No Zoo

It was just too cold to go today. Cold and damp, and with an hour and a half wait outside until they opened, it didn't seem like a good idea. Russ says he'll get me down there on one of his days off . (He has those?)

I really wanted to go today. I need out of the house and to have some fun, and the zoo is the best idea because it doesn't cost me anything. I might ride with Russ up to his teaching job on Thursday, though, just for the ride.

I am looking at lists of things to get done again, and starting to get the feeling that I'm not going to make it. Especially on days like today when one of the things I want to work on isn't anywhere to be found. I need to hunt down some back up disks from some time ago (like 1999) and see if I can find the story.

I told myself that since I wasn't going to be home today that I ought to just do fun stuff. Somehow it's not going that way yet.

Okay, off to hunt down a missing story.... (Like I don't have enough others that I can find!) 

So the list....

I wrote it up. I printed it out. Then, on the second day, I turned it over and used it for scratch paper.

No, it didn't quite work well.

The second 2YN book is not going to be done before December. I just can't get it all and stay sane. Or sane as I am already. I'm going to back up, work on it a little more slowly, and see if I can't get it done in a reasonable amount of time. I am not, as I thought I might, skip NaNo to do it. I'm already annoyed enough with life. Skipping NaNo would not be a good plan this year, even if I'm not ready for it.

And I'm going to the zoo tomorrow. So there.

I had to sit back and apply some of my own 'words of wisdom ' to my work. I tell people not to worry, if things don't get done in time (at FM for instance) that no one is going to die of it. Don't drive yourself crazy over this stuff. And when you are already under stress, don't add to it. I've not been paying attention to my own words, and I've been driving myself crazy this last year. Sure, a lot of things have not gone right on a personal level, but it's all right. We're getting there. And as long as I don't go pounding my head against the wall much, I think I'll be fine.

Besides, I get to go to the zoo tomorrow. Sure, it's going to be cold. (But not as cold as Wednesday, when we are apparently going to get snow!), and I'll have to sit outside the zoo or about an hour or so before it opens... but I don't care! I'm going to go and have a good time.

But right now... well, better get some work done! 

Not Catching up

This is bad. I seem to be falling farther behind rather than catching up. So, I've made up a chart with odd lists of numbers (1,2, 3 in one list, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in a couple of others). They represent what I want to get done on certain projects each day. They go back to first of this month, and a couple will be filled in late, but I will get them.

The projects are 2YNY2, NaNo outline, ADW pics, Paid in Gold and Blood.

I do well with lists like this where I can see where I stand, and where I want to mark something off. So, let's hope that it works well for me this month, or else I'm in a lot of trouble.

Okay, I'm already in a lot of trouble. Let's hope this brings me out of it.

Part of the problem is that I want the second 2YN book to be longer, and it just isn't there. I realize a lot of the first book was worldbuilding, and there is no equivalent material for the second book -- just as well, probably. I think I need to stop worrying about the length and just work on getting it done to the best of my ability. If it's shorter, so what? As long as it has what it needs.

Yes, that's the attitude I need. Let's see how long I can hold on to it.

Okay, I've printed out my little sheet of paper with all the names and numbers to cross off. Time, I think, to get to work! 

Edmond is funny

We noticed this the other day. Edmund twists in odd ways sometimes.

Tonight the NaNo boards kicked off for the 2006 season. For some reason this kind of got me fired up . I even feel better than I have all day.

It also helps that Russ is home. He had a horrible five days away, too, poor guy. Missed a flight in Omaha and had to drive to Kansas City in order to get a plane to get to New York on time. Then sat on the runway for two and a half hours tonight, which meant he was way late getting home -- with a long drive from Kansas City to here.

But he's home... for a few more hours. Tomorrow he goes 70 miles north to teach math again.

I've been working on the 2YNy2 book, and I think I'm finally getting a breakthrough there. It won't be as long as the first book, but then the first one had a huge section of worldbuilding. I think it will be about 90 to 100k, which ought to be long enough, after all. And if that's so, then I'm about 20-25k from being done.

That looks far more mangeable.

The novel I thought I would be doing for NaNo -- the one I NEED to do -- is not coming together in the outline. The Servant Girl outline, which I wrote just before Labor of Love at FM is looking better and better. I've been adding a few sections and filling it out. I think it might be my main novel this year.

Part of me just wants to run with something this year like I did for the last book of NaNo last year. It is a useless book, filled with characters from a dozen other stories, all of them pulled together in one unifying situation. It was fun to write! Maybe I'll pull them all together for a second book this year. There's a thought....

But right now I think I want to get some rest. 

October

I realized I had a ton of stuff to get done for the boards for October, so that took most of my day. And now Edmond is watching the screen where the letters appear here, and that' can't be good at all....

There, I distracted him a little. Claws in the flatscreen... probably not a good idea.

Russ will be home about 6 pm tonight. Good. I feel better, at least. I hate being ill and being alone.

I'm tired, of course. It's been a rough few days. I haven't gotten hardly anything done, too. Well, except that I did get the stuff set up for Forward Motion today, so that's good. My own site? No. I have two books out that need to be put on the main page, and I haven't gotten any closer to it.

The new NaNoWriMo.org boards should be opening up sometime today. I don't think I'm going to stay up and watch for them. A few hours sleep sounds like a much better idea.

I need to make myself a little schedule list for the next month. Otherwise, NaNo or not, I'm going to be in real trouble

But right now... not feeling so well. I'm heading for bed.