We are drawing close to that time of year again... it is almost November, and NaNoWriMo is just around the corner... Last year, I tried, and failed miserably (barely breaking 5,000 words - a mere 1/10th of the quota of 50,000 to "complete" the event). But there are benefits to that effort... I have a manuscript started, and that's the first major step... actually writing something...
This year, however, I wasn't quite sure about participating, until I got an email from a friend of mine. His name is Chris (aka: whtedrgn), and we go waaay back. We go so far back that the only way we remember how far back we go is because of yearbook pictures (trust me, I've checked, and was very surprised to make that discovery...). Anyway, the point here is that he's been in a writing slump for a while, and I obviously would be at great risk of roadrash and gravel marks from trying to make the journey myself. He suggeted that we try a collaborative effort this year (thusly making it an interesting 25,000 words each... a daunting project, but much easier to manage individually....). The theory here is also that we can split days... instead of directly writing each day, we could alternate days... or whatever the word count suggests, or the story dictates...
The other key to this plan: the fact that we go waaay back. Seriously, it's an important piece for the puzzle. We have been bouncing story ideas and other creative projects off of each other, even collaborating on a three-book story arc idea way back in seventh grade (damn... I just realized that's damn near 20 years ago... somewhen around 17 or 18 years, to be exact... wow.) Mind you, it was an idea, and we didn't get to far beyond the basic plot points, but it's something we've been doing off and on for years, so it is a natural idea to pursue...
Well... that's the "project"... and here's the "progress"... I will be writing... :o) Pending final decision on the project, there will be character development and basic storyboarding, going back and forth to get things rolling. And I haven't been reading a lot lately, except for online articles/posts... but I've been journaling... a travel journal for the Mini (road trips), as well as keeping notes on "patient humor" - some of the crazy things that I've been getting over the phones at work ([funny] names, word butchering, and half-listening callers, just to name a few)... So my major progress (creatively) is getting the juices to flow... which is always a good thing for writing...
Then there is the "exterior" progress... I have started trying to make headway in the cleaning/purging of the house... the focus (right now) is still my stuff (and there is/has been a LOT of it), before delving into the things that were Jenn's, but I'm starting to seriously think about it, and I want to make dents. I want to purge most of my stuff and simplify what's around me. But often, it's all about finding the time, which I'm trying to do (and getting nudged into, thankfully, when I'm not to "in the moment") a little bit at a time...
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