Coming Down to the Wire--HELP ME

Today is May 31.

In exactly two months, I will have to make a decision about what I'm going to do about my artwork.

The plan back in January was simple--update every week with a new image and a new story for each image, offer each one as a print, put each one up on Cafepress as t-shirts and merchandise, and offer commission work based on the style shown in my character art. People would buy the image they liked on the product they liked. I would give out business cards with all my information, and every site, sig, and blog I had would clearly direct people to my shops. I joined many internet communities that would help me get my art out there. I have even begun the search for an agent to represent me to even more prospective clients.

Now, I have some low-priced commissions out right now. I did get one commission client since this started--though it was barter for a product she sells, so I have yet to actually make money from my work.

I have been told by a lot of people that they'd be happy to buy my art if it was available as a print. Unfortunately, I have not sold a single print since I started offering them in January, despite making it very easy to find and buy them through a reputable, well-established site.

I understand that everyone has financial responsibilities they have to take care of before buying things like art their friend draws. However...I need to make this work. I have worked really hard to make my deadlines, and though I know not every piece is hugely popular, I really hoped I'd sell something before now.

My cutoff date is July 31. By then, I need to have something to show for my time.

All I ask of you guys is that you recommend me to people who might appreciate my work. You don't even need to buy something yourself (though I'd love it if you did!) The prices on my prints are FAR lower than my commission prices, almost to the point of being ridiculously reduced. On top of that, I only get about half of the selling price at all. Or, if you know gamers--video, tabletop, whatever--who might like an artist's portrayal of their favorite avatar/character, please send them my way.

I need your help, everyone. July 31 is coming up, and I can't count on ConnectiCon to make up the business I haven't been getting these past few months.

Jenny

http://chocobogoddess.deviantart.com/store

CROCHET OMG

Your reactions to this will be either OH COOL GOOD JOB or OH GODS HERE SHE GOES AGAIN...



Yeah. I taught myself how to crochet this weekend. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

My third, first, and second projects. From left to right, all with a K hook (as that's the only one I had): My third project, in lime green kitchen cotton; my first project, in Cascade 220, Evergreen, I think; and my second project, in Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria, in lavender.

My REAL first project was taken apart, actually, and turned into the middle thing on the picture. I have now figured out chaining, single, double, half-double, and treble crochet. I actually have a fourth project (lime green cotton again, also in the round) that I did tonight while in the car on the way to a meeting. (I was not driving. XD)

I also picked up a copy of "Big Girl Knits" after hearing everyone rave about it; once I realized that I would make three of the tops in a HEARTBEAT, I knew I had to get it. Since then, I've looked through it and decided I would actually probably end up making half of the projects in the book. It's just that good. I also love how the models are big and gorgeous but not like, size 14 big. Some of the girls make ME look skinny. <3 Already planning on the wrap sweater, the red tank top, the green coat, and the bombshell sweater. That last one is EXACTLY what I've been looking for all year. I can't wait to start on them. XD

Divine Bird updates coming tomorrow.

Back, Late, but Here Anyway

I signed out at the end of April with the intention of being gone only a few days, maybe a week. Instead, it's been almost two weeks and I'm still behind. Just after I moved in (literally hours after we put down the last box) I got a call from my mom saying that my granddad would not live past the weekend, and I should go see him in the hospital ASAP.

Granddad was sick for a few weeks in ICU; he went in with chest pains, had open-heart surgery (triple bypass), had a stroke, contracted pneumonia, a staph infection, and on top of all that, he was getting dialysis almost every day. Mom, my sister, and I pulled shifts in the hospital waiting room with my grandma. The prognosis was positive until just before I got that call, and so instead of him getting better, he got worse. By Sunday night on the 30th, Granddad had passed away surrounded by just about every family member who needed to be there.

It's been a rough week since then. On Monday, I felt myself getting sick but brushed it off as allergies until I realized I had a fever, too. Turns out I have bronchitis--AGAIN. We spent the next few days preparing for the wake and funeral. It wasn't until just the other day that I was finally able to get online for more than a moment, clear out my messages, reassure my e-family that I was indeed still alive, and update my gallery, LJ, blog, and site.

The new pic for this week will be up by Thursday evening. I still don't have my scanner set up, which means I have to bring my pics to my dad's to get them scanned in. The Javelineer has been 'emotion' inked, and he'll be colored by tomorrow night. I think you guys will like the new pic for this week, too.

