Promoting your book - a shout out of thanks to @philipsmith.eu

Are you a self-publishing author? Do you have Twitter?

Then you really should connect with lovely people over at +philipsmith.eu  who selflessly help self-publishing authors get their books into readers hands!

Thanks guys, your spreading the word is GREATLY appreciated!






 

The last 100m...

In June, I set out writing the first draft of my non-fiction manuscript.  I felt that my final word count would be around the 80,000 to 85,000 word range (though, with only one full novel manuscript behind me, it was still more like just a stab in the dark amount to aim for rather than a proper guess at what the word count would be).

Well, now, just short of two months later, after working on the manuscript close to every single day, my word count has now grown to a couple of hundred words short of 70,000 words.  And, with what I know I still need to write, I'm thinking I did a very good job with that original estimation!

I feel as though I am a track and field athlete. A runner who is running a 400 metre race. I got off to a strong start but now, as I approach the last bend in the track, where the finish line will soon come into sight, I'm tired and energy depleted and am looking to draw upon my reserves to give it my all, to hold my winning position, and bring it all the way cross the line.

I can hear the crowd in the stands cheering, urging me on.  Now, I can feel that burst of energy starting to kick in, right as I want and need it...

Wish me luck... I want to see that finish line any minute now!  It will help. Greatly.

Capturing Ideas, while they strike

As a writer, I always take a pen and small notebook with me in my handbag wherever I go. I have pens and paper within easy reach in various parts of my house too, like my coffee, dining and bedside tables; so I am always able to jot down ideas and or take notes when those ideas come to me. I have a smart phone that has a voice recorder on it, which I put to good, frequent use too; in the middle of the night, I can get back to sleep so much quicker if I just sleepily voice record my idea with my eyes shut rather than having to wake up and turn the light on to write the idea down.

But, my real claim to being 'strange' or 'a writer' is that in my kitchen I have two magnetic whiteboards adhered to my fridge, and marking pens close by on the bench next to the fridge. That way, I don't have to waste precious time to dry or clean my hands when an idea strikes while I'm washing up, or am cooking. 

When I first got those (free-gift) whiteboards a few years ago (almost the size of an A4 sheet of paper, from my local doctors and an expo), the kids and I used to just create our shopping list, and or write important messages to each other in case we missed each other because we all seemed to be on 'different shifts'.  Now, as it is mostly only my Bubbygirl and I at home (and we just send each other free SMS or Facebook messages), we still use the topmost whiteboard to write up our shopping list... and the spare whiteboard didn't get much of a work out, until I started writing again.

Now, I am amazed at how often great ideas and sentences come to me while I am washing up the dishes (I'll get around to fixing the dishwasher, one day!)

... Actually, I'm in the middle of a current writing project... and I'm wondering where I can get another magnetic whiteboard! My handwriting is quite large, and there isn't always enough room to write down everything. 

As soon as I find another one, I'll just have to go and dirty up a few more mugs and some dishes so I can give it a decent workout...

Feeling like I might actually get to 'The End' this time!

After numerous attempts to write a training course and getting part way into writing it, then coming to a grinding halt because I felt like I was waffling far too excessively, I changed tactic.


I downloaded a Mind map and dumped my ideas and thoughts into the freebie program in short and concise statements that I knew I would understand later. 


At the end, I switched the mind map over to Outline view, but the program wouldn't allow me to print out the outline, only the actual mind map. *Sigh*  So I painstakingly hand wrote into a fresh spiral notebook each of the bullet points in the outline (though I altered the list to only have a two step hierarchy on paper than the however many hierarchy created by the program).

And that, my friends, changed everything.

I typed each of those bullet points into Microsoft Word (using the outline view mode) and in less than half an hour I had the structure all set down.  Then, starting with the last entries (using normal mode), I inserted Section and Page breaks, until just the skeletal outline was on about 30 pages instead of 2.

With great determination, the next day I deliberately started working on writing Section 30.  I knew it would be my hardest part of writing the content, so rather than putting it off and starting on all the easy bits (which was really tempting, and, to be honest, mostly already done at first draft level), I forced myself to start with the hardest parts first.

That first writing session took me five hours, and the words took a while before they started to come out, but by the time I was finished, I had 1. missed having lunch (not good, I have diabetes) and 2. had increased my word count from 2,712 words to 6,799 words!  I had got through that hard last section, and then moved straight to another hard section (I think around section 24 or so) while I was on a roll.

