Note of the Living Deb

NaNoWriMo got off to a bizarrely early start with an author panel on October 2. I already know that different authors use different strategies (except they all say that you must make time for writing if you want to write), so it's good that they had a panel of five authors. Plus a few more in the audience, not to mention the half of the audience that had already participated before.

Some of the authors even did talk about the subject of getting started on a new book.


Outlining

To outline, or not to outline; that is the question. The general consensus is that new writers generally do not outline but just jump right in. The technical term for this style is "pantser" (aka "pantster") or one who goes by the seat of one's pants.

Pros

But outlines can be handy. They can speed up the writing. And one person said she tends to re-write the first third of her book whenever she doesn't start with an outline.

Outlines can also greatly reduce the editing process afterwards. In fact, several people agreed, you can pre-write more or re-write more. And most people think pre-writing is more fun. (I might not think that. I think it's also nice to see the writing get better as you fix it up.)

And outlines can help you work with co-authors.

Cons

However, sometimes outlines can take away the magic--if you've already written the outline, then sometimes adding in the details feels like drudgery instead of fun. One author recommends minimal outlining--just list some things that need to happen and some motivations the characters have.

And sometimes outlines can lead you astray--you can't be afraid to trash it if you later decide that's not where your story should go.

My take

I always assumed you'd need an outline or something if you were publishing episodes as you finished them. If you wait to figure out who the murderer is until you're halfway through the book, then it's too late to add the clues you'd want your readers to have.

For school assignments, whenever an outline was required, I always wrote the whole paper first and then created the outline from that. I never knew ahead of time what I would be writing because it all depended on what I found out from the books available to me. I did use note cards, and I suppose I could have written an outline from the note cards rather than writing a paper from the note cards and then an outline from the paper, but at the time, outlining just seemed like a waste of time.

I guess that for the "book" I did last time, I had a bare-bones plot, a couple of characters, and a scene or two that I really wanted. All that happened, but didn't use very many pages. To me it's just as hard to think of an outline as to be a pantser--you have to think up the ideas somehow. Once that's done, it's all fun.

Also I learned that if I couldn't write because I was, say, stuck at a bus stop with no bench, that pre-thinking was a big help. I was always afraid I'd forget my best ideas, though, and would end up repeating them over and over in my head so that I wouldn't.

For this year's non-fiction book, I have made an outline. It's not a full outline, but every time I get another idea I think I might like, I find a place for it in my outline.


Pre-reading

Reading other people's writing can be good prep work for your writing.

Pros

One person likes to read poetry before each writing session. It's like running scales when you're playing an instrument. It gets her warmed up and in the right head space.

One person has several go-to books he re-reads a lot, and he has different ones he uses for different needs. For example, if the language needs to be sparse, he'll read Hemingway, preferably a hunting story. If it needs to be epic, he reads Tolstoy. If it needs to be visual, he likes Jack Finney's About Time: 12 Short Stories.

But another author prefers music for that. She'll listen to opera or something to put herself in the right emotional frame of mind.

When attempting a new genre, you can try reverse engineering. For example, one person writing her first romance wondered how many times it was appropriate to mention someone's scent. So she counted it in a book where the scent was an important plot point, and it had been mentioned 23 times. So when it's not an important plot point, you need to mention it much fewer times!

Cons

Some people feel they need to cleanse themselves of reading. When they read, that other book is hogging a lot of space in their head. That space should be full of their own book instead!

Some people get burned out reading other books in their own genre. (Tragic!)

My take

I know that when I write something while another book has really captured me, I find myself copying their style. Which is super fun (assuming I liked their style).

**

That's pretty much it for the topic at hand. They did talk about several other topics as well, though.


Writing linearly

Someone asked whether they write linearly or jump back and forth. The consensus seems to be that people write linearly unless they really get stuck. Then they might jump ahead to a scene they know has to happen, just so they can keep writing.

One person said that writing from beginning to end helps reduce inconsistencies. One said if emotional development was important, it's really hard to write out of order.

Some people write all the dialog first and then go back and write the other parts.

My take

Heh, my writing is full of inconsistencies even writing linearly. I don't know how that happens, but it does. Then I have to go root them out because I despise inconsistencies! I definitely did that thing where I wrote linearly until I got stuck and then I jumped ahead to the good parts that I had already thought up. But I ran out of those pretty quickly!


