Week Two Blues

This condition has swept the NaNo community, coming in to week two and worrying about holding up your plot while holding up your life.
My word count is solid, but again, I'm going to have to back off this weekend because I have three research papers to write over the next week and a half and an new interp piece to get on its feet before the next Forensic Speech Tournament which is... oh yeah, just over a week away. Gah.
I know I need to prioritize, but my novel is really important to me. I appreciate and enjoy my literature classes, but in the end I want to be a writer and I need to develop those skills. Not the essay and research paper writing skills, but the creative writing skills. There is no class in the program that actually forces you to write a whole novel- this is my independent study of sorts (if only I were getting credit for it).
NaNo is probably more hands on training for a career as a writer than all my research papers because I really don't think I'm going to become a literary critic or professor or anything like that, I just don't think it suits me.
I'm just annoyed and stressed. My Forensics coach told me to ease off on my novel and I totally get why he said so, but I really wish I didn't have to choose. I wish I wasn't so crazy busy.

Script Frenzy Halfway Point....

Uh oh. I'm about 20 pages behind. I started out with good momentum, filling pages takes so much less than it did with NaNo. My NaNo was about 250 pages, so 100 pages seemed pretty easy. I scoffed at the task. I scoff no more. My spring semester is extremely busy, this is the last month of classes and there is much to be done before finals. The Greek tragedy I'm in goes into tech next week. I'm also slightly strung out on allergy medication.
Another thing I realized about writing for the screen is that things happen alot faster plot wise than in a novel or even a stage play. A camera angle mentioned as a direction can describe what might take a half a page of text or dialogue. So, I'm at that "Wow, I'm running out of plot" moment I was at around this time in November. Part of my problem is I really like things to be in a semi-presentable state by the time the first draft is finished. Editing along the way is not an option here.
I'd really like to win Script Frenzy this year, but it cannot be my top priority right now. Not even in the top ten actually.
A bit of good news is that I've recieved an editor position on the paper, I'm the assistant Arts editor, but I'll mostly be training to completely take over the old editor's job sometime next spring, she won't be able to do it anymore.
And I have to ask: Was anyone else utterly desolate after the season premeire of Glee? It was terrible. Most of the best characters weren't used and I am tiring of the Sue Sylvester vs Will plot. The writers lean way too much on it. It's reaching beyond irony and breaching the realm of cheap farce.

Help

I have been turning over an idea for an historical fiction piece based off the poetry of the Exeter book for months. I have a basic story idea, but every time I try and start work on it I feel really trapped by my ignorance. I mean there is not a lot of information about the 10th century abounding. I've found some basic "here's what type of clothing they wore" and "Vikings came and pillaged in typical Viking style," information, but I really need to know about daily life, the life of women, marriage. What did it feel like to live among them, go to battle with them?
So if anyone has good sources for information about the early Celtic people from this period; books, documentaries, articles, even historically accurate feature films- I would be most obliged. I would cite you in my dedication if it ever gets published.
Thanks in advance.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters; and Withdrawal

I just saw a television commercial for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. It was a shortened version of the book trailer I saw on Austenblog a while back. For some reason every time I think about these Austen/Monster Mash-ups I can't banish the image of the creative(?) team behind this franchise with their feet up on the board room table crushing beer cans against their heads and laughing. Probably unfounded, but I can see the conversation going something like this:
1- Dude, let's do something really funny, like a parody.
2- Of what?
1- Ooh, something really boring and old that no one, like, actually reads.
2- What about that movie with Keira Knightly? Pride and Prejudice, I heard it's also a book.
Again probably unfounded, but I chuckled inside at the image. I'm sure the people behind this are very deft bussiness men, they are certainly making a lot of money, but for their Sea Monster scenerio may I suggest that Persuasion is more nautically oriented, though not as popular so I suppose it would fall down in the money part of the scheme.
Also chalk this up to the possiblity that I may actually be suffering from NaNoWriMo withdrawal of all things. I don't have any novel to come home to at night, and I finished the novel I was reading this afternoon, so I don't have that to come home to either. I'm waiting to start reading Middlemarch because two of my friends want to get in on that too, we might start our own book club blog so we can all discuss it together, I'll link it to this site. Feel free to join us if you want to climb that mountain over the winter holidays as well, or if you already have.
It's not even December yet, I have got to pull myself together, but I have always hated that feeling when I'm between books. I need a life- though this weekend I spent an evening playing Rock Band with some friends. I suck at guitar; the strumming and button pressing at the same time really gets me. I used to play a bit of piano which involved both hands, but the strumming was ridiculously hard for me to accomplish simultaniously.

