…like a mountain stream:
…like a waterfall:
My novel Heart’s Chalice, that is. Just broke 43,000 words. Anybody think I can reach 75,000 words by the end of the month? Maybe even 100,000? To say I’m thrilled by how this story is pouring out of me would be to shoot far over the head of the heights of understatement. I keep pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. 
For today’s hike, I climbed a particularly steep trail and got high up enough on the mountain to take this amazing picture:
Okeydokey — gotta sleep now.
20 Comments
Great job on the novel! I love these pictures, especially the colors in the last one. I wish we got fall here. So pretty!
glad the writing’s going so well. that looks like a lovely place to wander…
Stunning photos, especially the last one with the colour up front and the lovely valleys in the background. You live in an amazing place. That WIP sounds like its powering along. Keep it up.
Oh, I know you’ll hit your word mark and then some. How great that it’s flowing out of you so well.
Love the pics,
Thanks, Bunnygirl. Most of the leaves are down now, but the few that are still on trees made for lovely splotches of color here and there. And the colors of the brush are still changing; it lags behind the trees.
Thank you, Crafty Green Poet. Since this is a novel that just wouldn’t come together at all last year, no matter what I did, it gives me extra-pleasure for it to be flowing so well this year.
Thanks, Gabrielle. Yes, I love living near the mountains. The mountains are my second home.
I hope so, Leah, and thanks for your confidence.
You are awesome, my friend.
Awwww, thanks (((((((Susan.))))))) You are, too!
Beautiful pictures, TL. I miss the mountains. Good luck with the word count, sounds like you’ll finish in plenty of time.
Thanks, Ann! NaNo has become a challenge to see just how far along I can get on this first draft before the end of the month.
Geez girl, to say ‘go go go’ would be redundant!! LOL
And I have every confidence that you WILL pass the 75K mark, maybe even hit 100K.
You are amazing.
Thanks, Wylie and Squirrel! The pre-writing for this has helped amazingly. In the past, I would have thought such extensive pre-writing and outlining would have squashed creativity, but this particular story, with all its funky elements, badly needed structure before I got started. And now I can focus on writing from the characters’ points of view, how they see what they’re doing, and how they see everything that’s unfolding. And of course, they let me know when I’ve made mistakes in the outline.
You’re climbinhg high alright!
Great analogies between the flowing, cascading water n your progress. Halfway thru the month n you’ll be right at the halfway target point! Getting all that done in one month may feel as good as looking at that spectacular view!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Snaggle! Yup, I’m excited at hitting 50K right smack dab at the middle of the month (expect to break the 50K mark today, and it’s Nov. 15). I’ll keep NaNoing through the month of November, and I’ll see what my word count for NaNo ultimately becomes. Fun! And yup, it feels sooooooo good to have a story flow as this one is doing.
Full of admiration for the valley shot.
Trying to transform my kneejerk feelings for the amazing wordcount into something as positive as admiration!
I will say this: today, I wrote about a kilt. And a Pomeranian. Heh.
Thanks, Maya! Well, I’m glad the story is pouring out of me, but given all the work I did on the pre-writing front to get the story to come together, including a monster 60,000 word outline (and that’s not even counting the three earlier drafts/versions I wrote of this story last year, all of which were a wash and had to be scrapped), I’d be downright worried about myself as a writer if the story weren’t — finally, ahhh! — moving along now.
Kilts and Pomeranians. Sounds like fun! Pomeranians wearing kilts, perhaps?
Oh, Thomma Lyn – you live in such a beautiful place!
And *applause* on your Uber Word Count. I’ll have to refer to you as Empress Thomma Lyn from on.
Thanks, Julia! Yes, I adore these mountains — I feel very lucky to call them my home.
hehe @ “Empress Thomma Lyn!” I shall try to ensure that I’m worthy of the title.
I had no idea your mountain is THAT beautiul. Will you please take me up there when I visit?
Sounds like you’ve got your nose right into your book. How many hours a day do you wrtie, on average??
Toodles. xo
Absolutely, Jannie! I got some pretty pictures on today’s hike, too — man oh man, I haven’t blogged in over a week. Where has the time gone?
Yup, you hit it spot-on — my nose has been stuck in my book, in fact my whole face up to my ears.
Hours a day spent writing varies; on hectic days I get 2-3 hours in, and on good, quiet butt-in-chair days, it can be eight hours plus.
xoxoxo