Wednesday, November 30, 2005

NaNoWriMo crunch

I need 6,000 more words. I wasn't worried, even though I don't have that much time tonight, until I looked outside just a minute ago. It's dark. Dear Lord, I need some divine intervention.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Funny Mike Quotes

ragamuffin33ad: by taking off my shoes in a public place... i need to go set somethong on fire
ragamuffin33ad: something^

And the cheer he made up... I'll admit, I thought he was going to go into "Go Amy, it's your birthday." Thank you for not doing that, Mike:

ragamuffin33ad: go amy
ragamuffin33ad: go amy
ragamuffin33ad: go go go go
ragamuffin33ad: she's zany
ragamuffin33ad: it's rainy
ragamuffin33ad: go amy
ragamuffin33ad: it's not in vain-y
ragamuffin33ad: GO AMY!
ragamuffin33ad: *end of cheer*

4 more days. And we appreciate what our boys in uniform do for us.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Giving in...

I'm a sucker for LOTR quizzes

Numenorean
Numenorean


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla

Saturday, November 12, 2005

7 more days

I've been very busy this last week and a half and communication has been limited by time and mean, but there's someone I miss very much and am counting down the very seconds until I see him.

Just so that he knows.
Two Names I Go By: Ames, Butler
Two Parts of My Heritage: Irish, Cherokee
Two Things That Scare Me: failing, my dreams
Two Everyday Essentials: candy, music
Two Things I Am Wearing Right Now: my Reardon work polo and khakis
Two of My Favorite Bands or Musical Artists: Coldplay and Lifehouse
Two of My Favorite Songs: "Drops of Jupiter" by Train and the Coldplay and Sum 41 mashup
Two Things I Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love): fun, differences
Two Physical Things that Appeal to Me: eyes, smile
Two of My Favorite Hobbies: acting, traveling
Two Things I Want Really Badly: to be in a show this year, to get into film school next year
Two Places I Want to go on Vacation: New Zealand, Israel
Two Things I Want to Do Before I Die: work in film, get married
Two people I would like to see do this: Kenny and... Sara, but she doesn't have a personal blog anymore

Friday, November 11, 2005

The only problem...

"The only thing with wooing is that I have no more money at the end of the wooing session." - Mike
"Wooing session?" - Amy

NaNo Inspires?

So, since NaNo started, I've been hit with inspiration for poetry. Well, not since it started, but the last couple of days. I've been sitting in Intro to Lit class banging out poetry like nobody's business. I have like, 8 now or something from two days. I kinda like it. There's no reason I can't be a short story writer/novelist/poet/playwrite. Maybe when November is over, I'll take a look at these poems and give them some more time and thought and work. Amy Butler, published poet. Never thought that would happen (not to say it will). Ooh, Mike, I think I had an idea for a slam-esque poem (-esque is my new favorite thing), but I'm not sure if it would work. Probably less slam and more just, this is a poem meant to be read aloud. Hmm, maybe I should write it first. I think I'm going to call it, "All Circuits are Busy."

Quotes

I stole this quote from Selena's blog. It's from Baty's No Plot, No Problem, and it's from Rise Sheridan-Peters, in deference to her muse:

“I don’t wait for my muse to wander by; I go out and drag her home by the hair.”

Cheers to all you NaNoWriMo-ers, and more on this subject later.

NaNoWriMo

I just hit 20,082 words. Whew! It was a good night for NaNo. I'm getting myself caught up for my 60,000/Nov. 30 : 30,000/Nov. 15 goal. And I just made the plot complicated! Which means I have a plot. Now I'm going to go update my word count on the website and give myself another star and throw myself into bed. Yay bed.

Riverdance is great music to novel my space opera to. I don't know what it is.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Flashback

4 years later and still scary.

I was walking home from Bible study the other night, and I went to check my voicmail on my phone. And I got a funny message that I'm not sure I've ever gotten before. Something about all circuits being busy. I kinda frowned at it and figured I just needed to try again. So I did. And I got the same message. And my throat kind of caught, thinking about the last time that all circuits had been busy.

It was Sept. 11.