Thanks for your understanding and support! Your comments and faves mean a lot to me. Anyone who sent a request or comment and didn't get a response, please comment and remind me to contact you back.

Oh, and check the gallery for final versions of Nemerenth, Iyan, Daene, and the Messenger. All have been given backgrounds and should be available as prints as of Thursday or Friday, and all pics except Nemerenth, Iyan, and Daene are available on Cafepress on the usual selection of fun stuff. The last three will be set up later, but now I'm fried and I need sleep before I help my dad tomorrow.

Anyone ever notice when you move that you seem to have WAY more clothes and books than you thought you had??

CG

I am le tired.

Dragonmaille and I went up to WEBS on Saturday to see if we could meet the Yarn Harlot. By the time we got there, though, it was insanely busy and the line for book signings was out the door. We decided to shop for yarn instead.

Now, DM and I are both knitters, and we both love yarn. We love to pet it, love the texture, love the colors. However, our tastes...well, they're a little different.

DM likes browns, clarets, burgundies. Forest greens. Greys. She REALLY likes grey-browns. Don't get me wrong, I think those colors have their uses, but my hands reach for things like this:



See the difference? :D Can we see the trend in Divine Bird's knitting these days?

From top left: Two balls of ArtYarns Ultramerino 4. These will be socks. They are sitting on top of an already-started cake of Cascade Eco Wool. YES. ECO WOOL COLORS. The four Lite-lopis were bought for a shawl I mis-remembered. I kept thinking it called for Lite-lopi, but when I finally got back to look at the book, I realized the shawl was calling for something completely different--which works out, since I have JUST the yarn for it already. The Lite-lopi had been called for in a different pattern in the same book, so now I'll have the excuse to make THAT pattern as well. :) Am I gonna be warm this winter!!

I had planned on using the Eco Wool as the base of a sweater for myself, but while working on my first Icelandic design, I realized I really WANTED some lime green in there. Thus, I dipped into the center of the cake to help create this:



It's my first real colorwork. I did some jacquard knitting for the Pac-Man scarf, but hadn't ever tried a real charted design. I love doing stranded colors. This is also my first real SWEATER. I started on another one but need to redye the yarn for the body before I can continue; we'll see how it comes out later. This one is using some dark blue-green vintage wool that I acquired over a year ago as the base. I worked out the math for the increases so it will fit me; it's a top-down Icelandic cardigan with steeks. I am kind of winging it in places, but so far it seems to work. I am about halfway through the yoke. The patterns for the colorwork came from some books on scandinavian and fair isle knitting, though I'm editing some for my own purposes. Each section is a nearly-random selection of two of my five yoke colors: Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Lime, and White. The plain rows (where I increase) are the body yarn.

I'm exceedingly proud of this sweater. It is also a great way to keep my hands occupied while sitting in the hospital waiting room. My granddad has been in ICU for a few weeks now, and my mom, sister, and I are pulling shifts sitting with Grandma while she looks after Granddad.

And now I am signing off this blog until next week at the earliest. We are moving this weekend, and DSL won't be back up til Tuesday. And then we have unpacking and setting up and OMG shoot me now. >_<

Spun the Bunny

I really wanted to make the yarn (from my last post) into something great, so I settled on a popular pattern for a stuffed bunny that didn't take much yarn. I had spun 44 yards once it was plied, so I had JUST enough (and by just enough, I mean I had only one yard when I was done) to make the bunny. Some pics to demonstrate the cuteness:






I learned several things by doing this project. First, of course, was the entire process of spinning, plying, and setting yarn from start to finish. Second, I learned how to make a toy, since I'd never done one before. The bunny was extremely easy--he was essentially one square, three inches of I-cord, and the two ears. I stuffed him using some Wool-Ease Thick&Quick that I didn't like. His name is "Spun".

I also now have several orders from friends and family for bunnies of their own. :D

Spinning Yarn

First of all, head on over to www.divinebird.com to see the new pic. I was so sick last week and the week before that I just couldn't update then, but now I'm back on track. The image is my April Fool's Day image, inspired by my friend duskydawn. I am thinking of reworking it in black & white for when I do the t-shirts for it. :D

And now, on to the spinning.

As seen in my earlier posts, I received a lot of roving and a spindle from my most recent Secret Pal. The first thing I did was this:



That's just under two ounces of sheep's wool. The pic is actually pretty close to the color, which is a lovely pale grey.

