Tag Archives: National Novel Writing Month

November NaNo and Novenas

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I would just like to say to anyone who may have sent an email or text or message that’s gone unanswered, I have a really good excuse.

To my friend whose novel came out and I read and thoroughly enjoyed but haven’t quite got round to posting that review yet, it was wonderful and I will get to it. (And P.S. You can read all about it in this interview with Kara Bietz on her book, SIDELINED.)

And even though Libs can’t read, I feel like I should apologize for letting her out and then forgetting to leave the door open so that she could come back in. (To be fair, she seemed pretty happy, sitting outside on the steps in a sunny spot. Where I found her three hours later.) Again, I have a perfectly good reason for that oversight.

See, I had this idea for a cozy mystery–which I’d made a good start on–and I was determined to employ some “planned neglect” during National Novel Writing Month (NaNo for short) and…well, you know what? I wrote all about it already over at the Muffin in “Planned Neglect (Or How I Met My NaNo Goal Without Even Trying).

(I managed to squeeze in another blog post over at the Muffin earlier this month. It is always quite the adventure “When The Universe Strikes.”)

Anyway, here it is, November 30th, and I’ve completed about 15,000 words more than I scheduled, just by ignoring almost everyone and nearly everything. That seems like a pretty fair trade-off, right?

(Oh, wait! Today is the feast of Saint Andrew which marks the beginning of the Christmas Novena. You can find out more about this special Advent devotion here. And sure, I was writing, writing, writing, but you know this Catholic girl remembered to say her prayers today!)

Time Flies And All That Jazz

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IMG_20191113_135133422As I’m writing this, Libs (The Tiny Terror) is shivering in her…er, paws. Oh, she’ll throw out a little bark every once in a while, but mostly, she’s just cowering behind me. Because the Carpet Cleaner Guy is at the house!!!

Yeah, the Carpet Cleaner Guy. When I called him, I asked, “When did I get the carpets cleaned? Last November? Or was it September?” And there was this awkward little pause.

“Mrs. Hall,” he said. “It was three years ago.”

Which just goes to show that one minute, you’re thinking how nice and clean your house smells, and the next minute, it’s November (and you’re wondering why your house smells). Such is time flying and all that jazz. And that brings us to my blog post over at the Muffin today: NaNoWriMo: Are We Done Yet?

Because for cryin’ out loud, y’all, can it possibly be nearly the middle of November? If you’re toiling away at the National Novel Writing Month writing challenge–and lagging behind–then you’re going to want to read that post. But if you’re like me, skipping NaNoWriMo but just getting around to getting carpets cleaned after three years, then you might want to check your fridge.

Me and Libs both are scared of that.

 

November ALREADY?And New York!

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Yep, that’s me at the Top of the Rock!

So if you’re friends with me on Facebook–and if we’re not, I hope we’ll soon be!–you might’ve seen the pictures that Juniorette Hall posted about our recent birthday trip to New York City.

And if you’re a follower that keeps up with my blogging–here or over at the Muffin–then you know I love talking about my life experiences and somehow connecting them with a writing point.

I did not realize how often I do that until just recently. But I have to come up with stuff to say and so far, my family and friends haven’t minded being the source of inspiration and/ or tall tales.

Which could be because my friends and family don’t read my posts and/or tall tales.

Hmmm…I’m going to pretend I didn’t just have that particular thought. I did, however, have a couple of thoughts on New York and National Novel Writing Month in “New York and NaNo” over at the Muffin today. If you don’t want to read it, just keep that thought to yourself, okay?