NaNoWriMo....WINNER!

Yes, you read that title correctly. I am officially a NaNoWriMo winner. WOOT! I have written 50,000 words in 30 days. And lived to tell the tale.
Truthfully, I'm still not quite done with my novel....I have about 10,o00 words to go before I actually finish the book...but I won. I actually won. I actually completed 50,000 words...with a life, a family, schoolwork, Chorale, and friends. I managed not to lose any of them during this month of wonderful insanity either. I just had to explain to them I don't hate them...I'm writing a novel :)
Now, I can look back at NaNoWriMo and see both its amazing good side and it's faults as well. The good things about NaNoWriMo are numerous. You learn to write fast. You learn to make yourself stick to a deadline (well, actually, this is optional. If you want to win, you learn to stick to a deadline.) In my case, you up your typing speed by 20 words per minute. You learn how to set goals for yourself, make yourself a structure, and then write without regrets, without turning back. And you also learn that you're not alone in the crazy-writer world. I know that some of you may have friends who are just like you and would stay up all night writing...but frankly, I don't know a person who would. And even for the most connected writers, writing can be a very lonely buisness. In NaNoWriMo, you are connected with people everywhere who are attempting the same things that you are attempting, and sharing the same pains and the same joys you are going through in the process. It's quite an experience.
Now, on the flip side. I also learned to turn off my internal editor for a bit. Now, I know that can be a good thing...but it's also one of the things that helps a writer identify what's right and what's wrong. If my internal editor would tell me "That needs fixing", I'd go back and fix it, or at least highlight it, so I'd know where to come back to it. But during NaNoWriMo, in order to survive, I needed to turn her off, and ignore every little thing she said to me. I consider that a bad thing, but maybe some of you writers out there disagree. And that's ok :) The other thing I didn't quite like about NaNoWriMo is that it seemed to encourage haste and quantity more that care and quality. Haste and quantity don't make a good book. Usually. But care and quality do. In moderation, haste and quantity can save your life...if you don't have a quantity, you sure won't have any quality. But if you're only focusing on your word count and not the actual words...then the book isn't going to turn out that great.
All in all, I think that NaNoWriMo is one of the best tools I have used in my writing path so far (which hasn't been very long yet :), and I'm sure going to do it next year! And I hope I'll get some more friends to join me! :)

Silence.

NaNoWriMo Update,and Other Updates Too!

Well, I'm on track!! And, boy, has that been an accomplishment!! I didn't think I'd be able to stay up with the 1500+ word count you're supposed to type out per day, but at this moment, I'm only 200 words behind. Wow. And it's fun! I knew I would enjoy it, but I didn't know I'd enjoy it this much. I have a very big sense of accomplishment right now...I'm 30 pages into a novel I was just starting 7 days ago, and I'm approx. 10,000 words farther along than I was a week ago. How cool is that?!? :)

As for my knitting, I'm still doing it!! Yay! I found I can keep up with my schoolwork, (and get A's), do NaNoWriMo, have time for my family, and still knit! Wow. I'm doing it mostly in the car or during my online classes (Shh!), but you get a lot done if you do it just one row at a time. I've shown off some of the things I've made, and now I'm getting requests from my friends, lol. Now, my next task to tackle in knitting is to learn how to cable-knit, then knit in the round. Hopefully, I'll learn both before Christmas! And if not, there's plenty I can knit that doesn't need that knowledge. :) (However, if you know of a book or a website with a great tutorial on either of those, please let me know!!) I should be posting some pictures of the things I've made on here soon, I just need to find the time to upload all my pictures. :P

I'll write again as soon as I find the time!! :)

Conformation of my Insanity

Ok, if you aren't convinced I'm insane yet, this post will convince you. Once you hear what I'm doing, you will either shake your head and think I'm crazy, or think I'm a masochist, or both.
I've participating in NaNoWriMo.
*gasp*
For those of you who don't know what that is, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a rather large organization for writers of all ages, and it's a challenge. A challenge to write a 50,000 word novel (or more) in 30 days. It starts at 12:00 A.M. November 1st, and ends at 11:59 P.M. November 30th.
This is going to be insanity. Fitting in writing nearly 2000 words a day around 9 classes plus family time? But it's going to be so much fun. :) I am looking forward to it, and hope I'll make it to 50,000 words in 30 days. It's going to be a challenge, but it'll be useful in getting my butt in gear. I've been very lax in my writing lately, what with school and all. Now, if I'm posting about it both on the NaNoWriMo page and here on my blog, I have pressure to keep going. I'll be more likely to make it to the end. And if I make it, I'll be so happy :) So I'm going to keep you all updated on my novel status now, and if you've participated in NaNoWriMo before, or you are participating, please tell me! I'd love to be your writing buddy on NaNo, and I would love to hear tips on keeping that word count up! :P

LINKS!! :)

So, as I've been gone for so long, I've had some chances to find some awesome new websites I would love to share with you:




RainyMood.com - Rain makes everything better. If you're like me, you like the sound of rain. Acutally, you love it. And this website is for rain-lovers. It continuously plays the sound of rain, for as long as you want. I use it as background sound while I'm studying or reading. It's very relaxing.



