1,064,141

That's it for the year!

Turkey Shoot is done! 16,505 and fun as usual!

Now, just some final notes on the Emergent outline, and I'm done!

Yay!

Very close to done. And a few notes left on Emergent, that I had a wonderful insight into right after I went to bed last night. A change that makes it something quite different from what I imagined, and considerably more intersting, I think. I'm going to work with the outline this afternoon. Should be fun.

But here it is, the last hours of 2002. There is a glitch at the FM site that's keeping everyone from logging in. Argh. Always something, isn't there?

I've got a sneeze and sniff kind of cold, too. But I am about to finish up the last of my work for the year. Time to celebrate!

Ended up writing about 700 words and reaching the end of the chapter. I have a final chapter and I'm done. Right now I'm heading for bed, though.

Almost there!

A slight change in plans....

I did the work on Vision, but it took longer than I expected, as usual -- and I needed a break from the computer. I went out and watched Lethal Weapon, my favorite holiday movie. I'm going to do a little writing and then retire for a few hours before I come back and finish off my work for 2002. I think I just wanted to drag the work out a little longer, to be honest. It's been a very good year, and the idea that I'm about to zero-out a million word count and start over is a bit daunting.

But... I'm looking forward to starting the new novel. Emergent is starting to slip up and take over my mind, and I have to fight it back down for a few more hours, at least. (grin) It's almost time, though...

I'm looking forward to it in that respect. So much to get done next year, all of it calling to me. I need to get organized here pretty soon! Yeah, right... like I'm ever organized, or ever really will be.

Last day of the year. Pretty amazing. It's gone quickly, again...

The last hours of the year, stretching out before me...

I really have very little to get done. Some work on Vision, which shouldn't be too bad. I have everything lined up now, and I just need to do two notes and fix a couple problems. Turkey Shoot is very nearly done -- I expect it to come in under 20,000 words. I'm just playing around with the two outlines. I could probably be more serious about them... but I'm in a mood to just slow down and relax.

My plan is to write my last words for the year some time after midnight tonight, and then not write again until after midnight and into the new year. I actually haven't decided exactly what I'm going to start writing on, which is rather troubling this late in the game, but I suspect it will be one of the two new outlines. In fact, even as I thought of this, Emergent started calling to me. Good.

I have several other projects for the New Year, and a few I think I'd like to start on Day 1, and try to get into the habit of working on them. The big one is the one I almost always face at the first of the year -- editing. I've written a great deal of new material this year, and I need to turn my focus toward making some of them presentable. In some cases, I have no choice. I still need a final edit on three of the Dark Staff series (as well as writing two more). In fact, I might as well admit to myself that I'm not at all happy with Eliora's World (Book 5) and plan on another complete rewrite of that one. Okay. I said it. So I have to edit two and write three. That's not too bad. Of course, then I have to edit the three I have to write, but that's all right.

I'm also getting the copy edits in on book 2 right now, so that needs to be added into the 'get this done right now' list of things.

But this all sounds so normal for me that I'm trying to figure out what I can do that would be new and different. I like a challenge at the start of the year. Something other than 'Try to keep a little more sane this year.'

Have to think about this one...

There. Two stories all edited, printed up, and ready to go out into the world. That is one more major bit of work off my list.

Most of Vision is done as well, I'm glad to say. This was a tough one, for many reasons, but it's done almost done and ready to go live.

I've been thinking about my goals for next year, and so far I have been creating 'negative' goals. For instance, I will not write one million words next year. I will do less web work over all, and concentrate on the ones I really like -- Vision, for instance.

But that leaves me with on vague ideas of what I will do.

I would like to read more next year, but that depends on how much trouble my eyes give me. This wasn't a good year for books -- barely one every two weeks or so. I have several lined up, and I want to get to them.

Should this be a year that I try another new genre? I would love (as I have mentioned several years running now, I think) that I would love to do Historical Fiction, but I just don't have the patience to do the work involved.

Also, I have several novels still contracted that I need to finish up, so in some ways next year is just going to be a continuation of this one. I just hope to come up with some new ideas for stretching out a little more. I love challenges.

I just wish my brain was up to the challenge of thinking of some.

A long day of working on Vision. I've very nearly gottten it all done. I always have days like this right before it goes up. I'm happy with it so far, though, so all is well.

I did a lot of research/writing today for an article (we were light in one section), and spent the time out at the dining room table working with my Visor. I had a dozen books spread out, and it worked very well to be able to use the little keyboard and have enough room for the research material. I actually had fun with it. I must have -- the article went over 2000 words.

