I am a winner!

See?
Can't see that? Try this one:
50000 words. Actually I made it to like 50036. Still, I did it. In one month.

In that same month, I also:

Had a computer die on me.
Reformatted another computer.
Released a version of our online banking software, which involved all kinds of big effort.
Traveled with Kim to Calgary.
Parented, actively, mind you.
Fought distraction after distraction.
Used, as my main writing computer, a laptop that's around ten years old, has no internet connection and can only transfer files using my iPod.

All in all, I'm pretty proud of myself.

Dangit NaNo!!!

I've been telling Nick a bedtime story off the top of my head and the idea is cool as heck. I want to write it but it has to wait! DANG!

Hurry up, 50000.

Hold on, key story. It's been 13 years. You can wait another three and a half weeks. C'mon!

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Part one is done

Sometime in high school, I had some characters running around in my head for a story. So I wrote down some notes, intending to write the thing later.

Always later.

Through the second half of grade twelve, I wrote the first couple of chapters (some of which still exists). And I wrote more notes.

Those notes were added to over the next six or seven years but I never touched the main story. (later)

There was always a compelling reason not to work on the story itself. (Work, school, work, other stuff) Finally, I was working at Halliburton and I felt the need to write. So I wrote. I got a good portion of a story-arc done. Chunks of the story changed. Big chunks. But writing was still a struggle. It felt like I was holding the pen too tightly or something. So I went back to planning.

Finally, I read a write-up on a website that talked about how your inner-editor is the biggest impediment to writing a story.

The editor is very important during the editing phase, to be sure, but if you can't shut him up while you're creating, then you'll never get anything done.

I don't know how I did it but that voice is gone. (I hope I can get him back when I need him, though) and pages and words have flown by.

The other night, I finished part one. I know that I included the end of part 1 in the beginning of part 2 (more as a bolster for my NaNoWriMo word-count than anything else) but even the part of part 1 that was co-opted is done. Thirteen years of labour and my first one came out 129 pages long and weighing 35000 words. The next one should be closer to 50000 words and take much less than 13 years.

Exploding cigars all around.

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