Research

You can really get lost in research and never do any writing--it can become an excuse. So how do you know how much research to do? One person summarized the answer this way: If you're winging it and you know you're cheating, do research. If you're doing research and you know you're cheating, get back to writing.

Research usually won't get you out of a fix. And there's usually no need to stop your writing when you aren't sure of something. Like if you're wondering about clothing in during your era, because you need to know if he can un-do buttons or has to do something else, just leave a marker. One person likes brackets: "He tweaked her [buttons?]." Another always uses "XXX" to help find these spots later.

The consensus was that no matter how perfect your research is, experts will say that you're wrong. So, don't try to convince experts, just worry about convincing the lay reader. This advice sounds terrible to me, but one person was writing about an autistic person, based on her autistic son, and someone who knew another autistic person (who of course was different) said she'd gotten some details wrong.


Getting unstuck

I've heard before that if you get writer's block, just write anything. "And now [character] is having breakfast. It's scrambled eggs, toast..." Or as the moderator said, "I don't know what this character should do next. She's tough, but ..."

But there were some other ideas. One person said to get some people you can brainstorm with. Many people like having a novel-writing group where people read each other's chapters and give advice. I'm feeling a little like Daryl Zero in "The Zero Effect." "Talking? To people?" I never expected that book writing (without co-authors) would be such a social undertaking. It seems wrong!

Read how-to books.

Google "the snowflake method." So I did. It's a way to outline your story. First you start with a one-sentence description. Then make a one-paragraph description. Then make a one-sentence description for each character. Add more and more details until you have a lot. The term was apparently coined by Randy Ingermanson who explains it in The Snowflake Method for Designing a Novel.


Motivation

Do a creative writing exercise. Ask yourself, what is the goal, motivation, and conflict--for you as the writer? Why does this matter? If you don't write, what won't you get?

For the conflict, troubleshoot. Figure out in advance what's likely to come up and get in the way. For example, during NaNoWriMo, Thanksgiving! Or you don't feel like it.

Many people recommended finding good spaces to write in, with few distractions. Write-in's at coffee shops are a common NaNoWriMo event. (People just come and sit (mostly) quietly typing away.) One guy moves into a hotel when he needs to do a lot of writing fast. One with no distractions, "not one of the nice ones with gyms."

Or withhold things that you like until you've done enough.

One person heard that Susan Brockman said that when you have a good writing session, pick something physical to do (like rubbing your knuckles) to train your body that doing that thing means you're ready to work.


The NaNoWriMo strategy

"Magic happens when you concentrate your writing." One guy wrote a novella in a weekend. Several of the authors felt that this was a good idea even for them, though one is not participating because with kids, etc., she can write only three times a week, and another is just "going to party, not trying to win."

Who knew that real authors would like this? Weird.


How long it takes to write a book

The survey of these authors on their first book yielded these results:
* two years, 17 drafts
* one year, 3-4 major drafts (first published book); five years (first book)
* eighteen years, 20 drafts (first book), 60 days (second book)
* five months (writing 20 pages each, 3 days per week)
* four months (first book, nonfiction), five months (first fiction)


Co-writing

Many of these people were co-authors and apparently a very common way to do that is to pass the story back and forth. You can be kind of mean to each other, too, such as by leaving your co-author with a situation you know they will have trouble with (but think they could use the practice with).

Two people said an outline was important for co-writing; one said only when working with new co-writers.


On re-write requests from publishers

One gal says that whenever she gets a re-write request, she gets bratty for a while. Then she deconstructs their request and re-writes the request herself. She finds that publishers are good at noticing real problems, but their solutions are often terrible.

Other authors said that the good publishers just point out the problems and don't try to tell you how to fix them.

It took longer to walk to the party than I thought. Although we took a direct route (not getting lost), it took over an hour, maybe an hour and fifteen minutes. It's probably not ideal to walk into a party all sweaty. Oh, well.

The party was fine. The best part was talking to my friends who came: Robin, chikuru, raaga123, and sylverre.

