Isn't Winter Supposed to be Coming?

Well, I would say NaNo was a bust this year, but I learned a lot about myself, even if my story didn't manifest out of thin air. Today is the last day of NaNoWriMo officially, but that definitely doesn't mean the writing has to stop!

Although I'm not sure exactly how much writing I will be able to do in December, either, I hope to have things a bit more worked out so I can at least do something. This semester has been absolutely crazy for me, but I've only got to survive two more weeks! Then I get to try to catch up on everything that has been put off this entire semester...

So in addition to trying to get my life in order (and by "life" I mean my classes), I'm feverishly searching for a new job, any chance I get. I really appreciate everything my current job has done for me, but I feel like it's time to move on to bigger and better things. I've been there since January, almost a year, so I don't feel guilty for wanting to leave it. My ideal job, and the market I've been looking in, is online. Preferably online writing, but I guess I'm open to whatever God throws at me. I've been talking to my cousin, who does freelance work for a company online, about her work, so I'm hoping something will come from that line of inquiry. But of course I'm not sitting around waiting for a job to fall into my lap.

If I like the job I'm at, why do I want to leave? Well, with my schedule, especially for next semester, keeping this job would mean that poor little Levi has to stay in his crate all day four days a week. I really don't want to do that. If I work from home, I can spend more time with him, which I'm sure will make both of us very happy!

Another reason I want to leave this job is I want more time to invest in my church and small group. Next semester, I will be co-leading a Chi Alpha small group with my best friend, and I want to have the time available to pour into our girls and to meet new girls. If I work from home, I will be able to get more involved in Chi Alpha, which I really want to be able to do, and I would be able to go back to my church's youth group as a leader, and maybe even play in the worship band (the worship pastor has been asking me for about a month if I can play with the band, and I really want to, but with my current work situation there's no way).

Completely changing the topic, but since we're talking about changes, another change I will be making (starting tomorrow!) is getting back in shape. I used to be in great shape (at least for me) when I was in AFROTC, and ever since I've been out, I've let my good habits fall to the wayside. I'm starting off small, since I'll be here and there all over Texas and Oklahoma in the next month, so I've decided to do a 30-day ab challenge. *everybody hisses and boos* I know, I know, those challenges are intense, and everyone seems to hate them, but since I won't have access to my school's gym every day, I figure this is a good way for me to stay active and actually do something between semesters.

So that's what's been going on in my life! I hope all are well and ready for a month of changes!

Love Always,

Kristin

Writing Update

Well, as usual, NaNoWriMo never goes as planned.

I think my university professors conspired at the beginning of the semester to plan all of the big assignments and tests for the month of November, so it would be more difficult for me to participate.

I haven't written since Day 3 (I know, I know, please don't stone me), and even though I'm extremely behind the daily par for the month, I have decided that I will finish this novel. Probably not in November, but before December 31, 2014, I will have completed a novel. That gives me almost half a month of (nearly) uninterrupted writing time. Of course I have to account for family time with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, but I believe I can make it work. When there's a will, there's a way, right?

My story still fascinates me, but I'm sort of lost when it comes to what adventures my characters will encounter. What is the Event? I don't even know. I don't think we'll ever know. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, keep your eyes out for when my book gets published...Then you'll understand.)

I'm still excited about it, which is a good thing considering I haven't written in two weeks. Even though I'm straggling far behind all the other Rhinos, I'll be sure to keep you updated on my progress as I discover this story.

Love Always,

Kristin

Four Days In…

So we're four days into NaNoWriMo, and I'm already very behind. That's okay, though, because one of the things you have to remember about NaNoWriMo is that even if you don't hit the par every day, there will be some days that you go way over the par and it'll even out.

I'm loving where my story is going. It's very rough, that's for sure, but that's okay because the point of November is not to make it pretty--It's just to make it. The only issue I have with it right now is my newly-introduced secondary character. I don't feel like he's told me his name yet, but I do feel like I know some of his personality that I maybe am not supposed to know yet. Funny how things like that work. I'm hoping that his name will come to me soon, because right now I'm working with a temporary name that may actually end up being his name? I have no idea, and that's half the fun.

Are any of you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, comment with your word count as of Day 4! I'll be posting weekly updates, so you probably won't hear from me again until Day 7, but I'm hoping by then it'll have worked some of its kinks out.