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.