And now, I think, I'll go find something to munchy on, and then think about writing. I need to get a couple things finished up pretty soon!

Yes, I seem to have my connection back -- at least for the most part. I am, however, behind on so much work that this blog is getting left behind again.

I want to have a plan for this one next year. I'm not sure what it will be, but I sure as hell better come up with something pretty damned fast, right?

Writing related, right? That would be a good theme since I don't seem to have much else to talk about these days. (grin)

Well, no time to think about it right now. I have way too much to get done still. Sort of. Really, it's going pretty well, but I don't want to fall behind now. Kind of running out of time.

And words. I think my brain is going blank.

I just finished Ada Nish Pura Book 1, and it ended so well that I got one of those little shivers that writers sometimes get when something just works. It is only about 62,000 words, but then I almost always do write short first drafts, so I'm not worried. But the plot is there. The story is there. And Book 2 has a natural starting point.

I am happy. I would be happier if I had a real Internet connection tonight, but at least I can get to this blog and report my news.

All I have left to do is Turkey Shoot. And Vision. (grin).

I am very happy, though. I know, now, that I made the right decision in cutting this one in half..

My Internet Connection is down. It's been down for about six hours now, and they say they might get it back up for me before the New Year.

Right. I can guarantee that I'll have a new connection before the New Year if they aren't here tomorrow.

In the mean time, I'm trying to do a little on-line work on an older, dying computer with a keyboard that doesn't suit me at all. But I thought I would drop a notice here, since I can't update my journal at all.

I am not a happy person.

I did not get much writing done tonight. We watched a couple Garrison's Gorillas, and then some music clips from the 60's... and then Streets of Fire. I love that movie. Hadn't seen it in a while, which made it all the better.

I am increasingly convinced that cutting Ada in two is a great idea. New pieces have already started to filter into my head, and a rearrangement of something I just wrote that will be far more powerful as a closing scene. I'd been testing this idea out all evening, thinking I should just push through and do all the notes I have, and then thinking no... Even though I know I could get it done, and Turkey Shoot without much trouble in the next week, I kept getting the ideas for more scenes, added pieces, bits of story...

I have a surprisingly good feeling about the two novel idea. So I'm going with it.

And the great thing is I have about half the outline for the next book already done. (grin)

Merry Christmas!

We've had a good day. We're about to open presents, now that we're home and everything else (including working on the city's internet server) is done. I am having trouble uploading my journal for some reason, but I don't really care tonight.

I did, however, have a really interesting insight into Ada Nish Pura in the last couple days.

It's sitting right now at a little over 60,000 words, which is pretty good for me in first draft. It is also sitting at a crux point in the story, a place where the MC both makes a decision and is accepted by the people for whom he will now work. He has, in effect, become a member of the clan. The chapter I am working on right now sets up a chain of events...

But the chapter after that takes place about a year later, in the full bloom of the war.

I have two books, not one.

This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. It may be my mind just telling me there is no way I can get all the rest of this novel done in the little time I have left this year and grabbing at a logical alternative. But I have a good plan here, and it allows me to expand both halves a bit more. I had, I admit, rushed the outline of the last half of the novel because I didn't want it to be more than 80 or 90,000 in the first draft. Now I can go back and add in all the things that I had skipped over in favor of a shorter section.

And you know, it's not like I need the word count.

So, I will likely be done with Ada Nish Pura, Book 1, in the next day or so. Then all I have is Turkey Shoot.

And Vision.

And a couple rewrites to get something out for submission this month.

Yeah, I think this is a really good plan.

Happy holidays!

I'm going to be heading to bed soon. Yes, this early. My back is better because of the pills, but they are knocking me out. I got some writing done. I can't be certain how much -- a couple thousand? It's enough for tonight. I'll need to get my little fingers moving after the holiday. But tonight... sleep is in order.

I hope everyone has a good day, whether you celebrate it or not. Good days are rare enough, no matter where you find them.

I could not sleep this morning. My back is out a bit, and my head hurt. I was tossing and turning in bed... and saw a couple little plot holes in my fanfic, of all things. So, since Russ is off delivering things this morning, I got up and came back here to correct the problems. That's done and I'll print it out later. I'm going to go take a nice warm bath now and hope that helps with the back.

If I don't get back to sleep that's not all bad. I need to be up fairly early tomorrow to go see my parents.

