NaNoWriMo

Ah, yes, that time of year has arrived: National Novel Writing Month, also called NaNoWriMo.  It's that time of months in which nerds, such as myself, gather from all corners of the globe to celebrate and practice one thing: the novel.  It is an event in which writers from all walks of life are challenged to tackle the great feat of writing 50,000 words in thirty days.  When you think about it: no, that's not actually a novel (it's a novella).  It's approximately 175 pages.  (To add a comparison, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone" is about 80,000 words.)  It's about quantity, not quality.  Odds are that the spawn of thirty days and 50,000 words will be crap, and that's okay.  It's expected, and even encouraged.  So why do we do it?  Why would this amount of stress (added onto the typical stress of college this year, nonetheless) be permitted?  Because it's simply fun.  I've always enjoyed it, despite the fact that I fail most years due to hatred of the plot after a while.

I started NaNo for the first time in 2005 when I was fourteen.  I was a member of the Harry Potter message board, DarkMark.com, and someone posted about it.  I was quite intrigued and vowed to try.  It resulted in my first real plot for a novel that wasn't fanfiction -- quite a feat, if you ask me.  The cover it produced was absolutely horrible, this I freely admit.  But still.  I tried.  Failed, but hey.  I tried.  I failed nearly every other time afterwards.  The one time I won wasn't official, but I decided to count it since I didn't do anything that November anyway.  I had just written the 50,000+ words in another month.  So there.

So why do I keep trying when I am probably destined to fail?  Especially now with college going full force.  It's just . . . fun.  The plotting and meeting others as crazy as me is a huge part of the excitement.  Added on to the fact that I'll finally meet others who are doing it, as there are some people on the Truman campus.  I just try and see what happens.  I'm not going all out with the promoting, graphic designing, or anything like that for this novel.  It's basically under wraps, and it'll stay that way.  But I still intend to vent on this trusty blog.  So there.  For your "amusement," here is what my writing space currently looks like.

Ah, nostalgia.

Why is Ashlee nostalgic?  Because it was two years ago today that I was in Quebec for the first (and last, as of yet) time to see my favorite singer, Bruno Pelletier.  Ah, memories.  I'd love to go back, but obviously that's not an option right now.  Hopefully soon.  It's quite strange to see how I've changed since I was there.  I was (somewhat) newly eighteen, I was writing a book about vampires, and . . . yeah.  Now I'm (somewhat) newly twenty, I still have the book about vampires in my head even though it's M.I.A., and . . . yeah.  Also, I've lost quite a bit of weight, which is good.  Comparison?

Myself and Bruno Pelletier.  Then.

Myself this past July.  Now.

See?  Think I look different?  Hopefully, I look older.  But I doubt it.  I don't think I look twenty.  Sigh.

Anyway.  It's been a little while since I've written a blog entry, so I'll bring you up to date.

[cricket.]

All done.  The only thing that's really happened is midterm break, and that is now over.  I went to Folklife Festival in Hannibal, MO, bought a sterling silver bracelet with a emerald-colored blown glass charm in the center, and that's about it.  I was also tempted to buy a stuffed alpaca named James.  That's about all that's going on with me.  Wish I could share more for those thousands of you who are dying for info, but . . . I'm boring.  Toodles.

A productive day of nothing

What, another one?  Yes, children, another blog post from Ashlee.  Let's check out a Sunday in the life of this little dramatic reine de la nuit, shall we?

11:30am -- wake up from a cruelly unrealistic dream.  Try to figure out where one is.  Glance at time on iPod.  Lay back down and, most unusually, fall back asleep.

1:30pm -- come out of a dreamlike state of dozy sleepiness upon hearing the soft conversation of roommates.  Tell them of dream, hear their 'awwws' of sympathy, and flop back down onto bed.  Watch as they get up, yet possess no desire to do so yourself.

1:45pm -- upon hearing Lauren prepare to take a shower, bolt from bed and into bathroom to prevent oneself from wetting the bed.

1:47pm -- flop down onto desk chair and turn on laptop, displaying no desire to get dressed.  Do random stuff of no consequence on laptop.

2:00pm -- finally get dressed upon learning that one will be required to travel to another location at some point during the day.

2:50pm -- begin preparation for desk clean-up as Lauren leaves for Black Sheep (knitting group) meeting.

3:00pm -- leave for library to return MOBIUS book in an attempt to procrastinate said clean-up.

3:01pm -- return to dorm room having forgotten ID.

3:04pm -- arrive at library, return book, and head back to dorm.

3:07pm -- arrive at dorm, commence clean-up of area.  Attempt to call home twice with no success.

3:50pm -- finish cleaning desk area and bathroom sink.  Become hungry.

4:00pm -- begin writing pointless blog entry.

And there you have it!  That was incredibly interesting, wasn't it?