November 26, 2004

  • Then a monster appeared out of nowhere and ate Randolph.  The end.


    For those of us doing the NaNoWriMo challenge there are helpful forums available to guide us in research and plot resolution.  There are forums where we brag about how well it's going and forums where we post the next time and place of the local meeting.  My favorite forum is called "I hate myself and want to die."  This is the forum for people who are convinced that everything they've written really is crap, their plots are hopeless, and their characters are insipid bores.  In other words, people in even worse shape than me. 


    Anne Lamott is certain that her attitude toward certain people in her life causes Jesus to quietly drink himself to sleep.  I think he looks at me with an indulgent air of tolerance.  He wishes that I wouldn't have to compare myself to others in order to feel good.  He wishes that I could grow up and not need so much validation.  But he knows that this side of heaven I'm always going to be insecure and neurotic.  He also knows that there are days when it would be kind of fun to write that a monster are Randolph because Randoph is obviously a moron with no life who needs to be sacrificed in order to make my story better.  Never mind that Randolph is the protagonist in a monster-free world. 


    And I think that Jesus gave me access to the "I hate myself and want to die" forum to remind me that I don't. 


    As of this moment, my novel has 44,841 words out of 50,000.  So I have four days to write a little over 5,000 words.  I can do it.  If I have caffeine, chocolate, and chaos.  My story won't be finished at 50,000 words, I think I've said that before, but it kind of looms large now as I wish that I had a clue how to get these people from the mess I've gleefully made of their lives to that happy and inevitable feeling resolution that will make my story a satisfying read. 


    And in the meantime, I hope you are having a fabulous weekend. 

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