NaNo 2023 Is A Wrap!

Letting the graphics speak for themselves today. Well done, me!

To clarify: yes, I actually wrote 104,284 words from midnight November 1st to 11:59 pm November 30th. That is a Double NaNoWrimo; my first double NaNo.

Final Day of NaNoWriMo 2023

At the beginning of the final day of NaNoWriMo 2023, I have 103,625 words I have written since November 1st. This is the first time I have completed a double NaNoWriMo and it feels good.

I will write more words today. I don't have a target in mind, but more words will happen!

I will also be closing out NaNoWriMo 2023 with a friend, a writers, and we will close out the month together, as we opened the November writing together, as well.

In another 21 hours and 58 minutes, this NaNo will come to an end!

Days 22-25: NaNoWriMo 2023

 My current word count is 91,979 words written since November 1st. That is amazing and feels good. This year is my highest word county by far.

I keep writing that "I'm not writing much on the story." But I realized today that I am writing My Story. And I have some pieces for a fiction story, which are based on My Story. So, there is that.

It has been an interesting NaNoWriMo. I am - obviously - writing a lot. I have written every day and, I'm not sure what my average daily word count is, but it is high. I have written at least the 1667 words on almost every day; there are a few which were closer to 1000. I think I have this write every day firmly entrenched now. It's not a rule, but I have been doing this for over a year now - the writing every day. It helps to not put a lot of rules and restrictions on what I count as "writing."

We are in the final month - less than a month - of the Mavens of Mythmaking with Ariel. A full year long class coming to an end. I have much to do to get my final project wrapped up, so that is what my focus will be now. I've fallen behind again, in feedback and such. I am keeping up on the reading and I've been slowly working on the manuscript. Too slow. But I'm taking a new direction at this stage of things, thanks to a conversation with my old-new writing buddy! I am excited to have time with her, again, to be able to reconnect one on one about our writing and support each other. This will definitely help.

Below is my landing NaNoWriMo page, with my current stats and my writing graph. There is more on the site, but this is a good overview. NaNoWriMo is working through some problems and I hope they work it out. For now, I'm using the site as I have been - which is a tracking page. The organization changed significantly several years ago; and not for the better in my and many people's opinions. I don't know a lot about the current issue, but the Board is involved and I hope the truth and resolutions happen. 

For me? I'm happy. I am at 184% of the goal and I think I am going to aim for 200% - in other words, a double NaNo. I've never done that before, so I guess I will now. I have just over 5 days to complete 100k words in 30 days. I can do this!

NaNoWriMo 2023 general stats for Dot.

Day 21: NaNoWriMo 2023

 Word Count at the beginning of 11/21/2023 is 76,627!

Days 18-20 NaNoWriMo 2023

Current word count 

a super moon over ex-Fred's house. photo by Dot

1am 11/20/2023 = 75,155

I am still writing every day, even though I already have half again as much as the 30-day goal. Which is awesome! There hasn't been much movement in the story realm itself, but I have had a few glimmers in my stream of consciousness writing which may become stories on their own, or may be culled for pieces of the story. Later; not right now.

Some exciting news is that I have reconnected in a writing buddy way with a longtime friend. We live in different states now, so writing meet-ups don't happen. We did that in the old days, but it's been a long time and many life changes since that happened. We have crossed paths in other writing ways off and on for years. It's been great to have shared space.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking I wanted to reach out to her about some help with my big manuscript in progress. She's an amazing writer and supporter of writers, editor, coach - there are probably several labels which would apply to the care she provides when working with authors and their projects.

Then a little over a week ago, she gave me feedback on a piece in the online writing space we shared. She mentioned wanting to exchange manuscripts (I'd asked for something to do with that in my post). 

And here we are, a few emails later, with a virtual meeting scheduled for this week to discuss what and how and when we want to support each other in this writing thing we're doing.

I am excited and I value this friend's skill and knowledge. I look forward to us supporting each other.