Alissa had just been talking about the French civil unrest at Bible study, too, and for a minute I was scared that while we had been cloistered in our study, something terrible had happened. The third time, I got through to my voicemail, and my fears relaxed, because if anything had happened, there was no way that I could get through to my voicemail. We're doing a show here at AU about 9/11. It's going up in December. I'm probably going to be at all three shows as the house manager, and tonight I had to wonder how many of these shows I'll be able to get through without breaking down. Walking through campus today, thinking about 9/11 and our show, I wondered if anyone else on this campus was as close to NYC as I was that day, when I could see the debris covering half the sky that evening. I can't help but think about that one image of the firefighters carrying their chaplain out of the area on a chair, ashes covering them all.

I just wish people wouldn't forget. I wish they knew. I wish I knew. I wish people understood why my heart still breaks and why I still get nervous when I'm told all circuits are busy.

I've succumbed...

Time: 6:49 PM

~~About You~~

1. First Name: Amy
2. Middle Name: Rachel
3. Do you like your name?: Yeah, I guess
4. Nicknames: Ames, Amers, Butler, the goddess
5. Age: 19
6. Birthday: January 23, 1986
7. Where do you live?: I'm going to school in Anderson, IN. I'm from New York City.
8. Do you like it where you live?: I don't live in Indiana.
9. Where were you born?: West Islip, NY
10. Height: 5'9ish"
11. Do you wish you were a different height?: A little shorter would be nice

~~Favorites~~

12. Foods: ice cream, Oreos, cheese, mom's mac and cheese, taco salad
13. Number: 4
14. Date: (as in a boy/girl date)... All of them... *sucking up*
15. Day of the Week: Saturday
16. Day of the Year: April 6
17. Candy: mmm, any chocolate, pretty much
18. Ice Cream: Ben and Jerry's mint oreo kind
19. Place to shop: Barnes and Nobles
20. Place to shop for clothes: H & M
21. Song: Drops of Jupiter
22. Movie: Garden State (we just have to discount all the trilogies and series I love)
23. Band/Group: Coldplay and the Killers
24. Sport: soccer
25. Subject in School: acting
26. Holiday: Christmas
27. Color: green
28. Color of clothes to wear: pink
29. Type of clothes to wear: ...nice ones...
30. Shoes: flip flops
31. Fruit: raspberries
32. Veggie: red peppers
33. Animal: horses
34. Magazine: uh, i like cosmopolitan too, especially when my floor gets together and reads it
35. Game: the state border game

~~Least Favorites~~

36. Food: cheesecake
37. Number: anything that ends in 9
38. Date: (as in a boy/girl date)... honestly, i don't really get this question. are we talking specifics here or what?
39. Day of the Week: Monday
40. Day of the Year: pick a day in november
41. Candy: baby ruth
42. Ice Cream: coffee ice cream
43. Place to shop: shoe stores with my aunt
44. Place to shop for clothes: talbots
45. Song: get it popping
46. Movie: remake of planet of the apes
47. Band/Group: i don't know. i don't listen to who i don't like
48. Sport: football on tv. in real it can be fun
49. Subject in school: math
50. Holiday: arbor day
51. Color: mauve
52. Color of clothes to wear: orange
53. Type of clothes to wear: woolly ones
54. Shoes: uncomfortable ones
55. Fruit: prunes?
56. Veggie: spinach
57. Animal: vicious monkeys
58. Magazine: uhhh... bad ones?
59. Game: i dunno. stupid ones.

~~More About You~~

60. Shoe size: 9ish
61. Hair color: um, it's a dirty blonde brownish with red highlights right now
62. Do you or have you ever dyed your hair?: yeah. in a week it'll be blonde. only temp stuff though
63. Hair length: just past my shoulders
64. Most embarrassing moment : there are lots, i'm sure.
65. Are you getting bored or annoyed yet?: i'm actually dreading having to go into the auditorium for work
66. What time is it?: 7:08 PM
67. What do you want to be when you grow up?: a film actress/writer/wife