I brought the spindle to my LYS to show it off. :) There, one of the owners (Pam, the knitter) and I wound the singles into a ball using the ball winder. This was also a test of how well I spun, since if I hadn't done it properly, the yarn would have unspun and broken. However, all was well, so I ended up with a little cake of yarn.

A few days later, I brought the cake back and the other owner of the shop (Erica, the spinner and weaver) showed me how she plies from a center pull ball using the spindle. It went pretty quickly!

When I got home, I measured the result using my stepladder, which just HAPPENS to be a yard around. (Niddy noddy is next on my list of things to make for myself!) 44 yards!! I set the twist by soaking it and hanging it to dry in my shower, et voila:



Add this to my first few tries at spinning--

And now I need to figure out what to make with it all.

Any ideas?

Next on the spindle: Wine and black alpaca, probably no more than DK weight when it's plied.

In addition to all this spinning, I've been working through a ton of UFOs and WIPs that needed my attention. Now finished are my mom's Rabbit Tracks scarf, my dad's Trigger Mittens, and three new baby hats. I'll be posting pics of the hats once all of them are done--see my posts back a few months for pics of the first three I did. I have about three or maybe even four left to go, depending on how well the yarn holds out.

My husband's alpaca s0x0rs are almost done--all that's left is the peasant heel on both of them, and then they'll be ready to wear. I hope they fit him, after all this time!!

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about how things are coming along. I really wanted to complete the Knitting Olympics, but failed miserably due to too many other obligations. However, now that I can sit back and admire my finished pieces that have been hanging over my head in some fashion since before Christmas, it's refreshing to be able to say, 'what else could I knit now?' without feeling guilty about starting something new!

So there we go.

Site Update

SITE UPDATE

Heya, all--

I just did a bit of an update on Divine Bird, including new art, new commission info, new commission sample pics, and a few other tweaks here and there. Check it out, and sign the guestbook if you do! (I give secret prizes to certain numbers.) :)

COMMISSIONS OPEN

I've gotten back on track, so new commissions are open and are finally doable in a three-week timeframe. The sooner I get a request, the faster it gets done, since all work is first-come, first-served. Check the site under "commissions" to see how to request an image.

REFERRAL SPECIAL!!

I really appreciate word-of-mouth referrals most of all. Because I like them so much, if you refer someone to me and they order a commission or buy a print, I will give you 50% off the price of your commission or print! Just let me know in some way (PM, Email, comment here, what have you) that you directed someone to me. You don't even have to be close friends with them; just knowing that you guys are looking out for me is enough. :D (One per person per referral, please. Meaning, if they order three commissions, you only get one at the special price. I have to eat, yanno. XD)

COMING UP ON THE DIVINEBIRD.COM SITE:
-- A newsletter feature, where you can enter your email and get notifications when the site is updated

--A revised front page, sans redundant info

--New art every week (as always!)

--A gallery of handknitted items for sale on The Divine Bird Etsy Shop

--The Forum will be revamped and made a little more prominent, since I'd like to see some conversation there--especially in the 'Requests' forum :D

--And finally, a redesign of the main "Stories from the Merchant Road" page. The list of images is getting too long to scroll through, so it's about that time to rework it. This may happen sooner rather than later.

FEEDBACK?

Please let me know if you have questions or see a mistake, etc. on my site. I will also be happy to do link exchanges with your sites, especially with my RL friends. XD We could all use the extra traffic, I think. ;)

That's it for now! Thanks for stopping by!

THE BIG REVEAL

It has been FOREVER since I updated, and last time it was for Secret Pal 7, too. XD This time, I eagerly awaited my last package from my pal, who was kind enough to email me beforehand.

So I collect this large, light UPS box today--and race inside, tear the tape off, and...and...and...

WELL, LOOK!!



Roving--LOTS of it, in blue and natural grey/white and even some CAMEL. And a spindle!! And a BOOK about spinning!

I learned how to spin on a borrowed spindle several months ago, but I returned the spindle to its owner. I haven't replaced it, and I really like spinning. NOW...NOW I have the opportunity to keep at it. I've already made yards and yards from the grey; I started playing with it the MOMENT I finished taking pics. XD

THANK YOU, SP!!! You've been the BEST!

WHOO!! MORE Yarn in the mail!!

