58,236, And Still Not Finished

My final word count of November, was 58,236.  I wrote about 2,000 words on Friday, determined to have a last "hurrah" of writing, for the month of November.

As you can see, by looking at my stats, for most of November, I was far ahead of the daily word goal, and going up at a steady pace.

But then I wrote 4,000 words in one day, hit 50,000 exactly, and I got, well, a little bit lazy.

But I'm okay with that.  Sure, if I had written every single day afterword, my novel might have ended up longer than it is now, I might even be finished with it.  But I'm okay with not having written every day.  Sometimes, you need a break from NaNoWriMo... and taking that break after you've won is always considerably more beneficial to your word count, then taking it in the middle of the month.

I'm happy with my word count, and, unlike last year, I don't completely hate my story, either.  In fact, I quite like it.  It's not finished yet, and there is certainly still "tweaking" to be done to everything, but all in all, I like it.  It's not terrible like last year's (which I will not go into detail about, but really, it was terrible,) which makes me happy.

This is the first year that I haven't finished my novel in November.  It's also the year where I wrote the most, beating 2011's NaNo out of the top spot for "The Most I Have Ever Written on Anything.  Ever." list.

And I mean, I'm sure there's a lot that I can cut.  But when I was around 30,000 words, I was wondering if I could fit everything into 50k.  Turns out, that I could, and more.

So yes.  NaNoWriMo 2012 was a very productive month for me.  It makes me happy that I won so soon, and I love the fact that I was able to push myself to do so.

The Dandy Lioness

55,474 Words and Counting

Look what came in the mail today!

This isn't a real post, this is just me bragging that I have a new shirt, and that I'm a winner.

The Dandy Lioness

A Pinch of This, A Dash of That

*coughs*
*shuffles feet*

Hey there, guys...

It's been a while...

NaNoWriMo starts in FOUR DAYS.  FOUR!

Can you believe that?

I finally got my title today (it was between "Shattered Clockwork" and "Between the Lies" and I chose "Shattered Clockwork") after having had my plot for a week or two.  I'm quite excited actually.  I also made my cover today:

{The cover to my NaNo12, with my preferred pen name on it.}

It's fantasy, of course, and has princesses and castles, and lies and winged lions and man, I'm excited about it.

I've been crazy-busy recently.  I've finished my TARDIS costume!  Well, I finished it about two weeks ago, but I haven't posted since then...  I'm really quite excited about it, and I got to wear it to a Halloween carnival last night.  Only adults recognized it, (the carnival was at my old elementary school), but still, some people recognized it!  (Also, I am going trick-or-treating this year-- I'm only fourteen, that's not too old to go!)  I've also made a lot more nerdy manatees since I last posted-- I've now got three TARMISes, a Black Widow, the Impala from Supernatural, and a Sea Cow (it's white with black spots) that I've named Shindig in honor of Firefly.

I have laryngitis at the moment, so I can't actually talk at all.  I spent the day watching Supernatural and an episode of Classic Doctor Who and then I went to see a French film with my mom.

Basically, this is just an update to tell you that I'm sorry I haven't posted more, that I'll try to, and that OHMYGOODNESS NANOWRIMO.

Are you guys doing NaNoWriMo?  What are you doing for Halloween?  Do you craft at all?

The Dandy Lioness

Snippets of Story: February

Hello all!  Today I am linking up with Katie for her Snippets of Story link up for February!  It's the first month of this, and I decided to join up.

{Via}

The excerpt I'm posting is from my NaNoWriMo, tentatively called Dr. Blank's Traveling Circus for Talented Misfits.  So, without further ado, here we go.

"Hmm," clucked Lily, obviously not impressed.  "Papa always says we'll be the death of them.  We pull pranks 'a little too often' he says."

Gemma sighed.  "And Mama finds us simply ridiculous, and is constantly telling us to 'quit fooling around!'  Mama clearly doesn't understand what it's like to grow up in the circus.  You spend so much time on trains.  Sure, the shows are fun.  And training.  But while we're moving, we have nothing good to do.  Mama said we're not allowed in the training trailer anymore, not while we're moving.  I mean, it was only a little break."

"What did you break?" asked Ria, raising one eyebrow at the twins.

"Well, technically it wasn't us who ended up with a broken bone.  It was Roy.  It was his fault, though.  He was spotting us."

