Daily Word Count 2/9/10

1099.

Plus a few notes. Not, you know, totally awesome, but better than nothing.

It's funny, I've been thinking lately about what it feels like to write, when I'm either scene sketching (very rough impressions of a conversation/scene) or writing out scenes that I composed in my head the night before while trying to fall asleep. It almost feels like cheating, the words come so easily. Is it cheating? Or is that just what it's supposed to feel like?

Daily Word Count 2/7/10

2843.

Although I feel compelled to note that it is on a novella not my main novel. Same genre (romance), though, apologies to my diehard fantasy fans. It's a double-sided story that has popped fully blown into my head and is alternating inspirations with my bigger story.
This one, or I should say these two stories are a play on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, organically grown out of one too many listens to "Sweet Sweet Viola" by the Hackberries on the Shakespeare at Winedale album Shakespeare's Palbable Hits.

It's a classic Shakespearean comedic case of mistaken identity and romantic tangles, with meta-humor from the master nerd that is myself. No one ends up cross-gartered, and neither of the girls dress up like boys, but the two boys dress up as each other and one of the girls pretends to be the other. It's all very complicated. And awesome.

One side of it is already a tenth of the way done (shooting for 20,000 words apiece here), and it's a nice alternative to work on when I get stuck on a scene of the bigger project. And the best part is that it won't be particularly offensive to the sensibilities of my non-romance-novel-reading friends. Being (1) such a short piece and (2) taking place over the course of a single evening, and not the wedding night but the engagement night, there is no sex. Kissing, probably, quivering bosoms, maybe, straining Falstaffs, perhaps. But no 20-page consumation that would make me unable to look said non-romance-novel-reading friends in the eye. If you don't understand the conventions they do sometimes seem, well...recockulous. So I'm happy to have some friend-friendly examplars and/or gentle introductions to the genre....

Probably Not the Best Idea

To go edit shit drunk, so I figured I'd get on here instead.

LOL.

Okay, in all fairness I'm not really *drunk* I'm just tipsy. Got a nice buzz on from a dirty Absolut martini (extra dirty) and a Stone Ruination IPA 7.7% alcohol by volume 24 ounce bottle. Not quite enough to be D-R-U-N-K, you know? But a good buzz. Laughy. Dancey. Fucking loved driving home after dropping off my friend. Windows down, who gives a fuck if it's cold out, I'm feeling warm, jammed some "One Headlight" and "Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah" (XCR style) and then oldschool "Love Her Madly," and that was all it took to get from the Bywater to my hizzle dizzle.

Mardi Gras season officially started tonight with the Krewe de Vieux parade. Bless. Popped my boss/friend's parade cherry (she only moved here in May) and took a brief swag down Bourbon Street and finished up before my BFF in M to the sota was ready for some drinkindrankindrunken chit chat, tear, but I left her one of my patented 2 minute voicemails so yay on that and it was a fun night and I am happy and that is all.

Who dat! Who dat! Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?!

Daily Word Count (1/25/10)

535. 45-50 minutes.


I've decided, since my daily schedule now limits my writing to essentially as many hour(s) as I can get up early to do it in, to start keeping track of how much I actually write every day. I want to do this for a couple reasons. (1) To keep myself accountable for actually getting something written more mornings than not, and (2) for having a more accurate way to calibrate how long I will need to finish the project.


If I am to give myself 3 months per romance novel, for example, I have until the end of February to finish this one. If 4 months, the end of March. If I'm going to the end of February, I need to be writing something on the scale of 1200 words a day. If March, probably more like 800 (I haven't actually done the math on either of these). Either way: 535 won't cut it.


But, this morning at least, it was the 45 minutes that was impeding progress, not the actual number of words. I'd have happily kept going--but I can't. Well, maybe I can start at 530 instead of 6 tomorrow....

Holy Hell

1. I just realized that's the second time I used that expression today. WTF.

2. What I was using it for this time is the difference running after using an inhaler makes over not using one. I finally went to the doctor, you see, to talk about that whole is it runner's asthma issue (it is), and he prescribed an inhaler. Basically said I could either use it before running or carry it with me and "take a hit" (his words) if I feel like I need it.

Today I decided to just take a preemptive hit and see if I noticed a difference, and if not then carry it to use as needed. Yeah, I'll be hitting that pipe before I run every time, because, yes, there was a difference. A huge one. I wasn't like magically restored to being in shape again, but I wasn't panting nearly as hard as I had been at the end of a run. Wasn't really panting at all, in fact. Was I winded, yes, but sucking wind, no. It made me wonder how long I've been affected by this on every run without realizing it, and also made me think "well no wonder I haven't been able to get back in shape even after running 4 days a week for 6 fucking months."

So, mystery solved. I'm quite eager to see how quickly my running improves from here...if it will actually be on the level it was in high school (i.e., two weeks in I can run the starting distance easily) or if it will be longer. Either way is fine, as long as I'm seeing improvement. The only thing that is really disheartening about exercising is doing it all the time and it never getting easier or better.

Update in the Age of Aquarius

So. I think I should just retitle this blog Elena Reviews Movies because that's about to be what it is for the next few weeks. I have a shitpile of stuff I want to talk about.

Update on my personal life, I'm starting a distance learning graduate program (full nerd ahead) and that will be cutting down on my stupid TV/fucking around on the internet time. My hope is that having only severely limited chunks of time for writing and not studying will make me sharper on getting chapters finished.

Update on writing, I am about a fourth of they way through with my romance novel, work has slowed down the last two weeks (sad 'fugee face) but see above I'm hoping to get into a rhythm of necessity with it instead of an ambling of endless free time.

Otherwise, not much is new. Expect lots of movie reviews. I heart movies.

I am done.

Your Ass Is Draggin', Your Ass Is Dragon

Went running for the first time today since the big chest-clench scare in November, when it first got chilly here. I never have gotten around to going to see a doctor about that, so what I decided to do was wrap a scarf around my face and breath into it so I wasn't sucking unadulterated coldness into my lungs.

Sound uncomfortable? It was. Even though it's a knit cotton scarf and not wool, it still irritated the shit out of my face. But I didn't get a pain in my chest. I could feel it, when I took my scarf down to get some fresh air, that if I were to keep breathing that cold air that quickly it would hurt again, but it didn't ever get there wearing headgear that made everyone I passed look at me like I was an idiot, like they're all, It's not THAT cold, honey. I kind of want a T-shirt to run in that says "I have asthma, fucktard."

Barring that, I'll have to settle for continuing to look like one of Ender's little Dragon soldiers at Battle School. My scarf is a UT logo one, so burnt orange (though really more orange than burnt orange) and both my heavy running sweatshirt and lightweight cotton hoodie are gray. And orange and gray were the Dragons' colors....

So hey, I guess it gives me a new motivational chant when I start to get tired: your ass is draggin', your ass is dragon!