It was one of those a-ha moments. A solid reminder that it's not about the costume. Two year olds don't care what they're wearing on Halloween. They don't care if you have enough candy on hand or that you've not yet taken the time to hide unsightly lawn tools. They just love the show of it. Little eyes delight over bright, shiny miracles, a cookie shoved in a tiny fist with permission to indulge, the sensation of pumpkin guts squishing over the places where little fingers meet little hands.
We had a ton of fun carving pumpkins, baking cookies, trick-or-treating, and exploring candylicious delights. Then, after a good ten minutes spent coaxing Joe to relinquish his pumpkin full of Halloween booty, we managed to get the kids to sleep well before nine.
At this point, Dennis and I were pleased as punch for the opportunity to lounge around with Brian, who gracefully turned 24 on Halloween, and watch a silly Sandra Bullock movie. Brian ate a piece his birthday cake and drank some milk, scratching his fork on a plastic McDonalds Hercules plate as the movie churned on. We pretended to agree that he wasn't doing it on purpose.
I made a point not to drink beer and have adult fun last night because today, after all, is November One; the first of November is the start of National Novel Writing Month, and I knew it would be a long day. We went to bed at a decent hour.
Best laid plans.
I stayed awake in bed until well after midnight simultaneously batting about two possible plots like cat toys with hidden catnip, and beating myself up over not being able to decide on a plot. I had very much wanted to have my plot mapped out by this point, complete with three acts, at least two disasters and full dossiers on my major and minor characters.
I don't have any of this.
I've started and stopped creating what I need nearly a hundred times. I don't know if it's due to lack of experience, or plots and characters that reek, but I keep changing my mind. What I'm left with are incomplete ideas, plot points left unjustified, one stereotypical character that I can't bring myself to fire, and, since I woke up at five a.m. and couldn't fall back to sleep, less than five hours' sleep under my belt.
Why do I do this to myself? I must subconsciously prefer a difficult existence. I get angry at myself when I don't sleep. Baggy, dark eyes gloat their evidence that I wasn't strong enough to battle down the yapper in my head, the worrier who intentionally tries to ruin everything by coaxing my body away from sleep, hobbling my brain, and betraying those who need me.
Stay awake. There is no time for you to rest—not yet.
I know I've mentioned before that I don't do well on fewer than eight solid hours per night. The walls breathe, voices sound lower and slower, my head folds over on itself. Everything's too bright, too loud, and to quote Jim Morrison, "women seem wicked". I should be bright and happy this morning. My family deserves that.
But no. I'm as cranky as I've ever been. My kids are as perky and happy as they've ever been. My husband has never been more trepidatious of the wild look in my eyes. But somehow I'm closing in on 700 words, nonetheless. Only 900 more to go. Today. Not counting this blog post.
Rock on!
Here are some Halloween pics to share with you. I hope you had a wonderful Halloween. I'm already looking forward to next year. :)
[caption id="attachment_1250" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Dennis, Dennie, Joe and Brian Friday night at Red Robin for Brian's birthday dinner."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1251" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Brian laughing at the fart card Joe picked out for him, and Joe feeling happy that Brian liked his card."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1248" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Joe's first Halloween pumkin. He drew the face on himself, and I cut it out for him."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1249" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Joe and Brian and I making short work of our pumpkins."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1252" align="alignnone" width="199" caption="Lily in her witch hat."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1254" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Dennis and Joe setting up the front yard."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1255" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Our Halloween display"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1256" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Brian's Sleepy Hollow masterpiece of a jack-o-lantern"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1257" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Joe Joe and Dennis trick or treating"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1258" align="alignnone" width="199" caption="Joe Joe and Mommy trick or treating"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1259" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="Joe shows off his Halloween candy haul"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1261" align="alignnone" width="199" caption="Dennis and Joe relaxing before bed"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1262" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lily and Brian were so cute laughing together Halloween night"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1260" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Brian helps Lily to enjoy one piece of her Halloween candy"]
[/caption]
How sweet. Sometimes I miss having little kids around. Joe is adorable with his skeleton make-up! And I love the witch hair on Lily. Witch is an old standard in our house. In fact, I don't need the costume anymore. My hair has developed this gray streak up front that Amanda has lovingly dubbed my gray-lights.
ReplyDeleteWe don't trick-or-treat since we are so rural. So it was a quiet night at the homestead.
I fell asleep around 1:30 AM and woke up at 7:45 [6:45 with the time change]. Too much on the brain I suppose. I have written a few snippets and will figure out how to link them and clean them up later. Right now I am concentrating on getting the thoughts down. At least you're thinking plot points. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I took a shower and clarity seemed to set in some. ;)
Just think, only 29 more days to go! Woo!
.-= Anne´s last blog ..What Time Is It? =-.
Nice to hear you've made progress on your novel! A few more pages and you'll have it done in no time. Lol. :D
ReplyDeleteYou have a lovely family too. Glad to hear you enjoyed Halloween! We don't celebrate it much here, but where I'm staying we already had the Trick or Treat last Wednesday. Hehe.
