Gifts, Fire & Writing

It's been an interesting few days here.

First, I'm happy to say that I've finished ALL my Christmas shopping. We took a trip into the city on the weekend and accomplished that task. I have to say that it feels good. This is the first time in my life I won't be hitting the malls in a mad-scramble two days before Christmas.

Second, we had a bit of a fire scare Tuesday night. We live out in the country and our area was subject to a large stubble fire. It didn't help that winds of 100 km/h were blowing either. Thankfully, it missed our place - and most of the damage done was to the fields and surrounding brush.

Third, I'm still writing. I'm falling a bit behind my target count but I'm hoping to remedy that in the next few days. I'm also hoping for a quieter and less eventful week ahead.

The Good and the Bad

The last ten days have been productive on the writing front. I'm actually surpassing my usual daily word-goal limits. However, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep the pace. Burnout is a fear but I keep telling myself that I only have to keep this pace until the end of November. It helps.

The good part: The more I write, the more excitement I have for how my manuscript is coming. The main storyline is solid. My characters are developing, and I have a good grip on where it's leading.

The bad part: I think I'm going to have to add a sub-plot. I really hope this won't be the case, but in the back of my mind, the threat looms. If I need one, it's going to cause some major rewrites upon completion.

For now, I'm just going to write. I'll worry about the rest in December.

Window Seat

While November may not be my most productive month for blog posts, my home is getting quite a bit of attention. Between writing spurts, I'm doing some major pre-holiday cleaning. I have to say, the results look spectacular.

I've committed myself back to my old office, and with a little rearranging, I now have the most amazing sunsets to look at as I write. Purples, blues, oranges, reds and yellows, framed perfectly by my window, give me a great view. It's a perfect setting in which to write.

My man likes to bug me that I look out the window more than I write. In some cases, it's true. However, I tell him that the words I'm looking for are out there, and if I look hard enough, I'll see them, thus allowing the writing to continue. He doesn't quite buy it, but I'm a 100% believer in that theory.

BIC - Butt In Chair

We all know the message behind this acronym. It encourages us to plant ourselves in front of the computer and get writing. For me, other acronyms do the job better.

HOK - Hands on Keyboard
I have no problem sitting my butt in a chair. What I need to do is plant my hands on the keyboard and type. Too often, while I may have my butt firmly planted in a chair, I'm staring out the window or daydreaming instead of actually writing.

TOI - Turn off Internet
This is probably the biggest one for me. Sure, my butt is in my chair and my hands are on the keyboard. Unfortunately, I'm either typing emails or surfing the Net. When it's time to write, it's time to turn off all the gadgets, unplug from the Net and get to work on the manuscript.

Here's one more acronym for you:

IYTAWYNW - If you're talking about writing, you're not writing.