• I am feeling overwhelmed by the move.
• I have a to-do list a mile long for the holidays, graphic design projects, blog plans, and Lucy’s party.
• I’m going to finish NaNoWriMo despite all that and despite the fact that I’m way behind in word count.

ETA: Adam said I might want to point out that this is NOT Twilight fanfic. In fact, this is the antithesis to Twilight as far as the message of the story.

I always thought I’d be too embarrassed to share excerpts from my NaNoWriMo novel…but I’ve had a lot of people curious about it. So I’m gonna just post a few snippets and hit the “publish” button really quickly before I can chicken out? OK? Here we go…{no laughing and remember this is YA fiction}!

He didn't like the idea of me spending 4 years and tens of thousands of dollars for no degree. I tried to point out that an art degree is almost as worthless as no degree at all so it really made no difference.

…

“It's OK.” He said. “I'm Erik.”

“Eleanor Whidstoe” I replied.

“Ew.”

“What?”

“E-W. Your intials spell 'ew.'” Great. The first thing he had noticed about me was that my name was gross.

…

“What the hell, Erik! You bit me!” I touched the side of my neck and looked at my hand. The lighting was dim, but I could barely make out blood, and I could feel it. “I'm bleeding! What is your malfunction? What, are you a vampire now?” I hissed sarcastically. He just stood there for a moment, eyes wide and then he said

“Yes.”

NaNoWriMo is going well…which explains why I’m not writing much here. ;)

Depending on if you trust Open Office, Google Docs, or the NaNoWriMo site I’ve written 14,250 words, 13,955 words, or 13,796 words so far. Unfortunately the NaNoWriMo site is the count that counts in the end {yes, I’m punny, deal with it}. But I’d much rather say I’ve written 14,250 words, wouldn’t you?

Either way, I’m pretty pleased. Just to put things in perspective for you, as of today, to be on target for finishing by November 30th I need to have 8,335 words written. Adam has challenged me to finish half-way through the month and then start editing during the second half. That would require writing 3,600+ words per day from now until the 15th. That’s over twice as much as the regular daily word quota. But I think I’m going to go for it. Writing is going waaaay better than I expected, even with Lucy out and about instead of trapped in my belly. And I’m enjoying my story so far.

And with that brief update I go back to my novel.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo? How goes it?

I’ve come to some decisions regarding my life and some things I’ve been thinking about. And here’s what I’ve decided:

I need to simplify my life. It’s time to:

1. Identify what’s most important to [me].
2. Eliminate everything else. {from Zen Habits}

And I’m starting by dropping out of Body After Baby. Samantha put together a really great program for support and accountability (and prizes too!) but right now I want to focus on

1. Time with my family.
2. My writing.
3. Time for art {and crafts}.
4. My blogs.

That means I’m also closing Coffee {for now}. Anyone who is currently a client, or has already contacted me about a project needn’t worry. They’ll still be taken care of. But at least until NaNoWriMo is over I won’t be taking any new clients. I may still post pre-made graphics as well as freebies. And I’ve got some neat ideas for some Christmas products that I’ll get to if I have time.

I love blogging far too much to shut down my sites. But you may notice that posting seems slightly more sporadic. I still aim to post every day {or close to every day}. But I’ve been wanting to post more often on my other blog and find that it’s difficult to post daily here and still have time to write high quality content there. So on days I post there I may or may not post here. If you need your “Holly fix” and I haven’t posted on Domestic Dork then check out my other site {but, as way of warning, the other site is much snarkier}.

I’m feeling really good about these decisions. I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’m really looking forward to NaNoWriMo, especially now that I know I won’t have Body After Baby and Coffee pulling my attention away from my writing. Thank you for your advice and support. I love you guys. Really, I do. I would write for my blogs even if I had zero readers because, well…I love to hear {or read} myself talk. But you make it a million times more fun, and you make it more challenging because I’m determined to give you worthwhile content. So, again, thank you.