NaNoWriMo Prep!

For those of you who are not familiar with this challenge, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month - a challenge where authors (or anyone who loves writing) attempts to write 50,000 words for a novella/novel/play/whatever during the span of 30 days in November, starting on the 1st.  The community there is wonderful, and once registered on the site, you can put in information about your novel, your writing experience, connect with buddies to keep you motivated, and participate in forums to discuss all of your frustrations and triumphs around writing.

I have participated before, but failed each time.  When I tried to write while working two jobs, it just didn't work out - I was too tired, too cranky, and couldn't establish a routine because my hours were random each week.  And since November was the start of the Christmas shopping season, I found myself pulling doubles most days of the week, and didn't actually have a day off for most of the month.  Another year, I over-planned - I sat down, did extensive character profiles, figured out each scene within each chapter, and took my time exploring every facet of the story.  Unfortunately, I did this for a solid month before writing, so when it came time to put it all down on paper, I was just really sick of my story.  A couple other times I didn't make it through the challenge for lack of an exciting idea, establishing a routine, and having a sufficient support group.

I have learned much over my attempts at NaNoWriMo.

Technically speaking, my prep started a the weekend of the 25th of Ocotber.  Yeah, I know, it was only a week!  Well, I kind of forgot about it until I was browsing Youtube (everyone knows it's my obsession, along with Pinterest >.>) and saw someone posting a NaNoWriMo prep video.  It suddenly dawned on me - oh yeah! - NaNo starts in a week!  So I rushed off to prepare.

There were so many things to do in such a small space of time!  I needed to figure out what story I was going to choose, flesh out some characters, come up with a general plot, and figure out how I was going to establish a writing routine.  I went to the internet immediately.

First thing I did was post in the Season of the Seeker group on Facebook.  This is my all-time favorite group!  I joined initially when I started working through the Season of the Seeker group, hosted by Ahneke Greystone, whom I met over on Youtube (check out her channel Mirth and Reverence).  She is an amazing lady, and I've learned so much - though I am still far behind the others in my yahoo group as part of the Greystone Path.  I'm making progress, though!

Anyway, I posted there if there were any deities that other practitioners had connected with for projects such as novel-writing.  I got some really good answers and replies, and I took the time to do some research.  Unfortunately, none really called out to me - except for maybe Hermes, but for an entirely different reason, which I may go into in a different article - so I decided that, in the end, I would not work with a specific deity for novel-writing this month.  This doesn't mean I won't in the future, just that, at this point in time, I'm not really mean to.

I then looked up various "how to write a novel" articles and didn't really find much helpful information - most of the techniques either didn't work for me, or was the sort I used back when I over-planned a novel.  Part of the fun, for me, is exploring where my characters go - if I have too much set in stone, the appeal of writing is lost; it's more like writing a paper for class than exercising my creative thought process.

A lot my time was spent for the first few days on what story I would write.  It suddenly dawned on me: hello!  You've roleplayed in the Regency era for ages.  You've been pushing specific characters for plots on those roleplay sites for ages.  You've been researching this era for ages.  Why not take the story into your own hands?  Take those characters and write about them!

Well, I kind of felt a little on the stupid side for not considering it before, but that's when I decided on my project: to write about my three favorite pre-made characters (with extensive character profiles already created, as well as basic family connections and reasons for being in London).  I settled on the date of 1811, the beginning of the Regency, just because that felt right.  Plus, I wouldn't have to do too much in the way of research of events that happened that year that might affect my characters - most of that stuff happened the following year and later - which would leave me more time to really focus on character development of my characters rather than including historically accurate events of the time.

Then I came across M. Kirin on Youtube.  Oh my gosh!  What a lifesaver!  His methods of story crafting, preparation and fleshing out were in sync with the way I do things.  So, I spent some time watching his videos and following his suggestions on writing out plots, character connections, etc.

While I was searching for things, I noticed that my back was really taking its toll.  I had a hard time focusing at my desk, as it was facing a wall, away from everything else - something I have never really been too fond of.  When my boyfriend borrowed a square card table from his brother, for the longest time I had moved everything to that table, and set it up in front of the windows - I could see the TV to my right, the yard, sky and trees to my left, and had a pretty good view of the rest of the apartment to my front.  It was perfect.  But then he had to go and take that back, so I moved it all back to my desk... and it just wasn't working.

