I'm Celebrating.

Finally. A big weight off my shoulders.

I've completed the 1st draft of my NaNoWriMo2010 story, roughly 80k words. And, no I'm not  going to think how many more drafts it will go through, it is very rough in places. Really. I'm stopping this instant. Instead, I'm focusing on the fact that I got it all down in my trusty Scrivener. Like I said, finally.

A celebratory dessert is in order, maybe a hot apple pie, a yummy 7Up bundt cake, or even an untried-by-me recipe to test. Something to feed me and my Muse.

Then, I'll continue celebrating by purchasing new music. I'm thinking maybe How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack, Philharmonics by Agnes Obel, or maybe something completely different. My wishlists in Amazon and iTunes are quite long and diverse. I'm sure the new tracks, whatever they are, will  become part of a writing playlist in the future. More Muse gifts.

And another thing I'm going to do to celebrate? Go back to one of my Late List items and complete my How To Revise Your Novel novel.

Oh, and buy a new external backup drive. My old one crashed just yesterday.

So, time to go celebrate. Guess which one I'm starting with first. Yep, I'm opening the course outline, weekly lesson, and the old manuscript. This weekend will feature the dessert, and the hard drive and music will have to wait until next month's budget.

In the meantime, I'll be thinking of ways to celebrate completing the next milestone. Bribery, it works. Hopefully, the Muse agrees.

List of Late

Yes, a list of Late.

• January is half over and this is my first post in the new year. Late.
• Other author/writer blogs have listed, discussed, advised, commented on how they are/aren't meeting their resolutions. Late on this too.
• Still working on the 1st draft of my 2010 NaNoWriMo novel. Yep, late.
• Online courses not complete. Late.

Late. Late. Late. Late.

I hate it when people are late. I despise it when I'm late. So, yeah, I'm a little edgy about being late on so many things.

Fortunately, I don't have external deadlines to meet, just my own goals. And this years goals include to finish the revision course, finish my Think Sideways course, find a crit partner, and finally start the query process for at least one of my stories. I know, I know. These goals sound awfully familiar ... like my goals from last year. You guessed it: Late.

But I haven't quit. I'm still reading, learning, thinking, typing. Still working. 

And you know what? I'll keep my list of Late, thank you very much, over a list of Never.