Just a quick ROW80 check-in today to update you on NaNoWriMo progress. Shingles has been hanging on like a kudzu vine so I’ve been hitting the pillow and the page with equal abandon. Halloween just wore me OUT!
Below is my Fairy Princess (who had an aaaah-mazing time). She is picking candy out of the bag to line up on the ground. Put it in…take it out…put it in…take it out…
She still doesn’t know she can eat it, but she sure does enjoy playing with it:
On the writing front:
I’m averaging just over 1200 words a day so far for NaNoWriMo, or about 5 pages a day. But I got THE JUICE today.
That’s that moment that comes in every writing challenge when the clunkiness of the words eases and creativity begins to float from you to the page. I was all fired up by the time I stopped this afternoon and it was awesome!
I’ll be back at it tomorrow, working to increase my daily total. I’m ahead of my personal goal of 4 pages a day, so I’m happy regardless, but I’d love to leave my shingles in the dust and just write my little face off.
Note #1: I hope all my NaNo friends have reached out to find me at jennyhansen – please do add me as your Writing Buddy…I need all the help I can get.
Note #2: If you’re like me, and you haven’t been on the computer as much since the month started, you’ll definitely enjoy a browse of Gene Lempp’s Writing Blog Treasures. He’s put together a fantastic collection! I had 8 tabs open by the time I got to the comment section. 🙂
How is your November going on the writing front (whatever challenge you’re doing)? Are the words flowing, or are you finding yourself stuck? Have you reached out to encourage all your ROW80 pals by going to the linky and clicking on their name? Enquiring minds LOVE to know these things here at More Cowbell!
Jenny
Jenny Hansen's Blog 
Go for your life! That is awesome news Jenny.
I hope you find a magical cure for those rotten shingles too.
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Thanks, Cate! Lovely to see you here at More Cowbell…I keep reading great posts of yours. 🙂 And those shingles are ROTTEN. Aaaaalmost gone though!
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I have heard they are torture! Thank you for the compliment! 🙂
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You go, Jenny! You never, ever fail to amaze me. I don’t know many people who can put up with shingles and still manage to capture that awesome creative fire.
I’ve been ignoring my inner editor and just letting words fall onto the page, which is REALLY liberating. It’s not *quite* the same as getting hit with THE JUICE (LOL, I love that name), but it keeps me from getting too bogged down in playing perfectionist.
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Way ignore that inner Editor, Lena! That’s the only way it gets done, ’cause she’s a real Debbie Downer. 😉
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You’re being way too nice, Kathy! “Debbie Downer”…Pffffft. She’s a complete hag is what she is. 🙂
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Lena, I’m so proud of you!! I feel THE JUICE coming on for you…. And Candace Havens swears that people write better when they’re tired so I’ll bet that was the source of it all. 🙂
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Oh you’re going to be so dead when her shoes start costing more – those are fabulous!!! So sweet!
Very jazzed to hear about your progress! Blast through, Chickie!!!
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You’re not kidding. She LOVES those Dora shoes and those were almost $20. What’s it going to be like when everything is $20+? OUCH! But I had so much fun watching her in her costume. She rocked. 🙂
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This shingles sounds like the pits 😦 hope you get better very soon and congrats on keeping up with your writing xo
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Thanks, Lottie!! Shingles are the pits and they are wa-a-a-ay better than they were. I’m not contagious and I’m getting to do about 60% of what I want to do. That’s better than the mere 10% I was at back in the beginning. 🙂
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Yay for the JUICE! Boo for the shingles. Hope you keep kicking NaNo butt.
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Thanks, Brinda. I’ll keep at it. I’m learning that it’s the big “secret” – just keep going. 🙂
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Glad those rotten shingles are finally getting the hint and are starting to leave you alone. You inspire me, Jenny. You keep rising up through it all and you keep making me smile. I’m missing out on NaNoWriMo, I’m still stuck in editsville, but I’m making progress. CPs are the best. My two like to line up the candy too and the lil one, just like his brother used to, likes to put his candy in the strangest of places, like my shoe. It’s a sweet mushed surprise, lol.
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Sidney, what a nice thing to say!! I don’t know if it’s that I rise up so much, I just get antsy when I’m down.
Candy in your shoe?? That’s funny. I have no idea where I’ll find it, for right now it stays in the bag. 🙂
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My writing challenge is settling structure in to a very rough first draft to prepare for easy breezy (snort) revision over winter months. The rough draft in question? My NaNo challenge for 2010.
Go Nanners, Go!
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Good for you, Sherry! I’m only going to be able to get through this NaNo thing without losing my mind because I’m using Scrivener this year. That means when I’m done, it will be organized, rather than every damn place (like usual).
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Congrats on the “writer euphoria,” Jenny! Oh, and may I say, your little girl is soooo Cah-YOOT! 😀
*Can I get an amen?* AMEN!
Big hugs,
Kathy
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You know you’ll get an amen from me. 🙂 She was so sweet on Halloween. Just dancing around, and lining up candy…
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That photo’s worth more than 1000 words! Maybe you should count it toward NaNo? 😉 Seriously, congrats on getting so much done while feeling like crap – and here’s hoping you’re all better, SOON!
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Oh, what a great idea! If only, right? I’d be on Pinterest all day long, racking up the word count. 🙂
Wishing you a great writing week!!
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Wow Jenny! Massive writing AND struggling with shingles? You must be drinking the superhuman juice! Then again, you’re one of the stronger people I know. I’m sending you my extra healing powers. You need them more! 🙂
Monique
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I’m in that middle place where I’m seeing definite recovery but I don’t have all my energy back (because I usually have a TON of energy). It’s getting better so we’ll share our healing powers, OK?!
