On the first day of NaNo . . .

Posted byKatie SullivanPosted inCommunity, Non-NaNo, On WritingTags:, , , , , , , , , , ,

On the first day of NaNo, my true muse gave to me. . .

A family that’s dear to me.

It came to me, yesterday, how I could blog and NaNo at the same time (because NaNo is a verb, now). The reviled and/or beloved holiday song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, was to become The Thirty Days of NaNo.

That was, until I had an unfortunate flash of prescience. Or perhaps it was foreshadowing. That, or it was simple, dumb luck (to be said with Dame Maggie Smith’s accent and intonation when she admonishes Harry and Ron in Harry Potter).

The circumstances around the prescience are mundane. Needless to say, never should I utter the words, even in type, ‘barring catastrophe.’ It is like saying ‘bring it’ to the Universe.

Three days later, and my family has made two trips to the Emergency Room. My father remains in intensive care. It is not the stomach flu, as we had thought. My son, luckily, is home, now – only a little worse for wear in his tussle with the car that hit him this morning on his way to school. I bless every damn deity in the heavens above that he can be macho, and twelve, and brag to his friends on the Xbox that he was hit by a car and walked out of the hospital three hours later, because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.

On the first day of NaNo, I realized that my family needs me more than I need NaNo. I still have a goal of 15,000 (which is my standard 500/day), but 50,000 words and the insanity that those words can bring . . . well, the world doesn’t need my novel that much. I will write it – I’ve already written what amounts to two books already this year. Books 3, 4, 5 and 6 will come in their good time.

In other news . . .

D’s taking the night off, so it’s up to me to be your valiantly verbose victor.

Ghosts Prompt Roundup

Check out the responses to this week’s “ghostly” prompt at the Community Storyboard

Not-so-newbie in town:

Have you met Dean? He draws, he writes, he blogs. You can find out about Dean at his new blog, Dean’z Worldz: http://deanzworldz.wordpress.com/about/.

He also has a new book, Quentin Hide and the Evil Lord Twigton. Check him out!

For the NaNoNites

Chuck Wending is Hilarious. His NaNoWriMo dialogue is even funnier, if such a thing were possible.

Support your local author

Because the internet community is the new local.

Good reading

There’s so much good reading around the web, but here were some I was able to check out this week:

Jessica B. Bell

She deserves her own section, why? Because she’s Jessica B. Bell, that’s why.

And Finally . . .

adventureswithD-final (1)

Adventure with us to Green Embers Recommends and my weekly Entertainment News installment with D. And this time, D’s status as a time-travelling Druid actually pays off!

 

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Published by Katie Sullivan

Descended of pirates and revolutionaries, Katie Sullivan is a lover and student of all things Irish. Born in the States, she is a dual US/Irish citizen, and studied history and politics at University College, Dublin – although, at the time, she seriously considered switching to law, if only so she could attend lectures at the castle on campus. She lives in Milwaukee with her daughter, two cats and a pesky character in her head named D (but you can call him Dubh). Her first series, The Changelings Saga, a young adult historical fantasy trilogy is available on Amazon. She can be found writing with said character at her blog, The D/A Dialogues.

26 thoughts on “On the first day of NaNo . . .”

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  10. With all that you are going through, to still take the time to write — you amaze me! I hope your son and father are both in recovery, and that you continue to have the strength to persevere.

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    1. Thank you – and they are. Drs. think they have Dad figured out, and the boy is only a little sore today. On the plus side, he’s a bit more motivated to catch the bus in the mornings! This was just a good reality check to remind me to take joy in the family as well as the writing – NaNo does not equal joy for me.

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      1. You seem to be an amazing woman, Katie, and you are so inspirational to me. I wish you every joy. Don’t chase things that don’t bring you happiness.

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  11. Reblogged this on 1WriteWay and commented:
    Katie Sullivan is an amazing blogger and this post is full of links to other great reads. If you have time for only one blog to read, then read this one 🙂

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  12. Dear Katie, I’m so glad your son is OK and well enough to brag about his “tussle” with the auto. Your dad is my thoughts. I hope whatever he has is easily treatable and he’ll be home and healthy soon. You are amazing with your blog and all else that you do. You don’t need to NaNo 🙂

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    1. Thank you – the drs. think they have Dad figured out – we’ll know more later today or tomorrow. I’m pretty lucky the boy is such a tough cookie – he bounced off the Suburban (not that he remembers the impact much) with just some bruised elbows and knees!

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  14. Oh my gosh, Katie! Thank the gods that be that your son is OK. Yes, he’ll certainly be bragging as well he can! Keep us posted on your dad – I hope he’s out soon.
    I’m not doing Nano this month either. I’m going to attempt NaBloPoMo – an entry a day on my blog. That’s my plan anyway. In a few minutes I’ll put the bits and pieces of my scattered novel – Flirting With The Moon – back up on my menu bar. I’ll work on that this month.
    Take care. I’ll be thinking of you and your family!
    Ellespeth

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    1. Thank you so much – it was a pretty emotional day yesterday 🙂 The Drs. think they have Dad figured out – we’ll know more later today or tomorrow. The boy is milking it for all he’s worth and I’m more than willing to let him – for a couple of days anyway!

      Good luck with NaBloPoMo. Blogging and organizing a novel are jobs enough of themselves !

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