. I had a different sweater and, odd but true, a spare shirt in my car so it all worked out. Came home this afternoon and washed both of those sweaters and now my bathroom smells like wet sheep (again).
And in the “other things seen in the neighborhood today” Dept:
To love what you do and feel that it matters–how could anything be more fun.