~~Have you Ever...~~

68. Hiked a mountain?: yeah, kinda
69. Walked a mile?: yeah
70. Really walked a mile in someone elses shoes?: uhhh, maybe once
71. Ate a whole box of oreos?: not in one sitting, i swear
72. Been in love?: yes
73. Stayed up all night?: yes
74. Broken a bone?: no
75. Pulled a muscle?: no
76. Fractured something?: no
77. Sprained something?: no
78. Watched the show Happy Days?: no
79. Cried because you've missed someone?: yes
80. Had a party?: yeah. i threw a mini surprise party on monday. took forever for the birthday girl to show up
81. Been on a boat?: yes
82. Been on a plane?: yes
83. If you were on a plane, was it scary?: kinda scary, kinda fun
84. Done the chicken dance?: yeah. square dance earlier this year
85. Been on a train?: yeah. overnight ones at that!
86. Ate so much chocolate and/or candy that you puked?: no
87. Had a food fight?: ahhh, i tried to stay out of those in high school
88. Jumped on a trampoline?: yes
89. Played spin the bottle?: no
90. Been in a fist fight?: no
91. Been in a hospital?: yes
92. Been in a hospital(not to visit someone but as a patient)?: yes
93. Had a falling dream?: no, but i died this week!
94. Been out of the country?: yes
95. Played baseball with a bunch of friends?: er
96. Took a Bubble Bath?: yes
97. Made a web page?: not like, a web page. i tried, but didn't know how
98. Been in a car accident?: yeah. hence the hospital. And that's how i died in my dream!
99. Driven a Car?: yes, illegally at that
100. Woo hoo This is 100, how do you feel?: wishing i didn't have to go into that concert
101. Tried smoking or drugs?: no
102. Laughed so Hard that you peed in your pants?: probably. you'd think i'd try to forget those times though
103. Lied? yeah
104. Fallen asleep in class?: definitely have had that falling falling falling jerk my head up experience several times. that's why i don't have 8:00 classes anymore

~~This or That~~

106. Campfire or fireplace?: fireplace
107. MMs or Skittles?: M&Ms
108. MTV or VH1?: VH1 over the summer. America's next top model reruns
109. Movies or Music?: movies
110. Stay up late or sleep in?: both
111. Sun or Moon?: moon
112. How sick are you of this survey?: not really at all
113. What Time is it now?: 7:13 PM
114. 10 acquaintances or 1 bestfriend?: bestfriend
115. Short or Tall?: short
116. Vanilla or chocolate?: chocolate
117. Cat or dog? : dog
118. Newspaper or Magazine?: magazine
119. Is the glass half empty or half full?: do i like what i'm drinking?
120. McDonalds or Burger King?: ahhh, mcdonalds
121. Fish or Mice?: is this to eat or keep as a pet?
123. Happy or Sad?: happy
124. Serious or funny?: funny
125. Happy or sad ending?: happy
126. Scary movie or Funny movie?: scary, but not gory
127. Scary movie or sad movie?: sad
128. Funny movie or a sad movie?: depends
129. Brother or sister?: what i have or what i want? cause i have both...
130. Barbie or Skipper?: barbie
131. Bikini or one piece?: tankini!
132. Snow or rain?: thunderstorm
133. Candy or Fruit?: if you don't know my answer to this, you must not be my friend
134. Plane or car?: plane... i would fly everywhere if i could
135. Run or walk?: walk
136. Swim or skate?: skate
137. Pepsi or Coke?: it's a mood thing
138. A house in the woods or a house in the City?: city!
139. The dark or light?: light
140. Rainy or Sunny?: sunny
141. Duct tape or scotch tape?: scotch
142. sneakers or sandals?: sandals
143. Lions or Tigers?: tigers
144. Mustard or ketchup?: ketchup
145. Rap or Rock?: rap
146. Party or stay home?: depends.
147. Skates or Bike?: bike

~~Other Random Stuff~~

148. How many siblings do you have?: 3
149. Do you like your siblings?: typically, especially when i'm away at school
150. Do you have any pets?: no
151. Do you like your pets?: i hate them
152. Who is your favorite family member?: uhhh. my parents
153. How are you liking this survey?: question 152 was cheap
154. What time is it?: 7:16 PM
155. What's the last thing you ate?: little debbies!
156. Are you hungry right now?: no
157. What would you like to eat right now?: ice cream
158. Have you ever went on a diet?: nope, not really. i've thought about it
159. Do you believe in God?: yes
160. What do you think about Diet Coke?: i used to like it
161. How are you feeling today?: sleepy and overwhelmed

~~When was the last time that you've...~~

162. Cried?: last night
163. Laughed?: couple hours ago
164. Danced?: monday
165. Watched TV?: yesterday for a little bit
166. Hugged someone?: when i went to get dinner
167. Stayed up past midnight?: every day for... a long long time
168. Jumped on a bed?: i have the top bunk
169. Been happy?: last night
170. Been sad?: last night
171. Drank bottled water?: last night
172. Went swimming in a lake?: maybe this summer?
173. Been to the beach?: last summer, i think
174. Hung out with some friends?: last night
175. Took a shower?: this morning
176. Took a bath?: baths are a luxury
177. Went for a walk?: just for a walk? not to someplace? cause i walk all the time
178. Went for a bike ride?: the summer
179. Played a board game?: sequence a month or so ago. last night we played balderdash
180. Been bored?: in intro to lit class
181. Eaten Birthday cake?: last night