They also had a good game for getting people to talk to strangers. Everyone got the name of an author on their backs and got to ask people no more than two yes/no questions each to help them figure it out. I am bad at these things, but I had someone easy, so it only took me the whole party to figure it out. See how quick you are, if you like:

[Flickguy, who was distributing the author names, said that I had gotten the one he had wanted.]
1. Was my writer's genre science fiction? Yes.
2. Was my writer a male? Yes.
3. Were any movies made from his works? Yes.
[It also came out that he lived during the current century.]
4. Did the total stranger I was talking to see any of the movies? Yes.
5. Did he like them? No.
6. Did any of the books have earthlings (as opposed to aliens)? Yes.
7. Did Chikuru own any books by him? Yes.
8. Would raaga123 recommend any books by him? Yes.
9. Would I like any movie made from his books? Several people I know agreed that they don't know.
10. Were the books mostly set in the future? Yes.
[I may be forgetting some of the questions.]
11. Was it that guy who wrote that trilogy? Yes.
12. Oh, what was it called? Isaac Asimov didn't write the Foundation trilogy, did he? Yes.

Somehow I managed to guess it after that last question.

I also found Brucacuda who's excerpt I had run across on the web and enjoyed. I actually walked up to him and told him this and we talked about people who use big words to sound smart and other people's reluctance to admit that they don't understand the big-word prose (until someone else--like him--does first). He also talked about buying a book for its cover because it had a picture of someone boobilicious on it, and on the inside of the dust jacket, it was supposed to have an x-rated picture, but when he got it, it was glued to the book! He ended up getting his money back. I did not tell him that with his cowboy hat on, he had a close resemblance to one of my characters.

Then Da Shlom walked up but then they started talking about network administration. Snooze. But Da Shlom loves his job and started telling anecdotes. Like he helps the police find people who are messing with his system, and one time he actually got to hear over the phone the words, "Step away from the keyboard."

Mostly I just stood around stuffing my face. My favorites were the many delicious cookies and baked ziti (which tastes like lasagna). I also got to report to several people the late arrival of the baked brie.

They had door prizes which people actually liked, which was refreshing.

I was prepared to read an excerpt, but it was crowded in the excerpt-reading room. I stood in the back and tried to listen to one person reading too quietly to hear. Then I tried to listen to another person who was taking a while to get to the interesting part, so I went back into the other room.

Then I talked to our local organizer, Lazym, before getting a ride home with Chikuru and raaga123.

I forgot my container, and Lazym collected it and listed it in a lost-and-found post, so I will be getting to talk to her again.

At the end of October I listed three reasons why I was participating in NaNoWriMo:

1. To see if I can write fiction. I predicted that I couldn't, but wasn't sure.

With more data, I feel much more certain that I can't write fiction. This is because I cannot think up ideas. If, for some reason, I could think up ideas, then I think I could write fiction.

2. The deadline/peer pressure thing would be motivating.

This totally worked. I never would have written 50,000 words without knowing so many (four) people who I felt sure would write at least 50,000 words themselves. (And they all did.) I even got to talk to one of them several times and do two write-ins with him.

3. I might inadvertently learn something.

I learned that when I'm confused about who's doing what when I'm reading, I should remember that whatever is happening in the paragraph with a quote concerns the same person as is being quoted.

I learned that I have issues with hanging on to friends, and I mostly ignore these issues. I haven't thought of a good way to stop ignoring these issues.

Overall, I would say that I have not learned anything of value from the experience at this point except that I cannot magically come up with good ideas for fiction, even if I am forcing myself to spew tens of thousands of words, the way I can with nonfiction.

**

I'm glad I participated because now I won't be wondering what might have been. But I'm never doing this again. (Probably.)

I've decided I might do well with a what-if kind of story if I think of a what-if situation that inspires me sufficiently. I'm even thinking of brainstorming what-if situations instead of just trying to pay attention if I notice one. However, even if I do try again to write a novel, I don't want the pressure of 1667 words per day. I think 500 is a better minimum for me.

**

I do plan to do more work on this book. Unlike some people's books, mine is done at 50,000 words, not half-done. (One could argue it was done at 10,000 words.) I plan to reorganize my scenes, do some research, and maybe fix the plot and characters (I wish!). I want to send sections out to friends who are experts in relevant areas to check for realism. Then I'll let people read who want to. If they have suggestions other than flushing the whole thing, I may try them out. Then I'll get it bound somehow to look like a real book and stick it on my shelf.

The website for NaNoWriMo lets participants put up an excerpt on their profiles. I have been changing out the excerpts throughout the month, but after tomorrow, whatever's there will be locked in.

Vote for your favorite excerpt(s) you've seen here (today, or maybe tomorrow), and I'll include it/them. Based on reader comments, it's already clear I need to include the cockroach one. I'd like to add a few more to present a more well-rounded picture. Of course I reserve the right to edit these excerpts (before December).

Just tell me the general subject (as above) or the date or something. Thanks.

