The Great December Writer's Challenge Day 1

Thanks so much to everyone that commented on yesterday's post. They certainly got me to thinking about two things: Cooking and Writing.


Cooking-wise, I am now trying to figure out how I will whip up my masterpieces while getting someone else to do the clearing up. Yes. I am a) that lazy b) that evil.


Writing-wise, the comments got me to thinking. Yesterday, I forgot to mention that I technically have no idea how many words I need to finish the book. I'm currently approaching 40k words, while the word counts in Fantasy novels lie somewhere between 150k and 200k. So... I'm roughly a quarter of the way through. But how many words I need to finish the story?


I chose 4000 words per day arbitrarily since the goal sounds both challenging and nearly doable. If I successfully get that many words done, I'll hit 100k by the 31st. While that still lets me fall short on the word-count, it should be enough for me to finish the story. I'll make up the rest when I rewrite and write in the details.

But... As Nevets pointed out, daily goals puts a lot of pressure on the writer. He pointed out that it only worked for him for a month - technically all that I need - before it crushed him. I really don't need to be crushed. After all. I have another book to write. But heaven knows that I have been writing Doorways for two years now. It's time I finish it. Next year brings many changes to my lifestyle - which will only make finishing the story more challenging. So if I'm going to get the draft done, it will be in this month.

But then... I thought. Instead of making it feel like a job, I'm going to dress it up as something else. I'm calling it the Great December Writer's Challenge. My goal: finishing the beast by New Years Eve. Word-count: whatever it takes, but roughly 4000 words a day.

But then I thought... Surely I'm not alone here. Surely there are people who made New Years resolutions this year to finish that book - only they didn't. Or people who want to finish their edits in time to submit their work to agents in January. Anything.

If you have anything writing related that you want to finish by 23h59 on 31 December, please join me in the challenge. Set a goal, let me know and let's get it done together.  

That said... I think it's time for me to go kick some word count butt.

A bit of advice?

That is it. I have come to the realization that I can't spend my holiday moping around.

It's such a damn waste of time.

Not to mention boring.

I have to start doing something, since my recovery state is immobile. If I don't start getting things done, I am going to end up wasting more or less three weeks that could have been spent toward reaching my goal(s). But I'm still planning how I will get everything done.

See, writing is far from the only thing I want to do this holiday. I want to take up the last two artistic pursuits I have never put my hands to: cooking and sewing. If I'm honest, I see cooking as just a notch above alchemy. I really haven't a clue as to how people can take a bunch of raw ingredients, dice them, mix them etc, toss them into a pan et voila... One masterpiece served on a plate. It boggles the mind. Clothes are another thing though. That's just me being far too impatient to practice.

Anyway. Well... maybe I lied, but I can't see a single art other than those two that I have not tried... But if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to enlighten me.

Back to the point. I therefore have to cook, sew in addition to me taking up jogging and exercise again. Then there are my friends and just taking some breaths of fresh air. After all. It's summer and the beach is now 500 meters away...

Oh and picking up that other art again: Languages. In particular, French and Mandarin.

Did I mention that I don't do schedules?

Ever?

Why not? Well... it started when I was in high school. It once occurred to me that I would get more done if I scheduled my time. That way, I could control time, so to speak.

As it turned out, I had committed myself to things of such a permanent nature, that I was left with no openings until after seven in the evenings. And then I had choir practice until nine on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No amount of scheduling was actually going to create time. A fact that left me rather depressed and had me tossing my diary into the bin. I never took up the habit again.

There is no way I'm going to schedule my December. These are the last responsibility free weeks I'll have in my life. I'm not going to work myself into office hours or worse.

So... Here is my question. Who of you set daily writing goals? How do you attain them without it feeling like work?

Aaah bliss...

I have to make an embarrassing confession today.

I had my first day of holiday, with the thought clattering in my mind that I should have posted something. Well....

I had no idea what to type. Go figure. Anyway...

Today I read To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time (yes... I know.) and moved on to a Jeffrey Deaver. I'm nothing if not a varied reader. I'm contemplating setting myself a huge daily writing goal a la NaNoWriMo, but with more words. If I'm going to have a snowball's hope to finish Doorways by 31 December, I estimate that I'll need to write about 3000 words per day. Factoring in my mom's birthday, family visits, my birthday, socializing and Christmas, I'm going to have to aim for 4000+ words just to average it out...