Ria laughed.

"And it was only a little break," pointed out Gemma.

"And what did you break?"

"His nose..." Lily said.

Ria laughed aloud at that.  "Only a little break?  I see," she said.

"Lily, I've decided I like her.  She's like Hugo, only funnier, and not as serious."

"I think so too," Lily said, nodding, and scrutinizing Ria.

"She has better fashion sense than Hugo," said Gemma.

"And she can hear you," Ria said.

I don't think I will ever edit this year's NaNo, at least, not for a while.  It was an experiment that, in my opinion, didn't work out.  So, while I finished, I didn't really like the end product.  However, there were little pieces of it, like this one, that I ended up quite liking.  Maybe I'll end up revisiting this story, and reworking it. However, I doubt it.

What do you think of this little piece?

The Dandy Lioness

NaNoWriMo Winner's Cake

Because ever since Tuesday we've had snow days this week, I finally managed to get together with my friend T, who I've been trying to get together with since November.

See, we did NaNoWriMo this year, and were sort of WriMo buddies.  And when we both won, we decided that we would bake a cake in honor of this achievement.

So, a month and a half late, yesterday we got together, and finally made our cake!

So, without further adieu, here's some pictures of the cake.

An overview of our cake.

The writing.

Another overview.

It says "NaNoWriMo Winners 2011" on it.  It's a two layer cake, and between the two layers, we wrote our main character's names.  For her, it was Qita and Laloiken (sp?) and for me, it was Hugo and Ria.  We had fun with the sprinkles, as I'm sure you can tell, and when we were at the store we were terribly excited by the curlicue candles (which sadly did drip some wax on our cake).

While waiting for the cake to bake/after it was done, we went into my basement, and played Foosball, and then watched The Princess Bride and about 2/3 of He's Just Not That Into You.  It was definitely a fun way to spend a snow day, especially as the two of us go to different schools, and she is always busy, so it's hard to find time to see each other.  

For those of you who did NaNoWriMo, and won, what did you do to celebrate your victory?  Or, if you did it, and didn't win, what did you do to celebrate the accomplishment of writing however many words that you did?  For me, I ordered a Winner's shirt, and waited a month and a half to bake this cake.  (And if you're wondering, it's just a plain chocolate cake, with cream cheese frosting.)  Though, our lovely cake almost resulted in disaster, when, just before cutting it, I turned to T in a panic, thinking we had forgotten the flour.  We didn't, luckily, and it tastes delicious.

The Dandy Lioness

Winning NaNoWriMo 2011

You are now looking at the owner of a shiny purple bar and  50k words for NaNoWriMo.  Yup.  That is correct.  I JUST WON NANOWRIMO!

Of course, I doubt this novel will ever see the light of day.  It's... not very good.  It happens to be lacking plot, compelling characters, and I still am not quite sure how to end it.  So... it's not very good.  But it's there, and that's what matters.  I wrote it, and sure, it's horrible, and I don't love the story, and it's full of plot holes, but you know what?  That doesn't matter.  What matters is that I won, that I put my mind to it, and I won, for the second year in a row.  And, I'm only thirteen.  So guess what?  I can write-- maybe not very well, but I can do it.  I can put words to paper, and get those stories that are constantly bouncing around my head out.  And I like to do it.  So I'm pretty psyched.  I did it-- I won NaNoWriMo.  Now I'm going to order my winner's shirt.  And act super excited and bounce around my house, and then collapse and watch TV for the rest of the night.  

To all you doing NaNoWriMo:  If you're still working toward 50k, keep going!  You can do it!  If you're there, congrats!  Feels good, doesn't it?  And if you don't think you're going to make it, that's okay too.  You tried, and that's awesome.  

The Dandy Lioness

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello lovelies!  I wish you all a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it.  To those who don't, I hope your Thursday is fabulous.

Eagle, I'm going with your Snoopy theme.

What am I thankful for?

Blogging, of course, which, though I only recently started, I love.  Also, all my blogging friends.  You guys rock.

NaNoWriMo, for which I would have never actually written a novel.  Also, I have hit 40k.

A special thread on the NaNoWriMo forums, The Purple Elephants.  You guys rock, and I am so glad to have you as my friends.

Family, who I am going to see today.  Also, my sister, who, while I won't see her today, will be coming back for a month in December.  