Anyway, it is now two weeks later and my word count has grown to  35, 268 words.  I still have a long way to go to get everything out of my head and onto paper, before I can then chop out unnecessary points and to rewrite, edit and polish the manuscript to a readable (by another person) level. 


And it has been a FUN journey this time.  Once I cracked that 10,000 word mark, something inside me just knew it would be different this time - this time I wouldn't be going back to the drawing board, this time, I will actually get to writing 'The End' (Though, that will be the first two words that I will then need to edit out).

23 Minute Recovery time needed

I heard an interesting fact while listening to a podcast last night, that writers take 23 minutes to get into the flow of writing.

The point being discussed in the podcast was that when a writer is disrupted it takes another 23 minutes to get back into that flow.

I've been working on writing a course for jobseekers, and yesterday was extremely frustrating for me because my phone kept ringing right when I had the house to myself for a few hours and could 'get into it'.  And, with annoying frequency, the damn phone rang.  Each time telemarketers despite my being on the Do Not Call list.

Anyway, I am really enjoying Jonathan Milligan's 'Blogging Your Passion' podcasts since I discovered them less than a week ago. 

How you can create unique images for your blog using Microsoft PowerPoint

Especially handy when you don't own or know how to use Photoshop!

As a blogger, you understand the necessity to include images with your blog posts and the importance in making sure that the images you use are free of copyright restrictions. I know, I have accidentally included images that I thought I was permitted to use, only to realise a few months later that I was mistaken!

Since I discovered my monumental mistake, in the interests of not wanting to be sued for infringing upon other people's copyright, I now create my own images using Microsoft PowerPoint. I actually have Photoshop installed on my computer - my son purchased a student version when he did a Digital Media course - but although I have it, I find the program too confusing to use, and I don't have the time to do a course in order to learn how, so I needed to find an alternative way, and I realised I could utilise my Microsoft Office suite to greater usage than I'd previously given it.

I'm not the best image creator by any means, but I'm not the worst you can find either.  Check out some of my recent creations, each of which supported the blog post I was writing for my resume and jobsearch training blog:

"Fonts" accompanied an article about the types of fonts to use and not use in resumes, cover letters and applications.

I started by making the PowerPoint slide background the lilac colour you see, and then adding a white rectangular Shape over top. Then I added a Text box, and wrote the word 'fonts' before changing the font for each letter so that I used a few different styles: serif, sans serif; scriptive, decorative and commercial.  I used a darker shade of the lilac for the 'o' and later added the star shape over top.

I added a Glow effect to the word 'fonts' and arched it too, then added another text box with my blog details and so that the original works, if shared, remained attributed to me as its creator.

Because I have found that PNG images seems to have more durability when used on the different social media sites, and JPG often loses some of the images sharpness, I 1. Save the PowerPoint presentation as a PowerPoint presentation - so that I keep the original in case I need to go back and make changes to the original (after learning the hard way that I had to start from scratch one time when I didn't) and 2. Save the Image, usually with the same name, as a PNG image, which Blogger allows me to upload.

With this second image, I used it for a post aimed at giving advice to returning to work mums.

Once again, I used a standard size default slide and changed the background colour, and I found the image in Clip Art. I added a Text box and wrote the words 'Interviews Here today' and then angled the text box over the bus sign or whatever used to be underneath.  I wanted the sign to look like that it had been stuck up over top of an existing signage - like a lot of employers stick up in their offices to tell people things like 'come this way' or 'lift out of order' etc.

This road map took me hours to create. I used the freehand drawing tool to create a couple of squiggly lines and then formatted the lines so that they became as thick as they are and then copied the original narrow line and pasted it as the dashed yellow or white lines over top of my 'tar' road.

I added lots of clip art, text boxes and shapes to create the water, trees and map markings.  I saved the files again as a PowerPoint presentation and as a PNG file and then I found the cute little guy in the sports car and just had to go back and add him starting out on his journey, at a point before he could 'do it right' or take a wrong turn (as a subtle reiteration of the blog post).

Not all graphics you create have to be time consuming though.  I created this resume graphic to advertise my business on a Facebook group, and this image generated a lot of enquiries for me for a couple of weeks, as members who had seen me comment on people's posts suddenly realised I offered paid services that they were in need of - despite my mentioning that I am a private resume writer and jobsearch coach frequently. This simple graphic was, again, a standard slide with background changed to one solid colour, with a Text box that was later angled and colours changed to make it look like a sheet of office paper.  In hindsight, I could go back and make the background be a wood texture, so it looks like a resume lying on the desk of a hiring manager!