With luck, we'll get everything done early tonight and have some nice time to sit around and watch shows -- our Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve tradition. It used to be just New Year's Eve, but we have such a large collection that it started to spread out. (grin) Cheese and crackers, maybe some cookies if I bake a dozen or so today... Yeah, it could be fun.

Time for a bath and relax...

We did the shopping. We watched a show. All is going pretty well. I'm still writing away, with a nice new plan -- a page of these outline notes a day ought to do it, though I'm going to be hard pressed to do that on Christmas or even Christmas Eve. Okay, half a page on both those days, and I'll still be fine.

We ran into someone at a store tonight who said she'd been told we're going to loose sscdc.net. This isn't a surprise, but it is an annoyance on several levels. First, I have a good many sites on there, including the zoo pictures and my regular journal. I can move the journal, but the zoo site will go away. It's too large to be able to afford putting it somewhere else.

But more annoying, in many ways, is that no one has told me that the server is going away. I have worked on it for eight years now, doing web sites for the city and the county. When the city moved over to their own server, they didn't tell me they were going... but I was so tired of doing their sites that I didn't mind. Now they're doing it again, but in a bigger way.

But you know what? It means they'll have to do the damned agendas themselves. And in some ways... that's just fine with me.

I need to write more. Well, no, not actually write more... but sell more. I think I have just had my goals for 2003 defined for me. Good. Less work on my part having to come up with something.

Need to get back to work on Ada Nish Pura. It's going very well tonight. The fanfic break was obviously just what I needed to do to step back again. Or maybe I just work well under pressure.

I had written an entry, all about how lousy I feel, snarly, etc. Then I forgot to post it and closed the window.

Snarling yet more, I finally opened Ada Nish Pura and determined to cover a couple points in the outline before Russ and I go off to do our only Christmas shopping of the year. (Mostly just a present for my mother. I got a small check while he was in New York, for which I am grateful!)

Snarl, snarl. Looked at the outline. Didn't like the arrangement of events in the next three steps. Changed them. Started typing.

I've only done about 400 words, but you know... this is going fine now. Not great, not earth shattering -- but it's moving.

I did the outline much like I did for Freedom and Fame. I broke it down into little tiny steps -- and set an arbitrary 200 word count for each step. F&F had a higher per-step word count, but it hardly matters. It's just a number to aim for in general, because I do well with number goals. Some of the steps go way over, some fall way below. But it puts the story out there in easy pieces (200 words) that I can handle without much effort. And it makes it look as though I'm making progress because I can mark off each step as I go through it.

The steps are not absolute. I've ended up deleting quite a few steps, rearranging others... but it keeps me moving at a time when I really don't want to have to stop and try to figure out the next step.

Time to get back to work!

Russ is home. Already to bed -- he has a very busy day tomorrow. And if we're going to do any shopping at all, it will have to be tomorrow or early Christmas Eve. I don't do 'early' very well.

I'm reading over the story. Then I'll likely head off to bed.

Or maybe a nice long bath...

Or maybe I should do some more work.

Hmmm...

17,315. That's it, I think. Time to move on.

That was fun. I'll likely do it again soon -- though not before I get the other two pieces finished. But I do have another story in mind that I'd like to do.

Russ is on the road between Omaha and home. He'll be here sooner than I expected. Good thing I got almost everything else done already. (grin)

17,242. I just wrote The End. I suspect the total will go up and down a bit while I read it -- but it is DONE.

Now back to Ada Nish Pura and Turkey Shoot.

Actually, now I'm back to some soup and a show. Not at the same time, though. Eat first, watch afterwards.

Russ should finally be on a plane. He said he'll be a couple hours late getting home. That means around 2am instead of midnight. Things are looking good.

16,290. Still going, but not much left.

Russ called. He's in Chicago. Planes are running late everywhere, and he's not certain when he'll make it home.

And I'm ready to attack the story one more time.

Russ should be on a plane between New York and Chicago right now. I'm doing a few 'pick up' things around the house, but I'm mostly going to concentrate on getting this story done and moving on to real work again. (grin)

Starting count is 14425.

And why is my dog barking now... (argh)

Well, I got side tracked anyway. Garrison's Gorillas, mostly. But I've done a couple thousand words tonight, so I'm not upset. Yeah, I'd like to finish the story. There's always tomorrow.

Besides, I found a bit of something I need to work into the story. An ever so slight and subtle change in direction.

Yeah, yeah. Why take this much time with a bit of fanfic.

Because, like everything else I write, I intend to do it properly. And because, like everything else I write as well, I enjoy it. Getting the little bits and pieces of the story down is half the fun. I'm writing unaired episodes. I try to stick as close to the original characters as I can, even in a story like this which is far outside the regular lines. But that's what I do for fun.

