Writing a novel in 30 days, the finish line

So, midnight tonight was the deadline to complete the 50,000 words in the National Novel Writing Month challenge, which I discuss in a different post. I had 3000 words left to write because yesterday was my son's birthday party, so I didn't add any words then. So, 3000 words to go at 7pm, with a midnight deadline. Just five hours.

I made a pot of coffee and I went for it. I managed to pray with my children, read one chapter of Charlotte's Web, and give kisses goodnight. I even sort of watched a movie that my husband had on during part of that time. It was a crazy night.

I slid into the final moments and hit 50,004 words just as I ran out of time.

I strongly suggest that anyone who thinks they want to write a novel, first read No Plot No Problem
and then just go for it. I made a chart with each day's word count goal on it and every day, I crossed off the counts as I passed them. This allowed me to see each day how far I needed to get to.

I think I will join the thousands of novel writers and wanna be's who will attempt to write a novel in 30 days come November, but for tonight, I will go to bed proud that I have completed this challenge and glad that I don't have any words to write tomorrow.

My Professional Writing tip of the day: Read good books and Go For It!

Learn to catch with a balloon

Playing catch. It's a great American pastime. Well, it's actually a great anywhere pastime. One of the first physical athletic skills that we teach our children is how to catch a ball. How early should you start and with what. If you've ever tried teaching an eight year old to catch by throwing a baseball towards his face, you know that this can be frustrating for you and terrifying for him. He may learn to catch, but first he'll instinctively duck and cover.

So, how can you start them young, while being certain that they will stay safe and not be afraid of "being hit by the ball"?

I suggest a balloon.

These are cheap and little kids love them. They take some skill to aim, but can quickly be volleyed back and forth over a short distance. What makes this tactic particularly successful for children who otherwise have no skills is that the 'ball' comes at them slow enough for them to catch it. A beach ball or bouncy ball when tossed, even gently, comes at a child pretty fast, and usually bounces off of them at first. But, a balloon ball floats just enough to slow it down so even a small child can catch it with just  a little practice.

So, my parenting tip for today is Have Fun with your Kids!
Play Ball!

The Fruit Fly Trap

With the glut of fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden, and friends gardens, and neighbors gardens, and sometimes even the gardens of generous strangers...
there really is no way to store it without attracting fruit flies.
Those sneaky things get in any old way they can. But, I have found a way to trick them.

The FRUIT FLY TRAP

It starts with one banana peel - if you have fruit flies, you probably have bananas - it's their favorite. 

By placing the banana peel into a seal able plastic bag (zipper style works best), and poking small holes into the bag, you allow the fruit flies in. They find their way in by following the scent of the banana. 

Once they get in, they can't find their way out.

When you are satisfied that you have caught enough of them, just throw the bag away.

It's cheap, it's simple and it's very effective.

Batman guarding the trap is optional. He does not actually effect the trap, but if you have little boys hanging around at your house, they will all agree that it can't hurt to have Batman on your side.

This is today's frugal living daily tip.

Mama's Got Drama Queens

This mama spent her day at the fairgrounds, watching two episodes of SUMMER perform as a snooty orchid with the Albion Youth Theater at the fair this afternoon.
Then, I spent the evening listening to all the competition in the Hometown Idol competition, then cheering when they announced the first prize winner - CAITLIN JOHNSON

We drove over to the fairgrounds in the morning, checked out the ponies and walked through the 4H buildings. Shortly after we arrived, an announcement came over the broadcast system that the National Weather Service had issued a severe weather watch.
We know the theater adage that "The Show Must Go On!"
It helped that the community stage was in a tent, so the Youth Theater was just getting warmed up when the storm really hit hard.
Don decided to take the boys home since there wasn't anything for them to do under the tent accept get in the way. But, he came back in time to see the final performance and to hear the announcement.

It was a lot of work to haul four little boys home, feed them and haul them all back to the fair by himself.
I was so proud of him for doing this!

