Harley is sick

Harley ate something that didn't agree with him or he picked up something at the obedience class Friday night. He's had the runs since Saturday night and is getting dehydrated. He felt well enough to play with bubbles yesterday but then was sick again during the night. If he's not better tonight, I'm taking him to the vet. There is no vomiting and he has a good appetite, so I am trying not to overreact, but it's hard not to when you love a dog so much.

In other news... I plotted out twenty or so new scenes to add to my book. Some of them aren't true scenes, just extra bits and pieces, but I think they'll round it out a little bit. I'll start working on the writing of those today on the way to work.

And finally, I'm restarting the South Beach diet today for real. I have "restarted" before but didn't make it past day three. This time is different. This time I am fully, 100% committed to it. I am going on Phase 1 and won't go off until I've gotten rid of these crazy carb cravings. I know how to lose weight, I just haven't cared more about losing weight than I did about my next chocolate or fast food fix. I appreciate any support or prayers you have to give. I know exactly how hard it will be, I've done it before. But, I also know how rewarding and exciting it is when my weight starts to drop. I have too many reasons to lose and only one reason... addiction... to cheat. Wish me luck.

New Writing Class

A couple of years ago my dad and I took a memoir writing class at the college. We enjoyed the class and the other people in it so much that we all formed a writer's group that has been meeting monthly ever since. The teacher from that original class is part of our group and now she is teaching a class called Advance Your Fiction. Dad and I signed up for it and I went to the first meeting last night. He couldn't go because his forensic locksmithing organization has their convention this week. It turns out that the lady next to me is another Ren Fest geek and we kept getting into trouble because we couldn't stop talking.

Our teacher, Susan Moger, asked us to set a goal for the four week class. I wrote down on my paper that I was going to read my rough draft, all 100,000 words, and then add 10,000 words to it. But the one guy in the class other than my dad said that he was going to write 15,000 words so I scratched out the 10 and made it a 20. The ren fest gal said, "You're not competitive at all, are you?" No, of course not. I just like to have a bit of a challenge!

My project at work is foundering. I am doing my best, but I don't know if it will be good enough. We have a meeting about it tomorrow and the whole thing might take on a completely new direction. How frustrating. At least the uncertainty meant I could come home on time with a good conscience and I'll deal with tomorrow when it gets here. For now, Harley and I are going to bed!

No Rest for the Wicked

Let's see, on May 5th I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The following weekend was my three day camping trip to Virginia. The weekend of the 19th my mom and I went shopping and saw Spidey 3 and Dad and I went to our writer's group meeting. Last weekend was four days of Balticon 41. That's a lot of busyness for an entire month of weekends. You would think I had earned a rest, right? Not hardly.

Today we went into DC for Learning and Product Expo: Art! DC 2007. They had a juried show with one of my mom's pictures in it. They didn't have the good taste to give her an award for it, but it was an honor just to have a picture in the show. It's not my favorite of her pictures, but you can judge it for yourself here.

I bought a lot of art and scrapbooking supplies and we took a watercolor class together. I was actually enjoying the class until the end. The teacher asked me to take my picture to the front of the class so he could demo something on it. I was so flattered until he took out a spray bottle and splattered all but a tiny spot with blue paint and then splotched a couple of ugly purple flowerlike objects on that one spot. It was horrible. My mom knew immediately that I was very angry and leaned over to reassure me that she would help me fix it, but it was too late. The entire picture is ruined. It wasn't good before he destroyed, but now it's hopeless. I would think I was just being picky, but one of the other students and I talked afterwards and she gave me her sympathies because she was appalled at what he had done. It was the very end of the class and I think he got in a hurry and just didn't care what he did. He's probably so used to slopping these things together that he forgets how much work this is for students. Idiot.

Tonight I got out my new colored pencils and pad of paper and tried to do the first of the exercises in one of my books. It turned out pretty badly. I guess I should have saved my time and money and done a little computer art instead. At least with computer stuff you can always hit CTRL-Z and undo the mistakes.

I'm ready for a break, but I won't get it anytime soon. Next weekend I'm meeting with my accounting client to talk about his website and his bookkeeping and one of the guys from work wants me to redo his website. In the meantime I'm working on a complete solution for the 30 Stories in 30 Days website and I still need to rewrite my novel and figure out whether or not it's salvageable.