Today, our waiter at Kerby Lane said that the pumpkin pancakes were the best pancakes ever. Unfortunately for me, he said this to another table of people after I had already eaten my strawberry pancakes. But if you are about to go to Kerby Lane, and the pumpkin pancakes are available, you now have the proper recommendation.

Nanowrimo Update

Today I wrote after brunch. Then after seeing the latest "Harry Potter" I went to a write-in and wrote some more. Then I came home and wrote some more. I did a good minimum considering how far behind I am.

At the write-in, I really, really wanted to quit. And that may be why, for the first time, I used a plot ninja. Someone handed everyone a yellow leaf and said to use the beautiful (and furry) leaf to inspire them to write something. So I now have a scene involving raking. Sadly, this was the best writing I did today:

In Which a Fuzzy Yellow Leaf Enters the Scene

"Bubba, you're raking!"

"Yes. There are leaves. And they must be carefully organized."

"Into stunning piles? And do they stay in the stunning piles or is this a transitory state on the way to perfect leaf organization?"

"I move them to the compost heap out back."

"I'll help. Would you like me to move the leaves or take over the raking?"

"Oh, that's nice. How about raking? My fingers are threatening to form blisters."

"My pleasure. I can't believe the autumns here are so dull."

"I prefer the term subtle."

"Subtle? More like completely invisible."

"What? You have your brownish yellow, your brownish orange, and your brownish red. Look at the rainbow of shades of brown."

Word count: 2934. That means I need to average 1755 a day for the next three days to finish, which is only a little higher than the average for the month. It's still possible. I'd rather not be trying to upload my "novel" for the official word count on the last day if I can help it, though, in case of extremely heavy traffic causing problems. Oh, well.

On the day after Thanksgiving I drove to my parents' house to celebrate with my mom. My dad is out of town until next month, my sister is busy packing for her move, and my brother is also out of pocket, so it was just the two of us.

We watched several movies my mother had recorded using one of those new-fangled technologies I know nothing about.

One was the American remake of "Shall We Dance." There are so many things I like about the original that I want to say I like the original better. (And of course it is uncool to like an American remake of a foreign movie better than the original.) But it had a better ending and a few other additions I liked. The main character was a lawyer who wrote wills, which I thought was interesting. And the detective had a crush on the wife, which I didn't like, but which let us get to know the wife better, which I liked. Also, since the characters were Americans, they talked more, which I like.

However, the original had some things that were missing from the re-make which I enjoyed. Like charm. Mainly I think I liked the message more. The message I got from the original is that ballroom dancing is addictive. It's an odd message, but lets them show how beginners could want to continue with it, even though they feel like idiots when they're first starting. The characters actually learn dancing in a realistic amount of time (though still more quickly than I did).

Of course in American movies, people only look like idiots when they are playing idiots, and everyone else always learns everything instantly. In the American movie, the message was that ballroom dancing is passionate, and if you are not going to dedicate yourself to learning everything and becoming passionate, then there's no point in dancing at all. I don't like that message, but they did have a great scene showing how much more fun dancing is if you add passion to it (or the look of it anyway). I think I might be too embarrassed to dance like they do in that scene.

I was wondering how they were going to deal with how ballroom dancing is taboo in Japan, but not in the US. They decided that if people find out you are ballroom dancing, then instead of thinking you are a slut like in Japan, they will think you are gay. I was surprised they thought of anything, and it was important to the movie, so I'm glad they tried. But it didn't work as well.

I also liked how in the original, one character has to be a very good dancer and yet also be creepy--can you imagine trying to figure out how to do that? And another guy has to be very enthusiastic and passionate but still look like a dork, which is also very well done. They didn't capture that in the re-make. (The dancing was actually similar, but they almost completely removed these references from the script.)

In the middle of the day we went to a neighbor's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I was told that I look just like my father. Which was fun. I'm fantasizing about telling my dad that he is no longer allowed to think he is ugly or he will be thinking that I am ugly (which he doesn't)! Heh!

Dinner was delicious, then we escaped back home where Mom finished baking bread and talked me into coming to the synagogue with her in case they had trouble making a minyan (quorum). They still didn't make it, which I've never seen before. It means there were certain parts of the service we were not allowed to do. So the six of us just talked about what we were thankful for, went through the meaning of the Torah (Bible) reading for that day, and did the blessings over the candles, wine, and bread. Someone there said I looked just like my mother.