So, my Parenting Tip of the Day is BE THERE! Even when it's hard, or the weather doesn't cooperate; when your kids are performing - BE THERE!

Don't Let Your Children Drown

Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in children; second only to car crashes. I have always been a strong swimmer, but when I nearly drowned at an indoor water park, the lifeguard never left her post. She didn't even know I was drowning. It was my daughter who saved me, NOT the lifeguard.

This advice spread quickly back in June when everyone was just beginning to get into beach mode. Now, that the summer is nearing its end, and everyone is thinking about school starting and gearing up for fall, we have become comfortable with the water. We've been hanging out at the beach or our favorite swimming hole all summer; we have lost some healthy fear.

So, whether you're spending the last days of summer at the beach or signing up for your membership at the local indoor pool, prepare yourself. Don't count on the lifeguard to save your child.

Start by reading this article. from the Coast Guard on what drowning actually looks like.

This is my parenting tip of the day. You can find more info HERE

You Can Have Too Many Blogs.

I started the blog OneCrazyLady as part of an assignment for a Women's Studies class. I had to post something every week. It was a great habit to start. But, then the class ended and I got on with my life.
When I'm not forced to read a bunch of stuff outside my comfort zone, then I don't have as many interesting things to say.
When I decided to start blogging again, I remembered the name of the blog, but I couldn't find it, so I started over on Blogger. I mean really what's the point of having a blog if you can't even find it.
Well, today, I was searching for an article I had written about coffee filters, and found my blog - on wordpress

It's mostly anti-feminist rantings, so feel free to ignore it altogether. Or go check it out if you like.

My point here is a DAILY TIP for writers. If you are going to bother starting a blog... try and remember where you put it.

The Root of Frugal Decision Making

I don't buy things that I don't need.
This is usually my answer when people ask me how I raise my family on so little money. But, I know lots of people who would say the same thing about themselves, and they spend a lot more money than I do. What causes this discrepancy?
It's all about how we define the term 'need'.

I just read How to Survive Without a Salary by Charles Long, so I'll share insights using some of his terms and examples, although the same concepts can be found in either of these two excellent books; Your Money or Your Life and The Complete Tightwad Gazette. (All three titles are excellent reads and probably easy to find in your local library) 

Long suggesst that when you are defining a need, you must first identify the problem that is causing the perceived need. I might say "I need a car" when the ACTUAL need is for transportation to work. If I focus on my need for a car, then I would spend time devoted to searching for an affordable car. If I instead focus on my ACTUAL need of transportation to work, I am more likely to find an alternative solution. These might include carpooling, a bus ticket, a taxi service, a bicycle or my own two feet. All of these may have a cost, but they also might be something that I already own and would require no expense. Using an alternative rather than purchasing a car could potentially save me thousands of dollars each year.

In fact, as a family of 8, we have "gotten by" with just one vehicle when most of the people we know have at least two per family and some have more automobiles than licensed drivers in their house. But, when we assessed the ACTUAL NEED of transportation, we found that the number of times we might need the van in more than one place were so few, that they could easily be solved by sharing a ride, biking or walking.

A problem statement is easily solved by the purchase of the latest, most advertised, seen on TV and sold in stores everywhere product.
But, it can also be solved in a variety of other ways. These usually require more creativity and patience, but are also cheaper and often last longer. In the above example, the more often I walk, the better I feel about it, but if I had bought a car, then I would be paying maintenance, repairs, gasoline, oil, wiper fluid, car washes and more just to keep it going. It eventually will break down and leave me walking anyway.

Long uses an example of his wife 'needing' a clothes dryer to solve the problem of winter line drying taking too long and children running out of clothing to wear in the mean time. A few extra outfits purchased second hand for a few dollars a piece solved the problem. Now, a dryer would have solved the problem as well, but it would have also brought its own set of problems such as hiring an electrician to run wiring for it, installing a vent, higher fuel/power usage and bills, maintenance and repair costs. Plus, once you have one, won't you feel the need to replace it when it quits? Another problem to solve.

