Almost NaNoWriMo!

Yay, I get to say that I started this blog on Halloween!

BOO.

I'm listening to Just Dance (Lady Gaga) right now, and it's bringing back so many memories from two summers ago. They're slightly painful, but they also make me smile. They make me think of running away to party with my best friend who I wasn't--and am still--not allowed to see. Two summers ago also happened to be when I got the raw idea for my current WIP. I still remember how nervous I was about starting because I thought the topic matter was too edgy. That was one of the reasons I eventually dropped the project.

:) Now, a year and a few months later, it's back, and it's rocking, baby.

Why is this relevant?

Because tomorrow the yearly writing marathon starts!

Even though the official rules say you have to start fresh, my goal is to add 50,000 words (that's 180 pages in my font and my spacing) to TRTP. It's going to be tricky with school, homework, cheer, and the 5 days a week that I spend at the gym, but I've got Thanksgiving break on my side!

I also made the hard decision to give in to my perfectionist personality this time and edit along the way. I know that I'll be frowned upon for saying that, but here's my theory:

If I want to edit, I'll stop and edit. If I want to keep writing, I will keep writing. If I feel like something's wrong with the plotline right now and I can't wait two months until I'm done with the story to fix it, I'll fix it right now.

The whole forget the inner editor during the first draft and come back to everything when you've finished the story doesn't work for me. I've tried about 40 times. And doing that, I only finished about 3 stories--and I only ever finished editing one of them.

I'm not advocating this is the best approach for everyone though. Everyone has what works for them. Although revision-and-going goes counter to almost all the advice I've ever gotten about writing, it's what works for me. So I'm sticking with it ;) I've never given in to that urge before, so let's see where this takes me. I'm also older and more mature than I was before, so that might also play into the whole process, but I'm not jumping to conclusions.

I also realized that my writing is at it's best while I'm constantly feeding myself books. My muse just doesn't work when I'm not constantly engaging in new worlds and new plots. Every time I read a new paragraph I've never seen before, I get this gush of adrenaline. It feels like heaven.

So what book did I pick up this time (with my awesome 40% Borders coupon that my mom found in her spam and forwarded to me? Speaking of which, I never have to print out coupons again! I found the coupon while I was eating lunch. When I made the trip to Borders a few stores down the lane, I just showed the clerk the coupon open on my IPhone and he was like "Cool." Hmm...that also means I can bring back the same coupon again and get another book 40% off...)

Back on track. The book is Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie.

The reviews I read on Amazon weren't amazing, and I was debating between Crusade and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, which has been on my TBR list for even longer. Clockwork Angel definitely has better reviews, and it made the NYT Bestseller List, but for some reason at the moment, when I saw the book trailer for Crusade and read the blurb on the back, I was attracted to it more. My book attractions fluctuate more than my attractions to boys.

Books cost more than boys though. I can only afford a book once every month/two months.

I just loved the idea of vampire hunters training in Spain with burning churches and insecurites and then coming home to find "home" transformed, as well as the incredibly diverse team that the main character, Jenn, is a part of. It's an apocalyptic urban fantasy, which was the main thing that got me. And the book trailer was fabulous.

So I decided to do the whole Do-What-You-Feel-You-Need-To-Do thing. Intuitive reading ;). I bought Crusade. (See? It's a theme in my life now.) And I'm begging all my friends for Borders coupons for Christmas so I can get Clockwork Angel and everything else on my TBR list.

So, update on work count. 95 pages and



I'm hoping I can get 5 more pages done today. That way I can start on page 100 and end at page 290 at the end of NaNoWriMo.
Exciting!!! Then, I'll only have about 100 pages left to go in December, after which I'll be...done.