I'm actually really excited now to do NaNo. Partly because I finally thought of a story idea... still needs lots of fleshing out and plotting, but I think it'll be fun... but mostly because both my daughters have decided to do NaNo, too! They're doing the Young Writers Program where they set their own word count goal. My 12 yo wants to write 9,000 words, and my 9 yo wants to write 6,000. Considering they have to put homework first, I think those are excellent goals. And they both exceeded their word count goal for today! So hooray! 12 yo is writing a dystopian fantasy adventure and 9 yo is writing an action-packed fantasy adventure. We had a lot of fun today talking about their plots and their characters and reading snippets out loud. I'm so proud of them. :-)

I disappeared from fandom for a while there. :-o There's still lots of ACBB fics I want to read, and I hope to get to them in the coming weeks.

This month was crazy busy... For the fourth year in a row, I was in charge of games for my daughter's school's annual Fall Festival. It's a really big job that involves lots of prep work for weeks in advance- besides creating and organizing games and arranging for volunteers, I have to rent inflatables and light towers which means making lots of phone calls and asking for donations which totally stresses me out! Anyway, the festival was last weekend, and even though it was chilly, we had a great turnout and the kids had lots of fun! Now I'm feeling hugely relieved, because it's done and it was my last year doing it! My daughter moves up to a new school next year. Hooray!

So I think because I'm feeling like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I suddenly find myself with more free time than I've had in a while, I did something possibly very stupid... I signed up for NaNoWriMo! What am I thinking? Ha! I've done it every other year for the last few years, and I didn't do it last year, so maybe I just want to keep up my pattern? Anyway, I have no idea for a story, and next week I'm in charge of Book Fair at my daughter's school and have to be at the school all day every day. So basically, dumb. But whatever... I'm going to give it a shot!

My goal was 1500, and I got 1322. Didn't quite make it, but I'm excited about the story again and I think it'll be easier to write a little bit each day again. (Once Easter is over and fun but somewhat stressful extended family time is done!). Thanks for the support, friends!

Goal: 1500
Yesterday's words: 84
Total so far: 610

Didn't have much time to write yesterday- I got called in to cover a friend's volunteer shift at the library, and then we spent the entire afternoon/evening at my parents' house. But today I have a bit more time.

So last week I totally failed on the word war, because I was exhausted from caring for my daughters who were both sick all week. Since I wasn't able to write much then, and since I can't seem to write without a deadline of some sort, I'm pretending the word war is today through Friday. I'm going to post my word count here for accountability. :-)

Goal: 1500 words
Today's count: 526

I also have a question... is there an accepted fandom surname for Mordred?

I had lunch today with the 12 year old girl I mentor, and some of her friends joined us. At their school almost all of the kids are black or brown, and almost all of the teachers are white. My mentee told me about seeing a girl slam one of her friends against a stall in the restroom, and then, full of bluster because her friends were listening, she told me, “Now I have to fight that girl.”

I tried to point out some other, more constructive ways to handle the situation and was assured by all the 7th graders present that talking simply wouldn’t work.

“If it happens again, I’ll fight her.”

I said, “Couldn’t you go tell a teacher?” and I was met with blank stares.

“What good would that do?”


After school when I picked up my daughters, I asked each of them individually what they would do if they witnessed the same thing. Without hesitation, they both said, “Go find a teacher!”

And there it is…

White children believe the teachers are there to help. They believe with all their hearts that authority figures will look out for them and protect them.

Black children know the authority figures are not there to look out for them.

This has to change.

The goals I set were...

Monday night 1000 words - check!
Tuesday 3000 words - close... 2400
Wednesday 3000 words - we'll see! I think I can. I think I can.

Every year, I think summertime will be lovely without all the commitments of the school year, but I always forget that summer is full of its own commitments. Multiple camps, VBS, Meals on Wheels, family trips, outings with my mentee and with grandparents and friends. Plus we've been pet-sitting a guinea pig all summer. It's all fun, but whew... It's exhausting! And so I have fallen behind on writing.

I leave for camp with my daughter on Thursday. I had hoped to have my second story finished by then, so I could devote the beginning of August to editing and polishing both stories, but I estimate I still need about 10k words to finish, and so far today, I've written zero!

So I'm posting my plans here to have some accountability...

tonight - at least 1000 words
tomorrow - at least 3000 words, plus grocery shopping
Wednesday - at least 3000 words, plus pack for camp

That won't get the story finished, but maybe it'll help me feel less overwhelmed when I get back from camp on Sunday. Wish me luck!

Hi new friends! *waves shyly* I've been thinking I would like to post more on my journal, so here goes...

Last week, my daughter had the flu followed by a sinus infection, so she was home all week, but not feeling up for much but lying around watching tv. So to keep the screen time down a bit, I read her "A Wrinkle in Time." I loved this book as a kid, but I haven't read it in years. As soon as I started reading, though, I was immediately swept back into that world as if I never left. Madeleine L'Engle wrote such vivid descriptions that the reader can't help feeling like they're in the middle of the action.

I do not write vivid descriptions. Or really any descriptions. I do notice that when I'm reading, if the author spends too much time describing a setting or a character, I tend to skim, but I definitely go too far the other direction. In my ACBB fic, there are two OCs who I love, but the other day my artist had to ask for more details about their appearance, because I mentioned nothing. Not even hair color! Yikes!

So this week, I'm going to try some descriptive writing exercises. Maybe a little practice will help me create more vivid scenes and characters!

Haven't posted in a while, so I'm catching up with backdated entries...

for bbcmerlinsecretsanta on tumblr

Title: Christmas Memories
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Merlin and Arthur spend a cozy Christmas Eve snuggled before the fire, reminiscing about past Christmases.