But hell, that sounds steep. But the satisfaction beckoning me should I succeed is really tempting. But the disappointment should I fail... Sigh...

You know, in September, I thought I'm the kind of person that saw scary situations, took a deep breath and walked straight into the thick of them. Well... I did. I was warned about Economics, wasn't I? And I saw all my options, feared boredom and picked the worst possible option for a person seeking a sure degree.

Stupid.

See... My mom and I actually talked about these things. She also tackles the most impossible projects ever. Sometimes she wins, sometimes she doesn't. Either way, she did something that no-one else dared. I tend to do that too. Me? I either win huge or get spanked to within an inch of my life. So badly that I suspend making choices as to my next project until the sting goes away. Then, I guess because no one remembers the feeling of pain, I put myself through it again.

What wire is loose in my head that I would actually put myself through all this nonsense? Adrenaline addiction? Masochism? Too much optimism?

Bahahaha! No.

In fact, my Gran often comments that she's glad she doesn't have to move through life with my bleak world view. Actually, I'm not bleak, but that's another story.

No. Rather, the common trait shared between my mother and me would be the Jack Russel syndrome.

Ever noticed that Jack Russels will fight dogs twenty times their size for dominance? Sometimes they beat Rottweilers and Great Danes to become top dogs. Sometimes they get eaten, give the big dogs indigestion and get spat out again.

That's us all over. We have NO sense of size. There's something wrong with the part of the brain that says: "Girl, you're picking the wrong fight. Tuck tail, turn around. Run." Nope.

I used to think that studying Actuarial Science would be a technicality before I got to earn my way to retirement.

I believed right up to four hours before my economics exam that I had my studies under control.

The former very nearly destroyed me. (A tip for parents: Unless your child likes being punished, loves not having contact with humans and has a sense of self preservation, DO NOT let them consider that career. EVER.) 

I refuse to let the latter hurt me as much. But I'm licking my wounds before taking on the next big dog in my way. 

Which is why I'm waiting until Monday to decide. I really don't want to set myself up so soon. The scrapes I got still burn and itch. 

Any advice for me? How are you doing? Anyone else with scope issues? How do you deal with it?  

Phew!

Ever been worried about doing or telling someone something?

Well, as some of you might know... I've been working really hard to get together the guts to tell my mom about my economics.

Yesterday we were driving and spoke about completely other things and studying somehow came up. Before I knew what was happening, I blurted out that my economics were well beyond salvage now. To my surprise, it didn't turn into our customary fight, but rather we started speaking about why I was struggling to study the work required. 

For those of you that were wondering, think four old family Bibles. In essays. With the succession of essays having nothing to do with each other. And most of the essays have a lack of coherence. The authors clearly never learnt that the intro needs to involve the topic, or that the body needs to involve the intro. Or that the conclusion must have something to do with the essay they had written.

Sorry. I really get angry that we are marked strictly on the form and structure of any essays we write, but are then forced to sit through work that is far below that standard, just because the writer of that essay has a M or a PHD tagged to his degree.

I know that they know more than I do, but it does not cancel out the fact that 75% of them need an editor.

Oh. And while I'm this hideously off topic, wouldn't it be nice if our lecturers actually read what they selected? That way, they would notice that what they give us in a way of information, does not correspond to the lectures...

"Read tomorrow's essay before class,"  they say.
And then forget to mention which of the essays happen to be the ones that need to be read. I was not aware that economics students need to attend Paranormal Studies 148: Telepathics.

Phew. Aaaaaanyway... I pretty much went into that rant yesterday, and I assume my mother got what I meant. Well... She commented as follows...

"So you always think that you're above average. Are you saying no-one passed?"

My reply:

"No, but I estimate that about 80% of the class sat through the course at least twice." Which is a valid point to make. Our average third year subjects have around 200-250 students enrolled. Economics: 600-800. Hmm...

And that was that. My secret is out. I still have my head...

Kidding. My mother is seriously an awesome woman. Just the fact that she took the news this calmly attests to it. We just don't always understand each other the way we'd like to. It is the curse of being in a stubborn family. We take a point, form an opinion and stick with it until the time that someone can change our opinions. And that means conflict.

