Preparing for NaNoWriMo

This will be my last real post for a month. That’s because starting tomorrow I’m going to participate in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month.

I’m also suspending my work on other blogs and in other forums. I want to concentrate on my novel this time.

This time meaning this YEAR, as opposed to last year, when I made a half-hearted attempt at one of my works in progress. That one is now almost finished, but I need a boffo ending and I’m not sure how to put that particular character out of her misery. There are almost 40K words in that novella, but the heroine seems to get into mishaps that blossom into other mishaps. I had to put that book away, because my brain was getting rather worn out from trying to keep her adventures wild and wacky.

I find that if I tell myself I’m not visiting certain places, I can keep my concentration going for longer than five or ten minutes. Last year, I was engrossed in a certain social networking web site that was time sucking to the nth degree. I committed suicide on that site on January 1 and have found that I suddenly have more time to devote to my serious work.

However, I will be coming back here to read my favorite people. I’ll be doing this during my regular work day hours, although I am going to cut back on my regular work day hours to write. I’m also cutting back on other things, like sleep, food and exercise.

I really want to round the corner to the final few chapters by Thanksgiving.

So, I will be back December 1st. Wish me luck.

They Missed Their Flight

It was a Chinese fire drill of sorts around here this morning.

My son and his girlfriend awoke at a leisurely hour (10 a.m.). They had been to the symphony last night, and thought their plane was leaving at 2 p.m. Just to be sure, my son checked online. WRONG! They were supposed to leave at 12 p.m. and arrive at their destination at 2! They hadn’t even packed yet, so they rushed around the house trying to get dressed and scoop up whatever they had lying around.

My son’s girlfriend brought an enormous suitcase with her that she couldn’t lift on her own. She travels internationally, so I can see the need. Besides, they brought back some California wine for me, so at least on the return trip it was about 10 pounds lighter. Still, it was as if she’d brought her entire wardrobe. My son had a huge duffel, in which he jammed all of his clothes without folding. (I winced, but didn’t say anything.)

We are about 30 minutes from the airport, so we jumped into the car, intent on making it there in time. We pulled up to the departure area at 11:10. If they could get checked in and through security, they could still make it. While saying goodbye, my son found that he had forgotten his cell phone. He fretted. He felt naked without it. I said, I’ll mail it to you, get checked in so you can leave, and shooed them away.

I was still on the freeway when they called me about thirty minutes later. The lines were long, so they didn’t get up to a counter until after the plane had started boarding. The lines for the security check were even longer. They couldn’t find the reservation using my son’s driver’s license. Searching for it took a while. The plane was at the farthest most reaches of the concourse (of course). Getting to it at all was going to take time. The ticket agent suggested that they book for a flight this evening, so they took her up on it, and checked the big bags.

I wasn’t even halfway home, so I spun around and went to get them, again. We returned home, where my son retrieved his cell phone and then found a bunch of other stuff he forgot to pack.

They are out getting hamburgers even as I type this.

I’m going to go to the store one final time, and then come home and have a good stiff drink. I’m not going anywhere else today. My husband can see them off next time.

**thud** is the sound of me passing out.