NaNo Diaries: Days Twenty Five to Twenty Seven

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.15 am

Word Count: 2100 (Total - 50,950

Treats: A Story Binder download (for another post)

Other Activity: Uploading my novel to Createspace Grrrrr.

Word of the Day: ONIOMANIA noun 1. an uncontrollable desire to buy things.

Yay, I hit the magic 50k mark this morning! Feeling oh, so chuffed. I haven't been posting because I've also been formatting my next publication for release next Tuesday 1st December. I love the process of self publishing my book, I feel very much in control of its destiny. Quite a scary place to be and I'm sure with practice it will get easier. Needless to say I'm on another learning curve even though I've been here before... 

Now for a large glass of something,

Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries - Day Twenty Four

Freya, a proper softie...

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.43 am - very dark and grey!

Word Count: 1800 (Total - 44,636)

Treats: A 2016 Calendar - doesn't take much to make me happy

Other Activity: Proofing my book with my lovely husband, by the fire

Word of the Day: SPLENDIFEROUS adjective 1. splendid; magnificent; fine.

We share our lives with several animals, as I've probably mentioned before. The picture above is Freya, our four year old Italian Sheepdog. Yes, she's only four years old and is a mighty giant of a beast who thinks she's a lap dog! This is her on our bed, and remember we have another dog like Freya, Bertie who is not as big and the Naughty Nell to keep us company. Freya likes to make her entrance about 5am (having slept on the sofa until then). She paws at my side of the bed until I make room for her by my feet. Nell usually ends up in the middle of us! And I won't mention the kitties... No wonder I wake with a crick in my neck.

My lovely husband and soul mate, Simon has been helping with the final polish of The Good{Expat}Life today. He's gone through it with a fine tooth comb and it's amazing after three edits how many errors have slipped in unintentionally! We've had quite a laugh sat by the fire with him and his red pen, me and the laptop and a fire burning in the corner... cosy editing. 

Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries: Day Twenty Three

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.30am, a bit of a scrabble
Word Count: 1200 (Total - 42,836)
Treats: On line Christmas Shopping
Other Activity: Repairing winter veg after high winds
Word of the Day: GRATULATION noun 1. a feeling of joy 2. the expression of joy

Before I moved to Italy, I always used to be a last minute kind of Christmas shopper. It's not the time of year I particularly relish - bah humbug - I think it's far too commercial. One of the surprises here is that the lead time to the big day is much shorter, usually starting at the beginning of December, though I have noticed things creeping into the supermarkets the past couple of weeks. We usually do our Christmas shopping on-line, as the postage is pretty hefty for large parcels. So this week I'll be going shopping, armed with my trusty mouse and laptop. It's not quite the same but at least there are no queues and no constant replays of Christmas tunes... told you I didn't like it!

So we're into the last leg of NaNoWrimo and many of my writer friends are approaching the target figure of 50K words. It's amazing what we can do when we put our minds to it. I noticed a statistic on my personal dashboard over at NaNo this morning. Apparently I've written over 225 thousand words since I first joined. That's quite a lot of words. The hard work of course isn't now, it's when we go back to the project and realise that it's going to need a lot of work to kick it into shape. But that's the real writing. 
Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries: Day Twenty Two

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.30am - but stayed in bed to do them (not easy with two dogs, a cat and my lovely Simon for company!
Word Count: 3600 (Total - 41,636)
Treats: A glass of Prosecco after a Writers Abroad Chat on Skype
Other Activity: Reading (for pleasure) - Girl on The Train
Word of the Day:  PENURIOUS adjective 1. extremely stingy; parsimonious; miserly.
2. extremely poor; destitute; indigent.

It's Sunday, and that means there is a roast in the oven filling our tiny little house with mouth watering smells, I have a glass of prosecco in hand and... I'm still in my PJ's. Even though my life is so different in so many ways from when I lived in the UK, some habits die hard. Weekends are still special and Sunday particularly so. It's the time we catch up with family and friends via Skype and we just chill out. I have done some writerly things, I've managed a small NaNo contribution, with the help of my feline and canine friends, but essentially a Sunday is about time out.

