And we're off... almost

So tempting, so tempting!

The core crew are getting set to get a jumpstart on me, writing from midnight to 2AM. Grrr. Snuggle w/honey -- write. Snuggle -- write. Snuggle. Sorry, but priorities are priorities. I'll have plenty of nights to turn the cold shoulder on the spouse.

So I've decided to use pbwiki.com to host the novel. As with last year, I'm not showing my cards, but I promise a nice, slick section of a chapter -- once I've written it.

Last year's novel, originally titled Archival Quality, is now Induction. This one will be titled Infection. We'll see what I end up with.

The characters are ready, milling around backstage. There are bits of scenery and props everywhere, and stage sets are packed in, like a coiled jack-in-the-box, for use. My brain is full of things that might do, they will do, and their betrayals of me and them. There are scraps of plot lines everywhere, in mental boxes, bins, toolchests and 55-gallon drums.

They'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

2 days to go

I'm fuzzy, muzzy, wuzzy and just plain fretting about what to write. But it will just flow, like it did last time.

I am prepping a podcast for the NaNoWriMo Radio -- we'll see if it makes it out. I've never done one of these before, and it's daunting getting the piece together. I'll figure it out. I hope.

I'm working on weight and food issues at the same time; I wonder if my brain can handle all this plus work and family???

Ah, it's only for a month.

A Wiki for my novel!

Wow! Finally a free wiki I can put my novel's universe in. A dictionary all my own. A fantastic sharing tool; get a peanut butter wiki for yourself today!!! Folks from my reading group, and NaNoWriMoans who sign up can see what's inside. Users can make their wikis public too, to share their intellectual property and destroy their copyright rights at will.

Lowdown is simple: pick a subdomain name, i.e., fred, fork over a password for you and your friends to use, and start wikking! Took me about a half hour to learn wiki style (as opposed to HTML), only to learn that I could use HTML for almost everything anyway. Wikis can be kept private, so only those with the password can enter, or public, which still prevents those without passwords from editing your stuff. David Weekly and his merry band of sleep-deprived gnomes have done a fantastic job.

I say this with the howl of slavering joy only a coffee-inflamed writer can scream: a free wiki frees the writer!

David, you're a genius!

(I think I might need to cut back a bit on the whole coffee thing...)

In Search of Wiki of my Own

Trying to get my 'universe' onto a Wiki, but my ISP isn't playing, and finding free Wiki sites seems impossible. What use is open-source if you haven't servers on which to run it for free? Sigh, the Internet of yore was a nicer, quieter, space.

BrunchAWriMo!

What could be better than eating home-made pancakes, dripping with syrup, served with bacon (or not!) and thick, spiced Turkish coffee in someone else's house the day after Thanksgiving? Eating home-made pancakes, dripping with syrup, served with bacon (or not!) and thick, spiced Turkish coffee in someone else's house the day after Thanksgiving while racing to finish your 50,000-word novel!

Feeding starts at 11AM and continues until it seamlessly merges with the Pie Party (see #1 below).

Of course, there's a catch. Well, two, really. No, I take that back: Three!

1. 3-9 PM that day is the Sixth famed Annual International Pie Party. I have it on good authority that folks of the musical persuasion will be there, so bring instruments of vibration (strings, vocal chords, etc.). Pie is hereby defined as round and edible (or contained in something round). So rhubarb, strawberry, pizza, humble... those will work. Think of something intriguing. Like a flirtatious Merlot, or a sexy cheesecake. Or get really creative: chili pie with cornbread topping, curried chicken pie in filo dough, and sweetened Japanese rice balls have been weird favorites of the past. Kitchen is available for putting your project together, cooling, warming, or finishing off. (But mommy says you can play only after you finish your writing goal for the day!)
   
   
2. Cleaning of plates and kitchen areas in preparation for the sacred Pie Party. But you're all thoughtful guests, so that's a given. Right?
   
   
3. THIS IS A FUNDRAISER FOR NANOWRIMO'S LIBRARY FUND! BRING $$$ (Well, bring $ at least.) I'll be kicking in some $$$ to ensure that it's a donation, not just a 50% support of Chris Baty's wild life style, fueled on the back of us miserable writers. Seriously, don't let $$$ (or $) stop you. Bring your brain and novel and we'll work from there. I've got pads of paper for you anachronisms out there.

If you're local, NaNoMail me for the precise address and contact info.

Technical comments: We have cats, who are mostly like very self-assured humans. Smogging is verboten but you're welcome to 'check on the car,' as a dear friend put it, out by the curb. There's wifi, children and lots of nooks and crannies to set up shop. If you have special needs, let the ghoddess with the halo know.

Weird Tickers

Nothing to report; just a weird countdown ticker I found....

Novel Warmup

With words still left to write in my novel-cum-NaNoWriMo 2004 project, I'm leery about writing the next volume just yet. Fortunately I have several dozen story ideas already in summary format regarding the same universe, so I'll be doing one of them, in diary format in 1st person, or as a novel in 3rd person. Induction (the first novel) is in 1st person, and I'm getting a little sick of things happening to me personally .

I feel I've been blessed in an Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Ben Bova or Larry Niven (puppeteers or Kzin) kind of way: an entire universe, with rich history and lots of plot lines to work with. Enough material for me to get good and sick of after the (adult) fanzines cash in.

U-Turn, NaNoWriMoRadio

50,000 words is going to be too much for the alternate history novel. I'll send Ben Yehuda another one, while I work on the next book in the series from last year's NaNoWriMo. Bummer.

On the technical side, listened to the podcast. Quick review. 1st minute: clearly. speaking. too. slowly. Once Chris and Sam (who dat?) got going, it's a good interview. Might be worth doing a n audio segment for our area.

Getting revved up

Last year's mad rush to 50,000 words has turned into over 100,000 officially today -- and there's about 10-15k more to write before I start editing. 497 pages. Woof.

This year's entry will be very focused, since it's for an entry in Ben Yehuda Press' possible anthology of Jewish alternative history stories. Harry Turtledove and company do these stories with panache, but one on a Jewish theme? As in, what happens if the Hashmona'im lose to the Greeks? What if the Third Temple was rebuilt by Shabtai Tsvi? What if Jews really did control the world's finances and press?

NaNoWriMo rules state that one can start taking notes, jotting down ideas, etc. before November 1, but no actual writing. This is a toughie for me; I generally start by plunking down several thousand words before the idea percolates. And what with blogging on other fronts, work, family, community... it's as if November's already upon me.