Camp NaNoWriMo Win!

Well today's April 30. It's the final day of Camp NaNoWriMo. I achieved the goal of reaching the coveted 50,000 word count! My novel, Pagan Ways, still isn't quite done yet but I managed to get enough words written to achieve a NaNo win. That's enough for me for the night! I can spend May editing and working on improving this novel.

Last November when I achieved my first NaNo win I was a bit lost after the month ended. I'd gotten so used to coming home from work and writing until I couldn't see straight that when the month was done and I wasn't spending my evenings glued to the computer I felt odd. I will probably have that same sort of writing withdrawal for the first week of May too. However, there will still be plenty to do now that Camp NaNo is over.

The Search for Mrs. Claus will be coming out in six weeks! I can't believe the release date is so close! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this! It's a dream coming true!

Well, last Sunday we did successfully get the pool from my mom's house to ours. However, the filter pump cord was chewed through by some sort of little critter and there's an inch long hole in the bottom of the liner. We can buy a patch for the hole and my husband's going to order a new filter pump. Once we get those we can get the pool set up and ready to swim! My daughter will be so excited to have a pool at the house! I'm hoping this year we'll be able to teach her how to swim.

Well, my brain is shot and my fingers are tired. It's time for this gal to take a break from the computer for the night. Tomorrow is another day!

Quick Update

Happy Sunday everyone! Today's going to be a busy day for me. We'll be heading to my mother's house shortly to help her clean out her garage. She also has an above ground pool that we're going to bring back to our house and set up for the summer. It will be fun to have a pool this year! Honestly it gets so incredibly hot here in Georgia and a pool will be fantastic for the summer! I'm looking forward to being able to come home after work and float in it to cool off. I know my daughter will be in it from the time we get home until the sun sets!

I finished reading a really great book this morning as well and wanted to share it with you. Now, you know that I typically read romance novels. I rarely ever branch out of my little comfort zone. However, K.R. Morrison's Be Not Afraid is classified as a horror novel. There's absolutely nothing romance about it! This is a chilling tale of God vs. the vampire Vlad over the soul of a Christian woman, Lydia. Now don't get the image of Edward and Bella in your minds when you start considering Lydia and Vlad. They are far from that image! This book kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last. I am truly looking forward to the next book in the series! You know, this may encourage me to branch out of my romance comfort zone more often. I'm looking forward to the next installment so I can find out more about how Lydia and her family deal with the frightening changes taking place around them!

I've still got some writing left to do on my Camp NaNoWriMo novel. I had a rather lofty goal of 75,000 words set for myself and I will most definitely not reach that. However, to get a true NaNo win you need to write more than 50,000. I've just a hair over 40,000 words right now. I can definitely make 50,000 by April 30. The book, Pagan Ways will not be complete then but I can continue working on it even after Camp NaNoWriMo is over.

I've got to go get ready and head for my mom's house now. Have a fabulous day and happy reading!

So Much To Do...

Hello everyone! I absolutely cannot believe that the month of April is nearly gone. Where does the time go? It's been a rather busy month for me. I've been working fervently on my Camp NaNoWriMo novel. I have a lofty goal of 75,000 words. I am knocking on the door of 40,000 as of tonight. Can I write 35,000 in eight days? I doubt it, but I'm not going to give up! We'll see how far I get!

Aside from my latest writing project I've really been spending a lot more time on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I may have neglected the blog a bit while growing those two avenues. I'll strive to balance the social media a little better.

Balance. That's definitely something that's a struggle in the lives of people today. We work 40+ hours a week while juggling bills, savings, family, pets, and more. How do we all do it? Honestly, there are days when I wish we could just wind back time a couple hundred years to a simpler day. The rat race of today's world would be gone. However, I'd really miss indoor plumbing so it may not be the best idea. I just need to find a way to try to balance my life a little better. How many of us come home and feel so overwhelmed at the laundry, dishes, cooking, homework, and cleaning that needs to be done very night? Lord knows I do. I think if I could learn to not be such a perfectionist it would be a bit easier, but that just goes against every ounce of my being.

For example, weekends should be a time of rest, relaxation, and chilling out. For me weekends are a time to catch up on all the stuff I didn't have time to do during the week. This weekend my Saturday and Sunday are both completely planned out already. Somehow in the midst of my plans for puppy obedience class, cleaning out my mom's garage, moving the pool from her house to mine, catching up laundry, and shampooing my carpets I'd love to find time to do some writing. It's not going to be easy though but I will find the time. After all, if something's important enough you make the time.

Thanks so much for your understanding on my two week long absence. I know you have busy lives too. If you've got some suggestions that can help be better juggle my responsibilities, I'm game. Please share! I love feedback!

Writing and Life

Boy have things been eventful for me lately! I've been working on my Camp NaNoWriMo novel but have just been so overwhelmed during the past few days that I haven't had any time to write. Saturday night I was at a Highway Katz show and it was incredible! I tell you, if you happen to be in the Atlanta area, check them out if you can. I was able to sit in for a few songs at this show with my flute and I had a blast! It's not often that I'm able to get out and play like that. Music and writing are my two outlets for my creativity. I love both!

I am taking a vacation day on Wednesday from work and will be able to catch up my writing then. Unfortunately it's too late tonight to write. I promise I'm not throwing in the towel! Those 75,000 words aren't going to write themselves. I've just been tied up with some other projects that needed doing. I finished them tonight though so tomorrow it's back to Camp!

Yes! I am writing!

So today is the second day of Camp NaNoWriMo! Are you writing for this event too? I hope so! I'm extremely pleased with my progress so far! I am at 8885 words right now, which is really great for me! Perhaps making an outline ahead of time is the right way for me to handle a NaNo event. It really seems to be working so far. It's keeping me on track and allows me to keep writing without having to think on the fly the entire time. I'm really enjoying this so far!

Today I was introduced to my editor, Lisa Taylor, at Mountain Springs House. She'll be editing my novel The Search for Mrs. Claus. I'm really looking forward to working with her on this project! I hope she sees as much potential in my novel as I do. Lisa also blogs on Blogger. Please feel free to check out her blog as well!

Trust me, editing and proofreading are extremely valuable to writers! After all, I made quite a typo earlier this week at work. Oh how I wish someone had proofread this e-mail before I sent it! Of course, I've removed the customer's name, the recipients' names, and my employer's name to protect the innocent. Without a doubt I was quite shocked when I went back and read my message to my boss and three co-workers!

My apologies for the small print. I wasn't sure how to make sure it all fit on the page here and still keep the print large enough to read. Yep...that was a pretty good office typo there! At least folks got a good laugh out of it. Seriously though, it's errors like this that make editing and proofreading very valuable!

Sorry for the short blog post tonight but I've got a lot more writing to do on Pagan Ways tonight. The lure of the Word document calls to me! I'm off to Camp NaNoWrimo for more literary abandon and creative writing pleasure!