Anyone want to guess why I haven't been blogging lately? LOL

30 Stories in 30 Days Has Begun

I don't know if you remember, but I decided to do a challenge similar to NaNoWriMo. I'm trying to give myself a break from my novel and force myself to look at new ideas, so I came up with the 30 Stories in 30 Days challenge. I was going to start on April 1, but that wasn't possible, so I began on April 2 and will run it until May 1st. I know, it's a little off, but then so am I.

The rules are simple, write 30 stories of at least 1,000 words for 30 days. If you write a story that is more than 3,000 words, it counts as 2. If you write one that is more than 6,000 words, write a novel!

I started a story yesterday but it wasn't going well. I started another one this morning, but it was having problems, too. Finally, I started one during the drive home tonight and it went as smoothly as silk. It came in at just about 3,000 words, so I can count it as two. That means I'm right on track!

My dad started this challenge with me. He finished the NaNoWriMo challenge before I did, so he'll probably show me up this time, too. I don't care because it means I get to read more of his writing. There is nothing in the rules that says your story has to be fiction, so he's doing memoir pieces. I may do one of those later this month, we'll see. The story I started this morning was from Harley's point of view, but it wasn't working. I still like the idea, but I'll have to start over.

It's not too late to join us, you know. If you can't catch up, do 28 stories in 28 days. Anything is better than nothing.

It's done!

The book is done, at least the rough draft is, and on Harley's birthday, too! I have pictures for you, of Harley's birthday, not the book, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for those. I actually finished at 12:02 this morning, so Harley's birthday is technically over, but who is to say that my clock was accurate to the minute? Besides, if I want to say I finished on Harley's birthday, I'm gonna. After all, the book isn't actually done, just the rough first draft. I have about 102,000 words written and by the time I'm really done, I'll have half again as many, I think. So, I can say I finished on Harley's birthday because the few words I wrote after the clock ticked over to 12 could be officially part of the rewrite, so there.

Anyway, it feels amazing to have this much done, and I'm actually looking forward to the rewrite. In the morning I'll have probably come to my senses, but at the moment, I'm feeling pretty good about myself and my book. Yay for me!

Maybe I can finish this after all

My dad and I talked about my book tonight and I think I know what I need to do to finish it. I have to go back a few pages and rewrite what I already have. That will solve the "I've painted them into a corner, now what I do" kind of problem I've been having and will let me finally get the rest of the story on paper. Whether it will be any good or not is not my concern right now. Finishing it is enough for me to worry about at the moment.

I have a question...

When someone says something hurtful to you and then says, "Oh, I'm just kidding" do you assume they were being truthful the first time or the second? I know I'm a bit paranoid, but I usually believe the first statement. I think that people tend to say what they are really feeling and then cover it with the "I'm kidding" comment. It frees them up to say something impolite, but true. A friend of mine performs in local venues and I truly enjoyed going to watch him. But, even though I've asked to be kept informed about when and where he's performing, I never get the schedule. When I asked about it, I asked if they did it on purpose because they don't like having me there (they have not seemed to enjoy my company when I have gone in the past.)

They said, "You figured us out... it took you long enough." Then, of course, came the "Oh, we're just kidding" comment, but still no schedule information. Am I just being paranoid? I honestly don't know. I do know that I won't ask again, and I won't go even if asked. I have spent my life not being wanted, it is impossible for me to trust that I am wanted now. It's a lot easier to stay home and write.

Then again, how will I ever handle the rejection that will inevitably come when I try to get published.

R & R

I decided to take a couple of days of Rest and Relaxation before tackling the task of finishing the rough draft of my novel. I read a chapter to a tiny writer's group I belong to at work and they were very complimentary. The problem is I'm reading this stuff and thinking it just isn't good enough. I have never been good at rewriting and I'm worried that I won't be able to polish it up as well as I need to so that it can find a publisher. I also worry that I can't retain all of the great advice I have been reading lately and I won't be able to apply it even if I remember it. It sucks being a perfectionist.

