NaNo Freak Out!

And the nervousness sets in...

In approximately 2 weeks I will start writing my novel for National Novel Writing Month, or as it's more commonly known, NaNoWriMo. This will be my second attempt, my first attempt was last year and while I wrote a ridiculous amount of words, 16,250 to be exact. I was quite a bit short of the 50,000 words it takes to win.

I've taken a week of vacation in November for the express purpose of writing my novel.

This year I will win.

I am determined. I am driven. I am adamant. I am saying the same thing in different ways because I am also not sure what I'm going to do.

I have no plot. I have no main character. I have no conflict. I have nothing. Well I suppose that's not completely true... I have panic. I have nerves. I have apprehension. I have cold feet... And I have fear that the entire endeavor will end up an entire flop... like last year...

Darn you over thinking brain!

50,000 words. 1,667 words per day. 

When you break it down it doesn't seem that scary. It truly doesn't... at least to me it doesn't... until I start thinking about my lack of plot, character, crisis, etc.

Where is my inspiration dammit! 

Last year I jumped in, started a story, got stuck, hated it, started a new one, didn't totally feel the new story, get stuck, and finally quit writing when not even half way completed. This year I really wanted to be prepared. Ready. 

So... 2 weeks... I can come up with an outline by then right? A plot? At least a character? Right?

Right?

Oh dear...

Much love.

E

A Bicycle Built for 15

Who would have thought when I walked out of work on Thursday that I would end up on a giant pedal powered vehicle, pedaling through downtown GR on a pub crawl?

Definitely not this girl.

A few weeks ago I was driving downtown and I saw this weird looking contraption.

There were people sitting on either side pedaling away, waving at passing cars, and generally having a fantastic time. I thought to myself, "These people are insane! Who actually does something like this?" Little did I know there were already wheels that had been set into motion and I would be on this same contraption having one of the most unique and entertaining afternoon/evenings of my life.

So the basics. There are 10 pedaling spots, 5 on each side. There are also 2 seats (1 on each side) over a wheel that do not have to pedal. Then there is a bench on the back that at least 3 people can sit on, these are also non-pedaling seats. As you can see there is a driver/steerer that navigates us through the street as you pedal like a maniac. The fastest this guy can go is 5 miles an hour, and if you think that's slow... well... you try pedaling faster! HA!

I had the privilege of pedaling the entire route... which was about 3 miles. Now that might not seem like a lot to you lot, but just think about it. That's a big vehicle. There were 16 people on it, 2 coolers, and snacks. Also hills... lots of hills... even those little guys... they were difficult.

But even with all of that craziness, it truly was a unique and amazing time and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to partake.

I'm going to turn into Braggy McBraggerson for a minute. There's a really short traffic light we were stopped at and the woman who ran the tour told us we were going to have to pedal like crazy to get through the light so we all got ready. When the light turned green we pedaled like the dickens and made it through while it was still green... I know that may not seem like a big accomplishment to you but I'm going to tell you two reasons why it is impressive. 1 - This was the last leg of the journey after visiting 3 bars. 2 - We were only the second group all summer to make it through that light without it turning red.

Yea!

What do you think about that.

Impressed yet?

Much Love 

E

OH! Here's the website if I've sparked your interest!!

Great Lakes Pub Cruiser

Surprise!

I'll say I hate surprises, but that's not actually true. I want a surprise. Surprise run in with an old friend. Surprise party thrown in my honor. Surprise present "just because". Surprise me!

But make it a true surprise. Make it something that I have not even the slightest of inklings about.

Don't tempt me with little details here and there.

That kind of surprise drives me crazy!

For example, let's pretend it's my birthday month (I'm really digging deep into the depths of my imagination for this scenario) and you know what a friend of mine is getting for my birthday. Don't tell me I'm going to love it. Don't tell me it's the greatest ever. Don't tell me it's perfect for me. I don't want to know.

Anything.

At all.

I don't even want to know that someone got me a present until it's literally being put in my possession.

Then you can tell me all about how you knew I would love it. 

Just leave the suspense out of it.

This might be why I hate suspenseful movies... I don't want to anticipate. I don't want to wonder what it could possibly be. I just want to know... and I want to know NOW!

Yes this might make me the slightest bit of a brat... 

I'm okay with that because it's just a tiny flaw and it's one of the more lovable ones, right?

Oh also... You can take your horrible surprise that will make me hate everything about everything and shove it. I don't even want that in my life in any way.

This has been your daily uplifting message about hope and love brought to you by Ericka...

Okay really I'm not even crabby today. Today was a good day. I just really wanted to share my aversion to surprises and I thought today was the day to do it.

The real kicker?

I absolutely, positively love love love to surprise other people! HA! Isn't that just the most ridiculous thing even. It's probably because when I'm surprising others I am "in the know". And by golly I just love being "in the know". Overload me with information. It's good. I can handle it. In fact, the more info you have on something, the more I want!

Much love

E

To be clear, this is not based on real or true events that are currently taking place in my life. Just a rant that needed to happen.