Okay, What I'm Doing...

I really need to update this blog on a regular basis.  It does tend to be hit or miss, but I don't want to bore everyone with my writing issues and enjoyments (though I find it enjoyable). 

For example, I have the nicest recipe for Thai-style soup that works up quickly, has low fat and sodium, and makes wonderful left-overs for the next day.  In fact, if you can hold off eating it for two days it's really good.  I'll post it if I can find a good photo.

Currently I'm in the middle of NaNoWriMo, which is a contest of sorts where you attempt to write 50,000 words in thirty days.  To reduce that to understandable terms,a printed page - as in, say, a paperback of normal size such as you sneak on mass transit and hope no one notices you reading it - Harlequin Romance, to be precise - has about 275 words per page.  50,000 words translates to  181 pages.  A normal-sized harlequin.

Lots of people seem to think that they must produce a finished, polished, to-be-published-then-and-there manuscript, but that is not the case.  The founder of NaNo, Chris Baty, says that the task is to write 50,000 words.  And he gives some examples of what counts,

I have some Egyptian stories (you have noticed, haven't you?) that feature some Egyptian names.  If I type (with apologies to A. A. Milne):

 Ramesses strode down the hallway, yanked open the door to the Imperial Kitchen s and snapped, "Nobody can call me a fussy man - but I do like a little bit of butter on my bread!"

I score 36 words.  Not bad.  But if, having access to his throne names, I type

User - Maat - Re - Sotep - en - Re - Ramesses II Meriamun strode down the hallway, yanked open the door to the Imperial Kitchen s and snapped, "Nobody can call me a fussy man  -  but I do like a little bit of butter on my bread!"

I score 50.

 

Now, that actually is not cheating per Mr. Baty, bless him.   

Way out of date cover

Mourningtide was last year's NaNo project, and it's in final polish, but I was just a trifle burned out and decided to go with Kadesh, which is moving along.  (Check for some chapters on my web page - www.dianawilderauthor.com )

I've been going slowly, and yesterday I took a day off to put Mourningtide into print book format for reasons that I am not allowed to discuss.  It was interesting to see that, printed, it is working out to 332 pages, if I include the List of Characters but not my incomplete Author's Notes.  Considering that Pharaoh's Son, that behemoth, was 421 pages and had a genesis that spanned nearly twenty years, that is not bad.

So, what on earth am I doing?  Writing and cooking and enjoying autumn.  I'll have to post photos.

And that recipe, of course.