I found a game that Harley likes even more than the laser pointer. I dragged out a toy I bought for him last year and he went nuts. It looks a little like this. It is basically a horse's longe whip with a bit of sheepskin at the end. It acts like a doggy fishing pole with me dragging the sheepskin lure along the ground around me and Harley dashing around to get it. If I go in circles long enough, he cuts right through the circle and tackles it. A few times he hit it so hard that he rolled over, but he always came up with the toy in his mouth. We played for a looong time today, and he has been more quiet tonight than he ever is, usually. I wish I had video to show you just how much he loves it.

I have been really disappointed in American Idol this year. Only Chris Sligh shows any promise at all, everyone else is boring, boring, boring. I wish I had Season 2 on tape, I'd just watch it instead. I know that no one will ever compare to Clay Aiken, who could, but I keep hoping that someone will come along that is almost as good or as interesting. It's not happening this year, I'm afraid.

As long as I'm on the subject of TV... what do you think of Lost and/or Heroes? Isn't it fantastic to have two shows on TV that get it right? For some reason TV really lets us down when it comes to Fantasy or Science Fiction. For ever Twilight Zone there are a dozen My Favorite Martians or Battlestar Galactica. Other than Quantum Leap, which really was more about the people's stories and less about fantasy or sci fi, I can't remember any show I've liked better. I don't know why everyone is complaining about having to wait for the answers to all the mysteries. I'm enjoying it exactly the way it is. I just wish there were more episodes in a year... would one a day be too many?

I Didn't Quite Make It

I finished the month with just over 40,000 words written. I wouldn't have done that much if my best buddy, Chris, hadn't helped me over a rough patch in the story. With his help, though, I broke through the block and so I was able to add over 3,000 words tonight. I killed off the major baddie, revealed the answer to the big mystery and only have a few thousand words left to finish the rough draft. I think it all hangs together pretty well, but there will be a lot of rewriting left to do when I finish. At least the first draft is almost done, and if I didn't quite meet either of my goals... writing 50,000 words or finishing the first draft... I am closer to finishing than I would ever have gotten without those goals to push me to write. I actually enjoyed writing tonight, once I got started, and remembered why I like writing at all. The last week or so has been torture as I keep hitting snags. I need to remember to ask Chris when that happens next time. I can hardly believe I have 90,000 words towards my novel. How exciting is that??

Feeling like a failure

It's the 26th and I've only written 35,500 words this month. I have no chance of finishing on Wednesday, not without missing a couple of days from work, and probably not even then. I am glad I got that much done, but I let myself down. I should have written more this weekend. I should have written more, period. It was a lot easier to write in November, probably because it was the early part of the book and the stakes weren't so high. Now I'm at the end of the book and I want it to be perfect. That's slowing me down more than any other factor. I wish I could just finish this thing and get on to the rewrite stage. I am going to hate this book before I'm done if this keeps up.

Onto other things... After playing with Harley and the laser pointer he came up lame the next day. He must have hurt his foot while running around in the dark. He wouldn't put his foot on the ground most of the next day and was still limping into the following day. I guess that wasn't as good an idea as I thought it was.

I took him out with me yesterday to try sledding for the first time. We had about 4-5 inches of snow and it was good, wet snow so it was really slick. He liked it when I let him run around, chasing me, but he didn't like riding on the sled. On the other hand, he jumped on Dad's back, and rode him down to the bottom of the hill. Unfortunately, I had already put the camera away, so I didn't get that taped. The snow is already mostly melted today, so no more sledding. I hope we get one more sledding day this year. Last year we only had two sledding days. I want more!

I finally saw the finale of Beauty and the Geek tonight. My favorite guy, Nate, lost, but he was happy about it. He felt that the only way that his horrible partner (my word, not his) could learn anything from the experience would be if she lost. So he told all of the housemates to vote for the other team. I love that boy. What a great heart he has.

Slogging On

I'm trying not to think about word counts tonight. I'm so far behind that it will take a miracle for me to finish my goal. I'm trying to focus on finishing my book instead. This thing is like the neverending story. It keeps growing and growing and growing (kinda like my waistline.)

If I ever finish this thing, and that's a big if, it's going to be a lot longer than I had originally planned. That's not a bad thing, as long as it's well written. I hesitate to go back and read it for fear I'll find out it's all crap. I know, I know, every writer goes through this, at a certain point we all hate our own stories and think we're hacks. But, we can't all be wrong, can me? Some of us have to suck. For every Diana Gabaldon or Diane Duane or Dianna Wynne Jones there are a thousand, even a hundred thousand wannabes. (What is it about the name Diane, anyway. I just realized that my main character's name is a form of the shared first name of three of my favorite authors... weird. I need an Edgar, an Isaac and a Georgette now, too.)

