NaNo Prep

Life got in the way of writing for a few days, with Halloween being the main culprit.  Luckily a NaNoWriMo planning session with one of my best friends allowed me to still get a lot done in that regard.  As of Sunday, I have a plot! And characters with weaknesses and strengths, pets and favorite beverages! Well, may have not made quite that much progress, but having a plot (and complications, oh my gosh the complications!) has eased my mind a great deal.

Speaking of complications, my friend had one come up during our prep.  Two hours of her work disappeared through an auto save vs. backup vs. program crash error.  This was heart-wrenching for her, and I felt sympathy pains for her that stayed with me most of the night.  While I have faith that she can (and will!) recover the lost information, either by sifting through her mind and notes or rediscover the intended pathos during the writing process, it weighed on me.  A couple spiked eggnogs did nothing to lift the pallor I felt falling over our NaNo process, and I found myself in need of something to, if not lift my spirits, at least allow me to let it go.

I did a quick app search on my phone for Buddha, (not that I'm particularly Buddhist, but he is a good "let it go" inspiration), and stumbled upon the Buddha Board app.  You may have seen the real life meditation toys in stores like Brookstone.  

Their line is "Master the art of letting go".  You paint on this little board with water, and then watch as your artwork evaporates.  The little app is much the same, but less wet.  I highly recommend.  I was able to let go of my angst, and this morning I woke up singing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and having new NaNo insights.  I hope my friend is able to find the same clean slate before November starts.

All this talk of impermanence aside, queries must go on!  This morning was spent querying two agents with one of my picture book manuscripts.  One auto-responded (again) that she's not accepting new stuff for another two months.  C'est la vie.  But the kind auto-response from the other agent confirmed that she is accepting queries, and I'll (hopefully) hear back in 6-8 weeks.  That puts us right at Christmas time, so hopefully I'm too busy with holiday hoopla to be watching my mailbox obsessively. 

That's it for now.  May all your backups be uncorrupt and your mailboxes contain acceptance letters.

-Meagan