~~In your opinion~~

182. Do fish have feelings too?: ...
183. What do you think of diet coke?: i used to like it (yes, this is the second time they've ask)
184. Should ants be kept in ant farms?: yeah. quarantine them
185. What time is it?: 7:20 PM
186. What do you think of black nail polish?: people who wear it are trying to be goth and controversial.
187. What do you think of pink nail polish?: how bright pink are we talking here?
188. What do you think of no nail polish?: well, that's me
189. What do you think of shopping?: I like it w/friends or by myself. at home its not so much fun
190. Are people who talk to Animals crazy?: only if they think the animal can understand them
191. Are you a good person?: i refuse to talk theology with you
192. Are you funny?: some people think so. i'm not sure if i'm one of them
193. Are mice cute?: not the gray ones
194. Are snakes scary?: indiana jones thinks so, so i'll go with him
195. Does jelly taste good?: in a sandwich, yeah
196. Is the color black beautiful?: yes
197. Is black even a color? yes
198. Is pink pretty?: yes
199. What do you feel about the color blue?: it's too popluar. everyone likes it
200. Woo hoo This is 200, how do you feel? annoyed i have to go into the auditorium soon
201. Are you getting sick of the color questions?: not really, but it's a good thing you stopped
202. How many chocolate chips should a cookie have?: lots
203. Is Nintendo better than Playstation? yes
204. Is bottled water really better than tap water?: yes
205. What pizza place has the best pizza?: new york city pizza places

~~More About You~~

206. Okay, what's the time right now?: 7:23 PM
207. How are you feeling right now?: sleepy
208. How many cookies do you think you could eat?: lots and lots
209. How many pieces of pizza can you eat?: 2
210. How much chocolate can you eat?: all of it
211. What kind of shoes do you wear the most?: flip flops and heels
212. What kind of clothes do you wear the most?: nice ones. skirts
213. What color are your nails painted right now?: none on my fingers. faded pink on my toes
214. What are you listening to?: 'bout ready to listen to the wind ensemble. yay
215. Do you like ironing your clothes?: no. it never words
216. Do you like to read?: yes
217. Do you like school?: sometimes
218. What grade are you in?: sophomore in college
219. What's the best part of the school day?: night time
220. Why?: cause i can do what i want, and i work best at night

Food for thought

What is soda foam made of?

Why does the cheese in jerky and cheese twin packs not have to be refrigerated?

I love puns.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Internal Editor

So I have tried to send my internal editor away for November. She is not allowed near my novel, but she does manage to creep in from time to time. However, she seems to be taking over another area of my life - AIM conversations. I've never watched myself so much, deleted and rewritten in AIM as I have recently.

Tonight I made an important landmark - 15,000 words. I'm feeling pretty proud, but I know I'm going to have to work very hard to get to 30,000 by Nov. 15. Also, I don't think I'm going to be able to finish (or get to 50,000) before Kenny comes on the 19th. But I think I'm making steady progress, and I anticipate winning.

Sometimes I like my story, sometimes I don't. It's coming together a little better now. Characters are doing some unexpected things, I'm noticing that I have complications in my plot and maybe even the beginnings of subplots (yes!), and I've got an antagonist and conflict that will carry me for a couple thousand more words before I have to think up a new one. Yay for me. We also instituted the use of star stickers. Lots of fun. I got to hand them out tonight. You get a gold star for being at the library and then another one every time you make a goal. The other colors are kinda arbitrary (speaking of "arbitrary" I heard the funniest pun every on that word today), but tonight blue was for encouragment (Mike was pouting cause he didn't get a star one time and Catherine did), red is for exceeding a goal by a lot, silver was for listening to cool music, and green was for being alumn. Stickers are definitely the bomb. I'm using them during National Novel Writing Month Year.

Anyway, it's 1:30, and now I have to go back to my dorm and do my homework.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Oh man

I smiled at a joke about ellipses! You know, the ... 's. Gah, I'm such a freakin nerd.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Ridiculous IM conversations with the guy sitting next to me in the library during NaNoWriMo

Just to show how our brains are affected...

