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Another year, another failure.
Nov. 29th, 2010 08:47 pmSo as of yesterday morning, I stopped even trying to finish NaNo.
It wasn't going to happen, no matter how much I wanted it to. The one thing that makes me happy about the whole thing, aside from the fact that I like the story and definitely plan to continue to the end as soon as my Yuletide's done, is that it really wasn't my fault in terms of writer's block. I knew as soon as overtime started up at work that it would be a miracle if I finished NaNo, but I was crossing my fingers on that count even though it just wasn't going to work out.
I haven't won since 2004, and I know precisely why not, too -- because I'm basically in customer service. I went from a job in shipping in DC to a job at a factory making CDs and DVDs to my current job answering questions about Medicare prescription plans over the phone. The DHL job picked up hours in November because of the holidays. Overtime started in November at the factory gig before of Christmas. And overtime starts at my current job around the end of October or beginning of November due to the annual enrollment period.
In essence, there could not be a worse time of year for me to try and pound out 50,000 words in a month than in November. I'd probably have a harder time in December due to overtime and Christmas prep, but every other month on the calendar would be a better fit for me than November. It's my one pet peeve about NaNo, really. I just wish it were any other month, or better yet that it were year-round and that we could pick the month that would work best for us. (Take next year. November's going to suck for me, because I'll have school AND overtime to deal with. August, on the other hand, would be PERFECT. It's between semesters, and there usually isn't any overtime to be had in August.)
So ... yeah. NaNo's a bust for me this year.
That said, I did get about 20,000 words out of the deal, and the good thing about only getting this far is that it gives me a chance to actually stop for a bit, step away from the story to work on my Yuletide, then come back and build some freaking structure into the damn thing. I really do like what I've started and where I'm going. It's just a matter of finishing.
So, instead of spending all day yesterday hunched over a laptop, I spent yesterday ... er, hunched over a laptop catching up on Community. ABED! TROY! ABED AND TROY! :D
Today is going to be another calm before the storm for me, as instead of going into work and putting this vacation day aside so that I can beef up my overtime for this upcoming paycheck I think I'm just going to take advantage of the day off and relax. What I really want to do is head down to the new IMAX theater and see a movie, but I have something like $87 in my checking account after paying my bills and rent and stuff this week, and that eighty-seven bucks has to last me until next Thursday night. So I think I'm just going to dye my hair, straighten up my apartment, hit the cafe, and then spend the rest of the day screwing around.
Today is so totally a mental health day for me, honestly, because after today I'll be working every single day until Christmas. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for my Android, that's all I've got to say. Otherwise I would miss out on emails and LJ and current events and pretty much everything that happens in the world for the next twenty-five days.
In completely unrelated news, Anne Hathaway and James Franco are hosting the Oscars this year. That is going to be delightfully charming and cracktastically weird with a side of questionable sexuality, respectively.
It wasn't going to happen, no matter how much I wanted it to. The one thing that makes me happy about the whole thing, aside from the fact that I like the story and definitely plan to continue to the end as soon as my Yuletide's done, is that it really wasn't my fault in terms of writer's block. I knew as soon as overtime started up at work that it would be a miracle if I finished NaNo, but I was crossing my fingers on that count even though it just wasn't going to work out.
I haven't won since 2004, and I know precisely why not, too -- because I'm basically in customer service. I went from a job in shipping in DC to a job at a factory making CDs and DVDs to my current job answering questions about Medicare prescription plans over the phone. The DHL job picked up hours in November because of the holidays. Overtime started in November at the factory gig before of Christmas. And overtime starts at my current job around the end of October or beginning of November due to the annual enrollment period.
In essence, there could not be a worse time of year for me to try and pound out 50,000 words in a month than in November. I'd probably have a harder time in December due to overtime and Christmas prep, but every other month on the calendar would be a better fit for me than November. It's my one pet peeve about NaNo, really. I just wish it were any other month, or better yet that it were year-round and that we could pick the month that would work best for us. (Take next year. November's going to suck for me, because I'll have school AND overtime to deal with. August, on the other hand, would be PERFECT. It's between semesters, and there usually isn't any overtime to be had in August.)
So ... yeah. NaNo's a bust for me this year.
That said, I did get about 20,000 words out of the deal, and the good thing about only getting this far is that it gives me a chance to actually stop for a bit, step away from the story to work on my Yuletide, then come back and build some freaking structure into the damn thing. I really do like what I've started and where I'm going. It's just a matter of finishing.
So, instead of spending all day yesterday hunched over a laptop, I spent yesterday ... er, hunched over a laptop catching up on Community. ABED! TROY! ABED AND TROY! :D
Today is going to be another calm before the storm for me, as instead of going into work and putting this vacation day aside so that I can beef up my overtime for this upcoming paycheck I think I'm just going to take advantage of the day off and relax. What I really want to do is head down to the new IMAX theater and see a movie, but I have something like $87 in my checking account after paying my bills and rent and stuff this week, and that eighty-seven bucks has to last me until next Thursday night. So I think I'm just going to dye my hair, straighten up my apartment, hit the cafe, and then spend the rest of the day screwing around.
Today is so totally a mental health day for me, honestly, because after today I'll be working every single day until Christmas. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for my Android, that's all I've got to say. Otherwise I would miss out on emails and LJ and current events and pretty much everything that happens in the world for the next twenty-five days.
In completely unrelated news, Anne Hathaway and James Franco are hosting the Oscars this year. That is going to be delightfully charming and cracktastically weird with a side of questionable sexuality, respectively.
