First things first: I won the NaNoWriMo challenge! This is my third year participating, and my third win. Hooray! (I have a dream of never missing one.) I took a few days afterward to make sure the draft I created was complete. It still needs an awful lot of editing, but it has all the main events of the story.
That badge I spoke of last month does require the initial daily par to be met every day. Although I kept above the cumulative one, I let myself drop below the formal 1,667 words per day during the lead up to Thanksgiving, and rarely met it after that. I am happy with it. Then, I pretty much took a week’s unintentional break from serious writing. Perhaps I need to have more of a schedule for myself and this ‘career’ that I begin, with planned time off.
Second things second: I have looked in to sending e-mails from a website. I thought I needed one widget. Nonono, it is not so simple. You need a widget to collect the addresses, yes; then you really should hire an e-mail service provider to handle sending them. There are regulations, you see, laws and technicalities, and there are options to automate and optimize and lead in and – ugh. What I actually want from it sounds more like an RSS feed. I’m not sure how those work yet.
In asking about websites and RSS feeds and other related things, the topic of social media surfaced. I had forgotten about those. I should have a few official social media accounts to link to and keep up with, shouldn’t I? Perhaps I could try one a month, and get familiar with the interfaces. That would give me a few I like in time for May’s ‘event’ – such as it will be. I intend to announce that I have a website to my NaNoWriMo regional groups.
Third things third: I have resumed the second draft of my science fiction story. My current goal (which is to finish it before February) looks easy right now. I must remember that, so far, the rewrite uses more words than the base, so I will need more than I have planned.
Last but not least: Christmas is coming! Why is it so hard to think of presents? Whether it’s to get for others or to answer the ubiquitous question, “What do you want for Christmas?” I can most easily think of things in the less useful half of the year. ‘Tis best to write them down then, so they are ready for times like now when one is put on the spot.