I don't remember anyone ever saying I look just like either of my parents. I guess we all three now look old! And short (although my mom still has a quarter inch on me)! And myopic!

Then we came home and watched an old movie about misfits running a training mission on a de-commissioned, then re-commissioned submarine. That was fun.

Nanowrimo Update

Since I was driving alone, I brought a tape recorder so I could write by talking. And I brought only one CD, the same CD that's been in my car for a month, so I wouldn't like it too long. I did, though. And it's a long CD, with 73 minutes of music. And I listened to some songs over and over trying to figure out the words. So finally I decided to start "writing." But by then I was in the icky parts of the route, where it's easy to fall off the road you're trying to stay on. So I turned the music back on.

Word count: 0.

I worked half a day catching up nicely on some things at work, but also learning about more bugs in the system, and some of them are new, not just newly discovered. I'm reminded of the first lines of a song by Richard and Linda Thompson: "This old house is falling down around my ears. I'm drowning in a river of my own tears." I don't suppose it's quite that bad yet.

Then I came home and wrote some and then went to the dentist for a cleaning. It's been three months since my last visit, which was my first visit in over a decade. So the exciting part of the visit was when they measured my gum health and I got to see how it compared to my last visit.

(Drumroll please.)

Better! I have problems in all the same areas, but the problems are much smaller.

Then I got personal tutoring in how to brush and floss again. I think I'll start brushing longer and softer than before. Softer anyway.

I was told that plaque can turn to tarter in as little as two weeks. I found this to be dangerous news. So long as you brush and floss once a week, you'll be safe, right? Perhaps that was not the message I was supposed to be receiving! Still, this news may motivate me to be extremely thorough at least once a week, which would be a good thing.

Then back for more writing and to make a pumpkin pie.

Nanowrimo Update

Today I wrote just over 2,000 words, which puts me almost two days ahead, which is good, because I'm probably about to lose the next three days. And I passed the 40,000-word mark, which means I got to put another star on my sticker! Four stars is very pretty.

I achieved this tremendous volume by writing two aborted scenes plus a scene on Bubba's gun, two scenes involving Fluffy and the mailman, a list of the cast of characters, a recipe for macaroni and cheese made with only ingredients that don't require refrigeration, a round of the poetry game, and the scene excerpted at the end of this entry.

With my "novel," I'm going to follow the advice of Chris Baty in his book about NaNoWriMo (No Plot? No Problem!) to make sure to end the story by the end of the month. I might not quite make the 49,999th and 50,000th words "The" and "End," but that's my goal. He says that it's much more motivating to go back to a story that's wrapped up but could use some more scenes in the middle than it is to still be figuring out the ending later. (Also, I've been out of ideas the entire time, and now is no exception!)

So for the past couple of days I've been trying to think about the loose ends that need to be tied up, and the things readers will be wondering about. For example, will Heather move on to yet another city? (This would be a perfect set-up for a sequel. A fan-fiction sequel; I am out of ideas.) Or will something about the city or her friends or her job suck her in and make her stay? I've decided she's going to move. Will the boyfriend move with her? I don't know. I think he might get dumped.

Tying up the loose ends is not very exciting to me, though, for some reason. Today I was really tempted to have something huge and ridiculous happen. And I had just read this advice from, again, Chris Baty (the founder): "Remember, above all else, that your novel is not a self-improvement campaign. Your novel is a spastic jubilant hoe-down set to your favorite music, a thirty day visit to a candy store where everything is free and nothing is fattening. When thinking about possible inclusions for your novel, always grab the guilty pleasures over the bran flakes. Write your joy and good things will follow."

Um, so, I gave in to my apocalyptic self and wrote the following:

In Which Hyenas Swarm the Planet with Nuclear Powered Grenades

Just kidding.

Except that maybe genetically enhanced hyenas really did escape from the lab and begin demanding their own sovereign state within appropriate territory. If so, they might be working closely with the United Nations and the Nature Conservancy to select a territory that is appropriate both environmentally and politically. In return, the hyenas might offer to pay the host countries funds adequate to cover relocation expenses for those who chose to move out of their country, though current human residents would be welcome to stay so long as they lived by the laws of the hyena.

The hyena group would build an economy based on hand crafts, tourism, and stock brokering.

No, no, just kidding. Really.

Let me just say that Santa can really bake a delicious chocolate cake. (This is a P.S. to the previous entry.)

Nanowrimo Update

Are you guys bored with these updates yet? I am. Pressure is building. I am not having enough other fun. Grr.