.-= reyjr´s last blog ..How JaypeeOnline celebrates Thanksgiving =-.
Geez, it must be something in the air. Phase of the moon? Surely it's not just NaNo? I've been cranky all weekend, and have had a slight headache (nothing even approaching migraine territory, just enough to set my teeth on edge and make me snarky). But my word count is just over 3000, and I'm finally about to let myself call it a night. I'd have liked to be ahead by tomorrow's word count, but if I can just keep up a decent pace, it'll be fine. Try never to fall more than a day or so behind, but remember if you do that you don't have to add a whole day's word count onto the next day. Average it by the number of days remaining in the month, and it's much more manageable.
ReplyDeleteI applaud your spirit and determination. There were times when I work on my own writings that it extended till wee hours. The crankiness.. very well remembered. It was all for the passion. ^^
ReplyDeleteVery nice pictures by the way. Looks like everybody had a great time! Pleasure to meet you.
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
.-= Ching Ya´s last blog ..3 Easy Ways to Share Selective Tweets on Facebook Pages =-.
I changed my plot every time I start typing. I was worried because last night, a fellow NaNoWriMo participant asked me what my title and genre were. I checked and found out that I haven't selected any. Duh!
ReplyDeleteSo, I just told her that it was science ficiton (was tempted to say Zorlonian fiction), nevertheless, it still bothers me that I don't quite know where I am going with my story. BUT, I am having fun in writing it so far and my head is bursting with ideas.
I just wish that the ideas would come to me when I am actually awake and not when I am about to fall asleep. I always end up typing in my phone while my eyes were half closed (or half open).
Excellent pumpkin display by Brian!!! And Lily is bewitching with her cool hat. ;)
Z
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the pix. Swwwwweeeeet memories.
ReplyDeleteBrian's Sleepy Hollow masterpiece is that exactly! What talent.
hope you slept last night?
And that a plot is arriving?
xo
The pics are adorable!! Looks like you all had a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing about this Novel Writing thing. It seems like a lot of people are doing it. It sounds very daunting to me so I'm avoiding it like the plague! I can barely work on the book I've been trying to get done for the last 2 years!!
.-= Helene´s last blog ..Lessons learned....Halloween past and present =-.
Thanks, ReyJr!
ReplyDeleteAnne! You had me laughing with your grey-streaked witch hair! lol (I highly doubt it's anything but youthfully seductive.) I've got to get me some of your talking soap.
ReplyDeleteHolly, I'm sorry you fell victim to the crank as well. Can you imagine the two of us in the same room on those cranky days? Oh, my! I'm picturing cats fleeing, husbands clinging to the roof, and bats flying backwards.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about averaging out missed words over the whole time instead of freaking out about the whole day. I am on target, but find myself stopping right when I hit it. Too many distractions. I've been writing, almost exclusively, dialogue. Someday soon I'll get to the hard stuff. :)
Hello Ching Ya, thank you so much for stopping by! The passion, yes. It's not as though we have a choice in the matter so we might as well submit and see where it takes us.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally excited about being privvy to your wit and wisdom in the coming days!
Zorlone, what a fun comment to read! You are very entertaining. Why not say Zorlonian fiction? That's how the world will be referring to it someday.
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud when I read about you typing into your phone with your eyes half closed or (LOL!) half open. I'll let Brian know you approve of his pumpkin, thank you, and again laughing about bewitching - you're on FIRE, man!
Sleep, not so good, but not as bad as that night lol, thank you. The plot is thickening! Finally! Not unlike my waistline.
ReplyDeleteThanks Helene! I know what you mean about daunting. It is. I think the point is to just do what we think is impossible, because the right time will never come. You have been working on a book? How cool! I find myself wondering what kind. Tips? Humor? I guess I'll find out someday. :)
ReplyDeleteFunny. Another way in which we're alike, Heather. Most writers seem to think dialogue IS the hard stuff. We know better. ;)
ReplyDelete.-= Holly Jahangiri´s last blog ..And the Winning Trockle-Lantern is… =-.
You must have thought I vanished? Sorry I have not been here. I'm soo busy reading and commenting on poetry. lol
ReplyDeletePlease tell hubby that I love his Sleepy Hollow masterpiece. Your kids look really cute.
.-= Rose´s last blog ..Rose DesRochers is Famous- Ask me anything =-.
Man, you guys go all out on Halloween. We only had one knock on the door and we were totally unprepared for the two kids begging for treats. You should have seen us looking for something to give them. We settled for some liqueur candy.....
ReplyDeleteOnly kidding, we found a small jar of hard boiled sweets to give them :D
Hope you get more sleep tonight and that your next 900 words come easier than the first 700.
Oh, one last thing. About the adult fun for the night, you gave it up why? Is it because it would ruin your concentration?
