No Clue as to what to do.

I want so badly to capture the feeling of leaving a career that defined me as much as being a mother defines mothers. To teach is to learn and to grow... ending this career has left a giant hole in my heart. I love to read posts but have no clue what to do to get started. Please let me know what is needed and what would be of interest for those of you out there...

Last day....

how's everybody feeling and doing?

Thanksgiving Day: counting down to the end

Hey support group. I'm hoping for 45,000 words today. My story still has a lot to say and I'm not sure it's ready to wind down yet, but determination in word count is a place to start. I promise to keep writing after this experiment is over. I can't believe it's almost over.

An excerpt from a while ago:

THAT night Maisie lay in bed thinking. It had been an interesting day, but she didn’t find what she was looking for. Faeries were too elusive. “Maybe they are going extinct!” she thought to herself. “I have to help them! If only I could find one and talk to it.” The disappearing faeries haunted her day and night and she didn’t know what to do about it. Her mother walked in her bedroom door.

“Lights out Mais,” she said.

“Ok mom,” Maisie replied.

Her mother walked over to the bed and kissed her forehead. “Sleep well honey,” she said. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She made her way back to the patch of light from the hallway and shut off the lights with the switch by the bedroom door. A nightlight glowed into life across from her bed as her mother shut the door. Maisie turned over and drifted into sleep.

In her subconscious creatures started to come out of the shadows. They took on the forms of her thoughts, the forms of faeries and trolls, of gnomes and an occasional giant. She appeared as a princess captured by a dragon. In her dream world, there was a conference going on about how to save her, her being the princess of the realm. Every tribe and species was represented there, at least every one with consciousness. The faeries hovered above the table sprinkling faerie dust on everything as they moved. The trolls sat at the table fussily, wishing they were underground, but also wishing that the magical princess was safe and knowing that they couldn’t go home until she was. If she wasn’t rescued they might not have a home to go back to. Also there were the centaurs, kings of the forest, elves, wizards, the princess’s own father and mother, worried sick, the good witched that lived high up in the mountains where they could see the world clearly, dwarves, gnomes, unicorns and even a delegation from the nation of the giants sat outside the window, one grotesquely big eye peering into the conference. All were represented and all wanted to save the princess and bring peace to their homeland. Right now everyone was talking, shouting to be heard. The king looked helplessly over at his squire with the gong that should bring them all to silence. The gong sounded and the din began to quiet down.

“Now,” said the king. “I know we all want the same thing, but can we please try to have some order? I just want my daughter back. She brings magic into the world and if she doesn’t return soon, magic will begin to disappear from the whole realm. Now nobody wants that, right?”

There was a low murmur of agreement. No one did want that, except for the dragon that had captured her and was now holding her hostage in his cave surrounded by burnt out forest. He had burnt the forest himself, turning it into a dirty barren landscape that nobody wanted to cross. This kept him isolated from the world and for now kept the princess to himself.

“The conference will now break into subcommittees and thought shower groups. We need ideas my friends. So far no one has been able to contact the dragon to find out what he wants from the princess or so that he will return her. You all know your committees. Go now!” The king commanded and the gong sounded once more to signal the next step in the process.

The din began again as creatures of all shapes and sizes raced around to find their groups and begin their discussions. The hall began to empty out as committees went off to their meeting places. The king sighed. “I hope they come up with something soon,” he said turning to his silent wife. She had not said a word since the disappearance and was now known for sudden outbursts of silent sobs. She choked one back now and looked at her husband with a pained look in her eyes.

“I know my dear,” the king said sympathetically. “We’ll find her. We have the best warriors and negotiators in all the land at our disposal, coming up with plans right now.”

The queen bowed her head. “Here,” her husband said. “Let’s get you something to eat and get you back to bed. I know this hasn’t been easy for you. It hasn’t been easy for either of us. But we’ll get her back. I can just feel it my love.”

Through the lush forests and past the mountains lay the burnt out valley of the dragon. He was proud to have captured such a prized treasure and looked forward to adding her to his collection. So far she had been a tricky one to tame and he was running out of ideas. He sat on the cave floor, the cave that he had made his home, with smoke trailing out of his nostrils. The princess curled up in a heap against the cave wall in front of him. One long chain attached her to a hook bolted into the ground. This was only a precaution to keep her from running away. The dragon took pride in his collection of magical creatures and knew that this one would complete his collection. It wasn’t quite complete but this one would bring the others. He knew they were meeting already to try to figure out how to save her, and he just wanted a sample of what was left. He was low on faerie dust and his dwarf had found a way to burrow away. He wouldn’t make the same mistake with the dwarf again. He had built a proper container for it, something the thing couldn’t break free of and find it’s way back into the safety of the earth. He looked at the princess. “Please,” he said in his softest voice, doing his best to imitate the human language. “Help me.”

The princess looked up, her face streaked with tears and dirt. “Just let me go!” she shouted, hoping to intimidate the creature. He hopped back, but really more for show than anything else. He wanted her to feel that she was as powerful as she thought. This would bring the other creatures to him. He hated that he had to resort to this level, he knew the danger he was in, but he was so close and then he would be free. If only the rest of the world understood him; if they only would help him reach his goal. He was so close.

Maisie stirred in her sleep and turned over. She felt no fear, her mind made sure she knew it was only a dream, but her face was still twisted in a concentrated expression. Her dream rang of truth and somewhere she knew it.

So close and yet so far

We're getting close. I'm more and more determined as we go into this final week. My story is far far behind, but my writing is almost on target. Let's finish this thing.

Mini Marathon weekend?

Misery loves company.

What do you think about a mini weekend writing marathon? We'll do check-ins periodically during the weekend.

My goal this weekend is to reach 22,000. I am at 14,679.

Not to freak you all out....

So we have 11 days--maybe 10 by the time you read this. Who still in here kicking away at their word goals? How are you feeling? What are you thinking? Did you think it would be this hard? Do you feel twitchy?

Let's get together for a writing marathon weekend... write and check in and tell how you are doing.

Let's hear some chatter.

Updates?

How are you all doing? I've actually managed to keep up with the daily goals pretty well and am caught up today at just over 30,000 words.


What about you?