Nanowrimo and moving out!

It's gonna be a very busy next few weeks for me!  My boyfriend and I are moving on November 15, and we haven't started packing yet.  Luckily I'm still out of work (that might sound strange, but in this situation it's true!), so at least I don't have to worry about balancing nano and packing (and then eventually UNpacking) with a full time job.  Plus I finally got my laptop back from HP yesterday and my boyfriend helped me put back on all the programs it had before I sent it away.  So it is finally nano-ready!

But am I nano-ready?  I have a little plot and character info prepared, but not as much as I should.  I hope to work on that a bit tomorrow (not tonight, since I'm hosting a Halloween party that starts in less than 2 hours!).  Apparently the downstairs tenants managed to knock a cable wire out somewhere while they were moving yesterday or today, so the television in the living room isn't working.  My man is obviously annoyed, but it's good for me 'cuz that means he'll be out most of tomorrow watching football at someone else's house!  ;-)

I'm a bit nervous about finishing 50,000 words while packing and moving, but to be honest I think I'd be nervous even without the move.  I've mentioned before - but it bears repeating - that the most I've ever written for one manuscript before throwing in the towel is 30,000 words.  So if I can finish November with 50k (I'd love to write even more than that, but I don't wanna pressure myself) I'll really feel like I accomplished something.

My plan as of now is to post once a week (most likely every Friday) on how I'm keeping up with nanowrimo.  Considering I don't usually post more than once a week as it is, it shouldn't be much of a change for my followers anyway  *wink*

OK time for me to do my hair and get all dolled up for my party tonight.  (I'm going to be the cowardly lion from the wizard of oz, my little chihuahua is gonna be a mailman!  I'll try to post a few pics tomorrow or the next day if I can.)  Meanwhile, let me know if you're going to be doing nano along with me (and if so, add me as a friend !) or if you think it's totally overrated!  And don't forget to have a Happy Halloween!

I am in computer HELL

My boyfriend is a Mac, I'm a PC.  My first computer was a Gateway, my next was a Dell.  Both desktops, and both served me well.  Then last summer when I was planning on going back to school for psychology (which I can't remember if I ever mentioned before or not, but it doesn't much matter b/c that never happened lol), I decided to finally treat myself to a laptop.  So I got an HP, a G series whatever that means.  It wasn't long before I started having problems w/ it (namely it would shut itself off inexplicably when I'd pick it up or put it down, or occasionally even just move the monitor part).

I put up w/ it for as long as I could, until it started happening way too much.  I called HP tech support, they did this, that & the other thing until it seemingly was fixed... and then a few weeks later it started happening again.  I again put off calling them until it really drove me nuts.  The second time I called they told me to mail it into them & they'd fix it.  This was in June if I remember correctly.  Being without my laptop for a week sucked, especially b/c I no longer had my Dell desktop (it was gathering dust in my parents' basement).  I had use of my work computer and my boyfriend's computer, but it wasn't the same.

When I got my laptop back, it was fixed... for about a month.  Then the problems started happening again.  But b/c I had hated being laptop-less so much, I decided to just deal w/ it.  Which I did, for a few more months.  Until my boyfriend actually got so annoyed by it that he called HP himself to try to get it fixed.  Again they did stuff over the phone and it seemed to have resolved the problem.  Again, guess what started happening a week later. 

So a few weeks ago I called them again and again they said send it back to us & we'll fix it.  I sent it back.  One of the tech guys called me and told me that they tested it for over 24 hours & couldn't "duplicate the problem" I'd had.  They did more testing after that & still couldn't figure it out, but they did discover an issue w/ both the hard drive and the mother-board, so they replaced both of those.  Finally they shipped my (supposedly fixed) laptop out to me on Sat and I got it (this past) Monday morning.

As soon as I got my laptop back, I wanted to put everything that was previously on it (Microsoft Office, Windows 7, etc.) back on it.  While upgrading to Windows 7 I got an error message about the keyboard that I kinda ignored b/c I'd done this previously (well, technically my much more technologically-savvy boyfriend had done it, but why get picky) and everything had been ok.  What I'd forgotten in my hurry to return my laptop to it's pre-completely wiped hard drive state is that my boyfriend had uninstalled a driver before upgrading the OS, and then reinstalled it after upgrading.  Whooops.