The Unemployed Philosopher's Guild - I discovered this at the Folger Shakespeare Library, when I got my favourite souviner. It's a mug that has insults from the Bard's plays wrapped all around it. Guess where it's from? The Unemployed Philosopher's Guild, of course! The site, if you ask me, isn't as epiclly awesome as Think Geek, but it does have some interesting stuff for lit. nerds like me, and not just computer and sci-fi geeks.



Collage Fashion - I found this site because it was linked to another one of my favourite sites (Surviving Collage Life- check it out if you want to; great articles on studying.), and I am now hooked. For someone who's just getting into fashion, or for someone who's been in love with designing outfits since they could draw - you will enjoy this website. I know I do! :) Check out the Disney inspired outfits as well - Ellie from Up is my favourite!!! :)



Scarf Tying - I love scarves. Always have, always will. And this is a tutorial on 37 ways to tie a scarf. I fell in love instantly. Hope you do to.



Courageous - Ok, this is one of the only movie trailors that actually made me cry. I mean, like tears rolling down my cheeks. It's a movie that all dads today should see. I can't wait to see it myself. If the trailor doesn't convince you to see it...I'm not sure what will.





Don't Blink Cat - This was shown to me by one of my Doctor Who friends, and I laughed so hard I cried. If you love Doctor Who, you would love this YouTube video.





Goodreads - Ok, this site is amazing. I was seeing it mentioned on Facebook quite frequently, so I decided to check it out. One of the best things I've ever done. A friend of mine described it as a "Ravelry for readers". (Btw, if you like to knit or crochet, and you don't know what Ravelry is, you are deprived. Check it out, and friend me, I'm under Scriptor :) And go ahead and friend me on Goodreads too, I'm under 'Rachel'.

Hope you enjoy these websites as much as I do!! :)

Apologies

I must apologize to my readers...I haven't been posting lately because...well...for multiple reasons. First, I went on a two-week trip to Virginia and Washington DC. Secondly, because of the trip, I had quite a bit of catch-up to do in school, and that made doing anything extra-curricular very difficult...but now, here I am. And ready to tell you all about it :)

First, the trip. It was amazing! We took it with my grandparents, and there wasn't a day that didn't have at something memorable. We went to colonial Williamsburg first. If you have never been, you need to go sometime before you die. It is fantastic! Above is a picture of an artillery demonstration they did with real cannons...and I thought regular gunfire was loud!!

Every day, we did something that was fascinating and full of history: toured the Governor's Palace, went through the old houses, listened to actors portray the characters of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and (my sister's favourite) the Marquis de Lafayette. We watched people do trades that they would have back in colonial times: blacksmiths, brewers, wig makers, barrel-makers (coopers, technically), gun-makers, shoe-makers, milliners, wheel-makers, book-binders (my favourite), printers, and so many more which I can't think of at the moment. Each one would talk about his trade and then demonstrate it for us, using all the techniques they would have in the colonial times. It was fascinating, and there was never a dull day!

After the trip to Williamsburg, we went to Washington D.C., which was absolutly fantastic. We walked around the entire Mall, and saw every single monument there was to see. They were beautiful and awe-inspiring. I loved seeing the Abraham Lincoln and the Thomas Jefferson memorials. They were so breath-taking...I can't wait to see them again someday!! We also got to tour the Captiol, which was amazing. We got to see all the statues, and the beautiful masonry, and all of the gorgeous paintings. But my favourite had to be the Library of Congress. I think I could live there and never, ever get bored. The paintings and the sculputres alone could take up weeks of study and enjoyment, not to mention the Reading Rooms. I need to go back there someday, just to see the Library of Congress. If you're considering going, go. It's so worth it.

A close runner-up had to be the Folger Shakespeare Library, however. There was a rehersal of Othello going on, and we got to see the actors practicing. I loved watching the directors and the sound guys do their jobs...I've always been fasinated by the behind-the-scenes workings. It was also fun to watch the actors play around on the stage when they got bored between scenes and during sound and lighting tests. And in their giftshop, I found the souviner that made me SO happy: Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company, starring - guess who!?!?!?! - David Tennent and Patrick Stewart!! I was so happy!!! Now, all I need to do is find time to watch it...!

I also got a mug with some of Shakespeare's best insults written all over it. Here's a picture...

Awesome, isn't it? :)

Anyway, I hope I can write again soon...keep updated! :)

Cloudless Skies

In spite of the contradition of the weather, I'm knitting a project which I'm calling "Cloudless Skies". The yarn I'm using reminds me of the sky on a windy day in late summer, when the sky is so blue it seems to be almost as bright as the sun. I'm making basic fingerless mitts for my sister, and I've already completed one of them. The other is almost done...but I've not been able to find time to knit, or even write! *insert shocked gasp*. It's been very, very busy around here...but I'll elaborate more on that in the next blog post. :) Once I finish the gloves, I'll have to upload a few pictures for you as well :)