His point and mine is that when it comes to frugal living - an evaluation of the actual problem to be solved is the beginning of the search for a frugal solution.

Free Lessons in Social Studies

Would you like access to videos that you can use to supplement your classroom experience? Of course, you would. Here are some of my favorite resources for free streaming educational videos.

This is a homeschooling Daily Tip.

First, I highly recommend the free magazine called "The Idea Book for educators" You can subscribe for FREE here.

This magazine provides activities and discussion questions to use along with videos you'll find on A&E, Lifetime, History Channel and Biography. This is a great way to start collecting materials for unit studies.

Don't have cable? Neither do we!
You can stream educational videos free from these sites:

A&E

Biography

History

Pick and choose from a long list of available videos, streamed free over the internet, without commercials.

If you would like to see more Daily Tips on homeschooling, vote here.

I have so many books I can't find the one I want

Do you have so many books that you can't find the one that you really want? When my son was interested in astronomy, I knew that I had some books on the subject, but where? When you collect lots of books, which is not a bad thing, they can become a burden if you don't keep them organized.

For those of you who are voting for your favorite Daily Tip topic, the subject of Organization is in the lead. Remember, you can vote for more than one.

Now, I've tried all sorts of methods to organize my books; alphabetical, kids books in one area, teens in another and adults in yet another, even by the Dewey Decimal system.

But, I've found the best way to organize anything, especially books is by use. So, the books in our house, now fall into one of the following categories, and each category has it's own designated space.

Categories We Chose (your family may choose different categories based on how you used your books)

Science - All astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, etc.

History and Geography - This includes biography/autobiography, map-making and so on. We store our globe on top of this book case.

Art and Music - Songbooks, lesson books, etc go here. Also, we put this section next to history and geography so that we could include art history and music history in this section.

Math and Puzzles - This includes sudoku books, logic books, and of course our math textbooks.

Handwriting - Here we keep handwriting lessons and handwriting paper. Next to this, we have coloring books and crayons for our little ones to "practice" writing as well.

Classics - There are certain books that I consider classics and would like my children to read. When I assign reading, I allow them to choose from this area. By keeping them apart from general fiction, I don't have to search for a "good book" because I have them all in one place.

General Fiction - This area is away from the classics so they don't get mixed up, and includes many children's books that we enjoy at bedtime.

Writing - This is different from handwriting, and includes Vocabulary Builder, Dictionary, Thesaurus, Manual of Chicago Style, and so on. This is primarily a resource shelf for me as I work on Professional Writing, but the children use it frequently as well.

Language - This area is just below the writing section as some of these are related, it includes spelling lessons, English from the Roots Up, Grammar books and our foreign language materials as well.

Hobbies - This shelf has a variety of books, but includes all sorts of things we've been interested in over the years, but do not necessarily fit into an academic category; like gardening, antiques, electrical systems, tropical fish, puppetry, theater, woodworking, etc.

Crafts - Some of our art could really be crafts, and some of our hobbies could be crafts, but I keep a bucket just for craft project items. It includes some books, but also includes paints and brushes, markers, colored pencils and chalks, etc.

All of these book cases line the walls of our school room, and are available to us all day long, and we always know where to look when we want a resource for something. Some books that myself or my husband own for personal reading are kept on a shelf in our bedroom, but pretty much all of our books are in one room, and organized by use, so that they are available to us easily, and we seldom have to search for material on a topic. 

This method also helps us quickly see what we already have on a subject so that our library trips are devoted to filling in areas that we don't have at home.

If you enjoyed this organization tip, and would like to see more like it, please vote here.

Ten Commandments for the Classroom

Who rules your school? How do you keep things under control? Here's a list of our ten commandments for the classroom / homeschool room. These rules are good for every room in the house, but we've posted them in our school room as that is where we seem to need them most.