So I got out our card table.  Why didn't I do that from the beginning?  Well, we have a buffet-length card table, bought for Pathfinder sessions (there are seven of us who play, including my boyfriend, the DM, who doesn't sit at the table during sessions).  It's big, it's bulky, and it's really cheaply made - it doesn't even flatten in the center folding part.  Plus, it's made of textured plastic that picks up lint like crazy!  It's size was mostly my objection.  But I put it up, wiped it down, and immediately wished I hadn't, as the paper towel I had used actually made it look dirtier than it was before.

On one end, I set up the laptop and the monitor (the laptop screen is broken, so I have to have it connected to a monitor if I want to see what I'm doing on that thing).  I include two coasters, one for my morning cup of tea, and one for a tall glass of cold water, as well as my hand-written plot and character details.  Right under the monitor, on a Subway napkin (for better traction and cushion) I have a collection of crystals that I selected - quartz for focus and clear intention, citirine for breaking through writer's block, all of the blue stones I possess for creative expression (linked to the throat chakra), and fool's gold for manifestation of my novel.

I should note that I keep my skull opalite on my person at the moment.  It helps me focus on the positive, gives me uplifting energy to complete my goals, and helps a lot with my mood shifts/swings.  Not to mention this crystal likes to hum to me.  :)

I also have mala beads on this table, because they dig into wrist when I type - I have a nasty habit of resting my wrists against the keyboard/table while typing, so it gets uncomfortable when I'm wearing my beads.  They were meant to be a necklace, but the length isn't as long as I like it, so I just wrap it three times around my left wrist, usually.  I also keep Georgette Heyer's Regency World nearby for quick reference - that book is amazing for Regency-era stuff, by the way.  Just awesome.  :)

On the other end, I set up my tarot reading space.  :)  There's a round metal plate from the dollar store that I set up a candle holder with decorative clear glass stones; I use it as an incense holder, and change out the glass stones every week.  Behind the candleholder I have some mini-size matches in a box, and in front of the candle holder, though it's hard to see, I have rose quartz, clear quartz, and amethyst chunks.  My cards - the Medieval Cat Tarot and the Earth Magic oracle decks - are usually wrapped up in my new scarf (from Walmart - and though I don't really like buying from there, I do love my scarf!  It's folded in half to get the square size I wanted, with one side being gold with blue accents, and the reverse side being blue with gold accents.  It also feels super soft and silky, and has a fringe at the ends.).  I even did a tarot reading for a friend over the phone the day I set it up.  I still have to do a reading for another friend, but we're trying to sync up schedules so that she can come over in person.

Anyway.

I also read some of the articles recommended on the NaNoWriMo blog, and got some pretty useful information.  The most important to me at the time was the article about establishing a routine.  I know from experience that I have a love/hate relationship with routine.  It's good because I don't forget to specific things once it's established.  It's bad because monotony = boredom, so after awhile if I don't switch it up, I'll lose interest completely and make any and every excuse I can find to avoid doing my routine.  Plus, if something happens - like babysitting or going out of town - that breaks my routine, it's really hard to get back into it.

My current, newly-created writing routine:

• Wake up.  
• Check phone - email, facebook, calendar updates, any other social media updates that have appeared since I've went to sleep. If I'm feeling a bit groggy, then I might play a morning game of solitaire.  
• Feed the cats, replace their water, put on water for tea.  
• Shower (if I haven't the night before - on really cold notes when I have a chill, I take a lava-hot shower; if I had a shower the night before, I just wash my face real quick), dress, do my hair, put on makeup, slather some lotion on me, spritz with body spray, and get dressed.  
• Make my tea, get a glass of water and ice, and turn on my laptop and youtube (through the roku box).  I have a youtube channel with some popular classical musicians from the Regency era playing.  Most of them are 1 to 2 hours long, so I usually only listen to one or two a day, depending on the length.  I keep the remotes near the laptop to adjust the sound as necessary.  
• Pull up Google Chrome, load the internet page for Correct Forms of Address, and the page for Regency Name Generator (I'm lazy with names, admittedly).  I also start up yWriter, iDailyDiary and Microsoft Word.  I write my story using Word, and then copy and paste the contents into yWriter, iDailyDiary, save the Word file onto my pc, and then copy it into Dropbox (which auto-starts when the pc is turned on).  If one of these becomes corrupted, deleted, or otherwise unusable, I have several other options available to me, including a back-up online through Dropbox.  :)  
• Write!  I typically set my phone to let me know when an hour has passed.  After the hour is up, I get up, use the bathroom, stretch my legs.  Then I go back and sit down for another hour or so.  