In terms of my NaNo project, I've decided that the next eight stories are going to be just enough words to reach my target by the deadline. I've committed to publishing a project I've been dithering with for months, probably longer. The Good{Expat}Life will go live on December the 1st - yes eight days to go - I need to give myself a bit of space. I should have thought about this before of course but there you go. Life takes a course of its own. A writer has to be flexible...  

Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries: Day Twenty

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.30am
Word Count: 2400 (Total - 38,036)
Treats: Movie Time!
Other Activity: Movie Time!
Word of the Day: PANGLOSSIAN adjective
1. characterized by or given to extreme optimism, especially in the face of unrelieved hardship or adversity.



I'm reading The Artists Way over several months along with other writers in a Motivation group. It's the reason I started my Morning Pages again, but it also talks about having Artist's Dates. Doing something you wouldn't normally do or allow yourself to do. I must admit, I find it hard to find something. I like staying at home, dog walking and spending time with my husband. I must sound really boring but that's me, particularly in winter time. So later on this afternoon we're going to watch a movie! Shock! horror! Living in Italy it's not easy for us to go to the cinema. It wasn't something we did very often in the UK but it was always a treat. We'll wait until after the dogs are walked... and the popcorn is ready to pop. 

We're about to enter the final leg of NaNo and today is the day when NaNoers can register their projects if they've reached the target of 50k words. I shall reach the target early, but not this early and I shall continue until the final day, as I have thirty prompts to write. I don't feel pressured at all, I suppose that could be because I'm enjoying it so much. 

Ciao for Now,

NaNo Diaries: Day Nineteen

Naughty Nell Hiding...

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 7am (set my clock an hour later than it was...)
Word Count: 2100 (Total - 35,636)
Treats: A new pencil arrived from Amazon, love it!
Other Activity: Making French Baguettes for supper
Word of the Day: EMPYREAL adjective 1. pertaining to the sky; celestial: empyreal blue. 2. pertaining to the highest heaven in the cosmology of the ancients



Thursday is the day I ring my Dad in the UK. He's eighty one and lives on his own, though I do have a brother who is minutes away and three other siblings who are scattered around. One of the downsides of living in another country is the constant worry about those you've left behind. So phone calls, Skype and Facetime is very important. 
As you can see, Naughty Nell is a constant source of amusement. Here she is hiding beneath the sofa throw.

As well as doing my NaNo target, I've been working towards my first publication of six. Yes, six that's right. I shall be publishing The Good{Expat}Life on 1st December...and have been working on the cover today. More will follow tomorrow.

Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries: Days Fifteen to Eighteen

Abbadia Fiastra - Wooden Walkway

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 5.20 am (dogs barking at wild pigs)
Word Count: 2200 (Total - 33,536)
Treats: A new calendar for 2016
Other Activity: A walk around  the Abbadia Fiastra
Word of the Day: SLUGABED noun 1. a lazy person who stays in bed long after the usual time for arising.







I'm behind with my diaries for good reason. After the atrocities of Paris, I had the sad news that another writer friend from Writers Abroad had died on Sunday night. Doreen was the third member we've lost this year. I hope she's joining Jany and Mary, with a glass of her favourite tipple and a good book.

It's November yet in the sunshine today, the temperatures peaked to an unseasonal 30 degrees. We had a walk around one of our places, Abbadia Di Fiastra. It's part of land that has been owned by the monks for centuries and in nearby Urbisaglia there are Roman ruins that they are excavating. It's only about twenty minutes drive away and we go often, accompanied of course, by Naughty Nell.

Day 18 of NaNo and despite the sadness that's enveloped me over the last few days, I've managed to keep on track. I know that my writer friends would approve, indeed I can hear them shouting words of encouragement (unrepeatable here of course). There are a few 'stories' which already feel longer than a short and I'm encouraged by that. In fact I have to sit on my hands to stop myself scribbling on and on. So not a bad sign.

Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries: Day Thirteen

Evil Eye Tree in Turkey said to ward off harm

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.17am
Word Count: 2454 (Total - 26,250)
Treats: Simon making risotto for lunch, Chestnut and Mushroom
Other Activity: Not a lot, feeling a tad under the weather.
Word of the Day: SAPORIFIC adjective 1. producing or imparting flavour or taste.




