Something's happening...

So I've been talking about NaNo, and talking to other people who are doing it, and THINKING about it...

and I'm starting to get kind of excited.

I don't want to say that too loudly. This hasn't happened in a while. I had a false start a few months ago when I started exploring Steampunk, but I just wasn't able to make it work. The story was not working right and I didn't feel I had the time to really investigate why it wasn't working (I had a deadline for it). I ended up being kind of depressed about the whole thing. But now, I feel like I am starting fresh. A new beginning. It's not going to be easy. Now that the Chief is older, there aren't many opportunities during the day for me to get a lot done. I can easily get 1500 words done after he goes to bed, though. I just won't get to interact with my husband very much. The housework will obviously suffer (heh, what else is new?). But really... I am feeling good about this decision. I think it will be good for me to just pick a story, and write it through with no thoughts as to how "good" it is.

I think the most important thing leading to my success in November is going to be establishing a good routine and rhythm this month. If I can manage to do that, then I should be able to carve out some writing time in the afternoon when the Chief is doing some quiet play by himself for a little while. The weekends, also, will be vital, where the Husband can take care of the Chief and have some nice one on one time with him. If there is a rhythm that my son is familiar with, he won't mind giving me a little time in the afternoon, because he'll know that right after, we'll be doing something fun. I find that generally it's when kids don't know what to expect that they become pests, asking every two seconds for something, or asking you to play with them, etc. A daily rhythm is vital for so many other reasons that it's a good idea to have one anyway. Because this fall looks different from others we've had, I've been putting this off a bit, but now is the perfect time to do this. I'll probably do a future post on our rhythm and how we develop it. I will also be posting any tips I have from my years of doing NaNo with a child at home--I've never had a babysitter for while I write, other than my husband on weekends, so I've discovered a few basic tricks. They are things that are very simple, but that just make life easier. I know first hand how hard it can be sometimes, when you are feeling frustrated, to look at the situation objectively and be able to see the little things that can help.

My username on the NaNoWriMo site is "phantomsquirrel". From 2003-2004 I was happycrab, but in 2005 I changed pen names for some reason I can no longer recall. I'm not sure how active I will be over there, but feel free to drop me a line, and if I notice it, I will respond. (Hey, according to that website, I am still 30 years old!)

Hey, maybe I can also use some of that writerly knowledge I gleaned from my visit with George R.R. Martin over the summer....

Here is to writing success!