Ok, I'm rambling, enough for tonight. Time to take Harley and go see if I can dream up another story idea that will torture me while I try to put it on paper.

A Lot of Work

If I had realized how much work it was going to be to write this book, I am not sure if I would have had the courage to start it. Even now, more than 76,000 words into it, I am not sure I have what it takes to finish it. Somewhere along the way I began to enjoy part of the process, though, and I can only hope that with more practice, it will get easier and I can spend more time enjoying the writing and less time agonizing over every word.

Every time I think I have the end of the book planned out, I realize that I need to add or change some of the details. Each time I do that, I am positive that THIS time I have it, this time I am ready to finish the book. Then, I write a few thousand words and realize something is missing or isn't going to work. Tonight I'm in the positive end of that cycle. I sat down with my mom, then my dad, and then with my bestest friend, Chris, and outlined the ending. I still have to actually write it, but now I have a definite plan and I am feeling good about it. To celebrate, I took the evening off and watched TV and played Freecell. Word count, schmerd count, right?

2,700 Words

2,700 Words... that's how many I need to write every day between now and the end of the month to make my goal of 50,000 in February. I was sick most of this last week and so I did no writing. Yesterday my computer broke down and I spent 12 hours getting it working again. Needless to say, I didn't get any writing done then. I wrote 5,700 today, so that helped me catch up a little bit, but I'm still about 9,000 words behind schedule. At this point I will be happy just to finish the first draft, whether I hit my word count or not. I am close, but at the moment I have them written into a corner, literally, and I haven't figured out how to get them out. I think I'll sleep on it and see what my dreams come up with. They might as well help me rescue them, since it was a dream that gave me the idea for this book in the first place.

I was very tempted to quit on the whole idea of writing this last week. I hate getting so depressed and dreary. It always looks so lame and ridiculous when I look back on it, but at the time the feelings are so intense and real that there is nothing remotely funny about it. I think I need better drugs... the legal kind of course.

You know what I love? Ice cream in winter. Doesn't it just make you smile? I prefer it to ice cream in summer because it doesn't melt so fast and you can enjoy it longer. Of course, some people think it's too cold, but cold doesn't bother me. We've had temperatures in the low teens around here, and I have only worn my coat once. Then again, I did end up sick last week. Maybe there is a connection. Nah....

Bummed

I really wanted a lot of snow, but we haven't gotten it. The big bosses told us we could go home at 2:00, but I was the only one in my department who had left by the time I got out of there at 2:30. The drive home was uneventful, there was not much snow, just a lot of ice. The roads I drive on are mostly freeways, though so they were all clear. Maybe a miracle will happen and the snow will pile up overnight, giving me a snow day. It won't happen, but I can dream.

I have been teaching HTML on my lunch hour at work and last week one of my coworkers came to me and asked if I could help her with a website for the ice cream parlor she and her husband own. The two gals in my HTML "class" agreed to help her and so we created her site. You can see it here... Carousel's Ice Cream. She's pretty happy with it and she is going to give it to her husband as a Valentine's Day gift. I guess if I can't have love of my own I can contribute to someone else's. (bit of self pit there, ya think?)

I have been watching Beauty and the Geek and I am happy that Nate is going to the finals tomorrow night. I like him so much. He reminds me of my old friend, Chris. He's kind and unassuming and yet very sexy. Unfortunately, his partner in the game is a selfish, mindless, thoughtless, classless loser and if he wins she wins. I don't know whether to root for Nate or root against CeeCee. Maybe there could be a compromise, Nate wins and CeeCee gets hit by a bus. That works for me.

I got only 1500 words done yesterday and just over 400 today. I'm going to have to throw all of that out, too, which stinks. But, according to the rules, even if I can't use it, it counts. The ending of this stupid book is taking longer to write than half of the rest of the book. While I was driving home tonight, I came up with another solution to some of the problems I'm having with the ending. I should have come home and started writing while I was still excited, but first there was dinner, and then we watched TV and then I watched more TV and now it's almost 10:00 and all I've accomplished is emptying out some of the shows on my TiVo. I get so mad at myself. It's like when you know you shouldn't have those cookies, but you just can't stop. Then all of your hard work gets wasted. That's the story of my life. Wanna read it?

