How NaNoWriMo stole November

Because in November I pretty much vanished from this blog, didn't I? I'm not going to keep apologising or make excuses. Except this:

There was NaNoWriMo.
Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? It's short for National Novel Writing Month. You can read more here, but the basic premise is that you have to write 50 000 (yes, fifty thousand) words during the month of November. It can be any kind of story you want, but you're not supposed to go back and read over what you've done and change things, because that slows you down and discourages you. The point is to make you write, however bad it might be; just to let the words flow out, and worry about fixing it later.

Mr Ruby Slippers and some of our mutual friends were taking part, but I wasn't sure if I was gong to have the time and, let's face it, the dedication to do it. But I'm terribly guilty of starting stories and never finishing them. I write the good bits and then I give up after 2000 words, or something. And there was a novel I'd been writing on and off for over two years, which really needed some impetus. In two years I'd written about 16000 words of it, and, while those wouldn't count - everything has to be written in November - it was something I could definitely carry on with. You don't need to write a complete novel, just 50000 words of it.

However, by the time November rolled around, I was still dithering about taking part. Mr Ruby Slippers got cracking on Day One (a Sunday) and wrote even more than the daily target (which was a1667 words). I, on the other hand, went off to rehearsal, danced, painted, sang, and came home exhausted. Wash, rinse and repeat on the Monday and Wednesday, and by Saturday I still hadn't decided if I was even going to take part. And if I did, I was going to be incredibly behind - the target for that day was 11667 words. Still, it was Saturday, I felt bright and chirpy (for once), so I decided to start and see how it went.

Of course, once I'd started I had that "I will not fail and get beaten by my husband and friends" competitive feeling come over me, so I persevered and wrote nearly every day, even when I wanted to throw the keyboard on the floor and scream at my characters for talking like a really bad soap opera. Even when my arms and neck were aching and I just wanted to watch Glee or House or ANYthing that would let me sit back and not have to think about what to write next.

Here's my stats graph for November. Having a graph you can use to see how you're doing compared to the target and compared to others is really motivating! The blue bars are the daily targets, and the brown ones are where I was each day. I started late, but I trucked along just behind target every day, only finally hitting it on the last day. But that's typical of me. I was always the one having to get up early to finish school projects on the morning they were due, and writing essays during break before they had to be handed in. Oh, school. You were...fun in spots, but better to look back on. :-)

Anyway, my point is - I WROTE 50000 WORDS IN NOVEMBER! It's completely crazy, and the book is nowhere near finished, and it's pretty damn sucky, I'm sure, but I DID IT.

Skreeeeee!!!

And that, readers (if you're still out there!) is what happened to my November. Well, it's part of what happened to my November...

That Guy Thursday #6

I've been so neglecting this blog lately! I even forgot to do a That Guy Thursday yesterday.

So, one day late, here's That Guy, who, today is That Gal:

Ok, you probably know who this is. Some of you are going, "Hey, it's Stiffler's Mom!", aren't you? Or "It's Elle's friend in the Beautyshop from Legally Blonde!"

In case you aren't, but you know her face anyway, her name is Jennifer Coolidge. She was also on "Joey", which I never watched - I didn't want to spoil Friends with a bad spinoff -  and appeared in Lemony Snicket, Down to Earth, American Dreamz, and tons of tv shows.

That Guy Thursday #5

Today's That Guy:

Now don't tell me you've never seen this guy. Maybe as a therapist? A writer? That quiet guy with a bit of a nervous tick or stammer? Yeah, that guy.

His name is Bob Balaban.

(I just totally went, "His name was Robert Paulsen" there) :-)

You've seen him in License to Wed, Capote, No Reservations, Lady in the Water, all those Christopher Guest movies such as For Your Consideration and A Mighty Wind, The Tuxedo,  Gosford Park, Ghost World,  and the Mexican. He hasn't guest-starred in as much tv as some of my previous That Guys, but he has been on The West Wing and (if you're a Friends nutter like me), he was Phoebe's father in the one where she meets him at her Gran's funeral. Yes, That Guy!

Question for the Americans

This is completely random, and will probably never happen, but call it idle curiosity in case it ever does.

If Mr Ruby Slippers and I were to move to America, where would we want to live?

Firstly, my priority would be weather. I need to live in a place that:
1) is generally warm, but when it gets hot it's a dry heat, rather than a humid, sticky heat that makes you feel like you've been hit in the face with a hot, wet towel.
2) Doesn't go over 30 C (86 F) as a general rule. (I used an internet converter; hope it's right :-))
3) Doesn't ever go below freezing in winter, and preferably stays a bit above. (Is freezing 32 F for you guys?)
4) Doesn't snow.
5) Stays fairly mild all year round; no massive temperature fluctuations
6) Where you can go out in the evening in summer wearing a light dress, and in winter wearing no more than one jacket/jersey/sweater/similar.

(I really want the moon and stars, don't I?)




Other priorities:
1) Must have a good number of cultural activities like a number of professional theatres, amateur dramatics, choirs etc. Actual celebrities appearing in plays/shows would be a bonus :P
2) Must be open to various lifestyle choices, such as homosexuality, atheism, etc. I don't want to live somewhere where people get beaten up because they don't believe everything everyone else does.
3) Doesn't have to be a big city; in fact I love peace and quiet, but must be nearby enough so one can attend functions mentioned in #1, and have a good supply of stores.
4) Prettiness. I'm thinking mountains or the sea. I'm deprived of those where I live, and I'm always happier when I'm near them.



I don't want much, do I? Seriously, does such a place exist?

Love Ruby S xxxx

PS - now I'm singing "I like to be in America, okay by me in America..." :P

Last night...

...I dreamed that I was pregnant and both Mr RS and I were totally excited about it.

However, I'm not reading too much into it, since I also dreamed that I was held hostage by a group of people and made to live on the upper level of a double decker bus, where they ran episodes of I Love Lucy in a loop.

I just wish that at some point we could decide if we even want children. Because at this point, I haven't a freakin clue. I really thought that after being married for some time I would just KNOW what I wanted. But I don't.

My problem is I can only see the downside of having children. I can't see the upside, because I think you need to have your own in order to experience said upside. My Dad says, "children bring you so much joy." Yeah, and I remember him yelling at us for hours while we stood there sobbing. Not so much joy in that, for either party. And I have my Dad's temper. Oh dear.

Last night at rehearsal some of the backstage crew had to leave early because they had an exam to write the next day. I turned to one of my cast members and said, "This is why I'm never studying anything ever again. I can't stomach exams, tests, speeches, projects..."

Her answer? "Don't have children, then. You'll be doing homework and projects for the next twenty years."

GLEEP.

Not to mention I feel like I'm way too selfish. Sorry, I kind of enjoy sleeping for 10 hours uninterrupted, thanks. So if you wouldn't mind shutting up, tiny baby, and letting me sleep, I'd be forever grateful. If only that would work!

Anyway, we're nowhere near having enough money for a child, so our problem is temporarily solved for us.

I feel like there's a ton more I could write about this, but I need to go make dinner. Which is mission enough just for two of us. Did I ever mention I'm lazy about housework? Um, yeah.

I ♥ Faces Fix-it Friday

I missed last week but I did it anyway, at the same time I did this week's! Here they are:

 

and

 

Drakensberg

 I had such a great anniversary. I'll tell you all about that tomorrow (hopefully), but in the meantime here are some shots from the Drakensberg. You can see the rest on my photography blog.

 

They look better big, so head on over!