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Maine Moose and NaNoWriMo Update

November 25, 2011 by Pat Bean

 “Write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you are writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.” – Agatha Christie

 

The view out my RV window at Wassamki Springs in Maine. I wanna go back. -- Photo by Pat Bean

NaNoWriMo Update … 40,035 words

First Maggie got the doggie runs. She needed to go out every hour on the hour for the entire night. The consequences of not crawling down from my bed over the cab of my small RV was enough to make sure I kept getting up hour after hour.

So I awoke with very little sleep, and so my writing suffered. My best writing occurs when I am in bed by 10 p.m. and get up and get in front of my computer by 5 or 6 a.m.

Second it was Thanksgiving, and there was family around that needed my attention, or I needed theirs, or whatever. And calls from family far away, and too much eating going on, followed by several games of Settlers, none of which I won.

And so my writing suffered.

Today, with the end of NaNo only five days away, it was back to the keyboard. My decision to demand everyone leave me alone, however, has probably earned me a few black marks in my ledger. It’s the big Christmas decorating-day here at my son’s house in Harker Heights.

My daughter-in-law looked shocked when I refused the call to arms.

The upside, however, is that today I got past the 40,000 word mark. if I write 2,000 words a day for the next five days, I will meet the 50,000-word goal.

What I have going for me is that I think I’ve figured things out in my head on how my story is going to end. And that in my 37 years as a journalist I never missed a deadline.

I’m also thinking that my conclusion might not take the book all the way to 50,000 words, but I’m hoping that’s the case. I have lots of extra scenes in mind to flesh out what is already written. The trick will be to add these scenes without deleting all the unnecessary and redundant words that go into all my first drafts.

It takes much longer to write short than it does long.

So now if you’ll excuse me, I still have writing I can do today. I don’t want to push that deadline beyond my capability.


Posted in Favorite Places, Lakes, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

100 Things For Which I’m Thankful

November 24, 2011 by Pat Bean

Happy Thanksgiving All

Butterflies to chase with my camera -- Photo by Pat Bean

 My following annual list of 100 things I’m thankful for is in no particular order. 

  1. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo
  2. My dog, Maggie
  3. Family, which includes 5 children, 15 grandchildren, and 5 (soon to be 6) great-grandchildren.
  4. Friends, both old and new
  5. Purple and pink sunrises
  6. Jack in the Box chocolate milk shakes
  7. Still having a zest for life at 72
  8. Being an American woman who can feel safe traveling the country alone
  9. My new computer, when its working right
  10. The Internet
  11. Mother Nature
  12. Underarm deodorant
  13. Physical therapy that’s taken away the pain in my neck
  14. Scenic hiking trails
  15. The view from atop Angel’s Landing
  16. The rain this week in Texas
  17. Books
  18. My Kindle
  19. My son’s safe return from Afghanistan

    My son's safe return from Afghanistan -- Photo by Pat bean

  20. Pleasant surprises
  21. Audible books
  22. My RV, Gypsy Lee
  23. Comfortable shoes
  24. That I finally visited Yosemite this year
  25. My summer as a campground host at Lake Walcott State Park in Idaho
  26. The double image of a roseate spoonbill in a pond.
  27. A walk on the beach
  28. A challenging game of Settlers
  29. Backroads
  30. The opportunity to learn something new every day
  31. Story Circle Network
  32. Birds in all their variations
  33. Soft blankets
  34. Good coffee heavily laced with cream
  35. Air conditioning in summer and heat in winter
  36. Fresh fallen snow
  37. The achievements of my children and grandchildren
  38. Gardens
  39. Over-sized, soft flannel pajamas
  40. Good memories
  41. My digital pocket camera
  42. WordPress that hosts my daily blog
  43. Good health
  44. My curiosity
  45. Blank journals and my favorite Pentelgel pen

    Autumn reflections -- Photo by Pat Bean

  46. Fresh pineapple
  47. Not knowing what the future holds
  48. Sitting around a campfire with friends
  49. The Rocky Mountains
  50. Butterflies to chase with my camera
  51. Rainbows
  52. Scented candles
  53. That I’m a writer
  54. Quotable quotes
  55. The Audubon Society
  56. My Social Security check
  57. People who don’t litter
  58. Museums and art galleries to visit
  59. A full moon night
  60. Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar,” recording
  61. Travel books that take me to faraway places
  62. My National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
  63. A good hair cut, for Maggie, too