A couple of so weeks ago, I also attended a virtual writing workshop/presentation with a local writer I admire. It was about how to get published and navigate that system without an MFA. It was so much more than that, but that was an important part. That author is local to me, we've maybe met once. She was so authentic and wise and warm. She offered to start an email and maybe online group for those of us present; I nearly immediately said, yes, please.

All of this to say, I am writing. I have a large manuscript which is starting to really get the attention it deserves. I always believe that 'writing begets writing' and I sometimes forget that the attention put into writing also helps to draw resources and supporters. I have been attending many workshops from different places, I'm in the final month of the year-long program. I am still reading writing books and more.

And this is where I am now. 

Writing

Learning

Building community 

Putting writing at the forefront

...did I already say, writing?...

Change doesn't always look the way we think it will look. And the road to get there takes many turns.

All I can say right now it that it's a good think I enjoy long distance travel.

dragonfly in the Grand Canyon 2008; photo by Dot

Day 17: NaNoWriMo 2023

Word Count at the beginning of 11/17/2023 = 66,515
Words written on 11/16 = 6847

The coast writing retreat has been exactly what I needed it to be. A place to sleep until I wake up. With minimal writing interruptions. There is no wifi here, which is obviously not keeping me from updating word counts, going online for brief periods, and so on. But because I'm relying on cellular data, the connection seems less than ideal and it uses a lot of data to go online.

Today we also took a little writing break to interpret a wonderful webinar. It's for an arts organization which is phenomenal and which is doing great work to provide arts education where it is needed most and to give hope to our collective future. Luckily, the data held. We had both of our devices synced to the computer, so that if one went out, the laptop would automatically connect to the other and there would be minimal interruption to our interpretation. Luckily that wasn't needed - but we were prepared.

The rest of the day so far has been spent on writing. And talking about writing. And relaxing and sometimes, just staring at the ocean.

Staring at the ocean and drinking coffee (in the morning) or green tea (in the evening) is a part of my writing practice. Something I need to make more time to do.

I'm happy to say that I'm making a plan with another writer to become writing buddies - again. We did this in the long ago, when we both lived in the same town. Now we are states away, but still connected through online classes and workshops and other electronic methods. We are currently looking at how we can meet virtually for coffee, conversation, writing. And looking to exchange manuscripts and work together in that way, as well. I am excited about this possibility. Accountability and community even from afar. This will be awesome.

"Lighting the Way" comic by Dot. 2022

Days 15 & 16: NaNoWriMo 2023

 Current word count, at 4:00 AM on November 16th, is 64,188.

My writing buddy and I came over to the coast after we finished work at 8pm on Tuesday 11/14. We had to pick up her things and pack them into the car. But quickly, because we wanted to stock up on food for the rest of the week from Trader Joe's; which closed at 9pm. 

We made it.

We got some iced tea and ate in the car as we made the nearly three hours drive. 

The nice thing about driving so late at night is that there is significantly less traffic. Less traffic means the drive is less stressful. Generally I am not stressed on longer drives - I actually like it, and I can find it soothing, when not dealing with aggressive drivers.

It was lovely to wake up to the ocean today. The misty sky, looking out over the waves until I couldn't see them any longer in what I thought was an incoming storm.

The wind shifted and pushes the clouds, the fog south. Maybe that was where it was heading all along.

I did a lot of writing today, around a scheduling mixup with a couple of interpreters I'd placed on a show, added a matinee. The situation that created when I had to find a new interpreting team for the interpreted matinee fell into my "no work unless it's urgent" category. Working with the somewhat intermittent internet (no wifi at the place we're staying - yay!), I was able to get a second team for that second performance, connect everyone to each other, notify the theater. And now, hopefully, there is nothing else "urgent" which comes up related to work.

I want to focus these next few days on writing. 

I am long past the 50k in 30days writing goal. But I am still writing. I am still playing the quests in 4TheWords. And editing. Still working on the edits - which are going very slow. I have to step those up, for sure. Somehow, I will. I am hoping to shift the bulk of my writing time to the edits, to get it done.

