Nah, sod it...

...I *will* take part in JanNo24 after all, I'll just have a few hours/days off when the bathroom is done if necessary.  I've spent a small fortune on Glitterberry J2Os and NaNo and JanNo are the only times I allow myself to have them, so instead of it all going to waste, I *will* do JanNo, I'll just have a break before I've finished it is all.  I've got 30 days, so I'll spend the first week of January writing then potentially have a break for a while before I go back to it and finish it off.

I managed to finish NaNo in 8 days this year, so having a break for  a while is another experiment I'll be making.

It'll be far from my best work, but that's what editing is for, right?  😉

For the second year on the trot...

...I won't be writing getting involved in JanNo next year (so JanNo24).

Why?

Because I'm getting a whole new bathroom put in starting on Monday 8th so need to be around for that instead of having my head stuck in the fantasy novel I was going to write for it.

I'll still be around and working on the update to the S4CG site and the new, secret site, ready for the (re-)launch at the start of February, I just won't be writing anything until NaNo24.

Other than getting central heating put in and new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom, this is the last big thing happening, so I'm hoping things will be back to normal ready for JanNo25.

Important! Members please read!!

I came to a final decision at 3.30am that I’ve been pondering on for almost a year now and it affects you and your membership to the Stories 4 Children site.

 

My hubby was my tech guru for everything on the site and he produced the application form and ability to log in as well as the software.  He passed away on 21^st December 2022 so I’ve been totally unable to ask for guidance on the things he set up for me.

 

The webhosts for the site have recently set up the ability to have multiple sites hosted together, so that’s what I’ve done with my personal sites and because the Stories 4 Children site is on a decommissioned server, I haven't been able to access my domain name emails for months on end.  I decided in the early hours that I would use the opportunity to migrate the Stories 4 Children site to this new thing along with a new site that I’m starting to create.

 

Why am I telling you this?

 

Because when the S4C site is migrated, I will lose the ability to reinstate your membership because it involved databases and PHP and other stuff that I haven’t got the foggiest clue about!

 

Sooo, starting from when I’ve finished my JanNo24 novel I’m completely removing the members area and it will all be totally free (except for things in the shop) but it means that I’m able to understand how to code things instead of being left floundering if something goes wrong in future or there’s a question about some software or there’s a problem with the site or something else that I haven’t got the first clue about.

 

The site will still be available (except while it’s migrating) and I’ll still update it, there just won’t be a members area any more.  If there's anything you want to keep in the members area, please make sure you download it before the end of this year as it'll be lost forever after the migration.

 

Thank you so much for your faith and support and I’ll see you on the other side of JanNo.

AAAAAND...

...I've just won NaNo23!!!

As in by one single word over the minimum lol

I've brought my final J2O of the year in and I'm gonna have it after I've had my lunch, but I can now relax and have breakfasts again!

One down...

...just one more to go and only 38 hours slower than my personal best last year of 6 days too!

I'm hoping to get it finished before my lunchtime carer comes and I might end up blubbing, but I don't care, because it's my first NaNo since I became a young Yule widow last year so if I start blubbing then so be it!

I've got another decaff tea on the go to warm me up a bit and I've had my single chapter reward, so I'm on track to be having my can of J2O to celebrate finishing the manuscript at lunchtime then I'll be able to gradually ease back into real life again instead of crashing with a huge bump like I have done each year so far.

Comin' to get you, winners certificate!

Disappointingly...

...i won't get NaNo finished before my first carer of the day arrives today 'cos I didn't wake up until 4.41am instead of the 3.15ams that I have for the rest of NaNo, so I've got a mug of decaff tea on the go and I'll finish off the novel when my carer has been and gone instead.

A bit disappointing, but there's still a very good chance that I'll get it finished before lunchtime and that won't shock my body to have the J2O can so early in the morning  😉

Six down...