During this time, I completely ignore my phone (except for the hour timer).  No phone calls, no looking at it for updates, no texting.  My morning routine is reserved strictly for writing.  So far, so good!

I don intend on getting a pronged folder for my notes.  They were taken on computer paper, but I punched holes in them - I just don't have a spare folder not in use at the moment.  They're in danger of being wet - my cats like to knock over water when I'm not paying attention - so it's something I want to get soon.  It will probably be blue - the color of inspiration, communication, and creativity (to me).  :)

TS2, Resolutions & Tarot

I meant to actually post yesterday covering most of yesterday's events, but failed, primarily due in part to me having a new Sims 3 game.  That game series is truly my weakness.  Justin just bought the remaining expansion packs, and I couldn't wait to install them; once I did, I spent hours playing - until I felt like dozing at my computer - only to tray and save and meet with an Error 12.  Which basically means it was a memory error, that I couldn't save, and that I lost the game.  I did some research, and apparently, it's an issue that started in 2010 that was never resolved.  Instead of EA fixing that issue, they decided to put their energies into making new expansion and stuff packs, and creating a patch for Seasons that exacerbated that error.  I am highly irritated, frustrated, and aggravated over this issue.  Why spend money on a game if the creators are unwilling to actually fix necessary gaming problems?  I can't even play the game... saving is mandatory!

Ahem.  Rant over.

Today, I started my day off right.  I got up, drank some water (yay for me choosing hydrating H20 instead of caffeine!) and hopped onto the treadmill.  Our treadmill is really old, a monster in size, loud, and jerky; but it works.  The down side is that the lowest setting is, for me, a half-run, which makes starting a new workout routine on that thing a little off-putting.  I had intended to go 10 minutes.  I didn't make it past 3.  I guess I'm way more out of shape than I thought.

I don't want to change my goal plan on working out, but I may have to.  I'll wait out the 2 weeks, walk on the treadmill everyday, and see where I am then.  I'll make the necessary changes as needed.

Oh - just so you know, I've went on walks with the dog around here for 20 or 30 minutes, and came back a little out of breath, but not sweaty.  That's why I thought I could do the treadmill for nearly 10 minutes and build up to the full 10 over the span of 2 weeks.

I also did my affirmations while I was still lying in bed after waking this morning, around 6am.  Yes, I woke up at 6am... but I went to bed around 9pm.  I felt really good after sleeping that long, though now I'm starting to feel a bit sluggish.  I haven't eaten breakfast yet, so I guess I should handle that.  It's 8:30 now.

I did a tarot reading for my sister a week ago using a new method and routine of tarot reading.  She wasn't with me, so I wasn't sure if it would be accurate or not.  The whole point is to do a reading a week so that I can practice using my intuition with tarot reading.  This new method, and my using intuitive reading rather than memorized book readings, really worked out for me - she said I never gave her a more accurate reading before.  How on-cue I was actually gave me goosebumps, but also gave me a little more confidence.  I did a reading for myself, using a new spread, but it didn't make as much sense to me as the one I did for my sister.  I'll wait out the week and review the cards and my original interpretation before I jump to any conclusions.  I generally don't read a book or do any in-depth research on the days that I do tarot (which I try to reserve Monday for).

I received my copy of the Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft by Christopher Penczak yesterday.  I honestly wasn't expecting it so soon - my account at Half Price Books online said that the books I ordered could take up until the 20th for delivery.  They were all ordered from different places, so I didn't think they would come together, and I was right.  I wanted to start reading it yesterday, but got distracted by the Sims 3.  I started it today - for one hour, which doesn't seem like enough.  The way Penczak writes always leaves me wanting to know more, and never feeling bored; he has done thorough research (you can tell by the way he presents his opinions and facts, and always offers suggestions on further reading material or reference material that he used).  My only regret is that I couldn't have gotten all of his books in one go - his books were written in a specific order to guide new and old practitioners through techniques and lessons in a year and a day format in order to get to know themselves, their path, and spirituality better, and the Shamanic book was meant to be the third in the series.  For some reason, I felt really called to it... and though he did say it was a stand-alone book, he also warns that it builds on some techniques and lessons used in the first two books (The Inner Temple of Witchcaft, and the Outer Temple of Witchcraft).  I'll try to make do, but I really wish I had those previous two books.  I wish I could have studied them in the order they were meant to be studied.

