Word Count Status Bar Widget Thingy!

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Some of you might have noticed I recently added a word-count meter on the right hand side and might be wondering where I found it and how I added it and, “Darn it! I want one!”. Well I’m here to answer that. See I was reading another fellow NaNo-nites blog post earlier (even linked to it in previous post at the bottom) and noticed she had one of these “word-count meters”. And I thought. “Ooo! I want one!” so I clicked on it and it took me to the source! Svenja Liv although there aren’t any instructions on how to insert it into your widget bar. I had to figure that out on my own. Luckily I found what I was looking for using the “Help” section. You’ll need to utilize your “Text Widget“. It’s made for stuff like this. And better still the blogger is also a fellow participant of NaNoWriMo. I thought that was pretty cool. They’ve even done some book covers! I thought that was neat. Which really makes me wish I had Adobe Photoshop right now because I’d be going to town with creating my cover for my novel right about now. I have the image in my head but my art style isn’t up to snuff and I don’t really have a very high end camera for photo taking either. So – gotta make due with what I got for now, which is, I’m not concerning myself with it. Well that’s all for now! Enjoy!

~Namaste~

NaNoWriMo Day 22 – Wen and Where?!

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So I realized maybe part of the reason why I’ve felt less than passionate and inspired as I usually do when I’m writing is because I’m trying to do too much at once. I’m trying to keep readers up-to-date on my blog on a regular basis since I took the “Daily Post” Challenge. However, in the wake of NaNoWriMo I now realize this has perhaps done more harm than good. Instead of my writing normally being a pleasure – I think I’m turning it into feeling more like a chore. I suppose it would help if I actually posted far more excerpts of my novel – but – CALL ME PARANOID – I just REALLY don’t want too many people knowing the story of my book before it even gets a chance to be published or much about my characters at that. Maybe if I was doing drawings of my characters might help but even then – I’d probably be just as protective of those as well (yay for deviantart artist copyright law! Mwahaha!).

NaNoWriMo Day 19 – Can We Say “Sequel”?

Awww! He's so cute!

Well I’m now up to 50 pages in word, though in book format who KNOWS how many pages these words would translate to. I typed a total of 2,279 and I am now sitting at 40,971 total. As I’m rounding the end of the first plot I’m beginning to see that perhaps that second “big twist” might actually have to be made special for a “Sequel”.  It has more to do with the fact that I’m not entirely sure the story will be done by the end of the month unless I cease and desist in hitting these “memory barriers” I keep running into, but also the fact that the story may go over 50k which I’m not worried about – but it could pose an issue if I don’t finish it on time. As I write this I have my little furbaby Loki on my lap who seems more than content in keeping his “Goddess Mama” cool, calm, and collected. His company has definitely been appreciated and I’m blessed to have him in my life with his brother for emotional and mental support.

NaNoWriMo Day 18 – Word Count of the Day

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2,125 words is what I typed up this evening. It’s not a lot but it’s better than nothing. However, I feel my eyes blurring in and out now, trying to desperately blur the words as I read them over or when I am writing them. I’ve been listening to Seabound’s Scorch the Ground which has been helping me to focus and keep writing for some reason. It’s definitely a favorite. I’ll see about trying to get more writing in once I eat a late dinner and maybe watch an episode of either Supernatural or Grimm. Lastly, yesterday I picked up a copy of “Way of the Peaceful Warrior“. After I finish “Azal” I will most likely start reading it since, from the movie trailer I saw of it, I should hopefully enjoy and learn something from the book.

Related articles

• NaNoWriMo2011 – Day 18 (thetaskmistress.me)
• NaNoWriMo Day 18 – A Goal for the Weekend (cheddarnightmares.wordpress.com)
• NaNoWriMo Update: Day 18 (dorchesterpub.wordpress.com)
• NaNoWriMo2011 – Day 17 (thetaskmistress.me)
• NaNoWriMo: A Little Over Half Way (Supposedly) (specializingintheimpossible.wordpress.com)

NaNoWriMo Day 18 – Playing Catch Up

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So if anyone noticed I’m rather 4 days behind on my “Daily Post”. Now if I could have I would have – but our Hotel I do not believe had internet and I needed a break from writing in general as it was since I’m doing NaNoWriMo. Sadly, concerning NaNoWriMo I am also 4 days behind on my writing. This means I will need to quadruple my efforts of trying to make our deadline. @_@ The good news is? Going to the Goth Club was EXACTLY the medicine the doctor ordered. Yes; my legs are still sore from dancing the night away – but I was in good company and despite we were some of the few “Goths” actually there at the NocNoc we had fun! I guess I didn’t realize how overwhelmed I felt about NaNoWriMo and trying to keep you guys up-to-date to boot. It does take a small toll.

So – before I get to my writing of the day I’m sure some of you want to know about my first Goth Club experience? It – was – AWESOME! Loved the bar/club! No Pina Coladas though, that made me a sad – but the bartender made an alternative which was a nice try on her part. They also were showing movies there such as Willow! The music the DJ played was pretty good despite he wasn’t really playing what I would have constituted as Brit-Pop Techno. Would have loved to have heard a few more of my favorite songs played, but he did play at least songs by a couple of artists I DID know. Eventually he did play one of my favorites toward the end by Seabound called “Scorch the Ground“.

