lizvogel

I was ahead on NaNo, almost two days ahead. Now I'm almost 4000 words behind. I have an incontrovertible excuse: my mother's in the hospital with a fractured pelvis. I could bail on NaNo now with no recriminations, and if anybody looked at me sideways for it, I'd happily punch them in the eye. But that said, I've won NaNo every time I've committed to it, and I really like being able to say that. I'm going to keep going if I can.

Every time I've done NaNo, I've learned something from it. The first time was simply to see if I could do it at all. I learned that I could, and that if I kept going after the initial word reservoir ran dry, I'd usually get a second wind, and another decent chunk of words out of it. I also used it as a test run to see if the life of a full-time writer would suit me as well as I thought; I was working 100% freelance at the time, and I was able to clear the boards and do nothing but write. Conclusion: yes, that life would suit me very well.

The second time, I learned how to write that much while working a regular job. Not a full-time one, granted; I was working at the hardware store then, usually about three days a week. But it was a physically exhausting and mentally tiring job with no time off, and I managed my 50K anyway. I think there were some other things going on then, too, though it escapes me atm what.

I'd wondered what I was going to learn this time. It may be that this NaNo's lesson is how to write through adversity. Which I've done before, certainly, but never at this volume. Even if I don't make the full 50,000, whatever I do end up with will be worth the effort... and I might just be able to pull it off. 4K behind sucks, but it's not insurmountable.

Must go write now.

You know you can do this, because you've done it before.

Yes, the apocalypse is depressing. Go pet a cat.

Coffee, dammit.


4061 words and counting.

NaNo is coming, and I'm 97.326% sure I'm doing Apocollapse for it. Unlike previous years, there is much prep to be done, including organizing my research, compiling my notes, figuring out a major character's name, and putting together a writing mix -- which is where you come in, dear reader, if you have any suggestions to add.

What I've got so far is (almost certainly not in this order):

Sister Hazel, Sword and Shield  (lyrics)
Imagine Dragons, Demons  (lyrics)
Simple Minds, Summer  (lyrics)
Simple Minds, Walk Between Worlds  (lyrics)
? Simple Minds, The Signal and The Noise ?  (lyrics)
Haley Heynderickx, Untitled God Song  (lyrics)
Tears For Fears, Rivers of Mercy  (lyrics)
Tears For Fears, Master Plan  (lyrics)
Tears For Fears, The Tipping Point  (lyrics)
? The Decemberists, Calamity Song ?  (lyrics)
?? OK Go, Before the Earth Was Round ??  (lyrics)

As you can see, a range of musical styles/genres is fine; some of these things are not like the others. The more melodious strains of alternative/rock are my usual territory, with clever lyrics that can be reasonably clearly understood. The lyrics don't have to pertain to the prophesied destruction of the earth and everything on it; oftentimes my interpretations of songs are idiosyncratic at best. And sometimes (though rarely) it's just that something sounds right.

(ETA: There are probably several other songs that should be on this list; cf. needing to compile my notes. But more music is always welcome!)

So, what else should I be listening to?