First, I think the methodology of creating the rules is important. If I had just arbitrarily made them up, I think they would be far less effective. So, first I wanted ten rules as modeled by God's gift of the Ten Commandments. This number fits well on a piece of printer paper, it is not too many for children to be able to memorize, and I think God knew what he was doing when he gave us His rules.

Next, unlike God, I did not make the rules and then pass them down to my children. I asked them to tell me what they thought the rules of our classroom should be. Here is some of their list:
No name calling
No potty talk
No nose picking
No whining
No hitting
No cheating

This is just a sampling of the list that they made. A pattern that I saw was that they were quick to provide a list of things they thought others should NOT do; but, I thought I would rather have a list of Always do's rather than Shall nots.

So, before you get impatient and click away from my site, here is my list:
1. Always turn to God in times of trouble. He will tell you what you should do.
2. Always use kind words, and always mean the things you say.
3. Always work diligently on your task. Your day of rest will come.
4. Always display good manners, even when no one is looking.
5. Always treat other people and their possessions with care.
6. Always be faithful, first to God and then to your future spouse.
7. Always ask before you touch.
8. Always give a good report of others.
9. Always use a soft voice in the school room, and anywhere that others are working.
10. Always Do Your Best. You're hard work will be rewarded.

WANT THIS LIST? Click here for Print Version.
This Daily Tip is in the Parenting and Homeschooling categories. If you'd like to see more of these, vote here.

Blogging Daily Tips Survey

Every successful blog offers daily tips. I plan to offer pseudo-daily tips. That means that I intend to offer daily tips, but I accept my tendency to forget things - that's how I support my local library, but forgetting to return my books and paying the late fees. For you, my dear reader, that means you may have to miss my wit for a day, now and then. Maybe I'll offer two tips now and then to make it up to you.

So, I just read this book about starting an online business. See my e-business here.
It said that a successful blog offers it's readers some new and interesting every day. So, here is my first attempt.

I'd like to know what kinds of tips you would most benefit from. Click here to submit your answer.

Kill Weeds, Not Your Kids

Today's Frugal Living Tip:
How to kills the weeds, without harming your kids or your pets.

This weed in the sidewalk crack is a common problem. The retail stores offer all sorts of solutions; mainly poison. This one was sprayed yesterday with Roundup. It's still green, but it's starting to brown. This product is popular and its users tell me that it is effective. I've never used it. 2.5 gallons of the stuff sells for $135. I don't shop like that. Here's what this frugal mom suggests:

1) Leave it - who cares if you have weeds growing in your sidewalk?
Can't leave it? Okay, me either. I'm cheap, but I do like things to look clean, including my sidewalks.

2) Free physical labor; this is the no cost option. Just get out there and pull the weeds from the cracks. Be sure to get the roots as much as you can. This is a free option, but it does require some diligence as the pesky plants do grow back.

3) Vinegar. This is a cheap alternative to poison. It is safe for kids - it's what you use to make pickles.  One gallon costs about $1.
You can fill a spray bottle and squirt it right on the plants OR you can just pour it directly on them.
Here's what you get with that method: The plants are dead, but I still have to clean up.

My best suggestion, after some experimenting, is to pull the weeds, and then pour the vinegar directly into the cracks. This is the most effective and will last the longest. It is the acid in the vinegar that kills the plant.

If you would like to see more FRUGAL LIVING tips, vote here.

Was I born a quitter? Or did something make me this way?

I've been doing this NANOWRIMO thing. Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Well, I started out great, see my first week progress here. But, then something happened around day 10. I suddenly found myself doing everything except writing my novel.
I jazzed up my website.
I updated my Facebook status.
I read library books.
I washed dishes, tried out new recipes, and folded laundry... all when I could have been writing more words in my novel and getting myself closer to the 50,000 word mark.

At the end of day 11, I had fallen 1000 words short of my goal. I was devastated. I felt like a failure. And yet, at the same time, I was bored with my characters, bored with my story line. I just didn't care what happened to those people, and there were more exciting things to do.