NaNoWriMo Day 13 – I Need a Break

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So since the stress of not so much as “writing” but between a biological clock “ticking” and my frustration with it I decided Sunday – I should just take a break. I didn’t want to but I thought, “If I’m this worked up after getting the rest of the handwritten manuscript done – I think maybe I should take a day’s rest and do something I love.” So I did. Now – it’s back to the old grind and I’m possibly headed to Barnes and Noble to do just that tomorrow. I’m really hoping being in that environment will help clear my head of all this “stress” and make room for more creative thinking and writing. I still have a story to finish. Since Bookstores have always been a rather uplifting, positive, and sacred place for me I feel I should do considerably well so long as I don’t look for distractions or otherwise. I don’t think I will. But the lack of a computer at times still does have its down points (i.e. no dictionary.com or instant research on google). Wish me luck! Even if I’m alone I won’t be.

Related articles

• NaNoWriMo: Day 13 (ericswett.wordpress.com)
• A NaNoWriMo check-in (tristajaszczak.wordpress.com)
• NaNoWriMo: 2011 (dteeps.wordpress.com)

NaNoWriMo Day 12 – It’s DONE! Excerpt from Operation Charlie Bravo/Brown

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Fooled yah! No; I’m not done with the novel yet but what I AM done with is my hand-written manuscript. I got to the very last few pages today and have them all typed up. The last bits of it brought me to a word count of 1,557 yay! I honestly feel like the worst of it is over – but I understand I might feel that way again soon as I progress further into the story. My Bad Guy has a pretty interesting and unique name as opposed to *insert blank space here, no really I mean it* and the Council being called something completely ambiguous because I couldn’t think of something at the time. I also officially gave my Vampires the name that use for their kind. Yay!

So okay, I just realized I was right. This next part may be my next hardest. Why? Well as the Blackmore’s Night song goes, “Where are we going from here?” Oh goodie! Well I might very well introduce the Bad Guy and some of the other members of the Council so people get a good idea about who he is – what his personality is like, etc. It would give me a good opportunity to talk about one of my “Good Guy” character’s who is supposed to be spying on his butt.

As a sort of “whoopee! We’ve made it this far” I’ve decided I’ve had a change of heart and that I might like to show an excerpt from my novel I am working on. It gives you an idea of the main Protagonists personality and it includes fun bad@$$ banter. Please keep in mind what you are reading is taken from the portion that is 2 yrs old so it’s definitely rough for sure. I will be putting this on my NaNoWriMo author page as well. So you know the female is the “Good Guy” or main character of our story. Enjoy!

NaNoWriMo Day 11 – Honoring Veteran’s Day & Writing

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Again I got off to a late start writing, why? Because if anyone realized what today is they would know it is Veteran‘s Day. Not being a Veteran myself but knowing plenty I felt the desire to express my feelings about this day, what it means to me, and to honor those who have served our country. So I did. Unfortunately that cut a good chunk into my regular writing time – or rather into the EARLY part of the time I wanted to start. Despite how bad I’ve been sleeping I definitely feel I should be getting up earlier. I think it would definitely help with my Physical and Mental distractions that keep hounding me every time I’m trying to work on my novel. For the record, this isn’t as simple as fix as you think it is where a simple “breathing” exercise might fix it. Nope! Far more complicated than that I’m afraid.

NaNoWriMo Day 9 – Eh, Details!

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Wheeee! So I’m up to 32k+ and typed 2,828 words today. :3 After a few distraction (the NaNo-Olympians FB group, my wordpress blog, creating the perfect playlist to write by, and scanning my typed manuscript for other plot-holes I missed) I finally was able to sit down and just WRITE! Despite the fact I do find myself having to go back and fill in some “gaps”, once I actually settle in and write – things are awesome! Admittedly they could be a lot faster but because I’m trying to make executive decisions WHILE glancing at my hand-written manuscript vs. what I’m typing I tend to get slowed down now and again. For those who aren’t aware I can type 60+ WPM. Friends and even some family have commented about how when I type it sounds like an Epileptic Woodpecker. Yes laugh! Go ahead! I know it’s funny – I laugh to.

Despite the distraction with the playlist – I often find the right kind of music can bode well for the perfect creative writing atmosphere (at least for myself) – including sometimes – the right snacks and/or beverages. Also taking periodic breaks every hour for stretching is very good to staff off pesky tendonitis or other nasty things (such as poor circulation in your legs). This evening I had some Peppermint Tea, Sobe Pina Colada, a Marie Calender’s dinner and I’m staring at two pieces of Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark with Dark Chocolatesquares as my reward for a job well done! 2k+ may not seem like a lot but it most definitely is when you see the fruits of your labor.

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So now this NaNo-nite is going to wind down for the evening with something relaxing (A bit of City of Heroes and checking the NaNo-Olympian’s FB group) and then hit the sack when Hypnos and Morpheus both decide it’s bedtime for me.

NaNoWriMo Day 8 – Rewind, Add

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Looking over my “Hand-written” manuscript, if you can call it that, I noticed I was missing some details in a VERY important chapter toward the beginning. I had my suspicions that I was lacking continuity and possibly some other details but not this much. Oai! I haven’t finished adding all of it in yet but should be done with THAT soon enough. Hoping to start trying to get up earlier, bright and early, to face a day of nearly non-stop typing. I feel like I’ve lagged behind a bit and I see some of my other fellow NaNo-Olympians typing up to 6k plus words. *strikes dramatic pose* I feel so ASHAMED! *fake crying. Back to normal* So hopefully within the next few days I’ll get on it. No more procrastination, knuckle down, suit up, kick some metaphorical BUTT and GET MESSY! As Ms. Frizzle would say, well – maybe not all of it. Oh and I hit my 30k+ mark. YAY!