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Jenny’s got the JUICE! Well, somehow I always knew that but woot, you go lady 🙂
Cute pic of baby girl, made me remember when my girls were still young and cute – enjoy it while it’s there.
Thanks for the linkage – you can use the posts as rewards for successful writing time, just saying *grins*
Have a fantastic week and may the power of the muse guide your path 🙂
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LOL. I will enjoy it while it’s here. She’ll be a gigantic bitchy teen before I blink.
It’s funny you say that about rewards, because I do that. Posts like yours, books, etc. It works like a charm. 🙂
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What an awesome week! It feels great when we can consistently meet our goals.
Don’t you find it hard to stop writing when “the juice” is really flowing? When I was younger, I would write into the night when that happened. The older I get, the more I need my regular bedtime:(
Keep up the great writing!
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Sharon, I DO find it hard to stop! But I had a date, which certainly trumped writing. (It was close though.)
I need more sleep nowadays too. 🙂
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Jenny, you are still in the clutches of those bad boy shingles? Can’t they just give it up? Good grief!
Hope you continue to make good progress both with your health and your writing. Tuesday morning I will be at Pacific Hospital cheering my Hubby on as he goes under the knife. Although I do know he is in the hands of a very talented, skilled surgeon. So that’s a relief.
We’re popping the champagne over at our house over this one. A battle won, though there’s another crazy story, but I won’t go into the details now. You and I will meet for a starbucks or something stronger, he, he, he, and we’ll celebrate your road back to health! 🙂
Have a great week!
Karen
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Karen, I’m SO glad!! I’ll be sending you healing and love all day on Tuesday. Wheeeee!
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The longer that adorable Fairy Princess would rather play with candy than eat it, the better! I think you should be awarded a word count bonus for doing NaNo with shingles. Definitely!
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I would agree with that award nomination today, Patricia! I went back to working out in a very abbreviated sense today and even that little bit kicked my butt! I really want her to hold off on her candy discovery as long as possible. 🙂
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Best of luck beating the Shingles. Sounds like you’re on track with NaNo regardless, so great work! Hope the juice holds up and your word count explodes this week. 🙂
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Thanks, J.R. I’m just trying to grab whatever time I can. My critique partner has given me lessons in slow and steady. She’s been at it as long as I’ve known her and has 3 books coming out this year. 🙂
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Oh, those shingles are a mess. Hope you’ll be fully recovered soon, but congrats on getting the writing knocked out. You are quite a phenomenon. Makes me feel like a total slacker 😉
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Thanks, Amberr! I don’t think I’m all phenomenal, but I do have a really great husband that took Baby Girl shopping so I could write. 🙂
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Baby Girl is ADORABLE!! Love how she enjoys playing with her candy as much as she’ll enjoy eating it. LOL! Tooo cute!
Girl…hope you feel better soon but you are still knocking it out of the park. Love that your muse and you were knocking boots and making sweet love…here’s to many more of those kinds of writing days! BAM!
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Thanks, Nat! And you’re the only person I know besides The Bag Whore that says “knocking boots” for that particular activity. BAHAHAHAHA! So freeaking funny.
Here’s to getting more “BAM!”
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Love that picture of Baby Girl. Soooo cute! I’ve definitely had some of the writers’ koolaid, but I could use some of that JUICE. LOL. It’s been a slow start for me, but I’ll get there. Have a great week!
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Thanks, Diana. Keep drinking the writer koolaid…it hits the bloodsteam and turns into JUICE. 🙂
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A-ha! Poor me another!
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HA. POUR…I haven’t woken up yet! Sheesh!
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It really works BOTH ways, Diana!
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Your little princess is precious. Enjoy every moment. Also, so happy to hear the shingles are on their way out. Sending positive thoughts your way. Super progress, with or without a hideous virus to slow you down. 🙂
My writing was plodding along until recently when Hurricane Sandy hit my area. For some reason, my creative juices began to flow while our home’s power was out for the past six days. I wrote more these past days than I had the past month.
Feel better soon!
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Thanks, Jolyse! We do enjoy her a lot.
That’s so funny that Sandy gave you THE JUICE. It works like that…cloudy weather, no power, big life changes…they all turn “it” on, don’t they?
Keep at it!! I can’t wait to hear what you tell me when Sandy is a thing of the past.
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Congratulations on your writing progress! I haven’t been stuck exactly on my WIP, but it hasn’t been flowing out of me as consistently recently. I hope you recover from shingles soon. That’s always been one of my fears, that I’ll get shingles someday and suffer even worse than my two weeks of chickenpox at age fourteen.
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Carrie-Anne, I believe you can get the vaccine at any age. Plus, you can get a blood test to see how your Varicella antibodies are – mine were LOW and that’s a big part of why I got it. Shingles are pure suckitude…you don’t want them. 🙂
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It sucks that she shingles still plague you. But you’ve done great despite it and yay for the writing juice. My October was a lost month so I had to do more world and character building before I could write. My NaNo is starting at full steam today.
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Oh, Reetta, I’m so glad that NaNo is finally opening up for you. 🙂 I’m in fits and starts. We’ll see how it goes this next week. Go, us!!!
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Ay ya, sorry about the shingles. My boss currently has them as well, poor guy. But I’m glad you seem to be inspired and are carrying on all the same. Thanks for sharing your progress!
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They are pure suckitude, Jae. But I’m getting better all the time, so hopefully by next week, they’ll be a thing of the past. 🙂
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That writing juice tastes the best! Go with it, Jenny. Hugs and best wishes for you getting well. Baby Girl is beautiful in her costume. How sweet!
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Thanks, Julie! I’m sure that costume is going to get a ton of use in the dress-up box. It’s still really big on her. 🙂
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I started out writing a short story and I think I can stretch it out to 50k, so I might end up doing NaNo anyway. If I do, I’ll be sure to look you up!
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