… is the waiting. I am desperate to start my book. NaNoWriMo is a writing challenge. There will be thousands of people doing it in the month of November. We will all attempt write a 50;000 word book in a month. It will be a little book but it will be written. And My book is just hanging about shuffling its feet in the wings, warmed up and ready to erupt onto the stage. But not yet. I am not allowed to begin the work until November FIRST.
I thought to myself yesterday. I will write a tiny bit on the location. To explore. Just do some research and visualisation. I opened up Word and labelled it Nothing Very Much.
I love corridors so I started in the corridor, it is wide with shiny dark wooden floors, big old heavy doors closed and waiting, late morning light streaming in from the open front door. Maybe just the hint of early summer jasmine in the air. 
Next thing you know, slam of a door and two kids are sliding down the shiny corridor in polishing socks. Polishing socks are usually your Dad’s big thick ones but these kids had their Mum’s boot socks on because her boots are hand me downs and a little big for her feet.
Then they start talking to each other. What! They are not meant to be talking to each other. They are not even meant to be here. We can’t start writing yet! In a dash to avoid hearing what the story is doing, the heroine climbs out the ground story bedroom window, and tips headfirst into a prickly bush (who put that there!) and a nun walks past suggesting maybe she needs some rest dear and have you hit your head?
Stop talking I say to them. STOP IT! All of you. Go away. We are not allowed to start writing until November first. So they all slink back to their bedrooms and back down the path. NO MORE TALKING or Doing or Anything! My flying fingers shout.
Their doors bang closed and I hit delete.
Phew, a close call. How many days do I have before I can start. Wait (rummage rummage, I have to clear up my desk before Nov 1st… where is that page from the calender. Mutter mutter) Eleven. Eleven days. Eleven days of trying to keep this collection of characters quiet and still.
Can I just say one thing? Calling from the other side of the closed door.
No. Stay there until I say and you are not allowed to speak for eleven days.
It is broke.
What is broke?
The shower.
Broke? The shower is broke. What kind of English is that? Broke means poor. We are not poor. Well not much. Poorish. Why am I talking to a character who is not allowed to come out until November FIRST! And what is wrong with the shower?
Baby stuck eight chopsticks down the plughole. The disembodied voice calls up under the large drafty crack in the door.
No. No! Where is the cone of silence when I need it. NO! NO! No More Story. Back in your box all of you. Back. In. The. Box! You can’t be trusted to sit quietly behind a bedroom door. So Into the BOX!
Sigh. There. Do I have to sit on the Box lid for eleven days?
Maybe I should do some studying, work out what I am doing and keep my mind off the whispering and scrabbling in The Story Box. Writing a book in a month needs some research surely.
The Old Codger’s daughter, who is visiting her father, brought me a book the other day. No Plot. No Problem. By Chris Baty. I am sure you knew all about it but I did not even know it existed. This one is very useful.
The Elements of Style. by Strunk/White/Kalman.. My grammar is terrible and it has g pictures. Pictures are good.
I have; Reading like a Writer by Francine Prose which has no pictures but is wonderfully readeable and makes perfect sense. 
And the other day Ella Dee sent me Last Chance to Eat by Gina Mallet which has nothing to do with the task at hand but everything to do with good reading and excellent subject matter. Plus I like her style. I like the Voice of the writer. Thank you so much Ella Dee. Books are the most wonderful presents.
Yesterday I dug in the mud most of the day, freeing up the North sliding doors so they open and shut easily in the winter. We started building a new fence beside the yards. The sheep were jumping the old fence which was not terribly useful. And at last the final puzzle in the erratic milking pump saga fell into place and everything worked at the same time. Beautifully. The Surrogate milker was so relieved. Milking has been a trial this last week. Lets hope it works for a while now.
Good morning. It is time for me to find my torch and go out and begin the day. The dawn is getting later but that does not mean the milking time gets later. I hope you are all going to have a lovely day.
celi
On this day day a year ago. Jack Frost. I guess the frosts started later last year.