Long (yes longer than it's already been) story short, after 2+ hours on the phone w/ HP trying to fix it, it turns out the laptop needs to go back AGAIN b/c for whatever reason, it won't boot up from the recovery disks.  Do I want to scream and pull every strand of hair out of my head?  YOU BETCHA!  I actually went to my parents house, dusted off my old Dell (which hadn't been used in I'd say 10-11 months) and brought it to my apartment and set it up.  And that's what I'm using right now to type this!  =P

I've never had a problem w/ a PC until this POS (piece of sh*t) HP.  (I don't like Macs - I used my boyfriend's a bit over the past 2 weeks & it drove me nuts - so don't even suggest it!  ;-)  And I'll never buy an HP again.  Now I must wait for them to send me a box & shipping label so I can send it back to them again and wait another week or so for it to be returned.  I really hope it's here before Nov 1 so I can use it for nano.  *sigh*

Well that's my sob story.  Now you know (just in case you were wondering lol) why you haven't seen me around that often lately...  Anyone have their own computer from hell story to share?

'Till next time...

Book in a week? Or a month? (How long does (or should) it take to write a manuscript?)

I just took a great workshop from April Kihlstrom called “Book in a Week” (for more information click here).  The point is to give yourself one week where you do as much writing as you possibly can, and hopefully get a big chunk of novel completed in 7 (technically 9 if you count 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays) days.  It’s like nanowrimo divided by 4.3 (weeks in a month). 

The first 2 weeks of the workshop is set-up: April gives great lessons on the craft, as well as providing insightful questions to ask yourself when thinking up plot and characters.  I really got a lot out of her lessons.  Week 3 you’re basically on your own because it’s the writing week.  Unfortunately my laptop crapped out on me and I had to send it back to HP to get fixed, so I got very little actual writing done.

But that’s okay, because nanowrimo is almost here!  Just a few more weeks ‘till the crazies attempt to write 50,000 words in just 30 days.  I must admit I’ve attempted nano in the past and have not yet succeeded.  However, each November I gave it a shot, I’d had a full-time job.  This year (unless a miracle happens!) I won’t.  There will be NO excuse to not find the time to get it done.  In fact I’d like to be able to get to 75,000 words in November.  (I’d say 100k, but then I’d be pushing it – not that it’s not possible for anyone, it’s just *highly unlikely* for myself personally.)

I’ve never written more than 30,000 (approx) words for one story before.  I’ve never been able to finish a manuscript.  I certainly can’t become a published author if I don’t write.  I believe I have it in me, I just need to start having faith in myself.  My problem seems to be that the more I write, the more doubts I start to have.  My idea sucks, the characters suck, the plot sucks, etc.  I start beating myself up and end up putting the story to the side and starting something new instead.  IT NEEDS TO STOP!

So how ‘bout you?  How long does it usually take you to finish a manuscript?  Are you doing nano this year? Do you have any advice for me on how to finish what I start?

Hi, my name is Meghan and I’m a writing workshop-aholic

When I found and signed up for my first online writing workshop, it was love at first yahoo group. I’ve already taken a TON of them this year, but for some reason it seems a whole bunch of good ones got scheduled for October. Presently I am taking (or will begin taking tomorrow):

Book in a Week by April Kilhstrom (more about this workshop next entry)
Finding the Book Ho in You
The Purpose Driven Scene
Character Journey workshop (Alicia Rasley)
Plotting for Un-Dummies
Magic, Monsters and Amour
Story, Theme and Vehicle
(Foreshadowing and Other Tricks ended as of today)

On top of that, next week starts the Muse Online Conference (which is free! But it’s way too late to sign up for this year’s if you haven’t yet, sorry to say)!

Usually I try not to take more than 3 (4 max) workshops a month, but as you can see I got a little carried away this month. I was actually lucky enough to WIN my way into the Alicia Rasley workshop from a comment I left on a blog post. The blog was giving away a free entry into the workshop and I doubted I’d win cuz I never win anything, but I did this time so that was way cool.

What about you, readers? Do you love online workshops as much as I do? Do you prefer the workshops you can attend in person? Or maybe you'd rather just read books or articles on writing instead of the whole “workshop” vibe? I’m curious to see if I’m the only one with this crazy addiction ;-)