Lots of it.

But there isn't a woman out there that I love and respect more than her. It's just that our opinions about the direction of my life tend to differ.

Sigh.

To think that I've been ranting about coherence. I think I covered three topics in one composition...

Academia here I come! 

;-P

How are you doing? Who finished their NaNo's? Any stories of telling someone something scary? How did it turn out?  

The post where I apologize for the lack of an inner filter...

Hey all!

Bleh...

I don't even want to read what I had written yesterday.

Very very sorry for that.

I've been suppressing my feelings for some now (almost two weeks), so I guess it kind of exploded the first time I decided to write about any strong feelings I've been having, despite the fact that those feelings had nothing to do with what I was suppressing. Maybe it's because I SUCK at emotional suppression.  

Anyway. I just realized that I was very rude yesterday, so, may I wish my US readers a belated Happy Thanksgiving?

Hope you all had a great time with your families.

How are you doing?

Love,

Misha

The post where I wrote what I didn't want to say.

Don't worry. I'm not going to rant.

It's more of a venting...

Fact is that I'm ten days away from my last exam. I wish I could say last exam ever, but since I don't know if that is the case, I decided to rather not be the die-hard optimist. Anyway...

That's not what I want to go into. I'll go into it when I'm really really back. Right now I'm more of a I'm hiding out from my other responsibilities back. Which is why I must keep this post short.

If I write too much, things are going to come out that would serve me better tightly caged. So...

Sometimes I hate thinking. In stead of making things clearer, thinking muddles everything up. Like worrying about what happens next.

There. See? I did it again. I freaking can't stop. It's like trying to stop a runaway train with a penny.

Right now, not thinking is taking so much concentration that I can't really think about anything else.

Not a good state in which to find myself when I have to finish my exams.

Not that it matters. Since my economics happened again. This time slightly differently, but with the exact same effect. Well... not exactly the same. I got two poems (I think) out of it. In two languages.

Did I get a degree out of it?

A most emphatic no. See... when you write your predicate test in October and suddenly draw a complete blank (and I do mean complete) remaining calm to get through the work with a miraculous second chance just isn't as possible as people seem to think. I studied for five weeks this time. I gave up my NaNo aspirations in order to get through the work. I did everything I could. 

I kept myself together admirably if I say so myself, even when I knew I wasn't nearly prepared enough to feel good about writing. I sat down and turned the page. 

And... Nothing. Not a single solitary thing registered. I sat through an hour and a half out of three, trying to recall what I knew. I wrote two poems just to calm down enough to think. Nothing... Actually I think I wrote the poems just to create noise. It felt strange to be the only person in the room except the invigilator that wasn't writing. 

In some sort bleak irony, that was the first time in months that my mind went completely quiet. 

Not that peaceful, calming quiet with running water and laughing children in the distance. I'm talking about that eerie roaring silence you get after a bomb went off close by. 

I think that I wrote "Sorry" in the answer sheet.

Maybe.

I can't remember. 

Oh my word I wasn't even going to write about this. I was going to mope fore a bit about how I can't study because I want to write, but can't write because I need to study. Something like that. But I guess this had to get out.

I haven't told anyone yet. Everyone is assuming that there is hope, but refusing to talk about it. No one except for me, and now you, know how badly it really went. I just can't deal with telling them. Maybe I'm a coward now.

Still... I feel a lot better now. It isn't ruling my thoughts as much as before. So I can maybe pull myself together enough to get through the next ten days or so until I can face up to what I had allowed to happen to me and to the repercussions of it all.

But not right now. Now, I have to knuckle down and finish what I can.

NaNo day 23 (BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) (Oh and check out the brilliant idiot- i.e. me- proof fondant recipe at the bottom)

Hey all.

Not really back yet. Just wanted to say thank you so very much for dropping by, joining and commenting. Your support and sympathy really help. :-)

I decided to rather forget NaNo for this year and rather aim for some BEEEEEEEEG writing sessions in December. Who knows? Maybe, with nothing better/different to do, I might actually manage to hit 100k in thirty days.

Wouldn't that be something?

Anyway... I have a lot to share and tell, but it just feels like it will be a rushed/emotional mess if I start now. But I promise to be back to my compulsive posting self in December. Feel free to expect my return around the fourth or fifth (my exams finish on the third).  I'll also start dropping in on your blogs again at that time.

