Dare You To Move

Huh, interesting fact I found out on the news today:

Apparently there are many people in Maine that are saying they're going to push for a constitutional amendment legalizing gay marriage.  They want Maine to be the fourth (I'm counting California) state to actually legalize it. Of course, most every state agrees with this sentiment, but I just found it interesting to catch that fact, seeing as I live in Maine and all.

In other news:

Ugh. I reached 35K (not yesterday, but a while ago), and am pushing for 36K tonight. I was originally looking for 40K, but that's not about to happen.

Oh well.

I hope to get at least that amount by tomorrow, though, and finish by Thursday or Friday. Hopefully Thursday, because I'll be gone on Friday. I'm going to an overnight at one of the biggest youth groups in Maine, with Seventh Day Slumber (a really, really amazing Christian rock band) as a performer there. It's going to be so much fun. I just thank God for providing the thirty dollars necessary to pay for me to go.

All right, I think it's time for me to get that last 500 words out of the way. Sorry for all the pointless posts lately; I'll definitely write more posts of substance after NaNo is over.

Today was a library day.

Thankfully, I got most of the books I wanted. Although The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong was not there (I wanted to read it partly because of miriammoules' recommendation: thanks!), I did get the following: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Kingston by Starlight by Christopher John Farley, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, and Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.

I started reading The Handmaid's Tale and Kingston by Starlight a few moments ago and, so far, they are very good. I am thinking I will like my introduction to Atwood, and the language in Kingston is just so rich, and the prose is just so flowy. The prose is actually something I'd want to write! I adore flowy prose, so I'm sure I'll love Kingston for that reason.

And, of course, I have heard wonderful things about Atwood.

The other two nonfiction books I checked out... well, let's just say I am probably one of the last people on the planet to read them, just judging by my trawling through 50bookchallenge because I am bored out of my skull and procrastinating on my novel.

Speaking of which.

35K, you are mine. Tomorrow.

Friends: please kick me if I don't get it by tomorrow? *grins*

Okay. Now I'm off to read for a bit!

Oh, and because I'm bored and I want to know a bit more about you all, I'm snatching something from technophile's journal, just because I loved the question:

What sort of God do you/would you believe in? Don't just say "Christian God" or "Muslim God" or whatever. Be specific. Even if you're an atheist, disregard that for a moment. Just, what god would you want to believe in (or think would actually exist IRL)?

I have a love/hate relationship with homework.

(I almost wrote "I have a love/hate homework with homework" there... I think I do need to get more sleep. Desperately.)

On the one hand, I hate homework because it prevents me from being able to write on my NaNo (since I procrastinated early this morning, I only reached 32K). I also hate homework if it comes to the Algebra or too-much-typing-on-serious-stuff English questions. I also hate it because it occasionally strikes me as absolutely pointless.

On the other hand, I love it because the English homework makes me feel really smart when my English teacher contemplates me on my writing and my insight (which he has done several times already, BTW). I also like it because I love being able to answer the aforementioned too-much-typing-on-serious-stuff English questions, especially when I can dig out my Bible and do cool Job/Elie Wiesel comparisons. Those were very fun. As was the whole "Describe how Elie's relationship with God changed during the duration of Night."

Those were really nice.

But now I am tired. Again.

I need sleep.

*plops down in bed and sleeps*

Okay, I lied.

There's not going to be a very long post today, just because I am incredibly tired and want to fall asleep. However, leeway is coming along with the... boyfriend situation, so I'm fairly happy about that. It's hard, though. Am currently trying to figure out what I should do now.

But that'll come.

Just gotta hope in the Lord for that.

In other news, Up is the cutest movie and I wanna see it right NOW. I don't wanna wait until March to see it. *wails pitifully*

And I have 23K. Will get 30K tomorrow even if it kills me.

Which, you know, it might.

But until then, g'night. See y'all in the morning.

So today was the first day I've had to juggle both NaNoWriMo and high school. Frankly, I feel I did incredibly well, considering how well I originally thought I would do.

My total word count at the end of today (day 3) is 14,069. I originally thought I was only going to get to 12K, but word wars are the most useful thing I have come across so far on this crazy NaNo journey. Here are my basic word counts for three of the major increments:

5 minutes: 150 - 250 words.

10 minutes: 400 - 500 words.

15 minutes: 500 - 600 words.

I'm impressed with those times, and I hope to see what my average for the twenty minute word war is soon. Maybe tomorrow, because I wanted to do one today and couldn't. That might be a nice goal for tomorrow, along with... say, 18K.

Yeah, that sounds good.

You know, I'm surprised at how well writing has gone today. Granted, I rambled on quite a bit (chapter three took up many more words than I thought), but the thing is, I see that and know I need to edit it. This gives me an empowering feeling, because I know now that this plot is where I want to go, and I know where I need to flesh things out more. It feels so fulfilling to know that I am finally writing the novel I've wanted to write for ages and I am somehow halfway decent with it...

--

All right, onto something else non-NaNo related: the elections.

I can't vote tomorrow.

I know who I would vote for if I could. If you've seen my political posts, you also know who I would vote for if I was old enough.

However, regardless of who you support, I encourage all of you to go out and vote if you haven't already. We must make a difference in this nation and we will so long as the people stand up for what they believe in. Personally, I support one particular candidate. However, the opposing candidate is not only an amazing politician, but a strong person as well.

I might not agree with the views of who gets elected. I wish I could make a difference this election. Unfortunately, I have to wait until four years from now.

This year, though...

This year nearly everyone on my flist can make a difference in the way the votes go (other than the non-Americans in the bunch, to whom I say: Hi! Other than tomorrow or Wednesday this'll be my last American politics post!). I encourage you to do so. But don't do it for me. Do it for yourself, your country, and the values you stand for.

As long as you believe in the candidate you vote for, I will support you every step of the way and others will too, I'm sure.

So get out there and vote.

I'll be wishing I'm right out there with you.

One: I will go insane if I see another word count update at either lj_nanowrimo or nanowrimo. News of your word count does not merit a separate post, and I hope someone will make a Word Count thread. My friends list is like spammed with all that stuff. How annoying.

Two: Whee. NaNoWriMo, I love you!

This year, it was a much more difficult start than I anticipated, though. I tried writing at midnight, deleted my beginning several times, but I eventually went to bed after about eight hundred words. However,  once I woke up, I wasn't happy with it. I started over and got 4K in one version... only to give up on it and go to my original. I deleted a bit of my original chapter, but then easily wrote over it. So far, I am very happy with what's been going on so far, but I already know I'll need a lot of editing.

But still!

I wrote 5,101 words today (not counting the 4K of the other version that I scrapped), so I'm really happy. I definitely think I will reach at least 10K tomorrow, even though I have a research paper to do and a 100 word paragraph for English.

How is everyone else doing at NaNo? Is it going well?

Three: Yeah. That research paper. It's due on Monday. I might work on it a bit tonight, but if not, that'll be my second priority, right after getting my 5K in NaNo. (I know, school before NaNo and all that, but you know, I don't care.) Blah.

Oh, and that paragraph.

That'll take at most a half hour (it'll only take that long because you can't use one word more than once, btw), so it's not that bad.

But blah.

I have written too many words today. This post is incoherent. I think I will go to bed a bit earlier today. Either that or do something mindless.

(I will definitely enjoy that extra hour of sleep tonight...)