Omg. I love Secret Pal 7. <3

My dear SP sent me my first package today, and it makes me so happy! I got a copy of Yarn Harlot's "At Knit's End", a box of Toblerone chocolates, an ADORABLE grey sheep tape measure (XD) and best of all, a skein of Mountain Colors BEARFOOT--what an awesome name for a GORGEOUS yarn!

Here's a pic of my haul:



...er, let me move the cat and see if you can actually SEE the stuff.



There, that's better. XD

This RULES.

THANK YOU, SECRET PAL!! <3

Site update

New pic up on divinebird.com; the Wednesday Merchant Road update is the Artillery Mage. Check him out, and if you stop by, sign the guestbook!

He's also upon DeviantArt under my chocobogoddess gallery.

That's all for now!

I Must Be Insane.

I have joined the Knitting Olympics.

In one of my less than perfect moves, I have decided to take Ms. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee up on her challenge. I plan at this point to be making a lace shawl--nothing hugely complicated, but a lace shawl nonetheless--from the metric ton of Fluffo I seem to have accumulated. Since I have never successfully completed a whole shawl, this WILL be a challenge for me. This also is on top of everything else I must do, which includes my normal art updates, working on a new portfolio, finishing up current commissions, helping my dad, reworking the novel, cuddling with my honey, and of course, the everyday little things that seem to take up more time than I expect.

...BRING IT ON, PEARL-MCPHEE!

I am ready. Just--well, caffeine doesn't count as a performance-enhancing drug, does it?

The Dartmouth Scarf

I give you the Dartmouth Scarf.



This was my Christmas gift to my little sister, who is doing her Master's degree at Dartmouth. She wanted one of the school scarves, but they sell for something like $80 at the co-op, and they're crappy acrylic. I decided to make her a REAL school scarf. This baby is all soft wool, boasts 21 stripes, and took me a couple of months to complete. It is, so far, the biggest labor of love I have yet undertaken.

Not that it was a difficult project, not by a long shot. It's just tedious and time-consuming to knit nothing but stockinette in the round for 5 1/2 feet. XD Plus, I couldn't knit it at the movies, for instance, because I needed to keep the row count even between stripes.

All in all, though, it was totally worth it. I am in love with this scarf. It is double-thick (it's basically a really wide tube), it's super warm, it can be worn any one of a dozen ways. I will be sorry to mail it off to teh Seester, but she already loves it (I gave her the 1/2 finished object at christmas) and I know she'll take care of it.

Besides, maybe she'll give out my card. ;)

New Year, New Business! New Site! Clicky!

Ok, so.

I've been working a temp assignment for the past few months, and it ended the day after Christmas. I'd been extremely sick (see last post for the gory details), and the prospect of going out to find yet another crap job for another few months made me feel even worse. I decided to let myself get better and then I'd think about what I would do next.

The result is that, two days later, I sat down with my (awesome) husband and told him I'd figured out just what I would do. It would take a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of discipline.

I've been doing small commission art for friends for a while now; there are several pieces I've put up here for print sales, but I've never really pursued a career using my character designs. That's all changing. As of today, January 4, 2006, I have reopened my secondary site divinebird.com and turned it into a real access point for commission art, print sales, and more.

Every Wednesday, a new image will go up with a vignette about the character portrayed. Today, I started with Neelie, a dye merchant who will act as the 'hostess' of my site. Later today, a second image will be added, and Neelie will be the one telling stories about the characters.

I have several commissions in progress now, and I am open to accept more. All new images going up on divinebird.com will be offered as prints here and on merchandise through cafepress.com, with items through DeviantArt also being added later once I get used to their designs. I know a lot of people watch me through my various sites (many thanks!!) and I hope that, even if you aren't interested in buying one of my pieces, you might think of someone else who would.

I suppose it clicked for me to try this after hearing yet another person ask me why I wasn't a full-time artist. I have a long way to go before I meet my own standards, and I am sure you will see changes as time goes on. I expect that of myself as an artist. By the same token, if I wait to become a 'serious' artist until I meet my own standards...well, let's just say that I don't think I'll ever do it. ;) I think a lot of you understand that!

I know I can do it.

Should I laugh or cry?

Well, here we are, December 24th. This is the day I think of as the real beginning of Christmas celebrations, since we usually go to my husband's father's house and then to my uncle's house in the evening. Then, on Christmas day, we go to my parents' first thing in the morning, my Granddad's for a few hours, and then my mother in law's.

