Hello everyone. I have surprisingly been able to keep up with the blog throughout NaNoWriMo. In fact, I am about a week ahead as of writing this (on the 8th), both with the blog and the collection of short stories I'm working on. It's been challenging, but at least I know it's doable since I've successfully completed a NaNo before, if not an actual novel (it was unsalvageable and I didn't get through all my plot points). I'm tempted to write an entire blog post about my feelings regarding NaNoWriMo, but so many people have already done that and I doubt anyone is particularly interested in yet another opinion piece. II will say this: even though I'm doing it, I am not 100% pro-NaNo. At least, I do not think it is necessarily the best way to write a novel. But please, leave a comment if you wish me to continue that thread.
In other news, I added a list of stuff for you to check out as an extra page on my blog, and I did a little remodeling a week or so ago. So if you tend to read via RSS, you might want to check out the new page layout and my list of other blogs/webcomics/etc. to check out.
Here's what I plan to read, although I expect to start posting guest posts during the start of the third week..... unless I have magically finished already, in which case I will promptly die from the brain-fry.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.
I'm fairly certain I somehow managed to skip this one growing up. I think Judy Blume was less popular with me by the time I was "ready" for it, and besides I was fairly precocious and already knew all about my menstrual cycle by the time I was five, which is good because I got it fairly young. I can identify with wanting certain things to mature faster, since I am still waiting for my boobs.
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld.
Yay!!! The next installment in Leviathan. I was only nominally thrilled with the first, but I'm hoping to see the characters mature and hopefully become a bit more interesting. I am trying to make myself like steampunk... I think I do... just not the way it's currently being written. I'm a strange beast.
Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut.
I have no idea what this is about, I just know it's a Vonnegut and I lurve him enough to read almost anything he's written. Which is good because he wrote a lot. Also, I had a bit part in my high school play called "Deadeye Dick and the Game of Gold." True story. I was a miner.
A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan.
I picked this up because it was in the "staff reads" section and met my criteria for November reads. In other words, "Oh hey, this looks nominally entertaining, someone from the library recommended it, and it has less than 200 pages."
The Stupidest Angel : A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore.
I tend to hate holiday novels, but holybutts to I love Christopher Moore. That man makes me giggle in a way that his wholey inappropriate for a woman of my age and professional background. He also falls into the category of Men I Would Make Out With Solely For Intellectual Purposes In The Hopes Of Absorbing Some Of His Awesomeness. Any woman worth dating has a list like this, and if you are a woman who doesn't have a list like this, you really ought to start one.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard : A Wizarding Classic from the World of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
My someday-to-be father-in-law is very much into Harry Potter. He has read and reread Harry Potter so often that we occasionally have to buy him new copies as he breaks the spines, etc. He is also somewhat, uh, terse in his manner. I hope one day to be able to talk to him, and on that day I vow to be able to have something to talk to him about. Also...the shortness and the noveling thing...
Being able to absorb people's intellectual awesomeness through make-outs is TOTALLY my super power.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think ANYONE believes NaNoWriMo is an ideal way to write a novel (except maybe Stephen King, who has been known to spend even less time on his tomes), BUT I do think it is a good way to force your words out. The whole idea is about self-discipline to write every day, and by 50,000 words, hopefully you will have something to work with (for example, about 20k of Sleep Like This was salvageable from the only NaNo I've ever completed).
Anyway, a post about your NaNo experiences and thoughts might not be a bad idea because then people can respond with tales of their own experience/thoughts, as I have just done here. ;)
Hmm, maybe I'll do a NaNoWriMo wrap up when I finish my 50,000 words. Since I'm only 10k away from that, you shouldn't have to wait too long. Then I'll take another vacation from blogging, because omg. ;_;
ReplyDeleteI love A Prayer for the Dying, and look forward to your response on it, as I haven't come across a lot of people who have read it.
ReplyDeleteChristy,
ReplyDeleteIt looks pretty interesting. I noticed there aren't a whole lot of ratings on Goodreads, but it seems the people who have read it really enjoy it. My response should should up in about six days as I have others posts scheduled before that including "Are you there god? It's me Margaret" and "Behemoth" plus a guest post or two.