Winner! 50,248

I just logged my winning word count into the verifier on NaNoWriMo's website! Apparenly only 10% of participants actually make 50k each year; chalk it up to my extreme stubborness and my determination not to let my story die, as dangerously close as it came.
This is a blissful moment, and I get my little winner icon for this site now, I'm going to go upload it right now.

40,097

Ha! I broke 40,000! Of course it isn't technically yesterday anymore...so does that mean that it was part of yesterday's word goal or today's? I have no idea, but I am so happy.
"Des, go to bed," my reasonable roommate called out to me about an hour ago.
"Not until I've hit 40k!" I triumphantly answered.
And I did it. I was so happy because:
1.) I'm writing literary fiction which isn't really plot driven. It's about characters with all sorts of "significant feelings," and "expressing thematic ideas," blah, blah, blah- I ran out of my plot a while ago. (see post below)
2.) After running out of my originally planned plot several thousand words ago I hit up "Adoptable Stuff" a thread list on the NaNoWriMo site. I found some ideas to adopt to stretch out my story, and it totally works with what I originally intended.

I was celebrating and wondering if I should call one of my friends... then I realized it was a somewhat indecent hour on the eve of a day most people will need energy to spend on their families. So I came here to tell you. All three of you or so, as I suspect that's all the reading this blog gets most days. Well, I love the three of you and think that if you've ever had any inclination to write anything, but have never had the drive to just do it, you should NaNo with me next year. Or join me for Script Frenzy in April. I was checking out the site a minute ago while still on my 40k high, I had to stop myself from signing up immediately. I decided that I will wait until the "Script Frenzy 2009" changes to 2010, that seemed wise.

I want that "NaNoWriMo 2009 Winner" banner so bad!

20,092

I did it! I have astounded myself at how much I can achieve in such a short time when I really set my mind to it. Denying myself internet distractions probably helped as well. I can't pat myself on the back too much because A) don't want to overextend my shoulder and B) according to my "Daily Goal" I should be at around 30,300 by today. Blast. Well, since I will not be in CA on Sunday night to participate in their write-a-thon "A Night of Writing Dangerously" I'm going to have my own. Probably not six hours long, my friends and family may become concerned, but I will try to have.... 35,000 words by Monday. That is terrifying, but I must do it. I wrote 5000 words in two days and about 10,000 this week. I can totally write... 15,000 in three days. Maybe. But I'm supposed to go to a movie on Saturday. Well it's a goal, okay, it's what I'm aiming for.
My reward for being so diligent is to review the latter half of "Raditude" and post some of my favorite thread names from the NaNoWriMo site.
First: "Raditude"- "Trippin' Down the Freeway" is a little more... Green Album to me maybe, not overly impressed, but it captures some of that classic "awkward with women and relationships" feeling the Weezer is master of. Catchy though.
"Love is the Answer" was very experimental. It was in a Bollywood style, which isn't a bad thing, I actually went through a Bollywood movie phase and still secretly love settling in with one occasionally. The song is very mellow and distinctly not cynical or self depreciating which is refreshing to hear on a Weezer album. Amrita Sen offers her vocals to the track and sounds beautiful.
"Let it all Hang Out" captures a very current feeling among the public. The need to go out on the weekend and let loose, there are multiple references to the recession and the stress from everyday life connected to it. Although, on the surface not an especially poignant song, it may be an important hallmark of the attitude of the times- and they make a reference to Vitamin Water which makes me happy.
"In the Mall" is a driving anthem about shenanigans in the mall. Eh, okay.
"I Don't Want to Let You Go" brings back more serious undertones touched on in "Put Me Back Together" showing a deeper emotional realm than most of the other songs. The only thing on the album I would refer to as a ballad. I think River's voice sounds fantastic on it too, but I just love his voice which this song really showcases.
Overall I give this album a B. There are a couple fantastic songs that I have unintentionally found myself singing in the shower and a few are just okay. I do see levels of experiementation along with a return to some of their earlier sound. Maybe this is a stepping stone toward a new era of Weezer...
Okay now for funny thread names- all are from various participants of NaNoWriMo, none of them belong to me or are created by me:
The Pros and Cons of Believing Santa Claus
Medieval Backpacks
Weird, Gross, and Creepy Mythology
My character threw away all her anti-depressants, now what happens?
Help give my character personality
Evil/Horrible Things that the British Invented
Raves!
I need to blow up a bridge!!!
Instant stabby death