Weekend Over - Still Behind

I can't believe the weekend is over already. I got about 3,500 words done today so I'm still over two days behind. I just couldn't write anymore. I'm not sure of the exact number because I spent a lot of time rewriting some of it so that it would fit better with my new ending. I'm at 17,600 words or so for the month so far and over 70,000 on the book overall.

I quit around five or six and spent the rest of the night updating my LibraryThing list. I had ordered a Cue Cat from them. It is a barcode reader thingie, and all I have to do is pass it over the barcode on my books, and it adds them to my list. I have over 400 books in my list now and I haven't even really gotten started. Most of the books I added tonight are the joke, trivia and quote books that I keep near my computer for the Giggles. Soon I want to take the laptop into my bedroom and scan in all of the fiction and writing reference books as well as the other odds and ends I keep in there. I don't know why I'm spending all of this time, except it is fun in a very geeky way.

I feel bad that I did not make my word goal today, but on the plus side, I finally watched the Lost episodes that have been sitting on my TiVo since November. Now, if I can only get caught up on Desperate Housewives...

More Plotting More Writing

I thought last Saturday that I had worked out all of the plotting I would need to finish the book. But in the last couple of days I realized that my pacing was off. When I finished last night's section with them stopping to take a nap only a sections from the climax, I knew that I had a problem. Mom and I went out to Olive Garden and talked about the problems. She claims she is not a writer, but my mom is clever and creative and we managed to rethink the ending sequence. I am excited because I think this ending is going to work well.

I have had trouble getting my butt in the chair and my hands on the keyboard, but I finally started writing about 6 tonight. I got 3,845 words written, bringing the total for this month to 14,152. I am only 3,705 words behind schedule. If I manage to get more than 4,000 words done tomorrow, I will be less than a full day's writing behind. It would take 5,491 to get my completely caught up. I know, too many numbers. Did I mention that I used to be an accountant?

The story is getting pretty exciting. I wish I could share it with you, I would love your feedback, but you may have to wait until it goes on sale to read it. At the rate I work, that could be a decade or so. You won't mind waiting, will you?

I put a little content on the 30Stories30Days.com website, but I am just testing out some applications. I may move it to this server, I have to talk to my friend and see if he has room for another of my websites. I am pretty sure I will be doing that challenge in April. Any of you thinking about joining me? It is less of a volume commitment than NaNoWriMo, but it will take more creativity as you will have to come up with 30 plots, 30 sets of characters, 30 settings, etc. You might want to start jotting down ideas but remember, you shouldn't start writing until the day the challenge starts. There are no prizes if you finish, but I would be happy to give you a certificate showing that you did it. :)

I should be getting to bed, I have a lot of writing to do tomorrow, but I am waiting for my dad to get home. He's been in Cuba all week and should be home in about ten minutes. Mom and I have missed him, but maybe not as much as the dogs have. They love their grandpa.

Friday!

Last night's blog didn't make much sense, and I should change it, but I'm just as tired tonight so I'm going to leave it alone. I managed to write 1,821 words tonight. I quit in the middle of a scene because I am just too tired to care. I am sure Mom will holler at me in a minute when she gets to that point, but she'll just have to wait until tomorrow. I am not very happy with what I wrote tonight and I may have to redo part of it in the morning. That's ok, maybe in the morning I will love it. You really never know.

I registered a new domain name today. It's 30stories30days.com. Want to guess what it is for? I can't remember, have I mentioned the idea I had that I want to try after I finish this book? I want to write 30 stories (of 1,000+ words each) in 30 days. I thought that maybe I could convince some other crazy writers to join me and, if so, that website could be our home. Don't bother checking out the site tonight, it has nothing on it so far. I will let you know when it has content on it, and if you want to give the 30 stories idea a try, just say the word. Crazy folk should stick together... just look at most families.

*There is Mom hollering now!

Week Two

I have been blogging for just over a week so far and, not so coincidentally, today is the first day of the second week of my second "Write a Novel in a Month" month.

