Summer has officially ended. The leaves are turning gold, red and brown from their once vibrant verdant. The air is growing chillier by the day; there's already snow in Anchorage, Alaska. Autumn brings with it two things.
The first being fucking pumpkin spice EVERYTHING.
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| EVERY. THING. |
But more important by far than the drug of choice for every white girl ever is, of course, that October signals the beginning of the writing season for myself and a myriad of others. Okay, obviously people-- by which I mean actually dedicated writers-- write all year round. I try to as well, but let's be honest: I'm not good at doing what's best for me, writing included.
But Fall is different. The vigor and energy of summer has waned; the crisp, chill air brings with it an instinct for introspection and contemplation. Fall makes me want to curl up in a warm blanket, with a good book in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate in the other. And for me, it also signals a desire, nay need, to put pen to paper-- or in my case, fingers to keyboard.
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| Hold the fucking pumpkin spice, thanks. |
One reason for that is that the day light hours- and that wretched ball of brightness-- sink below the horizon earlier and earlier as we push on towards winter. For reasons I can't explain, I can't do any serious writing during the day; it's not the noise or the desire to get outside. I just... can't focus properly. Only when the sun has set can I finally work on anything seriously. Even as I write this, the sky is dimming.
October and beyond will be fairly busy for me when it comes to writing. In the next month, I need to finish the first, very rough draft of the book I've been slogging through for the past year. It needs to be done by the 31st because next month, November, is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which I will be participating again this year. Last year I reached the coveted goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days, something I fully intend to do again this year.
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| everythingeverythingeverything |
So in addition to finishing my rough draft, I also need to begin preparations for my next project. The rules for NaNo-- such that they are-- being that you can't work on a project you've already started, I'll need something new to write. Fortunately, I already have what I think will be a fun idea.
Last year's NaNo was basically me dicking around on a computer with a very loose idea for a plot. There was no character development, no plot outline, and no real direction. As a result, it was more difficult writing than it needed to be. This year I'm going for a different tack and actually working on a plot outline and character bio's before NaNo starts, rather than near the end of a horrid rough draft.
So, for the month of October I'll be:
~ Finishing the first draft, which will be anywhere between 20,000 and 70,000 more words by my estimate.
~ Researching for the book I'll begin in November, including making a plot outline, character outlines, and probably a bunch of other stuff I haven't considered yet.
~ Trying to either squeeze in some more hours at work, or find a very part time job which offers supreme flexibility and the option of only working 10 to 15 hours a week. Yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that one.
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| EVERYTHING. |
And all that is in addition to the ongoing goals of trying to get more acting work, and developing a social life. So it's very likely I'll either be a sleep deprived zombie or an actual zombie because I'll have worked myself to death.