Friends, who invite me and my family to their cabin for Thanksgiving weekend every year.  It's really fun, and we get our Christmas tree!

Teachers, who gave me no homework (except for a French project, but I just have to outline and color that).  

What are you guys thankful for?

The Dandy Lioness

Johari Windows and Coffee

Hello!  Look!  Two posts in two days!

I got a Johari window, if you want to check it out.  Here's the link:  The Dandy Lioness's Johari Window

I discovered today and yesterday, that my mc Ria, really shouldn't be given coffee.  Let alone four cups of it.  This is my reaction to it:

I watched Doctor Who today.  It made me happy.  It had Rose, the Doctor, and Mickey.  Also, Madame de Pompadour.  

Hand warmers are one of the best inventions in the world.  I love them.  :)

Sorry for this short, sort of ridiculous post. Also, I hit 30k.

Edit::  What do you guys think of my new template?  I didn't love the old one-- I liked it before, but not really anymore, so I switched it for this one, which I've always liked.  And, I had been wanting a simpler template, because I tend to like simpler ones more than crazy ones, so this one makes me happy.  :)

~The Dandy Lioness

Just Stuff

Hello!

I'm past 28k on NaNoWriMo-- closer to 29, actually. Now I'm on the couch, watching Community with my dad.  Did you hear that they're cancelling Community?  Well, we're all pretty sure they are.  It's not on the mid-season roster.  Which, basically has made Community fans cry.  A lot.  *sniffles*  Anyone else wanting to save Community?

Again, sorry for the lack of posts-- it's hard to find time.

Have any of you read A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah?  It's... tragic.  And graphic.  I'm reading it for class, and it's a memoir about his life as a boy soldier.  It's... just... so sad, and really quite graphic.

On Saturday, my friends and I threw our other friend a surprise party at the mall, where we had a scavenger hunt.  It was really fun.  :)

Anyways, that's about it.  Night!

~The Dandy Lioness

Catching Up, 20k, and The Master

Hello, lovelies.  Sorry for being so spotty these last couple days.  Between NaNoWriMo and school, I haven't had much time to do, well, anything.  In NaNoWriMo news, I reached 20k yesterday, which was very exciting, even if it is just today's word count.  I like getting ahead (no matter how little ahead it actually is) and being home alone for three-four hours last night allowed me to do that.  Of course, I neglected my homework, but you know, I'll find time.

I was writing this post, and just got sidetracked by Doctor Who gifs.  So I'll give you this one of the Master, even though many of you probably don't watch it.

Umm...... yeah.  Gotta love the Master.  (And Mirriam, this is totally for you.  =D ) 

Now, this was a completely random post, that was mostly just trying to make up for the lack of posts I have had recently.  Hehe... yeah.  

I'm going to a coffee shop today with one of my friends, so that we can write, and that should be fun.  Also, I have to go to the library, because The Name of the Star finally came in.  I also have to write my review/journal entry thing for school about Lola and the Boy Next Door, a companion to Anna and the French Kiss (which I loved, by the way.  My friends refused to read it because of it's title, but I read it, and loved it.  I really recommend it.)  Also, I have to do my math homework.  So now I look like the Master, because I don't want to do homework.  *sigh*  Why didn't I do it yesterday?  Oh, yeah, because a) I had friends over to film our movie, and b) I watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and c) got to 20k.  Hehe.  Last night was fun...  

The Dandy Lioness

NaNoWriMo Update

Hello all!  I'm sorry I neglected you for a week.  It's just, NaNoWriMo started.  And I had to switch my blog-writing out for novel-writing.  But today, I am about a thousand words higher than I need to be.  So, I thought I'd give you guys a post-- because I've been neglecting you.

My NaNoWriMo is going pretty well.  I've been combing Pinterest for ideas for clothing, hair, appearances... I hadn't realized two of my characters were redheads until I found a picture of one of them.  I would show it to you, but I just can't find it, and I'm on the other email that I sent it to, so I can't access it.  Sorry.

http://pinterest.com/bjcollins/clothing-dreams/  This pinboard, seriously makes me happy.  It has a bunch of old-fashioned/vintage dresses that would totally work in my NaNo.  YAY.

The internet hates me.  I think it's because my computer is on low battery.  Going to plug it in...  Nevermind.  That plug wasn't a plug.  Grr...