To write 50,000 words in February requires an average of 1,786 words a day. That means that I should have 14,288 words done by now. I finished tonight with 2,141 words, so I am now at 8,486, leaving me 5,802 behind schedule. I'm gaining! I actually wrote 2400+ words today, but somehow lost a chunk of over 300 words. When I'm this far behind, every word counts.

If it seems like I am obsessed with quantity over quality, it is because I am. The thing is, I am such a perfectionist when I am writing that if don't force myself to write this way, I spend so long agonizing over each word, each phrase and each sentence, that I give up and don't write at all. Besides, without a definite deadline, I am so lazy that I would get nothing done. This way, I write down the bare thread of the story in a relatively short amount of time, and then I can go back and fix it all later. Since plotting and maintaining a narrative thread is what I find most difficult, it frees me up in rewriting to concentrate on the finer points, like believable dialogue, good grammar and honest characterizations.

Speaking of the latter, I had an argument today with a coworker who agrees that Tolkien is too bogged down with detail to be interesting but disagrees that the core reason the books are boring is because the characters aren't believable or engaging. Ah well, as she says, we will agree to disagree. (As long as we both know I am right, I am okay with that.) This is the same friend who gets annoyed because I say that I do not argue unless I am right. She thinks that I am boasting, but actually I am just telling the truth. I will argue opinion, because my opinion is as valid as the next gal's and I think everyone has the right to express their own opinion, even when they are wrong. But, wen I say I don't argue unless I am right I am talking about arguments of fact. I will not waste my time or yours arguing about some fact or other unless I know what I am talking about. If I am not sur of my facts, I will say so, But, if I argue with you about what actress played what role in a movie, or what breed of dog we are looking at, etc., don't waste your breath. I am right, you are wrong, get over it. That's not arrogance, just the truth.

Dragon Software

I wrote 2,279 words today, so I gained a little (very little) on all of that lost ground. I am fairly happy with what I've written, but I know it's going to take a lot more rewriting than usual to make it good enough to make me happy. Partially that is because I am writing my first novel. I have never written any one single piece that was longer than a few thousand words. This one is close to 60,000 words, well over 10 times the previous record. It is much harder to maintain a certain narrative tone, not to mention sustain a plot, for this long. When I finish the first draft, I will go back and treat each section like a separate short story. Maybe that will help me fix the flaws of this version. The other barrier I have to writing my best is that I am dictating a large portion of my daily output with something called Dragon Naturally Speaking Software. I have it installed on my dad's laptop and I carry it in the car and I use all of that otherwise wasted commute time to get some writing done. It's not ideal, but I am not sure how much writing I would be getting done without it. It is funny when I look down and see that I have been yelling at other drivers, though. Tonight I saw this line in the middle of my paragraph, "Don't mess with me, buddy!" That is not something one of my fantasy characters would say. ;)

Anyway, tonight's tally is 2,279 words and this month so far is 6,345. I am still 6,155 words behind schedule. I better get cracking!

Meetings Galore

I spent almost the entire workday in meetings. The morning and all of lunch was taken up in a meeting with the owners and sales staff, trying to get them excited and educated about something new we have developed. Some of them got it, some didn't. It doesn't seem complicated to me, but then I've been doing this whole web thing for years. Some of them are like my dad and go online only to get their email and would prefer not to do that, either, so this is going to take a while for them to understand.

Most of the afternoon was spent teaching my HTML class. I started out a couple of months ago with eight students, and now I'm down to two. The two that are left really want to learn, so it's ok with me. I just wish I could have inspired the others. I love teaching, but maybe I'm not that good at it.

I wrote in the car on the way to and from work, so I managed to get about 1100 words done today. I am very much behind schedule. I should have 10,714 done and I'm only at 4,066. I have got to pick up the pace or I'll never make it. The story is coming along, but I just wish it would hurry up. I'm impatient to see how it all turns out.

Book Excerpt

Here are the first two pages of my book. What do you think? Am I wasting my time?

“Milady? Pardon me, milady." Deana hurried to catch up with the townswoman crossing the otherwise deserted street. She had never visited Rakart'ver before, and she had expected to see folk running errands and taking care of business despite the early hour. Yet, other than the sleepy guard at the town gate, she had caught only glimpses of figures in the distance until now. The capital was quieter than the tiny village near her family's farm on a Sabbath morn.

At her call, the townswoman paused and allowed Deana to approach. "Yes?"

