So, yeah. It's NaNo time. I've actually been writing, which is a massive improvement over last year. And though I'm behind right now, I've also been busy. I had unexpected company on Sunday, drove him to his home and also drove myself to New Bern on Monday (along with registering for classes, more below), and of course, helping out the folks around the house and hanging out with some of the New Bern crew.

The main reason I had to come to New Bern was because my Dad had an impacted wisdom tooth removed and he needed someone to stay there and drive him home afterwards. I have been jotting down bits of novel that hit me when I'm away from the computer (like in the waiting room earlier), so I'm keeping a writing flow going.

Current word count: 3,799

I hope to reach 4,000 before bed, but I don't think that's likely because I'm fading fast.

Okay, now let's talk Halloween.

For the first time in a long time, I was really excited for Halloween. Our Wednesday night group had talked about it and we were all pumped to go out Saturday night. I think I mentioned it, but J and I went as Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues, the Blues Brothers. And, to be honest, I was a massive hit. Complete strangers wanted their pictures taken with me because they said I looked just like him. This is true, I've always known this, but it's fun when other people finally catch on. Here's a picture:



We all got together; it was the Blues Brothers, She-Ra, a Ghostbuster, Betty Boop, Barney Stinson, Silent Bob, Lady GaGa, the Dude, Erin E-Surance, Ash Williams, Bubba from Night of the Scarecrow, and went to two Halloween parties. Then, we hit downtown Wilmington for the rest of the night. Front Street is insane on Halloween. We spent most of the night at a cool bar/theatre called the Browncoat (the owner is a huge Firefly fan). They had karaoke...

...and J and I performed "Soul Man". Click on the picture of the two of us to see a brief video:



That was an amazing experience.

It's weird, but that's the most fun I think I've had in a long time. I just let go. I don't think I realized how much I was holding back, on everything. I've been different ever since Saturday night.

Madison: I decided to wing it for NaNo this year as well. I think I'm doing pretty well, even if the story is a jumbled mess at the moment. Good thing it's just a rough draft. And don't worry, you'll be great!
Tom: I thought the Halloween banner for the ning was a nice touch.
Elayne: My fault. Duly noted.
Madi: I really dig that plot! It sounds awesome. Also, I only glanced your song list, but I like what I briefly saw.

So, like I said, I registered for classes on Monday. I'm going back strong with a load of 15 hours. My classes include: Intro to Professional Writing, Writing for Teachers, and Literature for Young Adults

*crosses fingers*

Here's hoping John and Maureen are on the reading list.

So, with that I will leave you to go back to writing.

As always, this is your Well-Written Wednesday,


William

Madison, we'll see you tomorrow

I don't know what to say today. I have had a very, very uninteresting couple of weeks.

On Thursday, there was a campus-wide Halloween fair called Safe Treat. Basically, it was supposed to be this kid-friendly carnival that trick-or-treaters can go and be sure that they won't have razor blades in their apples and cyanide Hershey's bars. A lot of organizations of campus set up booths that kids would participate in and receive candy at. It was pretty fun, though I couldn't really participate in any of the booths or anything. There was music, though, and the art gallery in Humanities was open. All of the 2-D art classes were assigned "fear projects", where they were supposed to represent their fears using black paper cut-outs on white paper. Some of the finished projects were chosen to be presented in the gallery. Before I entered the gallery, I was given a flashlight; the gallery itself was pitch-black.

As all of you know, I'm sure, NaNoWriMo started on Sunday. Back in August, me and a girl named Cami convinced our RA Amanda to start a program for it come November, so there are a lot of people in my dorm doing it. I'm about two thousand words behind right now, because I only wrote 300 words or so yesterday. I had a paper to write, and then NaNoWriMo, and I honestly didn't feel like doing either. So, today I have the double the words to write for NaNoWriMo, plus that essay (which I finished ten minutes before class, huzzah), and, of course, this blog. Lotta writing.

People here keep asking me "what's your story about?", which is a question I generally answer miserably, but I'll try my best at an explanation now. My NaNovel is about a girl named Anna Gearth. A year and a bit before the beginning of the story, Anna ran away from her hometown, because everything about her life and her future was pre-planned and she didn't like it. She has pyrokinesis (though she possesses no immunity to flame) in a world where people with superpowers have been acknowledged, if not fully accepted. She's a A-Level, meaning she was assessed to have supernatural abilities with an extremely high-level risk; as such, there are several extremely strict government restrictions placed upon her and others like her, such as a one o' clock curfew and limited access to certain professions, such as lower-grade level pedagogy. However, because both of her (adoptive) parents are government agents (superheroes, but without the flashy tights), and she has spent most of her life training at the local ASASA (Association for the Societal Acceptance of Supernatural Abilities) center to follow in their footsteps, she was knocked down to a B-Level as a child. All well in good, except Anna never really wanted to be a superhero or anything. As a matter of fact, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, and she wishes her parents could understand that. So, as I've said, she runs away from that small town to the big, bad city.

Which brings me to the actual story: Anna manages to lose her job and her apartment in the same day, and begrudgingly returns to her parents' house. While here, she notices that a girl who used to frequent the ASASA center all the time is missing. No one else takes this disappearance seriously, because Mina is a floater (a person who runs away from home in order to hone his or her abilities) and also UTTERLY INSANE. But, Anna thinks something is off, and, with the limited help of her distant friends, she uncovers the mystery behind the missing girl.

I wrote a lot more than I meant to on that. Sorry.

William: Don't worry about the badge. You'll get to it when you get to it. I think FiAlThoProMo takes precedent over the Comedian's blood-spattered badge. T-SHIRT PRINTING PRESS, I SAY. :)

Madison: I did absolutely nothing for Halloween. The cafeteria workers laid out some candy, so I got loads of Whoppers (something you all should learn about me: give me Whoppers and I will ENSLAVE THE WORLD FOR YOU). But then I just completely forgot that it was even Halloween until my brother called me at about six in the evening to wish me a happy halloween. Tchyeah, I'm uninteresting.

Tom: Wow, you have a lot to do. All I can say is: good luck, good sir.

Elayne: How goes NaNoWriMo?

Before I sign off, I have one last thing that I (for some unknown reason) would like to share with you. I started a list, entitled "Songs That Should Be Downloaded As Soon As Possible", in October. Somehow, what started as only one or two songs became an undeniably huge mass of songs, and I wanted to share the sheer magnitude with you.

"Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking" by Snow Patrol,

-Madi