    My canine traveling companion, Maggie -- Photo by Pat Bean

  64. Dragonflies
  65. An orchid lei
  66. Smiles on people’s faces
  67. Van Gogh paintings
  68. Belly laughs
  69. Sister women
  70. Autumn reflections in a quiet lake
  71. Freshly laundered clothes
  72. Glowing sunsets
  73. Watching a thunder and lightning storm out my RV window
  74. Clean water to drink
  75. A hot bath
  76. National Parks
  77. County fairs
  78. Quiet time alone
  79. Redwood and Live Oak trees
  80. Wildlife sanctuaries
  81. Road trips
  82. Happy children
  83. Holidays with family around me
  84. America, from sea to shining sea
  85. Bright colors
  86. Southern Utah’s red-rock landscape
  87. Discovering a new writer whose books I can’t put down
  88. Having grandchildren who think Nana’s cool
  89. That I can afford, unaffordable health insurance
  90. My 37 years as a journalist
  91. Having too many things I want to do each day
  92. My blog followers
  93. Sun on a cool day, shade on a hot one
  94. A comfortable bed
  95. Warm chocolate chip cookies
  96. A good margarita
  97. Massages
  98. Texas bluebonnets
  99. Polite drivers
  100. And finally my determination to finish NaNoWriMo for the first time.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments »

Chicken, Smart Phone and Too-Little Writing

November 23, 2011 by Pat Bean

NaNoWriMo Update: 35,353 words

Sadly this abandoned ship off Jamaica's coastline reminded me of the state of my NaNo goal the past two days. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I’ve been on sabbatical for two days. 

 I cut short my writing yesterday to spend the day with my granddaughter Jennifer. She’s 28 and a nurse. I spent the day at her house fulfilling her request for Nana’s chicken and rice. My grandkids usually want me to cook it whenever I visit. We visited and watched animated films while it cooked. it was a great day.
 
Here’s the recipe: From a writer’s perspective
 
Cook a whole, fat chicken in a pot full of water with salt added to taste until the meat falls off the bones. Cook it on low with a top on the pot. You’ll have about an hour and a half to write while it cooks.
Take the chicken out of the water and put it in a large bowl to cool. Don’t throw out the broth. Write for at least one more hour

Skin and debone the chicken, adding all of the meat (in bite size pieces) back into the pot of broth (make sure there is at least 8 cups of liquid}
Add two cups of uncooked rice, a generous amount of poultry seasoning and pepper to taste.

 Cook on low until rice is done. Here’s about another half hour in which to write. When done, eat and enjoy. 

Today my son bought me a smart  phone for an early Christmas present. He wants to be able to track my location as I travel the country in my RV.

So of course I spent too much time playing on it and not enough time NaNo-ing.

 But if I get in 2,000 words a day for the next eight days, I’ll still meet my goal. And I’ve come too far at this point not to finish.

Posted in Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Weekly Photo Challenge: Breakfast

November 22, 2011 by Pat Bean

“Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.” — Alfred A. Montapert

This is the setting where my friend, Kim, and I, ate our last breakfast in Africa. The setting is Little Governor's Tent Lodge in Kenya. We were up early to take our last game ride through Masai Mara National Park. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Our breakfast table this morning looked out on herons feeding in the swamp that surrounded our tent lodging. -- Photo by Pat Bean

 

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Liebster Award

November 20, 2011 by Pat Bean

 I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Kathryn Johnston at 4amWriter.com. And now I have rules I’m supposed to follow.

First is to link back to her in appreciation. OK I’m lost. I know how to go to her blog and I know how to comment and say thank you, but no one has yet told me what button to push to link. That’s the kind of computer user I am. Tell me which buttons to push and I can do anything.

And no thank you, I don’t want to know why or anything else about computers. My brain is already overloaded with too much data.

The second rule of the nomination is to nominate five of my favorite bloggers for the award. Only five? Whine, whine, whine. Kathryn chose blogs about writing, because like me she is deep in NaNoWriMo. It sounds like she and I are within about 100 words of each other and both well on our way to reaching the goal.

The bloggers we choose are supposed to have less than 300 followers. But how am I to know how many followers other bloggers have. I only recently discovered that I now have 80. It’s that “tell me what button to push again” thing.

Two of my top favorite bloggers are photographers. Life in the Bogs by Robin http://bogsofohio.wordpress.com/ and Martina’s Photography Designs http://photosbymartina.wordpress.com/

I’m an avid birder so I’m going to nominate Judy’s Jottings for spot No. 3 http://judysjottings.wordpress.com/

No. 4 goes to A Year on the Road http://allevenson.wordpress.com/ Al’s a full time RV-er like me, and a writer as well.

For the “how in hades am I going to choose only one more blog,” spot I’m nominating Jim’s Notyethere http://notyethere.wordpress.com/ because I enjoy his poetry, photos and our back and forth conversations. Now I have to go let them know I nominated them. That’s also a rule.

The final two rules are simply to bask in the love of supportive bloggers and have fun and spread the karma. Since I don’t have to push any buttons these are easy.

Thank you very much 4amwriter – and now that the fun is over, it’s back to NaNoWriMo.  Well, except for those of you whom I have nominated for the Liebster Award. You now have rules to follow. For clarity,  below is exactly how they were described to me.

