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Preptober 2022
If you don’t run in writerly circles, you might not know what Preptober is. October, for many writers, is the time to make our preparations for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month in November). Mine will be abridged since I actually need to have my story done for November…
🧸 Hyggenomics 🇩🇰
Thy fate is the common fate of all; Into each life some rain must fall. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
October continues to be satisfyingly cozy. We’ve even been enjoying some deliciously chilly, dark, rainy days.
🌧️ Rainy days are my jam.
Don’t judge me ☔
I’m not quite as done with my one project as I thought, but close enough for me to actually get on with some other work that’s been waiting.
I’ve got to get some of these things knocked out so I can spend more time focusing on this year’s Holiday Season Serial Romance, Merry 🔔 Bells.
That would certainly be easier if the weather didn’t keep taking out my internet connection.
Work from home is awesome but if your connection drops, you’re outta luck.
✍🏼 Preptober 📚
How To Write An Entire Book In 30 Days | Preptober + NaNoWriMo
So, this Preptober is going to basically consist of 👉🏼this week👈🏼 because, unlike the official NaNoWriMo process, I won’t be writing in November. I need to be done for November.
Maybe next year I’ll have my Christmas All The Time monthlies done early so I can have the Holiday Season Serial Romance done early so I can actually write a novel in November while my episodes drip out on schedule.
It’s a dream I have. However, what we’re dealing with now is a race against the clock.
The intro for Merry 🔔 Bells has to be ready to roll on Thanksgiving Day, with the story kicking off on Black Friday as usual.
This one’s going to be one of the longer stories since the holiday season consists of 44 days this year.
I went through the exercise of finding out how many days are between Thanksgiving and Epiphany each year before I began my first story, A Misfit Christmas.
I’ve got them all from 2017 through 2029, so I don’t need to worry about it until Christmastime 2030. I’ll do the next batch through 2049 to save myself some effort for when I’m really old and crotchety.
Since the actual date of Thanksgiving Day varies from year to year, the episode count for each Holiday Season Serial Romance changes accordingly. This year is one of the longer ones.
So much the better! The more days there are from Black Friday through Twelfth Night there are, the longer I can get away with playing Christmas music out loud, watching Rankin & Bass specials, Santa Clause movies and all the jolly holiday stuff that makes late 🍂Autumn🍂 and early ❄️ Winter ❄️ so special.
If you’re inspired to write a story for NaNoWriMo, it’s actually not that hard. If you can maintain about 1700 words per day throughout the month of November, you’ll have a 50K word first draft complete.
All you need to do is go back through it and do a bit of editing. I’ve left you some calm music to listen to while you write.
Cozy Autumn Coffee Shop Ambience ♫ Relaxing Jazz Music & Rain sounds for Sleep, Study, Focus, Work
⌛ Something That Will Outlast ⏳
The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it. ~William James
As challenging and sometimes exasperating as my day job is, it’s just work. Some stuff will stay put for a year or five, maybe even a decade.
It’s worthwhile because the software helps people get their work done. That’s what I enjoy most about working in the IT field.
I’m providing the ability for people to do what they do a bit more efficiently, perhaps a bit more easily.
In the grand scheme of things, none of it lasts. Stuff I was working on back in the 90s is long gone.
Actually, it seems as though the harder I worked on something, the shorter its actual shelf life wound up being.
That’s fine. It paid the bills. Whatever.
Even so, one likes to leave a legacy. It’s why most people have kids.
That’s great, but some people like to leave something that will even outlast their kids.
If you’re the sort to have a “big, hairy audacious goal”, you might add a wing to a hospital, dedicate a building on a college campus or get your name on a massive piece of civil engineering.
If you’re not a titan of industry, you might try writing a story instead.
We still remember names like William Shakespeare, Dante Aleghieri, Miguel de Cervantes, Victor Hugo, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Jane Austin. We remember Charles Dickens, Charles Hemmingway and Phillip K. Dick.
Some authors have staying power while many do not. Even those who don’t live on the tips of our tongues still have their place in the Library of Congress or other such institutions the world over.
Some who were marginally known in their own lifetimes and shortly after are still remembered on the shelves of libraries and mad book collectors like Kelly and me.
I don’t know if my works will ever make me “famous”. I’d actually prefer not to be.
I would, however, like to be remembered as someone who wrote something that can still be enjoyed even when my great grandchildren are old and grey.
Guess we’ll see.
That’s all for one scrumptiously dreary Hump Day. I hope you’re having a cozy, productive week.