Just joining us? Day 1. Day 2. My Birthday Book Bonanza.

NaNoWriMo Update:

As of 11:39 pm on Tuesday, I’ve written 5,418 of my 50,000 words. The words keep flowing. But I’m not so naive that I think it’ll be smooth sailing from here on out. This is the NaNo-moon stage. Like bringing that little 7-pound baby home from the hospital and floating on a cloud while people bring you gifts and cake and do all your chores for you while baby sleeps 23 hours a day.

And then…sha-zam!

Forgive me.  I need sleep.

I kind of left Carly and Anne in a lurch though. I hate to do that to them. (I don’t know how fiction writers do it–start writing about their characters and then try to fall asleep at night) Did I mention that Carly lives in Ohio (original, I know, but I didn’t want to waste time on researching an area I’m unfamiliar with)? And Anne? She lives in Cambodia. No, I haven’t been there. But I have some lovely, real-live resources at my disposal should I need help.

Birthday Book Update:

112 books! And the first 5 are going to a crisis pregnancy center in Estonia! Each book will have a different first name on the From Line: Donna, Emily, Sarah, Rebecca and Amanda. So, if one of those is your name, make sure you’re praying for a gal in Estonia. It’s not too late to donate a book! Just $5!

Fun Election Day Plans:

Our girlies don’t have school tomorrow (they’re using the schools for voting), so my sister-in-law, Jess, and her three kiddos are coming to hang out with us for the day. Jess is homeschooling this year, so I’m going to pick her brain while we munch on Halloween candy and make our kids pose for hundreds of Fall Cousin Pictures.

Do you have any Fun Election Day Plans?

If you don’t read blogs on Sunday, you didn’t miss much here. But if you want to understand where I’m going on the blog this month, read yesterday’s post. Or this brief synopsis:

For the next 30 days, this blog is going to be a little whacked. Each post will be short and have 2 parts:

1.) an update on NaNoWriMo and 2.) an update on what else is going on in my world.

Wild, I know.

NaNoWriMo Update:

As of 11:59 pm on November 1, I’ve written 2,553 words of my NaNo novel. Ahead of schedule, yes. But I have some stuff planned for November and need to be ahead.

So far, so fun. I have never, ever in my entire life started a book at the very beginning and not skipped around, not even once. And I love making stuff up! All the stuff that runs around in my head–imaginary conversations and stuff–has found a purpose. (or something like that)

So, I came super close to backing out of NaNo. Way too much already on my plate. Didn’t want my family to suffer in any way. Have enough to keep me busy with the Zoo Book and speaking stuff and all that.

Turns out that Mr. Gabe really, really, really wanted me to do it. Strange, I know. He came up with plans for how I could find more time. He suggested ways he could ease my load. Man alive. I’m no dummy. I jumped at the chance. And anytime we’re sitting down together (in the van, over a meal), he wants to discuss plot ideas and what’s going to happen with Carly and Anne (my 2 main characters). I love it.

Life Update:

Feeling better (but not awesome) as far as the sinus pain/pressure goes, but my cough is back with a vengeance. Bah.

102 books have been donated! THANK YOU! I’m tickled pink! (and have some cool stories to share as the month goes on) You can absolutely still donate $5 for a book here.

We got our kiddos back tonight. Love those little crazies! A huge thank you to my mother-in-law for keeping them for 2 whole days!

Question of the Day: What kind of candy are you most likely to steal from your child’s trick-or-treat stash?

Have a great Monday!

November 1 means two things this year. 1.) my birthday is over (boo!) and 2.) NaNoWriMo is underway (yea!).

For the next 30 days, this blog is going to be a little whacked. Each post is going to be much shorter than normal (I hear some of you cheering), and each post will have 2 parts:

1.) an update on NaNoWriMo and 2.) an update on what else is going on in my world.

If you feel the need to take a 30-day break from my blog, go with my blessing.

NaNoWriMo Update:

For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Thousands of crazy people around the country (and the world!) are committing to churning out a 50,000 word novel from scratch from November 1 to November 30. That’s close to 1700 words a day. (which is why my 900-word blog posts are being trimmed)

In the coming days, I’ll share fun! and exciting! tidbits about my journey to NaNoWriMo, my husband’s take on it, my agent’s advice, what my novel is about, and what this 30-day craziness is doing to my health, family and sanity.

If you have specific questions, let me know! I’d love to answer them.

Birthday Book Update:

If you missed my Birthday Post yesterday, I would LOVE it if you took a minute to read it. Basically, I shared my heart for getting my Expecting book into the hands of women who are contemplating abortion, in the hopes that they might choose life for their babies instead. And I asked for your help. If you want to donate a copy of the book to a crisis pregnancy center, just click here and donate $5.

You guys blew me away yesterday (and then this morning at church). I can’t even begin to tell you how you blessed my heart. I cannot wait to get those books, write your first names in them, pray over them and send them off to women in need.

You’ve donated 97 books so far. Did you hear me? NINETY-SEVEN.

Praising God for each and every one of you today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.