This is the graph from the NaNoWriMo website, showing the trajectory of my writing this month. The angled dotted line is the 50k in 30days target; my actual writing word count is highlighted in yellow. Looks good!

Day 14: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of day word count = 54,313
Total words written Day 12 = 4,352

I do believe this is the earliest I have ever met the 50k word count in NaNovember! I did it! 

November 13, 2023 I surpassed the target of writing 50,000 words in a month. My writing for November is far from over - but that benchmark was met. 

Maybe I will go for a double-NaNo this year. I am going to be shifting to more editing words than generating new words. I do have a final project coming up due very soon, and I chose to complete this draft's edits as my "senior" project. 

And I will continue writing, but probably a little bit slower pace.

Tomorrow after work I will be heading to the coast for a few days for my annual November writing retreat. I think that the beach will be the perfect place to sink into book revision.

For now: congratulations to me! And here's a toast of kombucha to the next leg of this writing journey.

Day 13: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of day word count = 49,961
Total words written Day 12 = 8,012

photo by Dot.
Trees above Agate Beach

This is the day - November 13th. It will happen today.

I had no idea I was that close to the finish line while I was writing for my second round on Saturday. It's okay, though. Draw out the suspense one more day.

I'm smiling. There were more story words written, along with a lot of other things.

I will be heading to the coast Wed - Sat for my annual November writing retreat. This is the first year that I've had my 50k completed before the retreat. Which is exciting, because that will also be the perfect opportunity for sustained longer periods of time to work on the edits. 

Watch for the "congratulations banner" tomorrow!

Day 12: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of day word count = 41,949
Total words written Day 11 = 3,256   

About half of those 3200 words were story. Excellent odds today! 

I also had to attend to several everyday life activities, such as laundry and scrubbing the bathtub. Also completing assignments for the Mavens of Mythmaking year-long program. We are in the final month, so the weekly action and reading assignments are primary focus for me, as I continue working on the edits in the book manuscript. 

As you can see, I am getting very close to that magical NaNoWriMo 50k words written within the month! It looks like this is going to be my earliest 50k goal achieved in all of my -now- sixteen years. I'm impressed *grin.*

This doesn't mean that the writing will stop. I am still committed to writing every day. My aim is to continue with at least the NaNoWriMo daily average of 1667 words; if I have an "off" day, I will be satisfied with the 4TheWords minimum to achieve the daily count there of 444 words on those days.

I will be switching more of my time to the edicts on the manuscript. That is my final project for the Mythmaking class, so I need to switch primary focus to the book in order to make it before the end of 2023. But all editing and no writing can make me cranky, so the generative writing will continue.

I don't expect to see any more 8,000-word days of writing this month. Unless I'm counting editing words, then I better have some 8k+ word days to wrap it up before December is over.

Stay tuned. I expect to cross 50k on 11/12 or 11/13!

Day 11: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of day word count = 38,693
Total words written Day 10 = 2,454   

This was a lighter writing day. There were other things to attend to and it was a broken sleep day due to my work's schedule release being early in the morning. So, as a night owl, I have to try to go to bed earlier than usual so that I can get up very early to catch the schedule as it drops and, hopefully, add a little bit more time if my bid hours are not what I requested. 

Which, for the last year and a little more, it never is. The being unable to get what I bid has nothing to do with my job performance or anything like that. It has to do with the corporation making changes in how they're scheduling and there are other reasons they haven't told us about. That is how corporations are, in case you haven't experienced that yet, yourself. It has to do with their profit margin and something else. The hours I've been working for 10+ years are no longer available? I know a several people who have seniority over me in the one area I can't control - how long I've worked for the company - and of the ones I know, none of them are interested in working the late night hours. I've come up with potential other reasons, but those who know (or might know) are not talking; those who definitely know are not telling us the truth.