It's not just because of nano, though.

I listened to a pep talk about how when you are easily distracted and feel the need to do laundry, eat, take a nap, do anything but what you're doing, it's a sign that you are breaking out of your ordinary ways, and the proper response is perseverance. Perseverance may be something you are not used to, so it may feel uncomfortable. But just do it.

Oh, fine. Building character. Rah. Rah. Shish-ka-bob.

I wrote 2275 words today in 3 hours, which sounds good, but which feels like I used the entire afternoon and part of the evening. Six pages of ick. Maybe I'll like it better later. Meanwhile, I'll give you an excerpt from yesterday's writing. This is a conversation between two people who are sharing a tent on a camping trip with four other people in two other nearby tents.

“Woah. Richard! Are you two hitting it off?”

“Well, he's certainly captured my attention. I don't know what he thinks about me.”

“Wow, that's so exciting!”

“Maybe. Don't tell him.”

“You do realize Bubba and I are best friends and we tell each other everything.”

“Ugh.”

“In fact, I think I'm going to have to shout out a message to him right now.”

“Heather, am I going to have to hold this pillow over your face?”

“What pillow? Give me that. My pillow. My two pillows.”

“Well, I thought I'd be polite and give you a nice, comfy death, with a pillow. But if you insist, I'll have to, um, give you the old fingernail treatment.”

“Hmm. I guess I prefer the pillow. Thanks. Here you go.”

Today a friend is having a birthday party with the theme "Redneck Roundup! Hillbilly Hootenanny!" After having gone to a conference session on racism, I realize this is way politically incorrect. But I'm going anyway. In my flannel shirt with a pillow to look like I am pregnant. Also with tuna biscuit bake. I did get the recipe from a Chicagoan, but since it's comfort food with an ingredient I later learned from a Georgian to call "whop biscuits," I'm bringing some.

(You whop the can of biscuits upside the counter to open it and line the bottom of a casserole dish with the biscuits. Mix a can of cream of mushroom soup with two cans of tuna and a half a cup of milk and pour that over the biscuits. Bake in a 475-degree oven until, I swear, 5 minutes before the biscuits brown (10 to 15 minutes), then sprinkle a cup of cheese over the top and cook 5 more minutes. It's fast and delicious.)

Yes, and we are making fun of rednecks right in the middle of Texas. And having a watermelon-seed-spitting contest among other shenanigans. Is it okay if some of us own oversized pick-up trucks? Maybe not. This is exactly like one of the things I heard about in that session. Apparently college students like to have parties where they dress up like pimps or drug dealers or rap singers or maybe some ignorant combination, I forget. Anyway, those parties are highly offensive to all kinds of people.

I really, really don't think we will be hurting anybody. But then I'm awfully ignorant.

Nanawrimo Update

I woke up late, had breakfast out, watched a movie, went shopping, and got ready for a party, which I am about to leave for. What does that have to do with writing?

Today's word count: 99 words.

My sister and her fiancé finally found a rental house to move into. It's big enough for them and the kids, yet also affordable. It's not in town, though, but in a suburb. And the nearest highway is closed for construction periodically.

However, they can't move in until next month. Which means she won't be doing Thanksgiving this year. When she first mentioned the possibility, Mom suggested that we do it at my place. However, I would never volunteer to host Thanksgiving; too stressful and intimidating. I don't know how anyone does it. I love making pie and bringing it over to someone's in a potluck, but I do not want to do the whole thing.

Robin might do such a thing, but admitted that he'd rather not. Plus the thermostat on our oven doesn't work. (And our house is a big mess. And it's NOVEMBER.)

So then I decided we could lobby for Thanksgiving in a restaurant. Last year, for example, Robin and I had Thanksgiving lunch at Hyde Park Bar and Grill, and then had Thanksgiving dinner at Hoover's. Both had traditional turkey meals, and yet they were different. My sister was up for this, but recommended Threadgill's. But then as I was writing this entry I remembered that restaurants are unaware that my family is celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday, not Thursday, so they will not be having their Thanksgiving specials.

So now we're back to the drawing board because I know we're going to be wanting the traditional thing.

Nanowrimo Update

I had work, then a meeting with Sunny and supper, then hours of ballroom dance class. But I decided I always have time for 15 minutes of writing. So sleepy, though.

Almost 300 words in almost 30 minutes. This was just a little more work than necessary to keep me on track to finish.