I was developing ideas for new products.
I was cleaning house, writing lesson plans, organizing rooms.
It was when I found myself looking for work-at-home writing jobs instead of writing that I realized I'm a quitter. I have a pattern of started projects that I've never finished, like a box full of half baked novel ideas. I opened an Ebay store several years ago, and closed out estates selling items on consignment, and eventually my excitement waned and I closed the store. I started writing a series of unit studies, and wrote three books, but then my excitement waned and I haven't written a new unit in two years. This is my habit. I get excited and I work hard, but after awhile I get bored and some more interesting project comes along, I get distracted, I quit the project to start a new one, and later, in hind sight, I feel like I failed. I am always sure that I could have had great success if only I had stuck with it. I wondered if I was born this way, or if there was something that I could do to change this habit.

I have discovered that I work best when I am externally motivated. Basically, this means that I am more productive when there is something on the line. This could be an imaginary result, as in "people will mock me if I fail." It doesn't matter if the mocking will actually happen or not, it is the internal belief that this negative result will come about by means of a specific behavior that moves us to modify our behaviors. I use a negative motivator as an example because those are often the strongest for us.
However, positive motivators can work just as well. Again, these can be real, as in "I will get a promotion if I finish this on time" or imagined, such as "I will make millions once this is finished and people see my masterpiece."
These external motivators are very effective for most people. They show up to work to get a paycheck, and the mow their lawns so the neighbors won't complain.

But, those who have discovered the glory of the internal motivator are the most successful in life. You see, an external motivator is easily removed. An imaginary one goes away when you simply stop believing in it.
An internal motivator is a passion, a purpose, a love for that which you are doing. This is what drives people to complete long term projects, even when there are setbacks. It is the thing that keeps people persisting in the wake of tragedy.

It is day 12 of the 30 day challenge. I will keep typing. I will find something interesting in these characters or I will make something up. Perhaps, I will search for what it is that motivates them; not externally, but internally. What is their passion, their purpose, their mission? What is it that drives them to behave the way that they do? It's time for me to close this blog post and return to their world, and catch up on my word count.

Maybe after I see if internal motivation can be bought on Ebay.

A Smart Girl Can Always Find a Reading Hideaway

One of our favorite hobbies is reading. But, in a family of 8, it can sometimes be difficult to find a quiet place to get really lost in a book. But, smart girls like mine can always find a reading hideaway. Here's Caitlin enjoying her book in the linen closet.

Moving is a Sad Business

After a month in our new home, I have finally unpacked everything, and even had a day out with a gal pal - Yard Saling! my favorite pastime. But, there is a sadness that still lingers.

Just when I think we are really settling in; the girls are finding friends to invite to the park, people are sharing their garden surplus, the children are being invited to play, and the calendar holds promise of exciting days to come...

just when I think all is going well I am struck, completely off guard, by something that brings a wave of sadness.

It may be my daughter's offhand comment to a friend back home, "I hate it here."
She doesn't seem terribly unhappy, it was probably just a moment of missing the familiar.

Or it may be the realization that my son is having a birthday party for the first time in his life (we only do them at ages 5, 10, and 15), and he has yet to meet any children to invite. I know he will have fun because his siblings will make it special for him, but I feel guilty anyway.

I know that soon I will be busier than ever, the kids will be running in and out to this friend's and that friends, to and from this and that activity...

but right now, in the quiet, there is a sadness that lingers.

Writing a novel in 30 days, week one

So, today is day seven of my personal attempt at writing a novel in thirty days. If you are curious you can read about why I am not waiting until November to participate in National Novel Writers Month.

If you think you can write a novel in 30 days,(or just want to know what I'm talking about) you can join the challenge here.

As I was saying, today is day seven of my thirty day attempt.
So far, I am keeping ahead of the word count, although just barely.
My count  vs (goal for the day)
Day One 5,069  (1,667)
Day Two 6,260 (3,334)
Day Three 7,021  (5,001)
Day Four 7,803  (6,668)
Day Five 9,487  (8,335)
Day Six 11,221  (10,002)
I'm over 12,000 words now as the seventh day is coming to an end. I may add a few more before I say good night.