But this is not a hill I'm going to battle on. I am able to add hours other places once I find out how much they give me of my bids. I add bid awards to my reduced-by-them set schedule and then see where I can tack on more time. Not easy, not fun, but this is a better option than some others I have. 

But the early morning schedule release days mean that I get only a couple of hours sleep before the schedule drop. Get up and play with that for a little bit. Then I go back to sleep for as long as I can. So, in total, I might get enough sleep in there, but the two-hour sleep break is not my friend. I've never been a good napper and this system is kind of like a nap. A nap when I would usually sleep, wake up and do work stuff, then try to get some actual sleep. It also means I don't wake up until early afternoon.

A long day and I've learned that it is not usually a very productive day.

But I showered, got dressed, made my word count, and went to the store. So, not a bad day, as long as I keep my expectations low. Ha!

My word count was still a little above the average, which I like. And there was even more story writing which happened. Which makes me very happy!

Day 10: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of day word count = 36,239
Total words written Day 9 = 14,211

Thursday was a phenomenal writing day. Much of this was fueled by activity at 4THEWORDS. The wonderful thing was that some of my writing was even story writing. I have the writing separated out, but I didn't divide out which writing was in story and which was journaling and writing into the NaNo project. 

I did a trial period of 4TheWords last year during NaNo. It was useful to get butt in chair and fingers moving words through on the page, so I decided last December to give it a one year trial when the 30 days ended. 

I have not had a day of regret. It's a silly thing that this website has made such a difference. No, it's not just a website. There is a community of writers there. From what I've heard from people I know IRL, the ages vary, with the majority being adults and many nearing midlife. There are quests, different types of creatures to battle with all kinds of word sizes and times. There are rewards for completing quests. Several months ago they added multiplayer quests, as well. There are forums. There are big goals, and medium goals, and small goals. There are special events.

Speaking of which, it is another special month-long event right now for NaNoWriMo. Today started a short-term extra special event - a Moon Celebration. 

Yesterday I joined a Twitch stream group who were battling a string of the November Headmaster. There is a special multiplayer quest where you have to battle them 8 times - and that's a lot of words. It was really fun and sent my word count into hyperdrive! I'm still an introvert online, so I'm not into lots of conversation. The Twitch streaming group was set to medium battles and we did the challenge in sets of 4 and 10 minute breaks in between. But in the NaNo world we had little conversation other than "good job" "gee, you're fast" or "I'm tapping out." 

As soon as I get this posted, I have a battle queue lined up to take on. I decided to take a couple of timed quests (most of them are not) for the November special event, and I only have about 20 hours to get them done.

Yes, I do recommend 4TheWords if you are looking for something to help you keep your pen or fingers moving. I know it's not for everyone and I thought it wasn't for me. But it's about the right level of challenge and carrot/stick to keep going. It's simple fun for writing accountability and I can still be my introverted self in an online community of writers.

Here is a screenshot of the 4TheWords worlds.

Day 9: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of day word count = 22,028
Total words written Day 8 = 3368

I am writing a lot. Still. Little of it is story related, but some of it is.

Here is my first drawing from Inktober 2023. Just because. I didn't make it through Inktober well this year and that's okay. I will return to it!

Day 5: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of day 5 word count = 9582
Total words written on day 4 = 1672

So far, so good. I am keeping up with the daily average word count of 1667. Nice. It's only day 5 now and that's okay. I like it when I don't fall too far behind in the beginning of the month!

Nothing new to report on story development.

I am happy to report that I am feeling a little more positive and a brighter outlook in general with doing more generative writing. Even if it is mostly semi-autobiographical with a mix of straight up journaling.

Writing is writing and especially in November!

I kind of doubt this one, but it would be nice!

"Done" meaning that I pass 50k words written.

Day 4: NaNoWriMo 2023 + bonus reminder

Start of day 4 word count = 7910
Total words written on day 3 = 3152

NaNoWriMo end of day 3 word count

Before my daily briefing about how my writing is going so far, a reminder - mostly for me, but also for anyone who might stumble across this in the next 24 hours: It is that dreaded (by many of us) time of year in the USA when, for most of us, time changes. In November we set the clocks back  and this year, since the thing which supposedly passed in Congress ?a couple of years ago? has been lingering somewhere in its bowels, we are doing the time change dance again.

