Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veteran's Day and How I Scare Myself...

First, Happy Veteran's Day. I'm not a veteran but my daddy is so I'm going to bask in his glory today. I also know lots of people currently in the service. Probably alot more then most people who don't live on a military base. Mostly because of Boy Scouts. It seems to me that an inordinate amount of Boy Scouts end up joining the service. Maybe it's because they already know how to wear uniforms and do what they're told. Maybe it's because there's not a whole lot else to do around here. Strangely enough, and this really weirds me out...my daughter's first ever boyfriend is a Marine now. And he just came back from Iraq in August. So technically, he's a veteran. It's probably just me, but since I've known him since he was like fifteen, that totally seems soooo strange to me. He called her like two days after he'd gotten to Iraq and we just happened to be in the ER because her platelets had dropped really low again and when he found out she was in the ER he's all "don't you die on me" and she's all "NO! Don't you die on me!" and then started crying. And the nurse and I even teared up. It was crazy. And no, they weren't still dating. But they've stayed really close over the years. Anyway, thank you to everyone who is in or has been in the service. Even if you don't support war. Support the troops. They deserve it.

Want to know something else that weirds me out? Me. Seriously, so I'm going about this whole NaNo business of writing my novel. Which you should already have guessed is horror fiction. (Because I'm scary, that's why). And some days I log on to the sight to procrastinate check out the forums and once someone had posted a question that if you are writing horror, do you ever scare yourself? And I was all that's ridiculous, I know it's made up because I made it up! But (there's always a but) the other night I was writing furiously and I didn't realize that it had gotten dark since I'd been sitting there and when I saved my work and got up form my computer, I realized that it was pitch black in my house. I went to flick the family room light on and it burnt out (pop!). So I'm creeping down the hall, a little bit on edge and one of the cats jumps at me from the shadows. Yep, I nearly wet myself. I did give a little scream. You'd think that would have taught me, huh? Well you'd think wrong. Last night, the guys were all away from home and I sit down at the computer and as I'm writing a dream my character is having, I realize I'm totally creeping myself out. I know all I have to do is look behind me to see the light, but I'm too afraid to do it!! Hopefully, this means my writing is good. And not just that I'm the worlds biggest fraidy cat. Because that would suck.

I'm 10,111 words into the novel. I'm way behind on where my word count should be for NaNo. But it's the longest piece I've ever written. I'm so proud of myself. Not as proud as I will be when it's finished. But pretty freakin proud. And I think it's coming along well. Loads of editing to do, but I think I'll at least get the basic storyline down this month. It's careened into much darker territory than I had originally planned, but that's good for a horror story I think.

Thanks to all of you who have encouraged and continue to support my efforts. I'm lucky, my family has really gotten behind me on this one. As have my friends. And my blog friends. Last night on facebook, I posted a status that read "I am the Queen of Procrastination Land". My friend commented "Yes. You are. Now go write!"

♥Spot

7 comments:

  1. I am sooo fureekin' jealous right now.. sigh.
    The good kind of jealous ... but jealous.
    I'm gonna go seek you out on the FB on of these days ...

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  2. 1. Happy Vetran's Day to you, too! I have lots of friends out there right now, too.

    2. Good for you, pushing through NaNo! And horror fiction is fabulicious! It is always nice to have family support, as well as friends and such.

    3. Your blog makes me laugh. It's a good thing.

    New Blog Friend,

    M.

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  3. That is neat that Lulu and the first boyfriend are still friends. I tried to be friends with my ex and his wife through a fit.

    Congrats on get over 10 thousand words, keep up the good work.

    I would have never thought YOU would get scared!

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  4. Ooooh, spine tingly dingly. I have a lot of admiration for anyone taking the NaNo challenge. If I could write with any semblance of structure or a constistant narrative I'd give it a shot. Oh, and if I could spell worth a damn.

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  5. true, the nano is a feat!

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  6. yea you broke 10,000! will be a piece of cake now Spot. Such a nice thing to throw a shout out to all our veterans! Keep on writing and don't think about the editing this month.

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  7. Danica~ feel free to seek me out on facebook, though I really don't spend much time on it anymore. (Well not this month anyway.)

    M~ Thank you for everything! Yes, it's really weird to see these guys that I've known since they were 14 & 15 come back in their uniforms. Thankfully, so far, all but one has made it back safely.

    Heather~ Lulu and he have quite a history. I think they were each other's first loves and you know how powerful that is! And no, the other people they date never like that friendship, but they don't let it stop them. And yes, I do occasionally get scared. And I looovvee that feeling.

    Management~ that's why they have spellcheck! And I write with the online dictionary open in a seperate tab, as well as a thesaurus in case I get stuck! And you never know til you try!

    GP~ thank you!

    Mark~ I'm trying just to get the story completely down...but there will be tons of editing to do. Lulu goes through and fixes the obvious typos and mistakes as she reads it. That helps.

    Thank you all for your great comments and encouragement!

    ♥Spot

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