 

The Rules are: 

  1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
  2. Reveal your top 5 picks for the award and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
  3. Post the award on your blog.
  4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogsphere – other bloggers.
  5. And, best of all – have fun and spread the karma.

 

 

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments »

A Waterfall and NaNoWriMo Update

November 20, 2011 by Pat Bean

 My Favorite Places: Natural Falls

 

I never pass a waterfall by without snapping a photo. This one is Natural Falls in Oklahoma. -- Photo by Pat Bean

 

“On plenty of days the writer can write three or four pages, and on plenty of other days he concludes he must throw them away.” – Annie Dillard

NaNoWriMo Update … 34,559

I spent an hour this morning sharpening pencils. That’s what I call doing things like reading e-mails, thinking about what’s for dinner, ordering books from Amazon, reading blogs in search of inspiration, and staring out the window at birds to prolong the moment when I had to look at the blank space on the page where I left off writing the day before.

While I tried to kid myself I was thinking about the writing, I knew that the next line on the page was not going to come together until I faced the computer screen with my fingers on the keyboard. Me, who collects quotes about writing, finds it interesting how many of them are no longer applicable in a literal sense because they refer to pen and paper.

Up until now, my writing has been focused on keeping things going. Now I need to tie up all the loose ends and try to create a conclusion. It’s giving me writer’s block. Aaaagggghhhh!

Perhaps I should follow Babs Hoffman’s advice. “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.”

Her words refer to travel, but seems appropriate for NaNoWriMo as well. I read them this morning as I was ditzing around not writing. I found the quote on Marina Chetner’s Nov. 11 blog, “When a Bolt of Inspiration is Required.”  Thanks Marina.

Posted in Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Kickapoo and NaNoWriMo Update

November 19, 2011 by Pat Bean

 My Favorite Places

What I remember best about staying at Kickapoo State Park in Illinois was the tremendous thunder and rain storm that pounded my RV. It was a marvelous concert and light show. -- Photo by Pat Bean

“You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, ‘My god, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that.’” – Dave Barry

NaNoWriMo update … 32,438 words

I met my writing goal today, but only my slapping my hands and telling myself to get on with the writing and not get into the rewriting – yet.

I haven’t really gotten crazy with my quickie novel, as many have suggested. I think I’ve concentrated too much on trying to get the plot moving along. I know I will need to go back and sass up the characters a bit.

Meanwhile, the dog inherited by the first person protagonist in my mystery has taken on a more major role than I imagined. I think when I would get stuck writing I could always write something about what the dog was doing.

Would you believe I named the dog, Maggie. But she’s a combination of a couple of dogs, and cats, I’ve owned. No she doesn’t talk, but her expressions and mannerisms say it all.

It sure feels good to have my computer back. How’s everybody else coming?

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Canyon View and NaNoWriMo Update

November 18, 2011 by Pat Bean

My Favorite Places

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado -- Photo by Pat Bean

NaNoWriMo Update … 30,325 words

Through joy and through sorrow, I wrote. Through hunger and through thirst, I wrote. Through goo report and through ill report, I wrote. Through sunshine and through moonshire, I wrote. What I wrote is is unnecessary to say. — Edgar A. Poe

But Poe never had to write when his computer was suffering a glitch.

Anyway the bad news is no new words on my novel today. But I watched a glorious military retirement for my son, whom I am very proud of, and I got my computer back. So all is well, all is well.

And  tomorrow it’s back to NaNo and at least 2,000 more words.

Posted in Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

NaNoWriMo Update

November 17, 2011 by Pat Bean

Geek Squad”s got my computer. Did 1,500 words today before it glitched. Posting this on my son’s computer. Hopefullty I’ll get my computer back tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , | 6 Comments »

Zion and NaNoWriMo Update

November 17, 2011 by Pat Bean

 My Favorite Places: Zion National Park

 

Emerald Pools waterfall in Zion National Park in Utah -- Photo by Pat Bean

 

There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. Almost everything has been tried and found to succeed for somebody. The methods, even the ideas of successful writers contradict each other in a most heartening way, and the only element I find common to all successful writers is persistence-an overwhelming determination to succeed.” – Sophy Murnham.

NaNoWriMo Update … 28,717 words

NaNo goal of 2,000 words met, physical therapy appointment kept, drive from my daughter’s homein Dallas to my son’s place  in Harker Heights accomplished, segments of my novel written out in my head as I drove,  hugs and kisses from my autistic granddaughter, yummy liver with onions and bacon, rice and gravy and green pea dinner with family, ice cream sandwich for dessert, Survivor show watched with my son, and now I’m writing and posting my blog post.

I’m pooped but happy.

Posted in Favorite Hikes, Favorite Places, Nature, Travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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