I've got a couple hours before dawn. I can get a little more writing in.

My, that sounded rather vampire-ish, didn't it?

I had to take Genome into another room, away from me. Short chapters... I could read just a little more, right.

Well, sure ... If I don't want to write any more tonight.

The chapter on fate (yes, I'm sure that sounds odd) was fascinating and frightening, and very sad.

Time to work.

I've just worked out the last of the outline for the fanfic. There's only one scene I still need and can't quite figure out where to put it in. I'm not going to worry too much about it.

Having the outline done means I'll likely have the story done before the night is out. It's only a chapter and a half lef to go, maybe 3-5000 words tops. Once I have it out of the way, it's back to serious work.

Russ will be home in about 26 hours. I still have some things to do around the house, if I get to them. (grin)

Current count -- 13092. Let's see if I can bring this in under 20,000 words.

The agenda is finally done and up. Yes, it really does take that long to get them done sometimes. This one actually gave me problems because of my Internet Connection, though -- I couldn't get the thing to post. Done now, though, and that means I have all the time in the world to write, right?

I am reading a wonderful book titled Genome by Matt Ridley. Yes, it is science. I don't read nearly enough science. This man has a prose style and a sense of humor to kill for. Copyrighted in 1999, and this edition from 2000 -- as close to modern science as I'm likely to get, although I know that the discussion on human/chimp likenesses is a bit out of date already. Still, it's a great book to read. How can you not love a line like this:

'Some mathematical masochist has calculated that the brain was adding 150 million brain cells every hundred thousand years, the sort of useless statistic beloved of tourist guides.' (Page 33)

I must track the man's other books down. It's been a long time since I read any science book that made me laugh out loud. His comments on Mendel are equally fun.

And I might learn something.

I am starting out my day with a sore throat, an ear ache, an upset stomach... and the Agenda. Somehow they all seem to go together.

I've got the agenda about half done, but I need to go rest for a little while. This is pretty miserable. Taking stuff that should help once it kicks in, though.

Just hit a little odd time-related snag.

See, I want this silly fanfic to go out with the tapes. Those will go out on Monday, I think. The story is not done.

If I concentrate on Ada Nish Pura as I SHOULD, then I won't have it done in time. If I skip Ada for a few days, I run the risk of not getting it done in time.

Oh hell. I might as well go with the fanfic. I only have about 30,000 words left on Ada, and I've proven that I can do 10,000 a day with an outline like this. I have plenty of time to finish it and the Sangre story as well.

Okay. Off to do silly stuff rather than serious stuff. I guess it's my Christmas present to myself. Right?

Moving along...

I've a lot left to do on Ada Nish Pura, but I finally have a real handle on what it needs, and that helps a great deal. It's just the inability to actually sit down and do it that seems to be stopping me now. I do this, I do that, I write a couple hundred words, I do a little bit more on something else.. eventually I'll get there.

Well it is only midnight, after all. I don't know why ever expect to get a lot of writing done before midnight. It rarely happens.

My head is full of story ideas. They want out. But my subconscious refuses to cooperate. Every time I sit down, I get the urge to stand up and go do something else instead. Very odd. Well, at least I'm getting some of the house cleaned! (grin)

Five types of food.

Five feeding spots.

The hordes are content for the moment.

I am working on Vision this evening. It's going pretty well. Last nights work on Ada went well, too. I'm not quite as far as I hoped, but part of that was just a general feeling that I couldn't connect with anything last night. I think I'll do better today.

It's quiet here though. Very odd. We've had strong winds for two days, and they just died down in the last half an hour.

And now the damned connection is down again.

Ah well. I should be working anyway, right?

The outline is working well, even if my brain isn't really focused. Part of it is just the usual 'Russ is gone, poor me' feeling. The other part is the idea that I should get some real work done around the house in the next couple days.

But I have to say that the outline is a real help. I just had to delete one line of the outline because I realized it would not work at all. Other than that, it's moving along quite nicely. I have hopes to get it, and the other two, done within time.

Even if I am messing around now.

Russ has just left.

Sigh.

I have been up since 10am (after going to bed at about 6am), so I'm probably going to do some serious napping here in a bit.

It should be a fast trip, at least. He'll be back Monday morning. In the mean time, I do have some work to get done here at the house.

As soon as I wake up enough to do it...