I do plan on making videos for each lesson, which I plan to start at each new moon - I've already got the channel set up under A Year and a Day playlist.  You can watch my videos on youtube.  I plan on writing a separate blog post for those lessons as well, since I never seem to be able to get all of what I want to say in a single youtube video.

Winter Resolutions

TipToeChick made a fantastic video on youtube about how she deals with new year's resolutions - rather than setting a goal for the year, she sets them for quarters.  This appealed to me greatly, so I thought I'd take a few of her suggestions and give a try.  :)

In order to make the winter resolutions work, it requires  blogging updates on progress, connecting with other people doing the same thing, and joining TipToeChick on Stickam for a little update session. I can commit to all of these things, as long as the stickam thing happens at a time that I can realistically join in.

Without further ado, my winter resolutions!

3 Positive Affirmations: I already have a few affirmations that I do daily, but I'm determined to add 3 more to the list.  These are typically done while meditating, or upon rising/going to bed each day.

• I am an intelligent person capable of in-depth and interesting conversation. 
• I am a creative human being full of ideas and artistic achievements.  
• i am an independent person that only needs to make herself happy.  

Diet:  There's lots of stuff I want to do with my diet; I've really slacked on eating healthy as of late.  The biggest thing - especially budget-wise - is my current intake of caffeine.  I have gone cold turkey before, and it's not fun, so I plan to reduce the amount of soda intake gradually over a 6 week period.  

• Week 1: Cut down soda intake; no more than 3 cans/glasses per day.  
• Week 2: Cut down soda intake: no more than 2 cans/glasses per day. 
• Week 3: Cut down soda intake: no more than 1 can/glass per day.  
• Week 4: Cut down soda intake: no more than 1 can/glass every other day.  
• Week 5: Cut down soda intake; no more than 1 can/glass for the entire week.  
• Week 6: No more soda!  

Exercise:  I recently bought a yoga video for weight loss, as it's my absolute favorite form of exercise, but after watching it through and trying it out, I discovered that I can only do a quarter of the video!  Rather than making me feel accomplished like yoga normally does, it made me feel pretty bad about myself, so I thought I'd start building up leg strength (which is my #1 weakness) by using the treadmill.  Why the treadmill and not just walks around the neighborhood?  Well, it's cold and there's a solid sheet of ice outside the door, on the driveway, and along the roads (there's also no sidewalks), so I figure the safest bet would be the treadmill for now.  Plus - it's freakin' cold!  Anyway, my goal is to reach 20 minutes on the treadmill without getting out of breath.  I plan on building up to the 20 minutes, adding in a week if I need to, etc.  I don't want to become sore, but I do want to do this on a daily basis, which is why I'm starting small.  

• Week 1 & 2: 10 minutes on the treadmill per day.  
• Week 3 & 4: 15 minutes on the treadmill per day.  
• Week 5 & 6: 20 minutes on the treadmill per day.  

Writing:  I love writing, but I want to get into a habit of doing it daily rather than just when the inspiration hits.  

• Journal daily in my private journal.  
• Blog daily on this blog.  
• Record all Aha! moments.  This can be in the blog or in my journal.  
• Read a spirituality book for 1 hour per day, and write a short summary/opinions on it in my journal.  When the book is complete, do a video on the book.  
• No more than 1 hour per day for admin duties at the HAUTE Ton.  I tend to get lost for hours doing admin stuff, and I really REALLY want to have more time to RP and have fun.  
• 1 hour per day of posting at the HAUTE Ton.  This will have me posting even when I don't have inspiration on any one topic.  If there's nothing to reply to, try to come up with an open thread, with no more than 3 open threads open at one time.  

Other Stuff:  Following are some miscellaneous stuff that I want to work on during the winter quarter.  

• Divination once a week for myself.  I tried doing one for my sister, but she never got back to me.  It's time for me to practice on myself.  I use tarot cards more than anything, but pendulum work can be substituted as well.  
• Clean something I don't like each day.  Can be localized (1 thing for 1 room per day).  These things must be stuff I usually procrastinate on - scrubbing sinks/tubs, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, etc.  
• Drink more water.  I tend to guzzle soda, tea, and anything but water,  This really needs to be fixed!  

Alright!  That's my plan for winter quarter.  I hope it's not too big... we'll see how it turns out.  Wish me luck!