.-= Sire´s last blog ..A Poem For Halloween The Night Of Frights =-.
The photos of your Halloween are awesome. So happy that you had time with your family including a birthday! Congrats on starting your journey with writing. I wish you well. Will be checking in to see how you're doing. Go with the flow and have fun!
ReplyDelete.-= ConnieFoggles´s last blog ..Preparing For Hawaii =-.
Always great to meet an enthusiastic writer/blogger. ^^ I know I can learn much from your wisdom, especially your talents in writing too. All the best! Yay!
ReplyDelete.-= Ching Ya´s last blog ..3 Easy Ways to Share Selective Tweets on Facebook Pages =-.
No, I didn't. I know you're a busy lady. You're under no obligation to comment on even one of my posts, let alone all of them. So you just free yourself from that notion right now! I release you. You are a tiny bird sitting on a cloud chewing on a snow cone. Ahh, isn't that better? I can't wait until NaNo is over & I can get back to writing exercises - so much to learn and untap! Thanks re: the kiddos. Brian is my stepson, but I'll let him know. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Connie! You're such a nice and mellow lady. I appreciate you checking up on me. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteWe finally live in a gated community that is amenable to trick or treating! I thought we'd better enjoy it while we have the chance, because someday soon, hopefully, we'll be living on our own private island with a moat. :-P
ReplyDeleteGot a lot of sleep last night, but now I feel groggier than ever which is why I am getting caught up with social media instead of writing. Women! We're never satisfied, eh?
No adult fun because being hung over is really hard in general when you have two little ones. You have to get up super early when they get up, be perky, and chase them around for twelve hours. No more lazing around on the couch watching Battlestar Galactica reruns and noshing on Doritos. Sigh. But I wanted to be sure to get up and start NaNo out right, to not let myself down. Concentration? What is that? lol Thanks for coming by, Sire.
Hi! I got here from Jan's blog. Beautiful photos! It's nice to see you guys having a Halloween blast.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to try Nanowrimo, but I am presently writing a novel now and I even have a self-imposed deadline which is next month. I don't even know now if I can reach that deadline with school and work in tow.
.-= Charles Bjørnsen Ravndal´s last blog ..An Afternoon With T Michael =-.
Hi Charles. Thanks to Jan's blog for leading you here. Hey, if you're the Queer Chef shouldn't you be cooking instead of kissing that guy? lol (sorry)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your novel. You'll finish it. You're on a roll, I can tell.
Z! No rewriting - just tack all the new stuff on and call it a side story. Figure out how it all fits in December. Just WRITE!! (Your brain will take care of the details - you just take dictation and let it flow onto the page. Stop trying to be such a controlling novelist! Let the Zorlonians out to play!)
ReplyDelete.-= Holly Jahangiri´s last blog ..NaNo Nine: How to Gear Up for NaNoWriMo =-.
I am happy to discover a new wonderful blog to read and also get to know the wonderful person behind it.
ReplyDeleteI used to be the Queer Chef, but I write more about my (mis)adventures than cooking so I changed the name of my blog except for the URL. And regarding that guy in the picture is actually my husband lol!
.-= Charles Bjørnsen Ravndal´s last blog ..An Afternoon With T Michael =-.
Gotcha.
ReplyDeleteAnd wow, you guys are married and you still kiss - that's pretty good! lol
Anytime Heather. Besides, if I don't pop in occasionally, how the heck can I keep tabs on you Yanks. :D
ReplyDelete.-= Sire´s last blog ..Shocking October Stats Not So Shocking =-.
Are you allowed to take a peek at your colleagues' novel in progress? Or are you left to your own devices?
ReplyDeleteThere's no editing involved at this stage of the writing? Whoa, I should have joined! Well, next year then.
.-= jan geronimo´s last blog ..When Quitting is the Only Sane Option Left =-.
Charles: Nice of you to drop by here. :)
ReplyDeleteHeather: I enjoy the lovely photographs of the celebration. Joe had a blast, I can tell. Your little princess seemed to regard the big to-do as a little silly. LOL.
You'd do well in that novel writing project once you get going. We need more writers with lovely spunk and sense of humor like you!
.-= jan geronimo´s last blog ..When Quitting is the Only Sane Option Left =-.
Jan, it's not too late to join! It's only four days in. That leaves 26 days in the month. That's 1924 words a day, instead of 1667. C'mon!! Join the fun, Jan.
ReplyDelete.-= Holly Jahangiri´s last blog ..NaNo Nine: How to Gear Up for NaNoWriMo =-.
I love the pictures, Heather , Your family is a wonderful bunch. Nanowrimo is a toxic but challenging endeavor and I'm so glad I'm part of this group.
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
.-= Jena Isle´s last blog ..Memoir About Genuine Friendship =-.
Opps.... Sorry lol You look young enough to be Brian's wife. :)
ReplyDelete.-= Rose´s last blog ..Sesame Street Trivia- Sesame Street 40th anniversary =-.