15,000
That’s my current word count–I made it through that death notification scene (phew!!), but more importantly I’ve passed the 25% mark on my word count. That’s the goal I set for myself and the kids for this weekend. . .I’m pretty sure they still have a lot of words to write tomorrow, even though NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program allows them to set total word count goals that are well below the 50K mark.
It’s going much better than it did last year. I’m getting the hang of resisting the urge to go back and edit, which is a big challenge for me. But the only time I go back is to double check whether or not a particular character has a name yet. Ironically, last year before November 1 I had taken the time to give all my characters full names, birthdays, physical descriptions, and who knows what else. However, I had no plot in mind, and describing characters who have inane conversations only uses so many words. This year, I had a germ of a plot in mind–and I do mean “germ”–but my main character didn’t even have a name until I started writing last Sunday afternoon. I’ve been doing a lot of shower thinking, each morning deciding what general events will happen next while I lather and rinse.
I have no idea if I’ll make it to 50,000 words by November 30. I hope I do, of course, but if I don’t there’s always next November. . .and I already have another germ of a plot waiting in the back of my mind. 
Writer’s block
Oh dear. . .I know what I meant to happen next in my novel, but I’m having a hard time letting my main character’s high school sweetheart die. I intend for her to find true love several thousand words down the line, but for right now it’s 1940-something and there are two soldiers standing on his parents’ front porch. And I wish they would go away!
Happy Reformation!
Oh look–I’m writing a blog post! It was Larry’s day off, so I was able to meet my NaNoWriMo goal earlier today although I’m struggling to keep my “inner editor” from editing as I go. But I am up to 4000 words and that gives me time for a quick photo post while I wait for the last load of laundry to finish drying.
I will be honest: I’ve never been a Halloween person. I don’t have any major philosophical or theological exceptions, it just doesn’t appeal to me beyond an excuse to wear a costume. Last year Larry took the kids trick or treating for the first time ever; they brought home enough candy that I finally threw away the rest of it when it was time to hunt for Easter eggs. So all through October I had been hearing Halloween this and trick or treat that. . .I had had enough and told them so. They were welcome to wear something from the costume trunk all day long on the 31st but no, we were not trick or treating. I would buy candy in case anyone came to our door (no one did) and we would have a party at home that evening. We ended up with two lions, a grumpy pre-teenager, a Star Wars something or other, a frog, and a dog.
Being Lutheran, October 31st is also Reformation Day on our calendar. So while perhaps I should have worn a zookeeper outfit, instead I pulled out my Katie Luther dress I made several years ago (it isn’t terribly authentic, but it was the only early Renaissance pattern I found that was somewhere between princess and barmaid). Larry wore his cassock because, of course, Katie needs her Martin. 
I made a sort of German dinner: pork roast with sauerkraut, rye bread, green salad, and apple kuchen.
After dinner, Larry gave the kids a short history lesson about Luther and the beginning of the Reformation, and then we played drop the indulgence in the coffer and nail the theses to the church door. There was much giggling–and since we hadn’t had any trick or treaters we used that bag of candy for prizes.
And after the younger children were in bed, we decided that Drama Boy was finally old enough to stay up and watch Luther with us.
Out of my mind
. . .be back in December! Yes, it’s NaNoWriMo time again, and since Twirly Girl wanted to participate again I figured I should write along with her. She really didn’t have to twist very hard; although I’m not terribly confident I’ll manage to crank out 50,000 words this month, I enjoy writing enough that I am game to try. And in order to make an honest effort, something has to give, which means that this blog will probably be neglected. . .except for short posts (like this one) on nights (like tonight) when I’m staring at the screen trying to think of my next sentence.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
I first heard of NaNoWriMo two years ago, after November had nearly passed. I really wanted to participate last year, but with a brand new Baby Boy and a cross country move it was absolutely out of the question. Well, November is almost here again, and in spite of assorted obstacles on my calendar I’ve decided to give it a go. Or rather, I am requiring Drama Boy, Boy Genius, and Twirly Girl to participate in the NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program for homeschool and figured it was only fair for me to get to play too. We may or may not reach our goals, but we’ll never know unless we try!