LeiaSolo48: would you still be my friend if my favorite word was "tantalized?"

Auto response from ragamuffin33ad: noveling... what's gonna happen next?


Auto response from LeiaSolo48: "Daddy, Tumnus is different than all the other boys. Why is he different? He has really really hairy legs."
-Kids say the darnedest things in Narnia

ragamuffin33ad: ...
ragamuffin33ad returned at 1:40:59 AM.
LeiaSolo48: i know it's hard
ragamuffin33ad: well
LeiaSolo48: the kids may make fun of you
ragamuffin33ad: i guess
LeiaSolo48: hehe
LeiaSolo48: ok
LeiaSolo48: just checking
LeiaSolo48: i was testing our friendship
LeiaSolo48: and distracting you
LeiaSolo48: bwahahaha
ragamuffin33ad: the thought of breaking up our friendship over such a ridiculous thing was rather tantalizing
LeiaSolo48: yay!
LeiaSolo48: wait....
ragamuffin33ad: but i resisted
LeiaSolo48: *furrows brow in thought*
LeiaSolo48: i miss doing actions in astericks
LeiaSolo48: aw, the good old days of online RPG and forums!
ragamuffin33ad: oh it's so spelled asterix
LeiaSolo48: i dunno about that
ragamuffin33ad: your mom doesn't know about that
LeiaSolo48: i def. don't remember the x
LeiaSolo48: all right!
LeiaSolo48: we gotta write
ragamuffin33ad: whatever
LeiaSolo48: i gotta get 1040 in 30 min
ragamuffin33ad: stop tantalizing me
ragamuffin33ad: woman
ragamuffin33ad: you can put that up as one of those "quote" away messages
LeiaSolo48: i was thinking i would, thank you very much
LeiaSolo48: my military boyfriend might come beat you up though
ragamuffin33ad: beat ME up?
LeiaSolo48: i wish he really did have a reason to beat someone up. that would be hopelessly romantic
ragamuffin33ad: you're the vile temptress here
ragamuffin33ad: tantalus
ragamuffin33ad: it so is
ragamuffin33ad: didn't you pay attention in class today?
LeiaSolo48: do i ever?!
ragamuffin33ad: it's from the myth
ragamuffin33ad: tantalus was the character in the myth
LeiaSolo48: just cause you weren't sitting next to me doesn't mean i paid more attention
LeiaSolo48: oh well
LeiaSolo48: whatever
LeiaSolo48: he was a guy
ragamuffin33ad: ...
ragamuffin33ad: he was a hermaphrodite
ragamuffin33ad: ok i'm making that up
LeiaSolo48: you're such a liar
ragamuffin33ad: i'm full of crap
ragamuffin33ad: but still
LeiaSolo48: you are!
ragamuffin33ad: tantalus
LeiaSolo48: go write your crappy novel. and i'll go write mine
ragamuffin33ad: ...
ragamuffin33ad: fine
ragamuffin33ad: tantalus
ragamuffin33ad: or should i say
ragamuffin33ad: tantalusette

Thursday, November 03, 2005

My Intro to Lit Prof is a Bald Guy who Giggles

He also teaches us some very interesting things. Like how many of Emily Dickinson's poems can be sung to the tunes of Yellow Rose of Texas, Amazing Grace, and Gilligan's Island. Which means that Amazing Grace can also be sung to the tune of Gilligan's Island. (For the English nerds out there, sing "Because I would not stop for death" to Amazing Grace. It's funny).

He also taught us the "ghoti" is pronounced "fish." How, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. The "gh" makes an "f" sound, like in enough. The "o" makes an "i" sound, as in women. And the "ti" makes an "sh" sound, like in option. Therefore, "ghoti" is pronounced "fish."

Amazing, huh?

Lovely

The last two nights have, in one sense, been two of the most beautiful nights I've ever experienced. So beautiful that they've inspired me to write about the weather.

First of all, today was amazing. The weather all day was gorgeous. It was windy but warm, perfect autumn weather. Not what I would have expected of Indiana in November, but we got cheated out of autumn last year, so I'm not complaining. So I walked out of my dorm tonight aroun 6:00 pm, and the sky was the most amazing shades of blue and greenish that I've seen. They were like colors from a van Gogh painting. And it wasn't that cold. V. enjoyable walk to the library.