*insert sound of record screeching here*

Yeah. Not this year.

I have been sick since Wednesday. I mean, sick, sick, throwing up, fever going up and down, dizzy, pain, sinuses, dehydration, can't eat anything since Tuesday, lost my voice yesterday SICK. Today is the first day I've felt human since this whole thing started.

First I had CGod call my grandparents to let them know we probably wouldn't see them on Sunday, since Granddad is on dialysis (sp?) and I'm not really into the idea of getting HIM sick. Ok, I can deal. We'll see them later in the week, all is well.

So then last night I'm thinking, I'm still feverish, I don't want to get my other grandma sick, either, and I'm really not going to be up for two parties at two houses, especially since I'm unable to talk and my head hurts when my husband even talks a little louder than normal--so maybe we'll forgo the Christmas Eve stuff. Not my favorite decision, but I really wanted to be up for going to at very least my parents' and my mom-in-law's.

Then today hits, and I'm still not 100%...so my husband calls my parents to see if the gifts have come yet (we ordered a ton of stuff online and had it shipped to their house instead of here) and my mom says, "If Jen is less than 100%, don't come over, since we can't afford to get sick, too."

While I understand their reasoning--my sister is on break from Dartmouth, my parents both can't take time off from work, and my brother is both working AND going to school--I was still hurt by the words. Everyone drills into my head how important 'family' is at Christmas (ever since I mentioned possibly breaking off and doing my own thing once I got married; imagine how well THAT went over) and yet, that very family was pretty much "don't come near us with your germs" when I just really want someone to make me a cup of tea and say "aww". I just want to hang out with them and have my Christmas morning like I have for just about every one of my 30 years. It sucks and I am really sad about it. Don't get me wrong--I am not coming down on my family here. I am mostly angry that I'm sick over the one holiday I actually WANT to see them on.

Well, after hearing that, I had my husband call HIS mom to make sure we shouldn't go there, either, which is a good thing--his uncle is visiting and HE'S got heart problems, which means someone as sick as *I* have been would be a very bad addition to the party. So I'm all about to feel crappy again, when CGod says, "my mom wants to know if she can bring Christmas to us."

Basically, she's bringing over our gifts today and some food tomorrow, because she feels really bad that we can't have ANY of our Christmas plans. On top of that, one of my best friends in the world is coming by to show me the proud result of my teaching her to knit (yay) and then tomorrow, we may just end up going to visit Jeff & Kristin, who have promised delicious chicken soup and lots of fun people to make us feel better.

All in all, the holiday is not a waste, but it is turning out very differently than I had planned. It's hard like this, when I'm up to going out but am afraid of getting certain people sick. At family gatherings, there's so much hugging, so much closeness, and I really need to be able to curl up in the back of the action and just chill. It also sucks that I can't talk, which means at a family function I'll have to either wear a tag that says "don't ask me how I am, I can't tell you" or try to explain in a whisper that I can't talk while all the noise of the party is going on around me.

And now I need to go neaten up more. My inlaws are coming and my house is a disaster, and I am moving verrrrry slowly today.

*hugs all*

Finished: One "Hat of D00M"

So-called because it was knit on little needles and with finer yarn than I should have used and it just took for EVER AND EVER OMG...

Check out the pics, taken in a dark kitchen with no flash, and only my computer monitor for light!!

This one is the best for color. It's just before I threaded the last sts at the crown.



Another shot with all the needles:



And the finished product!



The pattern is from Knits from the Heart, a book by Kristin Spurkland. The yarn is called Cashmere Luxury Aran, which is essentially a Debbie Bliss Cashmerino knockoff. With less cashmere, I do believe. Bought last year at ACMoore. It's quite soft, and the fabric really is pretty and has a nice drape.

I call it the hat of D00M also because it was begun on a bamboo circular needle, and you know, next time I'm doing the whole darn thing on dpns. That circ KILLED my fingers.

Some catch-up stuff

Isn't she CUTE??? This is my kitty in a paper bag. XD

In other news: tomorrow I bake--the apple crisp I made for Thanksgiving went over so well that I'm going to be making some for the game group. Before THAT, however, I am spending the morning at my dad's.

A few months ago, one of the owners of my LYS (the wonderful Criations) lent me her Turkish drop spindle so I could learn the basics of how to spin.

