Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
NaNoWriMo: opening gate casualties
Here I am at the end of Day 1 with 1810 words completed. 1810 good words, I might add. Here’s the opening:
All across the Silk Road, sentient beings share a similar curse. May your eyes never converge, say the Amanu of hidden S’dep, while on the cold stone world of Vora, the hideous Elkalept chant the couplet, Twelve points his claws / Warm prey on each. That rhymes in Bebili, if you can believe my Exotic Studies professor.
My personal favorite is the Roon Vissar expression, It is the wild tail that wags the weary dog, but the Dobolu High-tusks oink it differently: To snuffle up a smorgasbord. Here on Sylvanon, we Benevolents say, Your TiVo runneth over; yet no one puts it as plainly as the Chinamen of Earth: You should live in interesting times.
I used to think I lived in interesting times. Looking back on it, I see now that my life in Gollywood reveled in boring sameness. My days and nights enjoyed a glorious predictability. Invariably, Cooter would stab me in the back, Ari would scoop me on my squats, and Mr. Trump would side with Ari. At day’s end I’d drink my sorrows away, then bury my woes, and my face, in mounds of warm, synthetic human flesh.
Then I met Cassandra.
Not a bad day at all. But I ask you: what are the NaNoWriMo-inflicted casualties?
1. Blogging time. I’m dashing this off at 10:47 PM (and counting) and I still need to type up Jake’s homework for tomorrow AND take a shower. Have I had time to visit my friends’ blogs today? Grrrrrr.
2. Politics time. I’m dying to read up on Rule 21, Harry Reid, and the evil Dr. Scalito Loveless — oh, crud. That makes three casualties.
3. My sense of humor. That Scalito Loveless crack verged on the autistic. Do any of you get that joke, or am I stroking myself here? Aw, hell. It has come to this: I’m explaining my jokes.
4. Blog traffic. Oh, well; it’s not like I sell advertisement here.
You’ll notice that I did not put “family time” on the list. I cooked dinner, did the dishes, and played chess with Jake for an hour this evening. So far, so good.
Time to type up homework. I’m teaching him grammar from The Deluxe Transitive Vampire (he likes it a lot better than Strunk and White), and he has moved on from TKAM to Animal Farm. I’m thinking about focusing on revolutions this year. How about George Bernard Shaw’s The Revolutionist’s Handbook? Should be mandatory reading for every ten-year-old boy.
I’m outa here.
D.
Technorati tag: NaNoWriMo
At least you completed the word count for the day – I’m behind already, too busy distracting myself ;o)
Great start!
I initially read The Deluxe Transitive Vampire as The Deluxe Transvestite Vampire. Which sounds even more interesting.
Good luck with Nano!
Got in 1900 words yesterday, working on my word count for today.
I can definitely see that the first week will be exciting, but I anticipate problems keeping up the pace next week and the next. Hmmmmm.
Most of my words in the word count yesterday were crap–but the final two paragraphs were, I think, very nice. Takes a while to prime that pump I guess. (PS I’m Binni on NaNoWriMo. see you there…)
Hey I have company! I like this.
Suisan–I try for 10 pages a day (2000 words or so)
How come your page is hating me, Doug? For the last couple of days it’s been telling me I’m not allowed to look at it.
Hi folks. Jona, get crackin’. Pat, my son would enjoy transvestite vampires way too much. Suisan, I know, I know. More later in tonight’s blog. Kate, it’s not my fault, I swear.
This NaNoWriMo stuff is getting me down.
Whoa. Kate, ten pages??
I’m getting maybe three or four typed pages for 2000 in Word. Does that really translate into ten published pages? I had no idea.
color me confused