Good writing day, finally. A bit over 3000 words, part of it in the new outline that looks very manageable and comes to a wonderful ending that I didn't quite see until I got there. It lays out 14 sections of 250 words a day (those are rough sections and rough word counts, but gives me something to aim at), and at that count I'll be done on about the 29th.

But knowing me -- and knowing how well this worked with Freedom and Fame -- I'll likely get done sooner. Which is okay. I do have two other stories to work on as well.

I'm relieved though.

And going to bed. Russ leaves in about eight hours.

Okay, so I'm a little slow sometimes...

I wrote 100,000 words in ten days last month. Why? Because I had a very good outline.

Why is Ada Nish Pura not moving along all that well? Because, while I have a short outline of what's going to happen, I can't seem to focus on how to get there.

Duh.

I've started the new outline. It's going pretty well. It's just going to cover the last 1/3rd of the book. This will help.

Duh...

The connection is down again. Argh.

Okay, hours later and not only am I back, but the connection is back as well. Good. Now what do I do?

I woke up today feeling off. I went back to bed. I got up feeling worse. It's been that way all day, but a couple Tums are finally settling my stomach a little. Russ is trying to finish up an article. And then we have to do some running around to prepare for his trip tomorrow. I rather hope I don't feel like falling over dead before then.

I did get the guys fed.

Ack.

So, am I the only one who ends up doing self-analysis in the bathtub? There's nothing like a long, warm bath on a cold winter night to let you think through decisions. And I think I've finally come to realize the problems I'm having with this yes/no holiday season.

The first part is my usual 'I don't want to change' attitude, which equates, in many ways, to 'I don't want to grow up.' The second part is the very startling realization that I'm going to be 49 in about ten weeks.

So here I am, a few days before Christmas. The 'but I like pretty lights and cookies' is warring with the 'Oh grow up!' side of me. And I'm not saying that adults can't enjoy pretty lights and cookies, but that at some point even I have to look at things responsibly and make the right choice rather than the 'me' one.

That's not to say Russ dislikes the holidays, but he's just not into the 'trappings' stuff. He doesn't enjoy putting up decorations and helping to bake and frost the cookies is right out. (Although he's quite good at baking cookies at other times -- grin). We have put the tree up in my office the last few years, partly to keep an eye on it, and also because I'm the one who enjoys looking at it. That's fine and fun, but is it necessary to spend the money to put a tree in my room? And even I have come to think that it's a lot of work (and often a lot of money at the wrong time) just to put some glittery stuff out for a few days.

I have to buy my mother a present this year, and that's about it. I got a wonderful set of tapes already that I never expected to see and I'm totally addicted to -- I've watched at least one show a day since I got them, and often quite a few more. I have the new Cherryh book, which I might just hold till Christmas and read it that day... that might be a lot of fun! I might even set a few little Christmas-y things out this weekend, since the stuff is still sitting right there in the library. But that depends on if I get the house cleaned up.

But you know, it might be time to find a new way to celebrate the holidays. Something that doesn't include wandering around the mall, (which I really don't like to do -- a sure sign that I'm getting older) looking for things to buy. I always end up finding more things that I'd like to buy for decorations and such rather than presents, which his annoying as well. I have avoided all Christmas displays since last October, just to keep from getting into the 'oh that's a cute little bit of expensive fluff that I'd like to sit out for a couple days each year.' I think I've done rather well. I did buy a cat decoration very early, though. But hey... I like to buy cat stuff anyway.

Russ has always tried to pay off all the bills he can at the end of the year, and I think that bit of money I have might help there as well. We don't have a lot of outstanding bills, so it's not that big of a deal, but this might well be the year to contribute rather than making it worse.

You know, I feel a lot better now.

Kincaid is looking better today. I'm relieved. He ate a good amount of food this afternoon and has not yet gotten sick. We got his medication into him again (no easy task) and all looks good. He looked awful yesterday at this time, so I'm really glad to see him pick up. He's lost a lot of weight -- which isn't all bad.

With that worry out of the way, I think I would like to have a nice, fun Christmas, but I get the feeling that this isn't the year to push my luck and do anything. It hasn't been a bad year, mind you. I've had a lot of fun and done a lot of good writing. I had a great time on our anniversary, and got an entire new novel out of it. (grin) But it has been a frustrating year in respect to the things I had planned. From my birthday through the conventions (including one I had planned to attend for YEARS), very little has worked out. None of it was all that tragic, just frustrating. I wanted to see the ocean again, but I'm sure a convention will turn back up on the West Coast again, after all. I really wanted to see my friends, but most of them will be at other conventions. I want to go to the mountains again, but then that's a pretty standard one for me. I could go this weekend, and I'd say I want to go to the mountains two days after I'm back. (grin) Of course I'm the same way about deserts and oceans, it's just that they're farther away.

