NaNo BOT

As usual, I don't know what kind of crack I'm smoking (and if I did know what kind, would it matter? But I digress.) I'm scheduled to have minor surgery the week of Thanksgiving, I'm trying to finish massive revisions in the next three weeks and I STILL SAY I'M DOING NANO.

But that's kind of the point, isn't it? To be as daredevil, as seat-of-your-pants as possible. If I waited for the right set of circumstances to start writing, I'd still be staring at the fuzz in my navel. Last year, NaNo helped me give messy book to my novel, BookEnd. I'm as near as dammit to final revisions on that sucker. (No, really. I mean it this time.) I can't resist finding out what the crucible of NaNoWriMo helps me create this year.

I have a germ of an idea. I don't know whether I should outline it or just jump in like I did last year. I'm leaning towards outlining since my stories tend to be multi-layered. My germ-y idea contains the following:

• A 17 year old named Lorelei who was born without a sense of humor
• Her sister, Sera, who's been in a vegetative coma for twelve years but who still 'talks' to Lorelei
• A sarcastic mermaid that haunts the Passaic River

Hilarity ensues.

So, questions:
Are you doing NaNo? Are you excited? Outline or Jump? What's your idea?

NaNoWriMo Victory

After several years of trying and failing (good practice for being a writer, no?) I have made it to NaNoWriMo Victory. It was totally worth every anguished moment and proves Salon co-founder Laura Miller is wrong.

Yes, it feels pretty sweet right now. The hangover will set in tomorrow morning when I realize that I have two works in progress, one that is finished at 80K but still needs extensive revision and the other, just over 50K that I'm pretty sure has a plot I took from one of my daughter's cartoon shows. Maybe Spongebob, maybe Las Tres Mellizas. But for now, it's a frigging party over here. Okay, it's laundry day, but it's PARTY LAUNDRY DAY.


So, question - how do you celebrate your achievements, or do you, like me, have trouble even acknowledging them without a sarcastic aside? (yeah, right.)