She reminded my husband last week that I still had it. Erg. I meant to return it, like, a couple weeks later--instead, it's been months. My apologies, Erica.

Since I like making things with my hands, and I have full access to my father's wood shop (he's a cabinetmaker, after all) I figured I'd make some of my own. I'll be posting them up here when I do. I think I have the construction down, so we'll just have to actually MAKE the things.

And that's about it. Doing a lot of knitting for the holidays, about to start writing on Created again, and trying to work some art in there someplace.

Holy crap, I finished NaNoWriMo.

In the middle of doing NaNoWriMo (I WON! SEE MY ICON! XD) and knitting holiday gifts, just because gifts, commissions, and charity things, I decided suddenly upon getting my copy of AlterKnits in the mail that I just HAD TO MAKE the fingerless glove/mitten/lace up thingies.

For myself.

Right now.

I just HAPPENED to have two skeins of Manos del Uruguay handy--the pattern really only needs one, but hey. I have two. I just HAPPENED to be looking for something to make out of them that I could wear this winter, along with the scarf and hat/band/earwarmer thingy I'm making out of the Debbie Bliss Soho I got from my secret pal a couple of months ago.

So here we are, some very warm, very pretty (*I* think) fingerless arm warmer thingies.

Because warm thingies are nice.




So you can see the ribbon and the gusset:


OH and this is neat, too--a scarf I made from the yarn my pal spun and sent to me. I love how it ended up striping at one end. XD I get so many compliments on it when I wear it; it goes with everything I own. For this, I just did feather and fan and knitted the whole darn skein 'til it was gone.





And then some UFOs:

This one is made from handspun alpaca, by my favorite LYS owner's alpacas. :) The colorway is called Citrus, and it really is beautiful. The colors are more subtle in real life. She is going to be dyeing some of the same yarn in the same colors, only with the greens prevalent for the body of my sweater. Yellow isn't my best color, but green is fantastic on me. :)




This next is my own design. I wanted to knit Pac-man eating the dots and chasing ghosts; the best and easiest way for me was to knit him side-to-side. I learned fair isle, intarsia, and charting for this. :) Part 2 is in the works, and will be 3-needle bound off when done. :)



And a close-up:


I know, pic-heavy. :) I have been sitting on some of this for a while now. :)

WHOO! Yarn! In the Mail!!

Wow, two updates in this blog in one week? You guys are SO lucky. :P

Yesterday in the mail, I received this mysterious box:



And I was like, huh, who sent me a package?

And then I opened it...and it was...

THIS.



Want a closer look? How 'bout THIS FREAKING NEAT cloud-colored thick N thin uberbulky yarn:



And THIS "college" by Filatura di Crosa (HEART!!!)



AND THIS...the thing that made me actually squeal like a ninny, KOIGU OMG OMG:



And among the cool things? A diy pin, a cute card (with bunnies! in costumes!), a wine charm kit, a felted heart keychain (XD), a martini magnet, a little candle, and a chinese flower knot template!! So many cool and wonderful things.

I think I already have a pattern in mind for the College, and the Koigu has gone onto my Yarn Pedestal of Admiration and Petting, and the bulkytwistysoftsoftsoft yarn is starting to tell me it wants to be something specific, but I just don't know what. Yet.

I will speak more about these later. For now, I must admire and bask in the delight of new, beautiful, and awesome yarn and fun little gifties. :)

THANK YOU!!!!

Well, I AM a Writer, Too

I keep forgetting that I haven't, oh, updated this blog with one of the four passions listed in my very blog title: Writing. I've talked about gaming, talked a LOT about knitting, and the geekery has pretty much been evident, I think...but writing?

Of course, this could also be because I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, and I'm completely frazzled. For those of you who don't know what the insanity is all about, here's the short version: You have to write 50,000 words in ONE NOVEL between November 1 and November 30. You can't write the same word 50,000 times, and you can't count anything you've done before November 1 or after November 30 toward your word count. You also can't edit, can't rework, can't stop yourself from writing whatever comes out. It's all about quantity over quality, for as they say, "December is for editing."

As of this moment, my word count is at 33,002. I have eight days in which to write the remaining 16,998 words. I can do it, actually.

I tried this a couple of years ago but had to stop due to an arm injury. Last year I didn't remember in time, and I realized I had missed it right about at Thanksgiving. This year, I'm going to do it.