There are years when things just don't work out for that kind of stuff, and there's nothing that can be done about it. I've made a lot of the problem myself by not having a real job, so I can't complain. But it leaves me here, right before Christmas, thinking I ought to just enjoy things the way they are -- I'm having a great time watching the shows! -- and call it good. I did write a teddy bear poem, but I didn't print it out for mailing -- just finally wrote it a couple days ago. I have not put out any decorations. I'd have to clean first, and my back has been so miserable, that even standing and doing the dishes hurts. I had to go back to bed this afternoon after I changed the kitty litter because it hurt so bad. But I do have to clean sometime anyway. (grin)

But here is the problem. I love Christmas trees -- just the scent of them alone makes me happy. But... well, funds have been tight this year, and every time I think about the tree, I think that it would be a waste of money. Russ's checks haven't come in yet, but I did get one recently and have been holding on to it. I said for Christmas, but now... Maybe a little one. Really, a nice little one a couple feet high that wouldn't be a pain to deal with, and shouldn't cost a lot. I wonder if I could find one tomorrow. Probably not, and it's not a big deal. I've been going back and forth on this since the first, and if I can't make up my mind yet, then it's obviously not that important.

Russ leaves for New York on Thursday. He should be back on Sunday. It's a quick trip this time, at least (they usually run from a week to ten days) and it comes at a good time because his other regular work won't pick up again until after Christmas. I have no set plans for the time he's gone, except to get more writing done, but nothing surprising there. Maybe I'll even do a little of that cleaning stuff.

They're saying we might get a little snow later today. That wouldn't be bad. It's kind of dull brown around here right now, and I think a nice snow would make things a bit prettier. Not that I'd notice a lot since I rarely leave my office, but still...

Okay, enough rambling. Time to go take a bath and think out a scene to one of the stories.

Gack.

Not exactly my best set of days. Kincaid has been in and out of the kitty hospital, and he's just not looking good. I'm hoping the new medication helps, but he wouldn't eat at all tonight. This, of course, has affected just about everything I do. I get up and check on him every few minutes, which means writing anything more than a paragraph or so at a run is just not going to happen. But the stories are inching along. I'm just not having much fun with them. They're not bad, they're just not flying -- although the new Sangre story has had some fun lines, at least. And my MC made an important discovery in Ada Nish Pura. Too bad the giant sea creature grabbed him a moment later and is pulling him down into the ocean.

Russ will be leaving for New York on Thursday morning, but if all goes well he'll be back home on Sunday night. I rather expect a massive snow storm to trap him for a day or two, just to make me more miserable, but I'll survive it.

I have done nothing for the holidays and I don't think I will this year. No decorations, no tree, no Bear Story -- though that's not entirely true. I wrote a poem a couple days ago, finally, but I didn't do anything with it. I used to love the holiday season, and couldn't wait to get decorations up and make cookies. And I think I would still enjoy it, but I just got tired this year, I guess. It seems like an awful lot of effort just to entertain myself. And far too much money. I finally got a check, but Russ hasn't gotten any of his, so we'll be using mine to cover everything that needs taken care of before he leaves. You know -- food, cat food, more cat food, dog food, a couple bills. Oh and cat food.

I do have the new C.J. Cherryh book on my shelf. Yay! I'm looking forward to reading it, and I'll probably do that this weekend while Russ is gone.

Well, no. It's not like I've been really busy. That can't be the reason I haven't been here. I'm not even doing holiday stuff this year, so I don't have that excuse. I did get one of the unfinished pieces cleared out of the queue, but it was really the relatively easy one to do, so that's good. But... well, I'm just not really here, I guess. I don't know where the days are going.

Dacey's Dream is done. I'll have another read through before it goes out, and no doubt a bit more editing, but that's going to wait until next year. I'm working through the other three pieces at about 500 words a day. I'd like to be doing more, but they're just not coming.

And yes, you've read that kind of stuff a few dozen times during the last year. I hit periods like this, usually after a long, good writing stretch. It's not a surprise. It is an annoyance this close to the end of the year, but I'll get everything done. I have Ada Nish Pura plotted out, and I'm just going from scene to scene with Turkey Shoot, but that's part of the fun of that story. It's silly, and it's meant to be, so there's no telling what might pop up next in it. The bit of fanfic is going all right too. I just need to get my people moving there.