"Milady, can ye tell me how to find the Mage's Guild?"

The townswoman stepped back and pulled her shawl across her face. "Are you a mage, then?"

"Nay, milady, I hope to be, but I do not know where the Guild might be. Can ye help me?"

"You should turn and return home to your parents."

"Why do ye say such, milady? The life of a mage is an honorable one. Tis all I have e'er wanted." Deana frowned.

"Honorable, yes, but not much of a life, not now. Still, it is best if you learn of this from the Guild. Turn to your right at the next crossing and take the third left. Halfway to the next crossing, knock at the red gate. Do not forget, it is not yet too late to return home." Shaking her head, and with the shawl still covering her face, the townswoman turned and scurried off.

Deana stared after the townswoman, her flesh creeping. She thought about chasing after her and demanding an explanation, but decided against it. She was not far from the Guild and maybe the townswoman was right and she should ask her questions of the Guildmages. Shouldering her pack, she set off towards the crossing she had indicated.

With no folk there to see her gawking like the country lass that she was, she craned her neck to stare at the tall buildings she passed. Each of them was at least twice the height of her family's modest cottage. Ornate paintings surrounded every door frame and decorated the wooden shutters firmly closed over every window. Lush flowers dripped from boxes in front of most windows.

She turned right at the crossing and made the third left. The huge, red gate of the Mage's Guild shone in the early morning light. She paused outside; her head tilting back as she surveyed the immense building within. The towers and turrets rivaled those of the Duke's castle on the hill above the town.

What was she doing here? She had no business with a grand place such as this. Who was she, a simple shepherd's daughter, to think she could be a mage?
She dithered for a long moment, thinking on the townswoman's words, before lifting her hand to brush her knuckles over the red wood. No sooner had she let her hand fall to her side than the massive gate swung inward. Deana peered into the shadowy courtyard, but could see no one. She walked forward, her head swinging from side to side. The gate swung silently into place behind her.

"Greetings, Deana Trindle. Welcome to the Mage Guild." A deep voice issued from the arched doorway at the far end of the outer courtyard.

Deana tripped over her own feet, almost falling to one knee before recovering. "Mi-milord?"

A man stepped into sight. He was just over average height, not overly wide in either shoulders or waist, and his blue robes were simply cut. His brown hair and brown eyes were unremarkable. However, one look from his commanding gaze and no one could fail to recognize his status.

Deana dropped into a deep bow, her pack thumping to the flagstone path.

"Do not bow to me, Deana. I am no Lord." The Guildmage paced forward, one hand on her shoulder in welcome.

"Nay, Milord. My pardon, Milord."

He chuckled. "I am Guildmaster Tarak Shernfeld. Ye may call me Guildmaster or Tarak, tis yer choice. I am sure ye have many questions. Let us join the others in the hall and I will attempt to answer as many as I am able."

He turned to lead the way through the shadowed archway and Deana followed. She did not know much about the workings of a Guild, but surely the Guildmaster did not routinely meet new applicants to the order. Then there were those concerns the townswoman had expressed. Something odd was going on and she felt off-balance.

Beyond the archway, whose stones were etched with runes and symbols Deana did not recognize, there was a long entryway with graystone walls and a ceiling open to the floor above. Heavy oak doors lined the passageway. Guildmaster Tarak passed two of these, flinging open the third one and indicating with a short nod that Deana should precede him into the chamber before them.
Deana hesitated, and he gave her a reassuring smile. "Tis well, Deana. Ye will come to no harm in the Guild."

50,000 words in one month

In November I participated in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. I wrote just over 50,000 words in one month. The problem is that 50,000 words, though pretty impressive for a slacker like me, does not a complete book make. Since November I have only added 6,000 words to that total, leaving me far short of a completed novel. I'm not far from finishing the plot, but the book, as it stands now, is short, weak and sketchy.

My goal is to add another 50,000 words in February. I know, why pick the shortest month in the year? Why not? What's two days, more or less, and the sooner this is done, the sooner I can get back to the other book I have started. Then again, I have an idea to write 30 stories in 30 days, and I have to finish this book first.

So, that's how I plan to spend the next 27 days. So far I have about 800 words. That's a little behind schedule, but that's what weekends are for, right? I'll keep you up to date on my progress. Wish me luck!