I'm bending one of the rules slightly, since my story IS actually a work in progress, however, I don't count anything I have done before, and in fact my story has taken a very different turn at times because I'm starting from scratch with it. I know the characters, I know what I want the scenes to contain, and I know what I want the end to be. I consider everything I've done before to be a really detailed outline for this month.

I've also learned some things about myself and how I write. For instance, I found that saying "omg 2k words per day?? TOO MUCH!!!" is nothing but a way to convince myself it's impossible. Now I think 2k is a cop-out, since I have had days where I've done 4k without breaking a sweat.

Another thing is that I write more when I'm supposed to be doing something else. XD If I write between calls, I find that I'm eager to get the next few sentences down THE SECOND my customer hangs up. :) This keeps me moving all day, since I have time while the customer is on the phone to mull over what I'll say next--and before I know it, 4k is done.

At this rate, I SHOULD be done by now, but honestly, I haven't written every single day. I do far less on the weekends than I do during work days.

I ALSO found that I like round numbers. Seeing a word count of 2875 makes me think, 'why can't I get to 3000? Not even 200 words away--hell, 200 words is usually the limit on a bio on a forum, and I always get cut off on those!' And before I know it, I'm actually to 3542, and I think, 'less than 500 to get to the next thousand...I have half an hour, I can do it!'

Granted, what I'm writing is mostly crap. But there is a lot to be found in there, and under the stilted dialogue, the melodrama, and the angsty characters, there's a lot that is salvageable and honestly good. It feels SO GOOD to see this story develop into a real tangible thing, something I can print out and read, something I can say, 'ok, time to change this' instead of saying 'I'll write it someday'.

And that's the REAL point behind NaNoWriMo. Someday is NOW. There is no reason why you can't write a novel in a month. 50k? Pfft. Go for 100k. Write your 50k and then don't stop. Keep going. Edit it later, get it all out now. Don't think about it. Let your characters talk to you. Let them get secrets off their chests. Let the plot turn silly or serious.

So, yes. Writing.

THIS HAS TO STOP. NO, NOW. I MEAN IT.

OK, I can deal with people liking ponchos--it's fine, really. To each their own. But...this whole "Martha Stewart Poncho" thing has GOT TO STOP.

Let's think about this, ok? A woman breaks the law and, in one of the few times I think justice is being served (albeit lightly, but hey, she didn't murder anyone or anything), she goes to jail. Fine. She serves her (short) time, while her media empire bravely chugs along without her (sniff sniff sniffle) and then, when she leaves jail, she is seen wearing a...a PONCHO. That another inmate made for her.

The knitting/crocheting/textile crafting world goes CRAZY. I mean it. Every major yarn brand creates a version of THE PONCHO. They call it clever things like the "Going Home" poncho (now for dogs, too!), the "Home Again" poncho. I'm waiting to see a "Free at LAST" poncho. Don't laugh--it'll happen. Mark my words. Even Lily Chin, a lady whom I admire and usually respect, has created a version.

NO, people! NO! Why do you do this? Martha wasn't wrongfully incarcerated, or held hostage, or heck, she wasn't even innocent. She did a crime, did her time, and manipulated every single one of you poncho-knittin'/crochetin'/whateverin' people into believing that you were bereft without her and couldn't find your way in the dark, dark months that she was gone and OMG SHE'S BACK AND SHE LOOKS FABULOUS!!!

Or maybe you WERE bereft, and really, that's just sad. Feel bereft when your grandma dies, or when your dog runs away, or when your brother moves across the country. Want to celebrate/glamorize the return or coming home of someone? Knit or crochet something in red, white, and blue when the servicemen come home alive.

Do I hate Martha Stewart? No. I've been known to pick up her magazine from time to time. I have thought, 'hey, that's a good idea' on occasion. But honestly, people. I hate the poncho. I hate the spin and I hate the glamour around it. Let the poncho die.

Godsdammit. I was GOING to write about my life recently, the fact that my new job and its hours have turned my life upside down and the fact that today is my FOURTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY with the always awesome (if dish-washing-deficient) CGod. ;) But NOOO, I have to see Martha Stewart's show auctioning off A WHOLE SLEW of ponchos in some of the ugliest yarn I've ever had the misfortune to lay eyes upon.

Thanks, Lion Brand. Whoo.

:P