And I've discovered that the most perfect time to walk around AU is at 1:30 in the morning. Don't tell anyone else. It was so quiet and still last night. And there was a breeze blowing that you couldn't feel. The street lamp lights shone all hazy and made the yellow and red trees look even more brilliant. It honestly felt like time was suspended or the campus had been enchanted or something. You could have taken one of the lampposts and stuck it in Narnia and I wouldn't have been surprised, it was that beautiful. I almost didn't want to go back to my dorm.

The time I walked back at 3:30 as also very beautiful.

So I have figured out the secret of campus just in time that I leave. The weather'll probably start getting colder too, which means that late night walks won't be nearly so enchanting. I might take another one tonight, though, sometime around 1:00 or 2:00, because the day has been beautiful so far, I wonder what it'll be like in the bewitched hours.

"Lately the weather has been so bipolar, and consqeuntly so have I." - High of 75

Copyrighted by Emily Dickinson

I dwell in Possibility -
A fairer House than Prose -
More numerous of Windows -
Superior - for Doors -

Of Chambers as the Cedars -
Impregnable of Eye -
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky -

Of Visitors - the fairest -
For Occupation - This -
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradies -

NaNo Discovery

The oversized headphones in the library, while not always being most excellent for listening to music, are suprisingly good substitutes for earmuffs in the subzero conditions of the 24 hour lab.

Oh yes

I'm in love with a dwarf named Blurt.

livejournal.com/users/ragamuffin33ad

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

NaNoWriMo

All right, Mike. The word count war is on.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

My Bad Memory

Help. If whoever I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with could please let me know who they are, I would appreciate it.

I remember I went to see it. With who, where, what theatre, I can't remember. I can't even remember buying the tickets! It's driving me crazy.

More Cool Quotes

(took me forever to spell quotes right)

"It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

Ursula Le Guin

NaNoWriMo2005

Well, it's November 1st, and it's started again! The madness of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Mike and I stayed up and started writing at midnight. Good times. Two other girls are participating with us, Catherine and Meghan, but Meghan is super-busy (ah, aren't we all. We had our staff meeting today at work. Yikes. November is going to be our craziest month yet, especially with the basketball team).

In honor of the beginning of NaNoWriMo, I'm going to summarize my past NaNoWriMos for everyone's enjoyment. :-D The first time I did NaNo was 2003. I started Nov. 10th, which was craziness, and finished about three hours before the deadline. It was wonderful fun; I felt like I was being very prolific; and I'm actually pretty proud of what I wrote. The emphasis is on quantity over quality, but I think my 2003 novel is quite nice. You can do both, surprisingly enough.

2004: sucked. I think I got to 12,000 words before I quit. I just wasn't motivated. I got too far behind. I tried to write chick lit, and I don't know what happened. I don't know if I planned it out too much or if I just didn't have enough plot or what. The premise is kinda interesting, but I am obviously not the one to write it.

So I'm back in 2005 to try again. I'm thrilled to have people participate with me this year, and I'm thinking up all kinds of fun and crazy things I have to do if I do or don't reach a certain word count by a certain day. Like if I'm past 30,000 words by Nov. 15th, I'm going to dye my hair blonde(r). If I'm not at 45,000 words by Nov. 20, I have to introduce 5 new characters, and things like that. I'm going to try to go for 60,000 words this year, but I'll be pleased to win at all, especially with last year's poor performance. This novel is a little more light-hearted than my first. It's space opera-ish, sci fi but less emphasis on the technology and more emphasis on the people. Along the lines of Star Wars or Kathy Tyers's Firebird trilogy. I'm naming all my main characters after Shakespearian characters and all their gods after Greek/Roman gods and goddesses. I just named the leader of the intergalatic government (which falls apart immediately when he goes into hiding, so he's really a no-character) the Dali Lama. I'm definitely having fun with the names. The characters aren't all turning out the way I've expected, already. This one girl is supposed to be innocent and naive and kinda helpless. She's not really helples, and she has a demeanor of being naive, but I think she's got a little manipulation and superiority complex going on there. I've already got 2173 words done today (ha, got ahead of Mike by about 20 words), and my first class tomorrow isn't until 2:00 so I'm planning on staying up pretty late.

So enough blogging about it. I was going to work on my plot some (because I pretty much don't have one; darn Mike. He has a subplot already), but now it's time to head to class. Cheers, all. For you NaNoWriMoers -- Good luck.