Friday the thirteenth. Good job I'm not superstitious and that tree looks scary! My maternal grandmother, Hettie was terribly superstitious. She would allow us to open umbrellas in the house, nor walk on cracks in pavements and even prevented my mother from getting married in May (Marry in May, rue the day). As my parents celebrated fifty years of marriage, maybe she was right. We have lots of black cats here in out feral cat community and the Italians are very wary of them, instead of bringing luck they signify evil. 

Anyway, despite a bit of a stop start to my writing session this morning - where poor Simon got a bit of a roasting for asking me where the sellotape was - I managed to pen a good word count. The trouble is when your concentration is pierced by the slightest thing when your're in mid flow, you can never recover that moment. Still I went on to write and enjoyed the session so maybe not so bad after all. My poor husband will be so glad when November is over... He's a star.

Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries: Day Twelve

Starlights daughter, Tigsy having a nap

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.35am
Word Count: 2649 (Total - 23,796)
Treats: Watching The Lost Kingdom on TV
Other Activity: Sweeping up leaves - a sign it's Autumn
Word of the Day: MAGNANIMOUS - adjective 1. proceeding from or revealing generosity or nobility of mind, character, etc.: a magnanimous gesture of forgiveness. 2. high-minded; noble: a just and magnanimous ruler.






It's unseasonably warm here in Italy for this time of year. Everyone is raving about the beautiful warm days but... it always comes with a price I think. I'd much prefer it to be bright but seasonally cold. Call me a spoilsport but I love the different seasons, each for a different reason and for Autumn its about hibernation. Getting out all my woollies, lighting the fire and closing the shutters ready for Winter. Lovely. But all this warmth is bringing different problems. Red mite. No it's not some weird version of flu but a tiny little devil that attacks our poor chickens. The little critters should be banished now if there were lower temperatures. But no.Instead they're basking in the sun. We've found several in the hen house over the past few weeks and they can kill. So we're disinfecting the coop every couple of days, and dusting the house and chucks. Nearly got them all but they're a pest.
And one of the cats hasn't been seen since Monday. Starlight is a semi feral cat who gets fed with our brood. Not sure where she is or where to look. Fingers crossed she's being fed somewhere else for a while.

An I've got a writing buddy, which I'm very excited about. I've  just finished the Writember workshop with Faye Kirwin, which has helped enormously with my motivation. I thoroughly recommend it if you find you are struggling. To others I might seem as though I have all the time in the world (which I don't, just more than some) but even so habit and structure is so important. Since leaving the world of  'real work' (I have a different take on that now, maybe for another post) this is the first time it's hit home. So I have a target, I've identified my best times to write and I've made a commitment. Now with my buddy, I'm accountable to someone in making sure I get it done!

NaNo Diaries: Day Eleven

In Memory of Harry John Lamb 

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.31am
Word Count: 1706 (Total - 21,147)
Treats: An Apple Strudel with a cappuccino
Exercise: Dog walking - it's enough to just watch Naughty Nell!
Word of the Day: LOGOPHILE noun 1. a lover of words. (very appropriate)








I always think of my grandfather, or Pops as he was fondly know, on this day. He fought in the First World War and was awarded for bravery. He was only nineteen at the time so goodness knows what he felt at the time. The strange thing is he never spoke about it to my Dad and he only found out he had a bravery award when his brother died in my Dad's eightieth year. How difficult it must be for all those serving in the armed services in years gone by as well in our time. How brave they are and how lucky we are to have them protecting us and our families.

I've discovered I am a creature of habit. Aren't we all? Just a little bit?  I'm on day 52 of my morning pages and still find plenty to write about and into the eleventh day of NaNo and haven't (yet) fallen off the track. I've been trying to write my target first thing in the morning. Before anything else gets in the way. I've been scribbling ideas for ten minutes (using the random prompt selected by Simon the night before) and then had two 25 minute sessions where I've written on average around 2500 words. The emphasis is on words and not a polished story by any means. But today I couldn't do that and so started my writing at half past three this afternoon. It was a bit of slog, despite feeling energised by a walk with the dogs, and a dip in my word count too. Never mind, life is like that, veering off here and there. Writing is also about flexibility!