It has been a challenge. The hardest part is NOT fitting it into my day, as it doesn't really take that long for me to type 1700 or so words. No more than a couple of hours, even when I frequently stop to ponder what I will say.

The hardest part is figuring out what to say in those 1700 words.
I  have to keep reminding myself of the mantra
"It's not about quality, it's about quantity".


I have found that I can spend hours producing just a few sentences, especially when I am trying to figure out exactly how someone should say something. For example, when Chelsea has to tell Tad that she is pregnant, I go over and over their relationship as I have created it in the last 10,000 words and wonder exactly where and when and how would she do this? After I've made myself crazy, I have to stop and repeat:
"It's not about quality, it's about quantity."


Then, I type
Chelsea tells Tad that she is pregnant.
Tad reacts.

Then, I move on to the next scene. See, I have to keep reminding myself that this is not the final version of anything, and perhaps when I reach 50,000 words, NO ONE will ever even read a single word of it. Perhaps. But, it doesn't matter, because this is a challenge about getting 50,000 words of story on paper (or screen). It has a beginning, that's what the first week is all about. It has inherent conflict. It will have a middle and it will have an end.
It doesn't have to be good. I don't have to get every piece of dialogue perfected before I can finish telling the story. It's about getting to the point. Get the story down, get to the end, get to the point. I have the rest of my life to go back and fill in all those little details, like when I finally decide whether Chelsea is sitting or standing or kneeling in prayer when she breaks the news. It's a tiny detail and I can fill it in later. For now, I have three weeks to get to the point.

The blessings of a homeschool schedule

Two years ago, we packed up everything we owned and moved to Fort Wayne, IN so my husband could attend CTSFW.

Since then, we have made two more moves as part of the Seminary process.

During this time of change my children have never had to attend a new school. They have had to work at making new friends and learning their way around a new town, but they've never had to change schools.

It is the one constant.

Due to the demands of these moves and changes I have been lax about our schooling schedule, allowing the children to work when they are comfortable, and where they want to. We've not had a 'school room' or even a school area, and I could see my children falling behind in their work and falling apart emotionally. The one thing that they had been able to count on was slowly deteriorating right before their eyes.

I'd thought I was doing them a favor by relaxing my demands.

But after our last move, my husband suggested that we get back into a scheduled routine of school and chores and then play. So the kids and I mapped out a schedule for our school day including recess times, snacks and lunch breaks.
The first day we were back into our routine we had a great time, we got a lot accomplished, and my most 'depressed' child told me he was glad to be back to school and that

"we did lots of fun things today"


Isn't that really why we homeschool?.... so we can do fun things with our kids. That's my favorite part.
Here are my top three reasons that I think a strict schedule is a blessing.

1. Everyone knows when to begin. There is a feeling of security that comes from knowing what is expected of you and when you are supposed to show up.
2. Everyone knows when things will end. Even the most dreadful tasks can be tolerated when we know that they have an end time, and we can see those minutes ticking away on the clock.
3. There is always something to look forward to, whether it's a favorite subject that's about to start or the next recess.

Oh, and one more! With a schedule that demands schoolwork and chores be completed before free time; my children can take pride in knowing that they have worked hard and earned their play time.

Life as a Vicar's Wife, Week 3

So, yesterday was Don's first official day as the Vicar. We've been in town for three weeks, but Sunday we said goodbye to the previous Vicar, and Don began to move books into his office on Monday morning. It is a bittersweet experience for the congregation, I'm sure.

They love their Vicars. I can tell by how well they have cared for the property and home that they provide for us. But, to say goodbye to one and hello to another... and to do it again and again, every year. This takes a strong and committed congregation. I am proud of those who continue to do this. I had never consider how challenging this is for them until we had been here a couple of weeks, getting to know the people and the congregation, and then watching them say goodbye to their beloved Vicar.

