What I’ve Been Up To

A room without books is like a body without a soul. – Cicero   I’m still working on my novel, but honestly, I could probably do better if I could stay up 24 hours a day.

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It’s Monday, November 20, and I’m not as far along with National Novel Writing Month (#nanowrimo) as I would like to be. I’ve hit over 12,000 words, but if one is trying to finish a novel in four weeks, one has to do better than that.

But there’s been a slight problem. Father time has keep me busy in other areas.

Because it’s been so busy and I have not been fulfilling my obligations very well as a promoter of #nanowrimo, I believe I owe you the reasons behind why I have not held up my end of the bargain.

Let me present you with my Three Main Excuses.

EXCUSE NUMBER ONE – COLLEGE VISITS

Every weekend, my husband, son and I have been embarking on college visits. To date, and since the end of September, we have completed 6 visits, with only one left to go. While we are making headway, it takes away from my time writing, not to mention the hours we spend discussing college possibilities.

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXCUSE NUMBER TWO – BUSY ON CAMPUS

I have been co-teaching a new course at our university, and as such, it has taken up a great deal of my time, along with the time I spend teaching my other three courses, advising our Integrated Marketing Communication Club called ’47 House, advising students for next spring’s semester, attending lectures and promoting NaNoWriMo on campus, and just chatting with students throughout each day. Life on campus this semester has been inordinately busy, but fun. I’ve enjoyed it, but I won’t lie. Turkey break couldn’t come at a better time for me to catch up on some grading! If you’d like to hear more about the new course I’m teaching, click here.

EXCUSE NUMBER THREE – I’M NOT AS YOUNG AS I USED TO BE

Those who know me VERY well know that I used to sleep very little. When I was getting my MFA a few years ago, I averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Every night. I would work during the day, take care of my husband and kids, and then at about 9 p.m., I’d slip into my office where I’d work on my studies until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. Then, I’d get up and do it all again. I find I’m more tired now than I used to be, and a lot of it is probably because I get up earlier with two high school students than I used to. When they go out the door, so do I, and I’ve been at my desk much earlier than in years past. I used to write at night, often late into the evenings when I wrote my first three books, but now, forget it. I’m in bed and asleep most nights before midnight.

So, there you have it. Three main reasons why my writing is not up to its “full steam ahead approach” my other novels took.

But I’m here now.

To present you with today’s prompt.

TODAY’S PROMPT

FOR FICTION

Your favorite character (either one you have written yourself or one of your favorites from literature) meets your best friend or your favorite relative in a bar. What takes place during this conversation?

FOR NONFICTION

Write about a time you won something or lost something. Practice describing the scene and using your emotions and lessons to tell this story.

Visit Stevensonwritenow for more prompts from our school, Stevenson University!

Catch you later this week.

K E E P   W R I T I N G!

Filed under: On Life Tagged: author, college visits, Lynchburg Virginia, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Stevenson University, StevensonWriteNow, Teaching, writers, writing, writing in November, writing prompts, writing your novel