November, Month of....

November is a big month for most writers (though what month isn't, really?). It's National Novel Writing month, and many enter this national contest (international??) and have to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, with online word count tracker tools. NYTs Bestseller books such as The Night Circus (excellent read, by the way) and Wool were begun during a NaNoWriMo contest.

I've never tried it, but I'm following several up-and-coming authors who are. It's quite amazing how many words some can write in a day! Keep on going, everyone!

I started the new book Steam at the same time that the novel contest began. Thought it'd be an interesting unofficial way to keep myself paced and see how well I do.

This is why I can't join: 
My non-NaNoWriMo count to date:
          18,000 words (typed. This doesn't count what's written in my handy-dandy notebook or scattered on bits                             of scrap paper). Only a projected estimate of 182,000 more words to go!
          3 compass symbols designed and drawn on the computer using Inkscape
          Learned a new word processing program to replace Word: Scrivener. LOVE IT!
          Toured a planetarium for research purposes
          Bought a NewsWeek magazine they printed entirely (hmmhmm) for my research purposes
          Built a world
          Drew a map on Inkscape, with lunar and solar patterns, and stars and galaxies
          Investigating other cultures' myths and beliefs
          Steampunk. MMMMMM :-)
          Compiled a visual board on Pinterest!
          Started Steam's own playlist
          Researched ships
          Filling up a new sketchbook with visuals that need ironing out: have the female main character sketched,                               started the male, have their world, and the start of their symbols going
          Bought and watched the 1940-ish Black Swan and Spanish Main. Research purposes.

Ug. Yet real life keeps seeping in. My presence is required at my day job and then I've apparently got to tend to the kids and feed them and stuff! ;-)

Weebly had this quote when I signed in today, and I love it. Googled it and read the whole letter it was taken from:

"I long to make beautiful things. But beautiful things require effort- and dissappointment and perseverance."
          -Vincent Van Gough


Happy November, in whichever form it is for you!

            -L