In Which the Black Dragon Comes South, and Havoc Ensues

Actually, spanokopita and scarecrows ensued, but that doesn't sound nearly as impressive (though it does have a nice alliterative ring to it). And this post is not primarily about the Black Dragon. (So far, I'm not sure it's about much of anything, besides unnecessary parentheticals.) I just wanted to use that as a title of something, because I like the way it sounds. She did come south, though. This was a good and joyful thing, and is well-documented on facebook. Her visit was notable for many reasons, including the afore-mentioned spanokopita and scarecrows (as well as the unmentioned and decidedly unimpressive Macaroni-Masquerading-as-Exotic-Greek-Cuisine), and its only fault* (besides the macaroni) was its unavoidable brevity.

A few weeks later, I'm rejoicing in almost-autumn weather (the leaves have changed, finally, but I'm still wearing short sleeves), and trying to hatch plots to visit all my scattered friends: the Black Dragon's visit has reminded me how much I miss them. So far, these plots are insubstantial and hypothetical, but hopefully some of them will materialize. (I'm also trying to come up with a scenario which would allow me to be in Oxford and Santa Fe simultaneously. Pretty sure that's an exercise in fruitlessness . . . but right now it seems easier than choosing between an amazing three-week study-abroad opportunity and the Glen Workshop. Besides, it would be a fascinating cultural experience.)

I thought about trying NaNoWriMo this year; I have a new novel idea, which is mostly outlined. But unfortunately I sketched out a few scenes back in September, when the idea struck--which means I would have had to come up with another idea. So instead I'm resolving to spend November seriously revising the novel I finished** back in May.

Of course, I'm starting almost a week into November, which is not ideal--but I need some kind of deadline. The whole thing is kind of a tangled mess right now, and if I let it sit much longer I'll never be able to untangle it. I'm thinking I'll try for a minimum of 1,000 words a day . . . which would get me through 24,000 words by the end of the month. It's half the word-count for official NaNoWriMo (am I spelling that right?)--but revising/rewriting is an inherently slower process than the intitial writing. (For me, anyway; others may write more slowly to begin with, and have less of a mess on their hands afterwards.)

Anyhow, that's the goal. I'll try to post on my progress; should help me stick to it, and also breathe some life back into this poor neglected blog of mine.


*(The visit's faults are not to be confused with my faults--the worst of which, at the moment, appears to be the overuse of parentheses. I find them terribly addictive.)

**I use this word pretty loosely (there's so much more to life than words . . .)