A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Hi, lurkers.

I’ll continue my faux promise of updating regularly by actually writing something.

As some of you may or may not know, I’m an aspiring lawyer working at a large law firm this summer. Fingers crossed, that’s where I’ll be starting my career when I (hopefully) pass the bar exam next summer.

But, I finish the law firm’s summer program on Friday, and I don’t start my final year of law school until the end of August, so I am here and now affirming the commitment that some of you know I made last year. I’ll be spending the month or so (I will be taking a week-long vacation) plotting out enough to race again to the million. It’s gonna happen, and it’s gonna be awesome.

This November is gonna be epic.

50kday1

The last bastion of the truly fking crazy.

Get 30 days worth of goods in 1 day.

Today was a banner year for OAs doing Nano.

It’s a crazy day. It’s now 6:28 pm. I’ve been up since midnight, took a half hour nap sometime before dawn, haven’t slept since. Lots of bottles of coke. Totally too wired to sleep right now.

Got my fastest time this year – just shy of 17 hours for the 50k. It was awesome; it’s always awesome.

Welcome to Nano 2015.

Let’s Pretend We’re Ready

So. October 29. We’re….close.

For the plotters like me, having outlines to clutch to might make you feel secure. I wish I stood in that boat. A combination of law school stuff-and-such has resulted in me having no outlines and really hardly any idea what I’m going to do this month.

If any of my lurky readers are in the situation that I’m in, I suggest the following. First, take a deep breath. I know that you, like me, have procrastinated the fk out of this Nano. But the more you panic, the less you’re gonna get done. Second, we’re now at crunch time, so unless you can devote lots of time in the next three days, you’re gonna have to compromise your planning. Focus on what you can plan. Characters, settings, worlds, plots. Them’s all good. Get an outline together. Even if it’s “Chapter 3: Bob and Jim do stuff.”

Step 3? BREATHE. For serious.

It’s gonna be okay.

And I’m right there in the weeds with you.

Only a couple days to go and I couldn’t tell you whether I’m excited as hell or scared as fk.

Ramping up?

Let’s get this shit going, guys.

November is almost upon us.

For the pantsers, time to make friends on the forums. For the planners, get those outlines done (or started).

And for those who want to have an epic day 1?

Come join us in the OA chat. Magic will happen then and there. Perhaps even miracles. It doesn’t matter what your day 1 goal is; if you want to be amazing, that’s the place you should be.

So let’s get serious. Nano 14 is happening. I’m actually disappointed that I’ll be million-ing again my 11th year, not my tenth, but I seriously cannot do it this year. So I wanna challenge and write with as many of you gaiz as possible this month. I want stories, I want legends, of how fking awesome we all are. And by we all, I mean every. single. one. of. us.

Legends, gaiz. Legends.

November comes again!

Hai gaiz,

So, it’s that time of year again. Despite the crazy amount of Stuff I Must Do For Life Reasons, of course I’m overachieving again this year. Goal this year is 250k. I’m also gonna be racing for 50k on day 1 with a number of awesome people. If you wanna watch us go, come join us in the Nano OA chatroom (see the OA forum for a link).

In non-Nano related news, as some/most of you know, I’m a to-be-lawyer. I recently received and accepted an offer to work next summer at one of bigger law firms in the country next summer (with an eye to being a real lawyer there in a couple years).

Lets get amped up guys.

It’s Nano season. Best time of the year.

This annual thing should really stop, shouldn’t it?

Me again. Your friendly absentee blogger.

Nothing much to report on the writing front. Law school’s still the boss of me. I’ve decided to make my life as difficult as humanly possible my second year of law school. (On the plus side, my post-law school resume is going to look fking amazing).

And, despite all good sense to the contrary, I’m coming back for year number 9. I’d hate to break the streak.

Worse? Oh hell yeah, I’m overachieving.

So, let’s get this pre-nano season started.

I’m looking forward.

Well….

So, it looks like I’m going for 250k this year.

However, I’m putting a serious caveat on that number, something that I haven’t done any year prior to now:

Law school comes first. If writing gets in the way of Shit That Has To Get Done For School,  writing will be the loser there.

 

 

Nanowrimo ’13

Hey gaiz.

A smarter person than I might decide to bow out of NaNo for the next 3 years, in the interests of kicking ass at law school.

(Let’s be honest – a smarter person than I might have made the much better decision to not go to law school in the first place)

But, you gaiz all know me. You know that I can’t give this up. We’re on year 9 now.

I have tentatively set a goal, but until I can find a time to actually sit down and plot something (anything), I don’t want to commit-commit or share details.

If you’re looking for me on the NaNo boards, you know where to find me.

Let Nano Season begin!

 

Next Stage of My Life

Hey gaiz.

In 2009, I graduated from college. In 2010, I started the lease pleasant job I’ll ever have. In 2012, I transitioned to a job I never wanted to leave. And now, in 2013…

I’m about to start a new chapter of my life. I begin law school tomorrow. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be moving. Lots of big changes in my life, quite a lot of stress.

It is, as of now, my full intention to do NaNo this year. Whether overachieving fits into a law student’s life remains to be seen.

I’ll still be around, don’t worry. Lurk around as you wish.

A Hard Realization

It’s been way too long since I worked on any serious projects for a sustained length of time. I NaNo every year, but rarely go back to rework (or even reread, frankly), those pieces. Not because they’re garbage, but simply because I have other things going on in my life. That’s not a good excuse, it’s reality.

But a couple years ago, I went through a few drafts of a novel and even got to the point of querying it to agents. At the time, it felt like a solid story to me, even if I was querying into a glutted market as to my subgenre.

I re-read about 70% of it yesterday. The writing is fine – I have been technically competent for a long time, given a few drafts. The story is there; the premise and the plot all work. But the execution? It doesn’t. I can’t even properly put my finger on what about it that doesn’t. All I do know is that’s likely the reason I got the form rejects back in 2010.

As readers of this blog might remember, I start law school in a couple of months. Based on the stories told to me by others at my workplace (that I do believe), the amount of leisure time I’m going to have will be minimal.

One thing that should come as no surprise to any of my readers is the revelation that I am hyper-competitive, even if I’m only competing against myself. So, the question that I present to myself, and the challenge I offer is – can I come up with a reworked, competent draft between now and August 18? I’m not sure I can.

But I can certainly try.