What I love about PNG images, is that in PowerPoint you can place other images over top of it, so you can build a unique image by creating 'layers' just like you would using Photoshop.

As you can see, if you are able to Insert and Format Shapes and text boxes in Microsoft PowerPoint, then you are able to create some decent looking original images - and that way, you will never be without an image for your blog posts ever again.

Twitter message - grr moment

I don't understand Twitter rules when it comes to Twitter messages; more accurately, I don't understand their logic.

So you can follow people and people can follow you, yep I don't have any problem with that.  But, let's say I follow a person named 'Joe'.

This is the scenario that doesn't make sense to me:

I follow Joe.
I receive Twitter message from Joe.
But I can't Reply to that message...
... because Joe isn't following me.

Now I would completely understand if I could just message a random person who I am not following - as a user, I'm happy to engage with the people I am following (well, obviously I am a fan or friend) and I am happy to engage with the people who are following me (wow, I have fans and friends?)

I am following Joe, because I am a fan of his comments, so it is a complete delight that Joe (appreciating he has fans) checks out my profile and wants to connect with me - by asking me a question.

As a fan of Joe's, I appreciate that he has initiated conversation with me, and I would like to reply to his question!

In this particular case, Joe has actually asked me how much I charge to write a resume because he saw on my profile that I am a resume writer (woohoo, people check out my profile!), even though I followed Joe because of his photography photo's and comments.

How was I supposed to know when I followed Joe that he is currently between jobs and is frustrated at not getting the results he is after and is now looking for a resume writer to help him?

How am I supposed to reply to his message and potentially gain business for my resume writing and jobsearch training business using social media, when Twitter tells me 'Sorry, you cannot reply to Joe because Joe is not following you'? (Grrr!)

Why does Joe have to follow me in return for us to be able to communicate privately?


Had it been Facebook, any ol' person could search my profile and send me a message.  If the person isn't on my friends list, the message goes into my 'Other' folder; and if I should happen to see the message, I have full ability to reply... or in case of the scam messages, delete.

Like I said, and will repeat because I am confused over the logic (or lack thereof): Why does Joe have to follow ME before I can reply to his message?







 

You Tube to my rescue!

On Friday night I discovered that my home television allows me to watch You Tube videos - I'm not sure if one of my tech savvy children added the television to our broadband internet or whether now that Sydney has gone 'fully digital' this is part of it, but either way I have a feeling I am going to spend a lot more 'television watching' time over at the You Tube videos than the television stations.

Friday night, and Saturday evening I learned new blogging skills: I downloaded a few social media buttons a number of weeks ago and finally with the help of one of the You Tube videos guided me as I added them to my Char Mesan Job Training blog. For someone 'old' I'm slowly catching up to being as tech savvy as they are - and my business blog is starting to look and feel more the way I imagined it would be!

MayYou Tube always be around to help save the day :-)

1 year Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, me!

I never imagined twelve months ago today when I started this blog that I would soon discover a new love in blogging, and that my blog would reach over 8000 page views and that I would have written 118 posts.

I am so glad that I finally took the step to create a blog, as blogging has taught me that I love writing more than just novels - I just simply love writing.

Did I achieve the goals that I set out for myself?

- Blogging - yes.
I blogged a lot more than I thought I would - I 'hoped' to write two or three posts per month.  I ended up writing just for the Char Mesan Writes blog 118 posts.  I also opened up a couple of other blogs and wrote articles and posts for those blogs; it makes it that my 'hope' was very conservative in estimate.

- Weight Loss - no!

I started the year off (like all good New Year's Resolutions) really well, but by late February, early March I was losing momentum.  I've since realised that every summer I naturally lose weight because I love eating fresh seasonal foods like cherries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, plums and mango to snack on, and it can get too hot to cook so I enjoy salads and grilled or BBQ'd meat for dinners. With all that healthy, non-fatting foods, and the natural increase in drinking water to stay hydrated against our soaring temperatures, I tend to 'slim down' about a dress size without really trying.  The only time I don't lose that weight slowly is if I eat too much ice-cream to cool down.