Which brings into my squirrel brain none other than, Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But, of course.

It is currently 2:00 AM on the West Coast. In exactly twenty-four hours from now, it will be 1:00 AM. 

Remember fall back; spring forward. This year we fall back on Sunday, November 5th.

Now a short hop away from NaNoWriMo for the scene from Rocky Horror. Feel free to skip, or go ahead, watch it, satisfy the brain squirrels.

There was a little more story writing which happened on Day 3. There was more exploratory writing than actual story, but I'm letting that be okay this year. This year is about the process of writing, rather than completion of a novel draft. I suspect that I might get a short story, or two or three, out of this, plus adjacent writing about place and time and back story.

This year's NaNoWriMo motto is: "all words are good words." That is usually my writing motto - but especially right now. This NaNoWriMo is especially about greasing the writing wheels and getting them moving again. I am still deep in the thicket of edits on the manuscript, but I feel much better when I am writing, too, and not only editing. Especially right now, this November. This fall was a little brutal in terms of non-writing responsibilities and demands on time, but I was fortunate to have the Mavens of Mythmaking with Ariel Gore still in process, so that kept me connected to writing. Without the year-long program, I could have been engulfed with the external situations.

So: short version = words happened. Many of them! Which is good.

Story progress? Not much. But I'm finding out who this still unnamed main character is and how she ticks.

Be well. Be safe. And remember to change your clocks before you go to bed Saturday night, unless you live where you don't have to gain/lose an hour twice every year.

*

Day 3: NaNoWriMo 2023

Start of Day Three word count = 4758

It's too early to know how the month is going to go. But I'd say I'm off to a strong start. That's about how it usually goes for me. We'll see how it goes as the month continues and work continues and so on.

Which is why I tend to take my annual NaNoWriMo writing retreat in the middle of the month!

Generally, around the end of week two, other things have come up and claimed my time. I've had "things I have to do" which detract from writing. Sometimes I just don't feel like it and the words don't come. That's okay. I haven't gone back and tracked for sure (and I'm not sure how much data I have saved on this), but I'd guess that by the end of week two, I am words behind the daily average target. The daily target it 1667 words. Yes, each day - 1667 words written. The thing about that number is that it seems to grow exponentially when you fall behind - at least when I fall behind. 

Enter a writing retreat! Time away from the laundry and the faucet which needs tightening and the drip out front which I can't really do anything about and the new neighbors and the traffic and and and. Time away where the only thing that has to be done is to write. So in the middle of the month, a writing buddy and I will take a few days at the coast - yes, she is doing NaNoWriMo, as well - and focus on writing.

The story? Thanks for asking. Eh. There is one. Fictionalized life or a total fiction - I know the answer and I'm letting it be what it wants to be. This year is definitely an exploration and a throughline and maybe a plot are poking through. Maybe or probably. We'll see where it leads!

One letter at a time, one sentence at a time. Full steam ahead to write a little more for day three before I go to bed. As my NaNoWriMo stat shows, I'm a night owl. That was absolutely a know fact before the month began!

NaNoWriMo 15th Consecutive Win

 This year I wrote a personal best: 84,906 words written from November 1st to November 30th, 2022. That is a lot of words! I crossed the finish line early - around November 19th, I think. That writing retreat in the second week of the month sure helped. Along with joining 4thewords.com, which provides another type of writing community and "gamifies" writing. At 4thewords, they had a special dragon event just for NaNoWriMo, which made it fun, too. 

Everything I wrote in November is draft. Some of it is pre-draft, some of it is worldbuilding, some of it is writing myself out of the stuck place. No novel this year, but I have some great fuel and ideas for at least a long short story, perhaps a spine to build a novel around. 

