A List of Updates

My word count is still rising as I am trying to get as much of this novel down by midnight as possible. I am really going to finish one!! Really. I know the whole story and it is just a wild ride. I really want to sit down and do the edit in December.

I seem to be coming down with the sniffles.

I'm dreaming like crazy. I was almost tired this morning when I got up from the crazy dream I was having. Every since they did that cervical block I've been having vivid dreams that I can remember when I get up. As I mentioned before, I haven't done that in years.

I posted another chapter to the blog. Remember, after tonight, the blog closes to those of you with links. Let me know if you are still interested in reading to the end. I should be done with the basic story in a week or so. After that, it is closed until the final edit takes place. I can say there will be some changes in the final draft. I already am considering what these are.

My son will be laid off after Christmas. Please say a prayer for him to find another job soon. He has a wife and baby. They have housing assistance with utilities paid so they won't have to move back in but they still have to eat and buy baby things.

It is raining here and snow is expected tomorrow. We'll see. Unless we dip sharply below the freezing point tonight, I don't think it will stick as the ground has not frozen but it could get messy. I wouldn't mind a white Christmas since I'll be home that week and the kids will be here most of the time.

Hope you have all had a wonderful weekend. I'm really so ecstatic about my book I can't shut up. I will thought.

Still Rising

As most of you know, I've reached the goal of NaNoWriMo. However, the word count is still going up. I have until the 30th to log in additional word count. Currently it stands at 51,321.

I'm getting the most recent chapters on the blog too. I have chapter 16 almost sorted out and someone is reading because the hit counter is moving up. There is still a large gap between 16 and the end chapter. The end chapters present a problem because they aren't numbered yet and they are only partially complete. I know the final scene but haven't written that part.

However, I will post them, in some form so the truly curious can see where it is intended to go. I can't stress enough that this is a FIRST draft and the final draft may look nothing like this. But I think the overall story is a good one. So, I feel good about it. I wasn't sure when I started it if I would.

I can finish with a smile and enjoy my weekend.

At the Inn

An 18th-century vagabond in England, exhausted and famished, came to a roadside inn with a sign reading, "George and the Dragon." He knocked.

The innkeeper's wife stuck her head out a window. "Could ye spare some victuals?" he asked.

The woman glanced at his shabby, dirty clothes. "No!" she shouted.

"Could I have a pint of ale?"

"No!" she shouted.

"Could I at least sleep in your stable?"

"No!" she shouted again.

The vagabond said, "Might I please..."

"What now?" the woman screeched, not allowing him to finish.

"D'ye suppose," he asked, "that I might have a word with George?"

Celebration Time

Finally, the 50,000 mark had been surpassed and I have my purple bar and my award certificate. I am so glad to be done with that stress! I finished around midnight last night. Finally, the bones of the novel is assembled and waiting to be fleshed out.

By finished, I only mean I met the minimum requirements. I am still working on it and adding to the word count. I have posted another chapter to the blog for those reading it. Jilly has left encouraging comments. And ask a good question. Can you take a shower here in the States if the power it off. Yes you can and a hot one if you have a gas hot water heater. But if you have an electric heater, once the hot water in the tank is used up, you won't get a hot shower until the power comes back on. It is the only reason I've kept a gas water heater this long. I had a gas stove for years but finally got an electric one. We've had power outages where we could cook and bathe, two of the most critical life requirements. Since we've had the electric stove we have had an outage once and could bathe but couldn't cook.

Anyway, I'll be posting all the scaffolding on the blog but remember as of the thirtieth I will be closing it to those I put on the email list. This is to protect the work. If you aren't done reading by then, just PM me and be sure I have a good address for you. That will give you an additional 30 days. It isn't really that long.

A Dixie Girl's Place - A House of Worship

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I posted this last year about this time, in honor of the holiday. It is a tongue in cheek bit of truth. So, I'm posting it again. Think about it carefully.