But then winter comes back and the summer foods that I love so much disappear from the supermarket shelves, and the weight slowly creeps back on again.  As much as I would love to be slim again and at my ideal weight, I've worked out that I don't stick at fad diets or 'get fit' kicks.

So, this year's resolution was to just accept my size and try to eat healthily without resorting to diets that once I fail at only cause me to become fatter afterwards.

Although I set the goal for myself to walk four days per week, after a fall where I skinned and bruised both knees quite badly because my poor night eyesight caused me to not see a huge 'pothole' in a grassy gravel section I had to walk through, I ceased going for walks on my own, especially because it had taken me ages (after badly injuring my right arm at work two months earlier) to get back to my feet.

Though, you may be interested to know, that my non-goal setting or following son, moved out of home and made improvements to the foods he now cooked for himself, and he lost the ten kilos that he had wanted to lose not from following any diet or exercise program but from simply (finally) adding salad and vegetables to his diet - I know, I know, why did he fight me all the way for so long! 

- Change Employer - yes.

I applied for a lot of positions outside of the Employment Services industry which I was getting increasingly fed up with, (ultimately) without success.  Too many employers interviewed me and later said that I was too over-qualified for the job, even though I had removed a lot of my great skills from my resume so I wouldn't be dismissed for lesser roles when I applied for them. Unfortunately, although I was getting results in that I my applications were working and I was being invited to interviews, overall I was not successful in being offered the jobs because I didn't disguise my higher abilities during the interview and employers felt I would get bored with a role which involved me just coming to work, doing my job and then going home. Maybe they were right for the long term, but it was what I was craving for the short term.

After setting the goal and following a strong action plan and technically still not getting success, plus with my current employer continuing to place even greater demands on its staff that was simply impossible to achieve, I realised that I actually genuinely love helping people gain work; and that it is just the different focus on placing people into a job, any old job, whether the client wanted to do that type of work or not, that I didn't like about the employment services industry and the work I was doing, plus the constant demand to do more, achieve more and never being given any time to do any of it that was what was causing me to hate my job so much. 

So, one day, I just resigned.


My mum was sick with chemotherapy treatment and had needed me to act as a carer for a few weeks, and the employer expected me to put my work ahead of everything including my mum and told me that if I take the time off I would be expected to still place the same amount of clients into jobs when I got back, so, worried about Mum and also developing a few health issues myself, I resigned.


By this time, I had completely fallen in love with writing and blogging and desired being a full time writer; and after discussions with my children once Mum was over the last of her chemotherapy and had 'survived' her cancer, I decided to become self-employed again.

A number of years ago I worked for myself as a typist and resume writer, and now having even greater experience and those same abilities to type and write quality resumes for people, I figured I may as well return to working for myself so that I could once again focus on helping the client without the push to place and keep them into whatever work we managed to gain for them.

And, for the short amount of time I have been operating the business, I'm starting to get more and more work - which I am happy about.

This year, I am going to keep writing resumes for my clients (I love seeing the delight on their faces when I give them their new resume), and writing articles to help with their jobsearch (I love readers telling me that they are finding my articles and blog posts helpful).  I have a few 'ideas' up my sleeve, which I will be working on during my 'quiet' business periods.

So, Happy 1st Anniversary to me; hopefully this time next year I'll have even more positive results to share!

Message from the Traveller: I don't want to scare anyone, but...

So my daughter who is travelling overseas decided to scare me 'just a little bit' by letting me know that she had a fall and has probably broken her arm.  The possible breaking a bone wasn't the worrying bit, it was her messaging to say that she refused to go hospital in the ambulance.

I can't rant and rant my motherly concerns to Miss Independent, so I'm going to have let loose here: What!

Your fall was severe enough for people to call an ambulance?

The ambulance officers wanted to take you to hospital?

You refused? Why????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Goodness, chil--woman! If you think your arm is broken, why the *bleep* are you not getting your arm x-rayed and getting necessary treatment?

Are you able to wiggle your fingers, move your elbow?  Can you at least go and see a doctor about it?

You do have travel insurance, don't you?

Seriously... are you really having that great a time on your tour that you are willing to ignore/tolerate the pain so you don't miss a second of it?


And my children wonder why I'm going grey!

Gonna start updating

Over the coming weeks, I am going to upgrade and unify the look of my pages and blogs from each being different in style and appearance to establishing my 'business brand'. The first step I'm going to need to take is to create a banner that I will be happy with, instead of using the generic designs that come with Blogger.