I really miss you all! 

How are you doing? Any finished WiP's? Any NaNo's won yet? What's up in your corner of the world? Any other news? 



Oooh ooh ooh. Before I sign off. I leave you with this beauty of a reward/treat/consolation.

Unfortunately it will be in metric, since I'm too lazy for conversions.
(From Mariete van der Vyfer's new recipe book, but I changed the method slightly so that I could enjoy the process...)

Melted chocolate tart (Or, by my name: Delightfully easy fondants.)
200 grams 80% or above dark chocolate
125 grams butter (Yes. BUTTER)
6 separated eggs
1/4 cup of sugar

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (that's 392 degrees Fahrenheit. see? I can be nice)
Step 2: Spread something like butter or margarine or non-stick spray over the inside of a small but deep cake-pan, or 6 to 10 oven-proof dessert moulds depending on the size. I prefer the latter, but please don't use muffin moulds unless they're deep.
Step 3: Mix the yolks and sugar
Step 4: Melt the chocolate and butter together in a fire-proof glass bowl over boiling water. This is the fun part since you get to watch the butter and chocolate turn into a smooth, creamy liquid. Siiigh.
Step 5: beat the egg whites until stiff (Sorry if this sounds weird, but the recipe is in another language.)
Step 6: Mix results from steps 3 and 4
Step 7: Carefully fold the egg whites into the above mixture. Make sure that everything is well blended.
Step 8: Pour the mixture into the prepared dish(es) and put into the oven. Be careful not to fill the dish to the brim, since the mixture does expand in the heat.

Now this is where you need to take a bit of a gamble, since the time left in can be a bit of a gamble, but here's a rough guide for you to guesstimate:

Cake pan: 20 minutes (cover with foil after the first ten minutes to prevent drying out.)
6 moulds: 12 minutes
10 moulds (what I got, since my moulds were a bit small.): 8 minutes

Basically, the smaller the volume, the less time in the oven.

Step 9: They will be soft and sticky when you take them out, but the outside hardens as the fondant cools. When they are cool enough to touch and stable at the bottom, turn the moulds over. The fondants should drop out without much trouble. I strongly suggest you serve them/it with vanilla ice cream.

Step 10: Break through the soft crust and relish the soft, gooey centre bursting forth.

Enjoy! ;-)

NaNo day 15

Oh... dear.

Well, maybe I should start a little more brightly. After all, I could have been abducted by aliens (I wasn't) or I could have been in traction with both my arms suspended (I'm not). Instead, I'm here, sighing my head off, because I haven't written a thing since the last time I posted.

Yes. Ten days ago.

NaNo is looking pretty bleak right now. So much so that I don't want to log in to the website for fear of being completely demoralized.

So, what have I been doing?

That cruel bitch of a mistress, namely Economics. I'm sure that you remember that I'm writing my exam on the nineteenth. I also have another one (Property investment) on Thursday. So... Not quite sure if I'll get round to writing until Saturday.

And if I do, I doubt it will approach the amounts needed to make the goal.

Sigh... Oh well. I knew it was going to be very difficult, so it's no use being disappointed. At least  I tried. Maybe I'll do it next year.

Or even December.

How's your NaNo going?

NaNo Days 4 and 5

Hey all,

Just wanted to post a quick update before going to sleep.

Thursday's NaNo went quite well. I finished 1908 words. But then I cleverly went and typed in 1980 words into the word count on the NaNo page.

Day five was another story. I don't remember if I mentioned that my family and I are moving house. If I didn't, sorry!

 Anyway, the furniture and private effects were delivered at 07h30 in the morning. The rest of the day was spent rearranging furniture. We haven't even started to unpack. That has been left until today.

The reason why I am even awake at all is because I felt the urge to get my words down for NaNo. I didn't do it strictly on time. 00h15 to be exact, but by the time I was done, I had written the 92 words to compensate for yesterday's mistake, as well as 1975 words towards day 5. Not bad if I say so myself.

I guess that my body got tired faster than my mind. But I must say that I'm now bushed. So I bid you all good night.

P.S. Please let me know how you're doing at life and at NaNo. :-)