Most importantly: I wrote every day. That doesn't often happen. I also wrote many words and I think I did break through some writing or creativity resistance. November was a good month for writing!

NaNoWriMo 2022 - second week update

I have been staying at a very cozy, very Oregon, cabin in Oceanside OR since Tuesday night. The weather has been cool and clear for the most part, until yesterday. Yesterday morning woke to pouring rain and a light wind.

I do not mind storms while at the coast, at all. In fact, this is only one of two or three times I've stayed in Oceanside over the past many years that I haven't lost power. 

Pre-pandemic, coming over to the coast for a NaNovember writing retreat was pretty standard. I often came here to Oceanside because the town is small, slow going, and beautiful, with one of the most incredible views from anywhere. The cabin where I'm staying now is a definite favorite; I have stayed at a couple of others, but will get this one when I can. This cabin is about 1/3 of the way up the hillside, so the view goes for miles and miles: ocean, sand, sky, mountains. And there is a view of the quiet little town.

Also, Oceanside has one longtime restaurant, a very tiny ice cream shop/cafe at the edge of the wayside parking lot, and there appears to be a working pub of some sort now. There is no temptation or expectation of shopping of any kind, no museums, no bookstores - just nature doing its thing, with time and space to write. 

Once when the power went out for a couple of days, the longtime restaurant fired up a generator and had a portable cooking unit or two. They provided a very limited menu at shortened hours - it was during the winter so daylight was short - and even had limited hot coffee. Everyone was friendly and helpful. And the power did come back on; it always does. I learned after the second time it went out to make sure to keep devices charged. 

Speaking of which: there also is virtually no mobile data service available in town. I have found over the years that the only place to consistently have a chance of getting a signal is on the beach. Up here where I'm staying, or down below us in the town, mobile phones and data don't work. Which is another refreshing thing. The small cabin does have wifi, which is much appreciated. But even that fluctuates and drops off; there are a couple of hours midday where the signal is strong - usually.

So it has been delightful to feel comfortable coming back here this year for my annual NaNoWriMo writing retreat. My NaNoFriend - who is an IRL friend, coworker, and writing buddy - and I have been hanging out, writing, sleeping, sharing meals, writing and writing and procrastinating and writing.

This has been a very productive retreat and it feels good.

I admit that my story has not advanced very much at all. But there has been some progress. However, I do also include world building and backstory writing; brainstorm writing; and even process of writing writing during NaNovember. Some of this applies to the book project, some does not but since it applies to me and me being in the world as a writer and creator, it actually does apply to the project I'm writing.

See? Being a writer means writing. Whether I'm writing on the current project or the words belong in a different category, I am writing.

Will I come out of November with a 50k draft of a novella written? Probably not. I could be surprised; but if the second half of the month goes like the first half, it will be difficult once I return to the rest of my life in the city and my life as an interpreter and performance interpreting coordinator.

This writing retreat was just what I needed. My writing is better for it. My writing confidence is better for it. And my word count is soaring! That I also needed.

My current word count? 31,077 words written since November 1st. Woot! I am on track to hit 50k around November 20th, which gives me plenty of time in November to work more on the story. 

[I'm not going to take the time to go deeply into it now, but I will write a post about a website I'm trying out for NaNovember, as well - 4THEWORDS. It pairs writing and gaming and, so far, it's been good and helpful. They have a special event this month, pairing dragons and NaNoWriMo, so, good time to try out what my friend has been using for a couple of years!]

NaNoWriMo 2020 update - It's A Win

Usually in November I post a NaNoWriMo update every day. Obviously that didn't happen this year. Just as many things have not happened this year due to the pandemic and the election.

But NaNoWriMo did happen. I did participate. And I did cross the finish line with 50,222 words written beginning at midnight on November 1st. I crossed the line on November 28th at 11:49 pm. I finished the 50k but I will continue to write every day, to make my second goal of writing every day.