Once I have a decent banner, I'll then begin making changes to each of my blogs. I need to complete this as soon as I can, because my (jobsearch training in particular) business is starting to gain momentum, and, with an increasing amount of my time now being directed towards earning income, keeping business records and completing small business management training, I want to upgrade my blogs' looks so I can continue writing articles and posts - especially for my Job Training and Reviewing blogs.

I will be a bit quiet on this my personal blog for a while, but rest assured that over the next three months I will still be 'writing, writing, writing,' and loving every minute of it!

My novel is on a temporary back-burner again, but I'm not upset by this; once my business is firmly established and generating enough income, I will hire a part time or casual staff member to act as my personal assistant and admin to free me up so I have personal free time again.

I'm feeling so excited about what is ahead for me in 2014.  I'm hoping it will be one of the best years I've ever had!

Allowing my mind to wander

Even though I get eczema, I have recently started washing up the dishes by hand again rather than using my dishwasher because I find it relaxing and it gives me time to let my mind wander. I've semi given up on novel writing at the moment because having started up my own business I need to spend more of my free time on building up my business.  I have the novel's storyline clear in my head, and have a master outline recorded electronically (yWriter is FANTASTIC!) so now I can put the project on hold for a while knowing I will be able to pick up where I left off when I do get the time in the future. I'm still 'keen' on the project, even after five years, but I have other priorities at the moment.

I still love writing (I am not abandoning this in the slightest) and this has proven itself to me over the past year where I have spent a great deal of my time novel writing and blogging.  I'm really loving blogging though, probably because you can write in small bursts and the post is done, whereas with novels you are only chipping away s s l o ow l l y at a larger project.  I'm thinking the smaller projects end up making me feel more successful for having achieved completion, so I am more encouraged to do another one, and another one to keep this positive feeling alive. So, I intend keeping my 'writing muscle' strong and healthy by continuing to write blog posts for this and my other blogs.

Anyway, allowing my mind to wander has given me opportunity to come up with ideas for blog posts and given me ideas for my business; ideas that just don't come to me when I busily doing other things.

Season's Greetings!

12 Christmas Gift Ideas for Writers under $40

Christmas is fast approaching.  Not sure what gift to buy a writer?  Well,  why not check out some of these unique, writer-focused items? 

The following gift ideas suit all budgets, as items range in price from as little as $7 up to $40, so I'm sure you might find something suitable.

1. Thoth Candle Holder 
In mythology, Thoth is accredited as being the God of Wisdom, Writing and Invention, so this candle holder is perfect as a desk-weight and candle holder for the busy, dedicated writer / novelist.

2. Warning Sign
This one is more for the family and friends of a novelist hard at work to caution against interrupting the Writer while their Muse is present. I WANT one of these for my office!

 

3. Weird and Wonderful Words

Let's face it, writer's need to know a lot of words in order to be successful. So what better gift than to give a writer a book with no-so-common words that might be just what the writer is after!  I know, I love websites that list unusual words, and have occasionally come across a word that has been just what I needed!

 

4. Slippery Tipples: A Guide to Weird and Wonderful Spirits and Liquers

It seems that a lot of writer's love to drink alcohol as they write their manuscripts, because of the advice to 'write drunk, edit sober' gaining plenty of comments to the effect that the person can't stop drinking long enough to edit.  So if this is true - I know I don't mind writing with a glass of wine to sip on! - then your writer family member or friend is sure to love this little book.

 

5. The Writer's Idea Book: How to Develop Great Ideas

This book is a serious gift.  Many writer's seem to become stuck for ideas and how to develop them - I know I have!  Even more aspiring novelist never start writing the book they would love to write simply because they don't know how or where to start.  This gift idea becomes a highly treasured writer's resource!  You could end up with the next J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown, Stefanie Meyer, Anne Rice, or Stephen King on your hands, all because you got the person writing!

 

6. Leather Notebook

Writer's spend a lot of time honing their writing skills and go through many, many notebooks.  Why not buy your writer family member or friend a notebook which they will really treasure!  My own children bought me something similar, and although it is now filled, it is still my favourite.

7. Identikit

When writing a novel, the novelist needs to create unique characters.  Why not have a bit of fun with this Identikit software and make different characters?

