Jean Marie Bauhaus

Well, I’m far enough behind that I need to write a little over 2,100 words a day to make 50,000, and so far today’s a wash. I think it’s the weather making me unable to concentrate. I mean that in both a literal and figurative sense, because the political climate change is hard to tear my attention away from for too long. Also, it’s rainy, and I’m sleepy. Yawn.

I’m not getting too stressed about being behind. For one thing, it’s early yet, and last year I didn’t even get started until the second week. For another, I was pointed to Write or Die, of which the Kamikaze setting is truly motivating. It won’t actually kill you, but it will kill your words, which is almost just as bad. I don’t think it’s a good idea to use that setting if I’m writing at the office, though; too many interruptions.

Thursday night I went to a write-in at one of the local universities’ libraries. I almost didn’t make it, because it turned out to be game night (basketball), and Okies tend to be fanatical about their college sports, so the campus was packed with cars and security not letting anybody into parking lots if they didn’t have game tickets. I finally got a security team to let me park near the library, but the way to the library from there was under construction. Another NaNoer pulled in and parked right as I did, so together we ducked under string and stumbled over stray wood and chunks of concrete and wet gravel and hit one dead-end after another, before we FINALLY ran into yet another NaNoer who knew where the aych she was going. She’s probably the reason I wrote that night, because I was thisclose to going back to my car and going home to watch Supernatural.

But thanks to her I found my way into the library, and we were escorted to the very top floor and a room that reminded me enough of the Sunnydale High library that I was very happy to be writing there. Except that instead of writing I wanted to pour through all of the old books lining the shelves to identify which demon tore up the path from the parking lot. Nobody else was up for that, though, so I hushed up and wrote, and had a pretty decent output before were all kicked out. I found a much more sensible way back to the parking lot, but the campus was kind of deserted at that point (and my parking buddy from before had already left for work) and kind of spooky. I, being already in a Buffy frame of mind (as if I’m ever NOT), distracted myself by pretending to be a Slayer patrolling the campus for vampires. Except with a can of pepper spray instead of a stake. But no vampires (or muggers) got between me and my car, and I made it home safely.

I managed just a little over 1,200 words over the weekend, but I also put together a microwave cart and organized my kitchen and my living room chachkes and awesomely rocked this recipe, so I will cut myself some slack.

Today, however, work is almost over, and then I’m going to the gym, and then I know all I’ll want to do at home is watch Terminator and Heroes, even though I know perfectly well I could wait for the weekend to watch Heroes online and I wouldn’t really miss it; and then it will be time to get ready for bed. So now I’m going to force myself to end this post that I totally started just to procrastinate on the other kind of writing, and go do that other, and not leave the office until I’ve hammered out at least half of my quota. Scout’s honor (not really).