4 more days!

I've spent way too much time this weekend on Nano-prep, and I'm totally geeked about it! 
That work stuff will happen tomorrow. That Christmas-present-making thing will happen when I need to step away from the computer and think during November. 

I have index cards on my chapter, character, places, and research board in Scrivener! 
chapters: potentially 9, which will hopefully expand into more as I start to write. In 2008, I had planned to have the MCs on the cruise ship by Chapter 3, and I don't think they got there until Chapter 14. 
characters: 11 who will feature in the novel, plus an assortment of 17 other minor characters if they need to be thrown in 
places: 3 actual and 1 fictional town that I added to the UP, between Thompson and Manistique, in case you wanted to look for the place where you will not find it if on a UP map. 
research: Menominee language, legends, and mythological figures

I have no idea how to make my own wallpaper, but I might have to. The ones I've found this year don't really fit my style or novel. (Why would they? These people don't know me. I don't blame them. Really.)

Off to search for pictures... 
and not write some more. 
I promise. 
No sentences until Thursday! 

Ten more days!

Yep. Ten more days. Or eleven, depending on whether or not you're counting the rest of today. I'm not. 

Pardon me while I take a few minutes to brag about this year's NaNoWriMo, as well as NaNo 2013 and 2014: I have a PLAN. It is a three-year plan. Okay, not a plan so much as an idea. Three ideas. Three vague notions flying around in the back of my brain. They've been bouncing around in there in some form or another for six years. Now is the year to call forth the plan and execute it in the manner in which I unexpectedly stumbled upon in 2006. 

What I've learned about NaNoWriMo since 2004: 

1. When I don't plan, sometimes (okay, one time) the characters took over and told me what was going on. That was an amazing thing. 

2. #1 doesn't happen every year. It's disappointing. 

3. When I do plan, the book is a lot more coherent and tends to contain less nano-babble (yes, it's a word. I just made it up.). 

4. It's a good thing that I know how to type. I am perpetually thankful to my mother who tortured me with take a year of typing class in high school.

So, there you go. In eight attempts, I've learned four things. I'm sure I've learned more than four, but those four are the most relevant. Oh - and I have a lot of fun writing when I don't take it seriously. I taking NOT taking Nano seriously very seriously. AND I got a royalty deposit this year. Amazon gave ME money  - and it wasn't a return. It was seriously cool. It was $10.64, but still... 

Now I should go off and do some of that planning that I mentioned.