Novel November

I am going to be blogging everyday this month.  Mostly I am doing this because I am using November and the Nanowrimo challenge to edit the novel I wrote two years ago.

It has been sitting on the shelf since last spring when I was unceremoniously kicked out of my writing group.

It was mean.  And I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt because it did.  With the help of my sister I worked through it, but then the story sat gathering dust while I dealt with more pressing issues, like my mental health.

So here it is November, and here I am making a deal with myself to write and edit a chapter a day.

I don't think I will be adding 50,000 words (which is how many words Nanowrimo is challenging me to write)  to the novel but I have some fresh ideas for opening it up a bit and I am excited about that.

So I taught this morning, then I went out for a great sushi lunch with my dh.  Dh stands for dear husband and not designated hitter, although I am waiting for the seventh game of the World Series to start.

I raked a ton of leaves, I prepped for tomorrow's teaching class and I worked on chapter one of my novel.

So now I am settling in to knit and watch baseball!

But before I go, here is a small excerpt of chapter one:

A new month.  A new day of a new month. 

That is auspicious.  Auspicious is a favourite word of a Buddhist friend of hers.  She liked the way the word rolled off her tongue.  She liked imagining what the word meant and mostly she didn’t care – it was just one of those cool sounding words. 

She gathered her shopping bags and headed out.  As she drove the familiar streets she took account of all the smashed pumpkins lying on the road.  Kids and roman candles – meaningless and harmless destruction.  She imagined them marauding the streets after dark – stealing the extinguished pumpkins from porches.  She imagined it must make them feel powerful, and maybe, afterwards, a little silly. 

Better pumpkins than cats, she thought to herself.  Whether she had left or not she had made sure the cat was in and safe for the night.  She had made sure he was safe. 

Ok, first pitch is coming up.

It is fun to watch - I don't care who wins I am just enjoying the game.

Go, Dodgers, Go!

Go, Astros, Go!