Or at least I should be one third of the way done. It’s day 11 of NaNoWriMo and I’m at about 10K words or so. It’s a respectable amount, but still about 7,000 words behind. Luckily, I feel as though I can whip out that much in a good weekend, or more likely on Thanksgiving. So, all is well in the realm of NaNo. Unfortunately though, I am incredibly busy with just about everything else and the 2AM writing sessions have resulted in some mediocre at best style writing. Here’s hoping for a slightly better week writing and a kick in the rear for a weak as hell story.
NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo
I haven’t commented on the writer’s strike yet this week (mainly because I haven’t really posted anything), but as it starts to carry on, the landscape begins to look bleaker. I am a fan of only a few select television programs, all of them scripted and all of them either off the air already or within an arm’s length of being so.
First, today was supposed to be the day on which John Bolton, the mustachioed former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations visited the Daily Show. I don’t know about you, but I live for the combative interviews Stewart has with former administration officials and right wing hacks. He always lets them say just enough to draw the trap before dropping the cage and pouncing. It’s good fun.
Second, it looks like Scrubs will not be getting a series finale. The show has been in limbo for a long time now, just barely eeking out the contract for a final year and now it looks like there will not only not be a full season, we won’t get a full goodbye. That’s just wrong.
Third, I hate reality TV, and as a matter of course reality TV is not only cheap to produce but does not require the services of union writers. In fact, part of the demands by the WGA is that reality TV writers be in the union (although, it is
admittedly the lowest thing on their list and likely a throw away). Regardless, January is going to be a gluttonous mess of reality TV that I don’t want to go near with a ten foot pole, while shows that I like such as The Office, Heroes, or Lost will wallow in their own well written early season graves. Oh, the humanity.
I understand fully why the writers are on strike and I support them 100%. It’s a shame that the other side isn’t willing to sit and nogotiate so we can enjoy our favorite programs. It’s a bigger shame that the writers have been stuck with a 19 year old contract that promises limited to no returns on media that did not even exist when the last contract was written. So, good luck with the strike and here’s hoping for an early resolution so that the entire winter is not host to endless and equally mindless reality TV one shots. I can’t handle any more.
Media Reviews
So, as I had guessed, things have been hectic thus far, tapered a bit by my desire to not do anything at all. Looking back, October was actually an incredibly busy month, which has given me the freedom to relax a bit in November. Unfortunatley, that means I have been slacking a bit on my novel. That’s not to say that I’m really that far behind quite yet. I’m sitting at about 7,000 words right now and should be at 13,000 by the end of today. I will likely be at 9,000 or 10,000 realistically, but I do have the entire weekend to get caught up.
The ironic part is that I did not even change my topic this year. Every year before, I have gotten within a day or two of writing and completely changed the topic on which I was going to write. This year that was not the case and yet still I managed to fall irrevocably behind. There is one solid upside to being a professional writer – 50,000 words looks a lot smaller than it used to…unfortunatetly, it’s not that much smaller.
On a side note, I sent off a pitch I wrote up the other night to a couple of magazines in hopes that it might garner some interest. Though one response is still pending, I received a reply from one editor in a matter of hours…I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing, considering he declined, but it was by far the fastest response I’ve ever gotten from anyone working…well anywhere really. It gives me some feedback to rework the pitch a bit and try again with another magazine. Pardon the sketchy descriptions. I’ve learned how incredibly easy it is to track my name directly to one of my websites and more out of superstition than anything else, I feel like I should be careful with who I talk abou professionally (lest I burn bridges before I even come to them).
Well back to work. I must be getting along now.
Freelancing, NaNoWriMo
Ah, with November now in play and a whole slew of new endeavors underway, I thought I would post an update on all things in the life of Anthony Chatfield. Hint: it’s a lot of things.
First off, there’s the freelancing. I’ve recently completed and relaunched my freelance services website at SeattleFreelance.com and have hired on the first few writers to help me get things started. As t
he month goes along, the plan is to throw out some feelers and start dragging in some new projects, grow my existing client basis and finally get over the dependency I’ve built up in Elance and other sites. It is a loftly goal, one that will probably take a few months to accomplish, but also one that will give me massive freedom in my writing – definitely a good thing.
Next up there’s NaNoWriMo. I announced my start of the annual novel writing month last night and have so far barely accomplished my daily allocation of writing. Luckily, I have 29 days to write 48,000 words, not something I’m overly worried about..not considering the other 100,000+ words I will likely write this month for work. The nice little diversion it gives me is a good aside from the usual work for hire content I engage in every day. Plus, it’s fiction – not something I get a chance to write as often as I would like.
I’m working up a new project on the side as well, writing and publishing new websites and eBooks on a variety of topics. For a few months now I’ve been reading and writing about dozens of interesting topics, and now I’m working on congealing all of that random knowledge into my own money making prospects. Thus far, I have completed one website, outlined three more and am in the process of marketing new ideas with my partner and roommate. Regardless of how important I make myself sound though, it is a fun little side project that I am going to keep at it until I either get very rich or fail miserably – whichever comes first.
Then there’s the holidays coming up. With veteran’s day weekend, thanksgiving and the coming christmas holiday, there will be a lot of travel and a lot of off time, making it even more likely that the rest of the month is spent working for hours on end…oh and playing Guitar Hero III. I must say, I am thoroughly addicted.
Freelancing, NaNoWriMo
It is just a few minutes past midnight in the good old Northwest and I am about to start on my NaNoWriMo novel. I have been swamped to the eyebrows in recent weeks with work so my posts have been sparse, but here’s to everyone out there who is writing right now, starting down the long and harrowing path of writing a novel this month. I’m there with you.
NaNoWriMo
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