Ciao for Now

NaNo Diaries: Day Ten

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6:02am
Word Count: 2443 (Total over 20k)

Treats: An hour of reading this afternoon
Exercise: Fence building at sparrows *art
Word of the Day: LASSITUDE noun
1. weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc.; lack of energy; listlessness; languor.
2. a condition of indolent indifference: the pleasant lassitude of the warm summer afternoon.

I got told off this morning for setting my clock a little fast (only ten minutes) but it confused poor Simon! I like to set clocks a little fast. Somehow it convinces me that I have more time. More fool me. The big dogs (gigantic in fact) have been getting out the last couple of days. We don't mind them being out, but the Italians are scared stiff of them. Bertie and Freya are two of the softest canines I've had the pleasure of knowing but still, when in Rome. So we were out mending fences at 6.45 this morning, slipping in the early morning dew.  

The bowl above is my random prompt generator. Scientific isn't it? At the end of my writing day (usually after this is posted) I ask Simon to select one bit of scrunched up paper. On the paper is a number from 1- 30 and on Scrivener I have thirty writing prompts. So for example yesterday was no 27. So that is the prompt I wrote to this morning. Simples. A bit like me really. 

Ciao for Now.

NaNo Diaries: Day Five

Morning Pages Wake Up Call: 6.06 - a 
Word Count:2473 (Total 10991) 
Treats: One square of chocolate for a mid NaNo slump but didn't enjoy it all that much. A glass of wine will be very welcome
Exercise: A walk in the woods with Naughty Nell, who ran three times as much as I walked.
Word of the Day - RECONDITE (adjective) 1. dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter: a recondite treatise. 
2. beyond ordinary knowledge or understanding; esoteric: recondite principles.

This is Tigsy, the matriarch of our little feline community and one of Bertie's (the large male Maremma sheepdog) best friends. I have a picture of them kissing somewhere - will dig it out. I don't know why she likes the box, but it's a cheap bed! 

One of the things I've learnt over the last few weeks is how to develop a determination to write, whatever happens. As you can see from my wake up times I rise early in the hope to capture that dreamy thought time which gives me lots of ideas. It also, in theory should be the quietest time. And most importantly it is my most productive time, well in terms of quantity if not quality. 

However, with the arsenal of cats and dogs that we live with, the quiet time is very short lived. I creep out of our bedroom (we have a very tiny house and live on one level) into the room which serves as our dining room and my writing room. It's not huge, but I like it. First of all the two big dogs decide they don't want to stay with Naughty Nell so bark loudly to be let out. Then she objects so starts scratching at the door until Simon entices her back to bed. Just as I get into my writing mode, the cats start to meow with a ferocity that belies their loving nature. First one, then a second until all six are demanding 'Breakfast Time!' 

I ignore all these interruptions, having learnt to just tune them out, until my twenty five minutes are up. I sat back this morning feeling very chuffed with myself and was treated to the snoring duo of Simon and Nell through the bedroom door. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Ciao for Now

MARVELOUS MAY

Well, the first week has been and I'm not just talking about the weather!
It started on Monday when I received an email to say that I'd won the Cazart Flash Fiction prize for April. It was a piece that had previously been shortlisted so it was a double doze of satisfaction. Not sure what the prize is but it's of no matter. It really made my week and spurred me on with my writing at a very 'dry' time in terms of good news.

• I've managed to knock out at least 6000 words on The Morning Gift, and that's just the stuff I processed, I've got lots of notes and half scribbled scenes to add. I re-read the synopsis (which I wrote last year) and was pleasantly surprised at how it all still meant something! So I'm really enjoying this piece of work.
• I've drafted three Penny and George stories, which I've put aside and will edit next week. Again this is part of a work in progress that I've got lots of content on but trying to put it all together.
• The character sketch for my protagonist in the fantasy novel is taking shape and I'm itching to get started - I have a couple of scenes which I wrote as part of Monday Muse, but I really want to do a bit more planning before I let my pen loose!
• There's not been much progress on my edit of The Promise, but in my defense I'm doing a course on Self Editing and using that as my project, so it's sort of in hand.
• And I've submitted a Monday Muse and finally submitted a submission to the Yeovil Literary Prize (with help from our Grammar Queen at Writers Abroad, thanks Paola!).

Phew! Feel quite worn out now and its POETS day so must be well overdue for that G&T!
Until Later