 

8. The Writer's Devotional

Another serious writing resource for the writer's of all levels - amateurs through to professional. The Writer's Devotional contains inspiring motivations, ideas and writing exercises to get the Muse not just visiting, but staying around.  I've let my children know that if they are stuck for what to buy me as a gift, I would be more than happy to receive this!

 

9. Writer's Book of Inspiration

Writing Inspiration is so important that I would also be happy to receive this writing resource as well. A writer can never have enough good resources to help keep them on track with their writing goals!

10. Writer's Tune Up Manual

More writing inspiration and exercises to get the writer going.

11. Novel Writing Software

One of the greatest challenges for many writer's is getting all the different ideas in their head to turn into a chronological storyline with all the right suspense, tension and conflict while ensuring the reader doesn't fall into a dirty big plot hole or suffer from a drooping middle.  Novel software can really help. 

 

12. Pen

Finally, no writer should ever be without a pen to write with, EVER! But not just any old pen though; it has to be easy to write with, so good grip and free-flowing ink are a must!

 

So there you have it. Twelve ideas, and only twelve days left until Christmas.

Have a lovely Christmas!

Char

yWriter to my rescue!

Almost a week ago, I rediscovered the free novel writing program, yWriter, and decided to try and piece together all the jigsaw like story notes that are littered throughout my hard drive, to bring my novel storyline into a cohesive whole.

Of the probably two hundred thousand words recorded in my scenes and notes, so much as changed since I originally came up with the story's premise, so I have been busily copying rescueable text from all those files, and pasting them across into yWriter's manuscript pages, or its easily accessible project, story, character, location, or item notes, and then re-arranging the electronic scenes into chronological order.

This has really helped get the story clearer in my head.  I've been able to add pictures to character files and locations and items, and my project is starting to take good shape.

But I haven't abandoned Microsoft Word completely.  Although you can type your manuscript directly into yWriter, it is missing too many of Microsofts good word features and tools that I cannot live without.

So the way I am using it is:
- I copy the text from yWriter and paste it to a blank word document.  I write my scene, and then copy and paste it to both yWriter and my master word document, and then discard the blank working document.
- If I need to go back and make changes, I repeat the above - and that way, yWriter and my master manuscript document are always completely up to date and in sync with each other.

I'm doing it this way because the benefit of yWriter is that you write in small scenes, so you get more of your manuscript written because the task isn't too big, you can work out of (story) order, and you aren't wasting time flipping through a big long word document - and, if an idea strikes while you are in the flow, you can just flip to the notes section, record the details then get back to what you were doing and then work out where that new idea fits later when the words aren't flowing as smoothly.  But, having a Word document allows you to read your story that you have so far from start to finish, which allows you to get into the flow of your story and to feel when it is stilted or dragging; and, Word picks up on spelling and grammar problems as you work, which yWriter doesn't (you can run spell check later, but I like to fix up as I am going).  So, I'm using the programs to complement each other, to help me reach an eventual writing 'The End'.

Inspired by the success I've been having because of yWriter though, wondering if there is an even better program that might be more suitable now that I've discovered how useful novel writing programs can be, I headed back online and looked at some of the commercial novel writing software, and I have to say, nothing is comparing to yWriter so far... and yWriter was free and fully functional and doesn't bombard me with ads or annoying popups, AND it has helps you visually manage a lengthy writing project so much better than the commercial ones I've looked at so far - which are falling way short of the strengths of yWriter.

Wow... I really can't express how appreciative I am in having found yWriter all over again. I'm just so glad I tried it out properly this time to work out how useful a resource it is to me!

NaNoWriMo: Final Word Count result

I got off to a great start for NaNoWriMo - around 16,000 written over the first fifteen days - but then I faltered.

I got distracted from adding to my word count when I spent four days making a story collage to help me get the storyline straight in my head.  And then my daughter moved overseas, and I lost a few days, helping her with final preparations, taking her to the airport, and then bawling my eyes out over her having gone (the loss and the pride).

But, I am pleased, that I successfully now have a final word count of 23, 908 words!  That's the first three or four chapters done.  Trying really hard not to bore (eventual) readers with too much backstory or scene set up, I've laid down the basics: I'm only a hundred or so words away from writing 'the inciting incident' that really gets the story kicking at a slightly higher level.

Next year, I think I might try officially enrolling in NaNo.

I've had great fun being lost in my story world, conversing with my characters and discovering the things sometimes mere seconds before they discover it.