I can only hope that we too become someone that they love and cherish and are sad to say goodbye to. I already feel the sadness of knowing that the goodbyes will come.

There is no hope of building a future here (I know that Vicars sometimes to get called back, but that is very rare, and won't happen for most). The truth is, it's hard to leave the house. It's hard to muster up the courage and motivation to go out and experience life here.

I'm not afraid of anything bad happening. In fact, just the opposite is true. I'm terrified that it will be great! So great that I will be heartbroken when it inevitably has to end. So, I find that I am protecting myself emotionally, by simply staying home.

This is completely out of character for me. I am a joiner and a doer, and always involved in something. But, now, I wonder, what is the value of participating? I know that I will have to leave soon, probably just about the time that I really get to know people and get the hang of things. Or worse, I'll spend a year trying to get involved and just when I find someone or something that I really care about, before I even get to enjoy it, it will be over.

Do you think like this?
I know it isn't logical, and it isn't they way God made me to be.
But, here I am.

So, I've said yes to a dinner invitation. I've said yes to teaching Sunday School. I've said yes to joining, to participating... even though I'm terrified, and I'll tell you why.

Just two years ago, when we started at Seminary, I felt the same way. But, gradually, I joined, I signed up, I participated, and soon we made friends, found a place to belong, and fell in love with life in Fort Wayne. And, before we knew it, the time came, as we knew it would; the time came to move on.
We packed up everything we owned, for the third time in three years, and we said goodbye to all our friends. People we'd only known for that short time, were knocking on our door, organizing our truck, cleaning our house, making us lunch... laughing and crying with us.

It wasn't easy.
My heart still aches just thinking about it.
But, we survived.
And, we'll survive the move next year, and the one after that, and then...

God willing, we'll never have to say goodbye again.

I started this post when I was unpacking and found this book in my collection "I'm more than just a Pastor's Wife" by Lorna Dobson
I thought I would write about loneliness and feeling like a stranger here, but when I think about it, I know that it really is just fear of the unknown; fear of being vulnerable, and fear of being rejected that stops us from moving forward.

So, wherever you are in your journey, I encourage you to move forward into the great unknown and try it out. Something great awaits.

Writing a Novel - off to a good start.

Okay, so, being impatient, I couldn't wait until November for the Write a novel in 30 days challenge.

There is some logic to my decision to jump right in.

I am registered for classes this fall and they start on Aug. 22, so I really need to have this project completed by then, because come November, I'll be in the middle of classes AND I'll be in the middle of the kids school programs too.

But, I didn't want to make so many excuses that I talked myself out of it because I really believe that I can do this and I believe that I will be a better writer for it.

So, I didn't wait for any special day. I just dove right into the project.

Day One: Goal: 1, 667 words (that's 50,000 divided by 30)
Day One Accomplishment: 5,069
Day Two: Goal: 3,334
Day Two Accomplishment: 6,260

But, in no plot, no problem, it is made very clear that the first week is easy because it's exciting. So, right now, I'm just working on staying ahead of the daily word count. Week One progress here.

Also, I'm contemplating posting what I have so far, just for laughs (because it's an exercise in quantity, not quality).
Here's a clue:
Chelsea Harris is a middle aged woman, stay at home wife, and mother. She is somewhat OCD, somewhat ADD, somewhat depressed, somewhat anxious, somewhat delusional. Chelsea is taking a class to learn how to write her life story - her memoir. The text alternates between her writing and her current life. Here's a snippet from her Memoir.

I would wake up in the middle of the night, and feel like there was someone under my bed. Not just an imaginary vision of some creature under my bed, but I could actually feel movement, like there was someone on the bottom bunk pushing their feet against the underside of my mattress.

I remember asking to sleep on the bottom bunk, but it didn’t make a difference. I could still feel movement in my mattress.

I know now it was probably mice.