These are gems. I still maintain that their forums alone are reason enough to do NaNo.
Agenda for the weekend looks like:
1. Where the Wild Things Are (I hope!)
2. Robin Hood
3. Collision part 2
4. 15,000 words
Maybe I'll sleep at some point. Talk to you Monday.

So I Watched It...

I watched the final part of Place of Execution and I was not dissapointed. The moral ambiguity is captured so well; a particular line stands out to me (not quoted exactly) "In this case truth and justice are not the same". It was definately worth the watching- if you missed it check out the videos on pbs.org.
As I wrote that I swallowed my gum. Fantastic.
NaNoWriMo is seriously kicking my butt. Current word count is only around 11,000. Very shabby considering it's the 13th. I knew how hard this would be with my current schedule this month, but I was optomistic- that was my first mistake. Next week my theatrical obligations will end and then I will have to seriously buckle down on this. I already have an idea for the script writing challenge in April, I'm very excited about that.
Oh, and I have a new project for the holiday season (mid-December to mid-January I'm thinking): Reading George Eliot's Middlemarch. It is a beastly long book, but I've been meaning to read something of Eliot's for ages and haven't done it. A friend of mine is also planning on climbing that mountain and we have decided to have weekly sessions (on Skype if not in person) to check up on each other's progress. I'll journal about it on here as well to make me feel more obligated to continue with it.
I still want to do a series about film adaptations as well... that might be too much for one month, we'll just see how it goes.

Crazy Week

I am way behind on my NaNoWriMo word count. I knew that this would be a tough month to attempt this because of all I have going on. However, my theatrical obligations will over soon and I can (hopefully) get myself back on track.
I have not seen the conclusion to Place of Execution yet, it is waiting patiently on my DVR. This Sunday Collision premieres of Masterpiece. I am actually very excited, Place of Execution has my hopes up now. This Saturday will also see a major revelation on BBC's Robin Hood in a long flashback that somewhat contradicts some earlier parts of the show... but we'll pretend it doesn't.
Also, I have just heard of a new film about Keats! It's called Bright Star and is about the young poet's romance that inspired a poem by the same name. Not living in a major city, I must patiently wait until the little arthouse theatre in the next town gets it. This could be a while, but in the meantime I have watched the trailer and looked everyone up on IMDB. Playing Keats is the same actor that appeared as Sebastian Flyte in the recent adaptation of Bridehead Revisited- not my favorite film, it lacked many things, but the cast was quite good. I hope Bright Star doesn't dissapoint; I am uncharacteristically optomistic about it!

What Have I Done???

Today I signed up for National Novel Writing Month.
50,000 words in 30 days.
"Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon" the website promises.
I look at it this way, it will either be:
1. The push I need to sit down and really write out one of the new stories I've been think about for months, forcing me to focus and stop over-analyzing.
Or:
2. Be the final push towards madness, finally sending me over the edge and making me loathe English and all the hours I've spent studying it, finally conceeding that I should become a teacher or something equally depressing. (Note: I've had many great teachers, it's a noble proffession, just not for me).

Either way it's bound to be a crazy thirty days. Why couldn't they have picked a month with 31 days? I'm just glad they didn't pick February. Though in April they have a script-writing version of the challenge, which I intend on participating in if this challenge doesn't kill me. Check it out and join the insanity. I'll try and update my progress here occasionally, maybe it will encourage or discourage you from it for next year. We'll see.
For some reason I can't get the link to attach, so here's the address:
www.nanowrimo.org