Anything else? No. Well, my cat is sick. Russ is going to New York next week. I've given up on the idea of holidays. I should be writing.

Ack.

I've gone crazy. I've gone stark raving mad. But I'm sure that doesn't surprise anyone here.

For the last few days I have been eeking out 1000 words a day, bouncing from one story to another with a mere 200 or so words on each one, and hoping one of them would take off so I could finish it and clear it out. I'm running out of days, after all. And I really don't have that much to get done. The run final through Dacey's Dream is going the best of all of them, and I have faith I can get this draft done quickly. I'll get it finished without a problem. Ada Nish Pura is a little more difficult, but I finally have the last half of the novel worked out plot wise and if I could get fall into it, I would get done in no time. The Sangre story is fun so far, and will likely not go more than 10,000 to 12,000 words. None of this should be a problem.

But I can't get into the stories. I'm not sure why.

No, that's a lie. I know exactly why. It's because a totally useless bit of TV fanfic is caught in my brain and has refused to let go. In fact two of them, based in the same series. Do you have to guess which series? I just watched 26 episodes in four days. Of course that's the only thing left in my brain right now.

I finally gave in a few minutes ago. After toying with the other stories for most of the day, and getting only 300 words written, I started a Garrison's Gorilla's story. I've already written, in the last ten minutes, more than I wrote on the other stuff in four hours. I don't know why I bothered to wait this long. I knew it would happen.

Well, fanfic has always been my 'vacation' writing, and I suspect this is my brain telling me that after 180,000 words in November it would like a little fluff and fun. I can live with that for a week or so.

Of course, there is also Vision to get done. So I had better start setting out everything for that as well if I want to be on time as well. Time for a nice little daily list, I suppose.

But at least I'm still having fun!

I'm not doing all that well today. Not bad, but I'm feeling a little ill, and I think I'm going to go rest in a tub of water for an hour or so and see if I can get past this part. I am making progress on several fronts -- things for Vision, ending for Ada Nish Pura, some thoughts on other material. I still have two Garrison's Gorillas left to watch, but they're held out as a carrot for getting other material done.

I did get my office cleaned up-- but only because my computer had a problem and I had to wait for Russ to get home before I dared restart it again.

A nice bath will help. I'm feeling just a bit off tonight, and I want to sit back and enjoy the night if I can. I have a piece for Vision that I MUST get done tonight and off to the proper people, and all is going better with that, finally, as well. But a little relaxation would not hurt right now.

Bath. Yes.

So, I got up with the intention of doing all the work I needed to do, then getting back to the shows. Seemed like a nice, simple ploy. I did have that agenda to do, of course. And updates at various other sites, and...

Well, I got sidetracked by something else very early on, only now finished the agenda, still haven't done the other sites, and haven't done a bit of writing -- which is actually the most annoying part of it. I've not been doing a lot of writing the last week. (Oh, pod person again.) Last night (well actually about 7am) when I went to bed I had some very good ideas for what I wanted to do with Ada Nish Pura. Exciting stuff. I hope to get to it yet tonight, but I still have other work to get done first.

I can't believe how much I'm enjoying watching these shows. I end up watching three or four of them a night. It's cut way into my writing time... but at the same time, it's sparked some very odd ideas.

But I am falling behind on other things. I can't believe that it's already Saturday morning. Gack! I have agendas to get done. One is uploading now, but it's the easy county one. I did do part of the work for the big city one earlier this week.

All I really want to do is go back and watch more of the show. That has really been fun. But right now I'm working on Agendas, the new Sangre Story, and letting a story idea simmer in the back of my brain. It's growing quite nicely, in fact. I hope it continues to -- although I would like to handle all of the unfinished ones as well. At least get one of the silly things done and out of the way! I am running out of time...

But there are about eight more of the show to go through...

Trying to get work done today. Ha. Not likely. Though I did write a fun scene for the Sangre story:

If Baby had had a knife on her right at that moment, there was no telling what might have happened. Apache caught hold of her arm when she started to move, and Kim looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Let's change places, Baby," Apache said.

"What? Afraid I'll kill your friend here before your first date is over?"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time, would it?" Apache said.

"Ah. Good point."

****
At any rate, it's just silly stuff. Sometimes that's the best to write, especially on days with crashing computers making odd noises. (Fan, I suspect. We'll have it handled soon.)

What an odd, rather strange day.