This year NaNoWriMo felt differently. Contributing factors were probably:

- the pandemic;

- the election and post-election (which isn't yet over, but a middle ground has sort of been achieved);

- my aunt died early in the month and she was a big supporter; she was someone I knew read my blog posts every day of NaNoWriMo, so that was definitely one impact;

- I was in a workshop for the first 12 days of the month, which was intentional and probably in the long run helpful, though at times I questioned my decision. And I know without a doubt that I would do it again;

- I did not go on my annual NaNoWriMo writing retreat. I think there was one other year I didn't make it to the beach and that had a big impact. So I'm sure not being able to go was a factor in things feeling a little more "slogging" or "off;"

- did I mention the coronavirus pandemic? Oh, yes. Well, it should be mentioned twice - and I will attach the loss of theatre to the pandemic. It will be back, but I miss it - as an interpreter and as a patron.

But I did it in spite of everything working against us this year. And I will do it again next year. Hopefully I will be able to make my pilgrimage to the beach in 2021.

NaNoWriMo 2020 Update

* 

I have managed to write every day of NaNoWriMo this year. So far. I am going to try to complete another full 30 days of writing. I am also hoping to get to 50,000 words before Thanksgiving. If I'm not at 50k by that day, then I hope to be close enough to wrap it up on Saturday 11/28. Because this year I am working the last two days of the month, which means that there won't be much writing happening.

As of right now, I am 1000 words underneath the target number for November 14th. With only 30 minutes until midnight, I doubt I am going to get caught up before another 1667 words are added to where I should be.

I am also three days in to my at home writing retreat. What I realize already is that my annual writing retreat during NaNoWriMo is absolutely the best thing to do. I always write more when I'm at the coast, with the express purpose of being there to write. No expectations about amount of sleep, about doing the laundry or medicating the cat or anything else. No need to go do household errands. Well, honestly, the errands and such are very minimal because of the pandemic. We are on the brink of another heavily mandated stay at home order because the cases are on the rise. I didn't leave the house at all for three days. Today we went to my ND's office to pick up a supplement and then we went to Starbucks for a special treat - through the drive-through because we are not going in. No way!

But this year I am not dragging my Multnomah County germy air to the doing well in terms of COVID-19 numbers to the coast. Not even to a private beach house which is probably safe - but someone will have to clean it after us. And someone else could have been there before us. And on the drive over, unless I dehydrated myself ahead of time, I'd probably have to use a public restroom somewhere, which doesn't feel at all safe. 

So. I stay home this year. I've watched two streaming performances (both short) and I started to watch a Philip Glass opera (which I will finish later; it was not conducive to my writing and my partner is feeling a little grumpy, tired of the pandemic and being stuck home so much - so opera was not at all melding with that energy; I don't blame her, I understand - but too much for the opera to continue). I will finish the opera later or maybe tomorrow before it goes away tomorrow night.

I'm writing. Signing up for the Writing with the Tarot online workshop with Ariel was also a lifesaver. It has definitely helped me keep writing. Even if the pieces are incomplete or with compacted endings I need to open up, I feel like I have an actual, viable project this year. Which is a good thing, because I also signed up for the manuscript workshop in January to March of 2021. My plan all along was that I would (hopefully) have the beginnings of a manuscript from this month to bring to fruition. And I believe I will.

I am writing a book. It is not a novel - although recently I discovered that rather than a set of short stories, this is looking like those stories will still be there, but there is mostly likely going to be a throughline story tying them all together. Somehow. That is not entirely clear, although I have had a glimpse of what that uniting thread will be.

I am excited. When I'm not wondering why I'm doing this. And I am missing the coast, the ocean outside the door, the wind and it's salty rain, the seagulls crying and warning; the digging in under the blankets on the corner sofa, side to the window so I can still see along the coastline.

Writing intreat? Sounds better than a "staycation" a friend commented. And she's right.

NaNoWriMo is happening in 2020 style. Which means, the unexpected can and will happen. Words are flowing and we'll see what I have when I return to work later next week.