Anyways, I'll leave this short and sweet.  But here's a (very small) novel excerpt for you, since I have been neglectful.


Hugo drew back. “Well, come along then,” he said, and led Ria down a single, twisting path. A small tent would be on the side of the path every once in a while, and between them there were popcorn stands, and caramel apple stands. They were going in a spiral, Ria noted. They reached the largest tent, a huge, red and gold striped ensemble, and Hugo took Ria’s hand and led her inside. He took her all the way across the tent, and then they turned into a series of rooms, that made up the performer’s quarters. But still, they walked on. Finally, they exited the giant tent, and emerged in a small circle of grass. Trailers were placed in an awkward circle. Lights shone in the window of one trailer. Hugo crossed the circle, and headed up the steps of that trailer. “Well, come on, then,” he said to Ria. She followed him up the steps, and into the trailer.

P.S.  Anyone know how to make the white background go away behind things that you copy/paste into Blogger?  I made it lavender because the white bugged me too much and I couldn't figure out how to make the white go away altogether.

The Dandy Lioness

Tamora Pierce, Movies, and NaNoWriMo Lost It's Pants?

Hello all!

Thank you to all the lovely commenters and followers on my Casting Call Bloghop post (follow the link, or it's below, if you're looking for it!).  I appreciate all of you.

My friend E and I filmed our TV Production movie today.  The basis for this project is "sad story... if you bring a tear to my eye, you get an A".  Four of my friends came over after school today, as it was an early dismissal, and E and I used them in our movie.  We had a blast filming it, and Luna Lovegood, I wish you could have come-- you mom called me back when we were in the grocery store on the way home.

Now, I have to leave for gymnastics in half an hour, and I'm squeezing a blog post into this limited time.

Did anyone else freak our when NaNoWriMo lost its pants (style sheet for all you techies) last night?  I freaked out, and thought my internet had gone haywire.  But then I hopped back onto the forums and found the post in the bugs forum and posted my complaints there.  And as for more complaints-- Blogger, why are you killing the internet today/last night????  I've used ctrl. alt. delete more times in the last 24 hours than I have in the last month.  Grrrr.

In book news, is anyone else totally psyched that Masiff by Tamora Pierce came out yesterday?  And seriously-- look at what a beautiful cover it has.  I cannot wait to get my copy from the library.  And yes, I am a shameless Tamora Pierce fan.  They are some of my favorite books-- ever.

Sorry for the rambling post-- I don't have anything specific to post about today.  Eagle, I applaud you for participating in NaBloWriMo-- I don't think I could win.  Now, I'm off to get ready for gymnastics and read my book.

The Dandy Lioness


P.S.  Does anyone else ever accidentally post their post without giving it a title?  Because I do that like, 50% of the time.  /Fail.

Casting Call Bloghop

Hello!  Here is my Casting Call bloghop post!  It's hosted by Carrie, Melodie, and Lisa, and you have to represent your story or characters in some sort of visual way.  So, here I go.

Meet Princess Ryeland, or Ria as she is known in the circus.

{Via}

I chose this picture for Ria because she is leading a masquerade.  Though in truth she's a princess, she is pretending to be someone she's not.  So here's a photo of her with a mask.

Name:  Princess Ryeland/Ria

Age:  Fifteen

Height:  5'4"

Profession:  Princess/Circus worker (I don't know what she will actually be in the circus yet.  Acrobat, maybe?)

Project she's a part of:  NaNoWriMo '11

The Dandy Lioness

NaNoWriMo, Sevenly, and Ramblings

Eep!  I got my Let Kenya Rise t-shirt from Sevenly yesterday!  It is sooo beautiful, and they did a great job on it.  It's kind of big-- but I got the smallest size, so what can you do.  And if I wear it with a tank-top it'll be fine.  The charcoal color (that's the one I ordered) is grayer in real life than on the computer-- it looked more brown-- but it's fine, and was probably just my monitor   In fact, I think I like the charcoal better than I liked the brownish color I saw on screen.  All in all, a great shirt.

My parents are going to clean out my grandfather's townhouse today.  I don't know if I'm going to go or not.  My mom said they wouldn't make me go-- probably because she took me with her on the day my grandfather died to get all the paperwork figured out.  So I don't know what I'm going to do today.  I should probably start by taking a shower and working on my map for geography...

