NaNo is almost upon us!

I have plenty of plot bunnies ready, as you can see. I even have an outline. What I don't have is time, of course, but I'm leaping in anyway.

I'm going to be updating the Forward Motion site in a few minutes. That's one thing I can get done and off the list. Vision is nearly there, as well.

Some personal stuff fell by the side, as usual, but I don't care. I'll get to it.

As of this morning, I had sent out 1047 copies of the NaNo Book. Plus, I know a few people have downloaded it from my site (http://lazette.net), and a few others said they were passing it on to others. So... I guess quite a few copies of it are out there now.

The things I still need to get done:

Update FM site

Finish Vision 36

Finish PDF of Vision 35 and 36

Fix Excel outline sheets

Print outlines

That's really not too bad of a list. I have about 10.5 hours to do it. I'm sure I'm forgetting things, like the music stuff I wanted to do, and getting some pictures lined up for my regular journal, but I don't care.

In fact, I'm going to go take a nice, relaxing bath before I do any more. Oh, and take blood pressure meds before I forget. (grin)

 

A picture from the zoo

I love this shot. What a wonderful look on the little one's face!

It's going to be a while before I get all of those zoo pictures sorted out. I'm now three trips behind on my zoo blog, which really annoys me. But I just don't have the time.

Which brings me to something Russ and I discussed tonight.

He thinks I need to step back from some of the things I'm trying to get done. He thinks I should go do NaNo and enjoy myself, and not worry that I don't have the 2YNY2 book done. He thinks, in fact, that I'm driving myself crazy trying to get all the things done.

I think he's right. I'll get the 2YNY2 book done. Just not right now. I'm over half way through it. There are problems that I didn't expect, some of them just with my inability to focus on the book for long. Part of that is a stress issue. The more I worry over it, the harder it is to get done.

So I am going to go into NaNo without worrying. I'll get Vision done. I'll have the FM site updated. I'll do whatever else absolutely has to be done. But I'm also going to start working in more time for myself again. That means zoo blog pictures, Daz/Bryce pictures, and writing stuff just because I want to write.

I never intended to be a nonfiction writer and I don't think I have the real mentality for it. So constantly working on nonficition this year has really added a stress level that I hadn't really considered until I was talking with Russ.

I need to have more fun again, especially with writing -- or else everything else I do, from DTF to the 2YN classes to Vision to even Forward Motion starts looking like more trouble than they are worth to me. When I'm in a bad mood, even stuff I nominally like can start looking like trouble.

So, more fun. More writing and editing (because, yeah, I like editing), more pictures and more 3d art.

I plan to start a story blog in December. I am going to be blogging a set of holiday stories over the next year -- The Don't Go Home for the Holidays anthology that I had offered as a free book for a short while. It features too sisters who thought they were working for a division of NATO and found out they were actually working for aliens. It's a fun set of stories, and I'm looking forward to it.

Don't Go Home for the Holidays: A Story of Spies, Aliens and Really Bad Timing

This should be fun! 

Well, yes, of course I've been busy

It's the last week before NaNo. It's the last week before Vision is due out. Between the two and various real-life dramas, I'm kind of feeling overwhelmved here. I at least have part of Vision done already, so I think things will go all right there. And I have outlines for NaNo.

I've been sending out copies of NaNo for the New and the Insane and that's gone well, at least. Oh, and I have been working on the 2YNY2 book and it's moving quite nicely, though still not fast enough.

Part of me would like to just abandon everything and write for a while. Just write. So I guess that it's a good thing NaNo is coming soon. That will be my chance.

If I get enough of the other work done, of course.

I think I am going to the zoo tomorrow. It will be my last chance this month, and even though it's supposed to rain, it still looks like the best hope for a nice day. I thnk a few hours away from the computer and the house will be nice, too.

Why couldn't it have been today, when the weather was still not bad? It's turning already, though. Clouded up and looks like rain. At least they're not saying snow instead, which was what they were saying a few days ago.

Snarl.

Time to get back to work. 

Still working....

The outline for The Servant Girl is finally coming together. This is a wonderful relief because I really, really didn't think I could come up with another full novel this late in the game.

I've been getting some work done on 2YNY2 as well, though not as much as I should. But still... I'm happy to find it moving as well.

I have a great deal of work done on the next Vision issue, though there are two big problems that I'm not sure how I'm going to cover... but we'll see.

I was going to go to the zoo tomorrow while Russ taught a class.. but it snowed today, and it's just going to be even colder tomorrow morning. I am sniffing now. My ear hurts. It just doesn't sound like a good plan. Russ says he'll get me to the zoo yet this month, and he does have one more class. I'm getting antsy. I'd really like to go tomorrow, but it is just not a good plan.

But other things...

I have two free downloads at my site now. One is a science fiction story called PSI and the other is a free book for people who are either doing NaNoWriMo this year or who might be interested in doing it. You can find them both on http://lazette.net .

I've been having strange thoughts about the huge accumulation of material that I have. I think quite a bit of it is going to end up as free downloads over the next few years -- but only because I have so much stuff. I'm still going to be sending a few choice pieces out to publishers, though, of course. But I figure something on my site every few months won't hurt.

We'll see how I do. I still haven't gotten to the edits of Touched by the Wild, though it will likely be one of the pieces. I just need more time.

Like that's going to happen.

I've been very busy the last few weeks, but now that the outline is falling together, I don't feel quite as much stress. I still have a horrible amount of work to get done on all kinds of things... but I'll get there.

And at some point I'll get to go to the zoo as well. 

Am I getting caught up?

Well, you'd think -- given the amount of work I've done in the last couple days -- that I'd be caught up on something. It doesn't really look that way from my side, but maybe I'm just annoyed.

Okay, I have two weeks to finish up everything and do the outline for NaNo before the madness begins. I'm looking forward to NaNo. I could use that 'vacation from reality' about now. I don't think I'll be as ready for it as I want, but that's life. I'll manage.

I hope to go to the zoo on Thursady. It might not work out because Russ has some things going on that may mean it would be impossible to do. But it would be nice. (Goes to check weather.) Ah... except possibly for that snow the day before. Well, if it warms back up (say 50 or above), I'll be happy.

What else?

Nothing. Really. I'm working on the 2YNY2 book. I'm trying to add bits and pieces to my outline. I'm starting to look at putting the next Vision together, which means contracts should go out tomorrow.

Oh! And I will be a guest at SoonerCon next June! Yay! I have every intention of going, too. Life has to be better than it has been this year!

Okay, off to open something I should be doing rather than complaining here!