The Kitchen's Garden 
58 responses to “The Toughest Thing about getting Ready for NaNoWriMo…”
I think this will be a writing challenge that will bring out the best in you. Can’t wait to hear about your progress!
Loved your photo today! And good luck with the story. I wrote two (once) and the muse left me.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
At least your ideas and characters are desperate to be released onto paper! 🙂
What fun, to have your characters pacing the floor, impatiently waiting. I think you are allowed to work on an outline, if I’m not mistaken.
I can hear the muffled voice from behind the door. “Can I say one more thing?” Like a smart-alec kid in time-out. Hahaha! I love your characters.
I was reading all your comments with a smile on my face, loving what you’ve written abut not writing, but now the smile has been wiped and I’m in a flat panic… What is de-fragging??????
Oh that is a program that sorts all your files back into order again, so the computer finds everything faster.. your computer will have it.. in the maintenance file! housekeeping for the computer.. c
The best way to write about something is not to be allowed to write about it… I can hear those voices “can I just say one more thing, pleeeaaassse Celi” 🙂 Thanks for letting me know the book arrived… we had a few issues in the mailroom with items being sent to the sender ;( And, Laura is a star for reminding us all about Mercury Retrograde – I’d better get to some housekeeping also. Finally, last year’s post’s chook picture and caption is priceless 🙂
I sent you an email too.. did you get that, my email mailroom is bonkers.. I am thoroughly enjoying this book.. great stuff.. ah those ambush chooks! funny!
I’m glad you are enjoying the book 🙂 Thank you for sending the email even though I can’t seem to find it!I have just checked my FB messages, FB email and Yahoo email account (which is the one I display on WordPress) and my Gmail in case that appears somewhere, and I’m sorry but I can’t seem to find it. No matter 🙂
You’ve got 10 days yet to go, Celi. At this rate, you’ll have an army of characters on the other side of that door. You’ll open it on November 1st and get trampled. This challenge is perfect for you and I can’t wait for you to get started. This is probably the first time in my life when I actually looked forward to November. Imagine that!
That’s an awful lot of words to find in just 1 month; this is quite the challenge…! Just the time consideration is fantastic… All the best with it. Love your characters, and your sense of humour – works for me…!
I have seen one other blogger talk about this challenge. It’s got me thinking… hmmmm… 😉
Your grammar is fine. Don’t take too much advice from Misters Strunk and White.
Just write. The best writing advice I got from a poet is that the sentence you struggle with to get just perfect, is the first one you should delete.
Hmm, I guess at that point the flow has stalled.. time for a drink.. good advice.. thank you. c
I hope we get to read your book..I am already hooked ! I laughed about too many
characters. I agree and thought I was a weak reader !! I have resorted to index cards
when I have been told “hang in there,it’ll all come together ” Reading should not be work.
I meant to tell you I always love our walkabouts …….hope you had a delightful day !
Nanster
just blow it out every day; don’t worry about it; i did that, and now am on first serious revision/addition/ who knows!
I think you and i are on the same page in this respect, there is so much in my head my hair itches, so once the starting gate rises i am just going to go for it and see what happens. I will let the little monster loose. Pretty exciting really.
Going to be a page-turner I know!
We are all waiting with baited breath. Do keep a lid on those characters. They are clever and no matter how you plug the holes and stamp on the covers they are certainly trying to creep out. But then… perhaps just a little finger or toe or maybe a nose… just enough to whet our appetite for THE BOOK. Virginia
Glad to meet a fellow citizen of NaNoLand. You see to have a head start. This year, I just can’t get a clue. I know it’ll come, it always does. I may just have to open the journal and start writing until something materialize. Don’t think I could do the sustainable thing. I’ve lived rural, suburban and for the last 20+, I’ve been enjoying urban living, first Atlanta then Birmingham, Alabama’s southside. Thanks for stopping by my Blog.