And I convinced my friend to do NaNo with me!  I'm super excited.  T, we'll have to get together and have some sort of writing-day in November.  And eeek, I need to figure out the rest of my plot.  And characters.  The Reference Desk forum at NaNo is being sooo helpful with the types of people in the circus/etc.  And if any of you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

So, this is where I leave you.  (YAY for Firenze!)

The Dandy Lioness

Beautiful People: NaNoWriMo Edition

{Beautiful People is hosted by Sky and Georgie}

This is my first Beautiful People post, but I am ready to give it a try.  So, let us begin.

1.  Sum up your novel in five words or less
Circus.  Runaway princess.  Crazy people.

2.  Novel title?
Dr. Blank's Traveling Circus for Talented Misfits (working title...)

3.  Sum up your main character(s) in one word.
Ryeland/Ria-
Independent
Hugo-
Loving?  I don't know...  I don't know much about Hugo yet.
I would talk about Dr. Blank, but I don't know enough about him yet.

4.  Advice for newbies in three words.
Write.  Don't procrastinate.

5.  Tell us about your secondary characters, how do they affect the story?
I'd say they're pretty important.  They're all circus people, and Hugo's adopted family.  Ryeland/Ria fits right in with them, and they become her adopted family too.

6.  Do you plan on staying up until midnight on the 31st?
I would, but I have school the next day.  So I'll probably take my notebook to school and start it in there.

7.  How many years have you done NaNo?
I did it last year, so this will be my second year.

8.  What came first, characters or plot-idea?
Plot idea, definitely.  Well... title.  Which gave me the plot-idea.  My characters just kind of appeared out of that.

9.  How much prep do you do before NaNo?
Just a basic sketch of a plot (a.k.a. run away princess, circus people, boy abandoned at circus) and characters.  Really detailed plot-sketches don't work for me.

10.  Now be honest, how do you feel about NaNo?
I think it's a great opportunity to really get dedicated and take time out of our busy schedules to write, and get a chance to get those stories down on paper that we might not otherwise.  I can't wait for NaNo-- I have circus people clamoring in my head, determined to be heard, and I don't want to deny them that opportunity.

The Dandy Lioness

The Promised Rain Is Coming

Hello!  I've been rather MIA in the last few days-- sorry about that.

I came up with a NaNo idea however, and I'm hoping I'll be able to do lots of fun stuff with it.  I've spent lots of time on Pinterest, trying to come up with character ideas etc.

Yesterday I got my dance jacket (it has my dance school logo on the back, and it's name) and it's black and white and has my name on it (and it's not a pullover, which is nice, as I prefer zipped jackets.)  I don't really know what to talk about.  It's just kind of... bleh.

I'm looking out the window at a little boy and his parents playing in my neighbor's leaves.  It's very cute.  The little boy is just so happy to be playing with those leaves.  But looking out my window is awkward, because I have to crane my neck and look down and over the couch, and it's sort of like it's taking extra effort, and if the person outside saw you, they would know you were watching them.  Oh.  They're gone now.

The promised rain is coming.  You can tell.  As I was walking home from school today, a light, misting drizzle came and settled over the neighbor hood like a blanket.  And I knew.  The promised rain is coming.  Maybe even arrived.  Fall here is wet, and cold.  But I love it.  The leaves are falling, the coats are coming out, and jeans and boots are back in style.  I know in a few weeks I'll be complaining about the cold, and by winter, I'll be reminiscing about spring, and wondering how I could possibly be happy about fall.  But for now, I'm happy.  NaNoWriMo's just around the corner, and so is Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The holiday season is descending upon us, and it makes me smile.  The weekend after Thanksgiving (as in, two days/one day, whatever, after Thanksgiving) I'll be heading to my friend's cabin for the weekend, and I'm hoping to get a chance to work on my NaNo there...  And we're getting our Christmas tree, and just hanging out.  I think this will be the fifth year we've done this.  Give or take a couple years.

Oh!  What are you guys being for Halloween?  I'm being a Who.  From Whoville.  And Luna Lovegood/PurpleWolf, you can't answer this.  I know you're being Wendy.  I'm totally going to stick out when I'm trick-or-treating with our friends.  I'll be the only non-Peter-Pan themed person.  Go Dr. Seuss!  But to anyone else-- what are you being?