We received a box full of video tapes today -- an early Christmas present. In the box was a complete set of a 35 year old series we never expected to see -- Garrison's Gorillas. Beautiful off air copies. Also in the box was all but two or three episodes of a series called T.H.E. Cat -- but in very bad condition. We 'watched' the first show. You could almost make out what was going on most of the time -- but you know, this is another 30+ year old series, and the first time I watched it was on a little black and white with a built in antenna that I had to move around and hold on to to see a picture.

At any rate, I had a 'revert to childhood' day. I watched the first six episodes of GG, 1 episode of Cat, and one episode of Most Deadly Game (4 episodes of that in the box as well).

That's more television watching than I did in all of October and November combined. I only watched 9 hours in September, so the 7.5 is coming very close to that already. And it's going to keep going, of course. Another 20 episodes of GG to go through, 21 of Cat, and 3 Most Deadly Games. And then maybe I delve back into my own collection. Hmmm.... All of Route 66 -- I've never seen them all, actually. Complete set of the Fugitive. All the Man from UNCLE episodes, most of the Girl from UNCLE's as well. All the I SPY, many on DVD and beautiful... Or maybe I'll go for a western binge. High Chaparral? Lancer? Quest? Or move out of the 60's and 70's into something closer... ah, there are so many wonderful possibilites for mindless, fun entertainment. Sometimes that doesn't really hurt. I should probably do it more often, in fact. Turn my brain off from writing and give it something else. Even reading is about writing for me, since everything I read ends up with little brain notes tucked away on content, style -- or, if it's nonfiction, which I read more often then fiction, I end up with real notes everywhere.

I'm talking myself into a real watching marathon here. Which would be nice, really.

It's not like I need to write a whole lot, after all. (grin)

And yes, I did get some writing done. Edited some of Dacey, too. And started to lose most of my headache that has been lingering for days.

All in all, it's not so bad to retreat to childhood, I guess. (grin)

Ah, nice calm quiet day. Got things done around the house. Waiting for Russ to get home from a meeting. Not doing a lot of writing, and rather enjoying it. So far things look good. I'm going to continue to relax, and think about what I need to get done. I've started working on putting together somethings for Vision, and those are going very well, too. I think it's going to be a good last month to the year.

Sure wish I had something interesting to say, though. (grin)

Change that. Not adding enough to Dacey's Dream to make it worth listing for word count. It'll just go by number of pages edited. Hmmm....

If I edit 15 pages a day, I'll have it done in plenty of time. I can do that. Good.

I had thought there was an entire important section to write yet, but I'd already done it. Once I read it, I remembered it, but with so much else, it had kind of slipped out of my notice. Okay. So two things to finish, one to just edit, and one of the massive outlines like I did for Freedom and Fame.

Okay.

I am trying to get back into the idea of normal. Well, normal for me. We've already discussed that I don't have a life, so I can't exactly have a normal life, can I?

At any rate...

I have three unfinished projects this year. None of them are drastic, and I might actually run out of material before the end of the month. I could fill in with short stories after that if I do. Oh, and I should do really good outlines for one or two of the early 2003 projects, just like the one I did for the first NaNo novel. Yeah. There, that's better. I now have more than I can reasonably get done in December. Sounds about right to me...

I suppose I ought to go get organized or something now, right?

So, the unfinished pieces are:

Ada Nish Pura (SF) -- 47,993 (Looking for another 20,000 at least in the first draft. Maybe more.)

Dacey's Dream (Series book # 4) -- 74,669 (This one is actually in the rewrite/edit phase with some extensive additions. I just need to get back to it.)

Sangre -- Turkey Shoot (Contemporary SF) -- 4438 (This one will be a novella or maybe just a novelette. At any rate, it shouldn't take long to finish.) (Probably just cursed myself with that line.)

I should do outlines for Series book # 7, and maybe even for the last one, # 8. But I also have a brand new fantasy novel I'd like to start on 1/1/03 that I need to do some outline and research for before I can seriously consider it. But since I always begin something brand new on the first day of the year... yeah, I'll likely do the outline for it, too.

Hmmm...

I think I'll go watch TV for a while.

Hello. Welcome back to life, Zette.

Well, that would be if you really had a life, of course.

NaNo is past. I got some much needed work done in the last 24 hours. I am preparing to attack my three unfinished projects for this year, and trying to get my mind around the concept that I'm running out of time. It's not working. I can't quite grasp the fact that there are only 30 days left in the year. I'm not certain where my mind thinks we are, but I keep getting the feeling that it should maybe be September or something.

Okay, writing shouldn't be so hard, right? It's not like it's something I've never done before....

Back to work!