Category: writing
November Diary
National Novel Writing Month… I wonder if you’re as sick of it as I am. I did not “win” NaNo Nonsense. “Win” – what is that all about? You don’t really win anything. You haven’t beaten other competitors to the finish line or written the best manuscript. It’s totally meaningless. Oh, I sound bitter!
So it wasn’t all bad. I undertook this challenge as a way to get this novel going again. I had started working on it –plotting, writing character bios, collecting bits of dialogue– back in February and hadn’t touched it since. My feeling is that a series can only go so long between installments before the readers lose interest. And though I’ve swerved far from the original writing path I embarked upon, I feel the need to take this series and these characters to the finish line. After this, I have plans for a final Bucks County novel, for a total of six – a double trilogy- that will conclude the stories of all the main characters.
Anyway, back to NaNo Nonsense…
My final word count tallied at 48,679. So close … 1,321 words to go. The funny thing is that I had plenty of time to write during the day, the 1,321 should have been a piece of cake. I finished writing last evening around 9:45 having written about 250 words all day – one paragraph. I found myself feeling defiant. Screw you NaNoWriMo – you can’t tell me what to do, how fast to write, not to edit as I go, just to put it all down and fix it later. Now I really sound bitter…
That was the hardest thing for me -not editing as I go. I don’t like revisiting the story to fix problems I created back in chapter two when I’m on chapter twenty-four. My habit is to re-read the preceding chapter before going on to the next. I follow my timeline spreadsheet to keep track of events and correct any minor errors along the way. Writing at the pace of nearly 1700 words a day in a continuous story doesn’t allow much time for that.
**A side note** Writing 1700 words a day is not that difficult. IF its a piece of short fiction or a non-fiction blog post. But when you have to keep track of what you’d written previously -who said what to whom, what happened when, did I reveal this plot point yet- 1700 words is massive.
Ah, anyway it’s done. I will keep plugging away at the story now that I’m in the zone. As many of you have been reading along, I’ve decided to keep publishing the story until the novel is complete. I’ll pull the excerpts from the blog when the book is ready to publish. And hope that you’ll kindly review the book when it goes up on Amazon. More on that when the time comes.
Welcome December and a respite from my labor.
Header Image: The Grey Tree; Piet Mondrian
It was a dark and stormy night…
Week 48 in The Year of Drinking Adventurously. Ginger beer.
Right about now you’re asking yourself what business ginger beer has being part of a drinking adventure. Ginger beer, as well as ginger ale is a non-alcholic beverage. Right? Right? Well, it so happens, ginger beer is a product of fermentation and as such does contain a trace amount of alcohol -less than 0.5%, the legal threshold for marketing something as non-alcoholic. And in fact, ’twas not always the case. Ginger beer, when it originated, was a much more potent potable than its modern day counterparts. Today’s ginger beers are heated to kill off the fermenting yeast and to boil off the majority of the alcohol, leaving a scant remnant behind.
According to our guide, several ginger beer brewers have returned to their roots and rather than halt the fermentation process, are allowing the yeast to work its magic and produce more alcohol. I was unable to sample the products recommended, however, but I’ll list them here in case you want to give them a try: Crabbie’s, Ginger Grouse, Hollows & Fentimans -all companies in the United Kingdom. Maybe Lula had better luck…
I do occasionally indulge in a cocktail that makes use of the ‘non-alcoholic’ ginger beer, however, and this is the connection to Snoopy if you hadn’t figured it out…
The Dark and Stormy: dark spiced rum (I like the Captain Morgan Black Rum) over ice mixed with ginger beer. Basically it’s a Cuba Libre with ginger beer instead of Coke. And it’s definitely better in the summertime by the pool. But why not sip as you sit in front of the typewriter, composing your noir thriller.
And an update from a couple weeks ago… Remember the pickle back? A shot of whiskey or other spirit followed by a shot of pickle juice? Well, in an attempt to be a good sport, I tried it. I had a shot of Woodford reserve bourbon followed by a shot of Klaussen’s kosher dill pickle juice. And…. it wasn’t awful. I can’t quite grasp the point of covering over the flavor and warmth of a nice whiskey with the brine of pickle, though. At least I can say I’ve tried it. Cheers!
Image (of course) from Peanuts by Charles Schulz
Meg Sorick, Author/Artist 