...just the last two chapters to go at sparrow's fart o'clock tomorrow morning, then I can enjoy my can of J2O and bar of chocolate for the last time until JanNoWriMo starts.

I'm gearing up for the final sprint of the competition and I reckon I'll be done by the time my first carer of the day arrives tomorrow morning, assuming I'm up before 5am again.

I can smell the champagne on ice and see the ice buckets getting moved to the finishing ribbon.  It'll've taken a couple of days longer than my PB of 6 days that I achieved last year, but I've enjoyed writing every word and I haven't got stressed out for not meeting my daily target.

Having the single chapter rewards as well as the bigger 5 chapter rewards and the start and end motivators have definitely helped and I reckon that's how I'm gonna keep doing it each time from now on... for the enjoyment and regular mini rewards rather than the sprint to the finish... it's a marathon rather than a sprint and I'd unfortunately forgotten that until this year.

Time for my last reward of the day then that's me finished writing until tomorrow morning now.

Five down...

...3 to go!!!

The chants are ringing loudly in my ear.  My groceries are due in about an hour's time so I wanna try and get another chapter written before then, but I've earnt my 5 chapter reward so I'm gonna go and grab that and a bar of chocolate now, then decide what to do after that.  I'm soooo close now!!

I've decided...

...I'm just gonna do the five chapters today and the last three tomorrow morning otherwise they will all be rushed which will defeat the whole object of my writing this year, so I'm just gonna finish this chapter and that'll be it until tomorrow morning so that I can relax into the final three chapters of NaNo.

Four down...

...the last four to go.

I'm trying to remain cautiously hopeful that I'll manage all 8 chapters today, even if it means putting in a bit of a later night tonight... just leaving one chapter to write tomorrow morning would send me loopy and I wouldn't be able to sleep lol.

I've managed 4 chapters in about 6 hours though, so I'm trying to remain hopeful that I'll manage to get it done before bedtime.

Time to chomp down on my end of chapter reward, then make a start on chapter 47 to see how much I can get done before my carer arrives.

Three down...

...five to go.  I wanna get at least one, hopefully almost two chapters done and dusted before I have my lunch, but I'm racing towards the end now and I can just about make out the finishing line as I round the final corner for the sprint finish.

I've had my chapter choccie reward so I'm gonna make myself a hot drink then crack on with the next chapter.

Two down...

...six to go.

Will I be able to finish it before I head to bed tonight or will there be one solitary chapter to write tomorrow morning?

Time to crack open my second treat-sized chocolate bar of the day now I reckon, then start on my third chapter of the morning.

One down so far today

Just written my first chapter of the day so there are seven left to go now and I'll have finished NaNo in exactly a week.  Keep your fingers crossed that I manage it today!

Seven down...

...and only eight more chapters to go before NaNo is finished for another year.

Hoping for five chapters tomorrow so that I can have my J2O then the last three chapters on Wednesday so that I can take my time and be available as necessary through the day when I get the insulation installed.

The end of my NaNo23 is very nearly finished... the last chapter is within sight, I've just gotta keep on keeping on with it and I'll get it finished in under the 10 days that I was thinking.

Time for my last reward of the day now I think, then check and reply to emails and head off to beddy-byes.

Six down...

...one or two to go tonight.

I've had my 5 chapter reward (a J2O) but I'm not gonna have any more chocolate rewards to day in case I throw them back up.  Having two lunches today was too much for my stomach to handle, so I'm not gonna risk it.

Five down...

...hopefully three more to go this afternoon, but it's time for my leftovers, then the chapter chocolate then the J2O first I reckon.

I've only got 10 more chapters left to write and I've won NaNo again!  This time last year I was verging on finishing the entire thing (I finished it at about 8.30pm) but I was doing it because it was a race but this year is purely for enjoyment, so it doesn't matter that I'm nowhere beating it because I've enjoyed pretty much every word I've written which was missing for the last few years and I needed to get back into writing for enjoyment rather than as a challenge again, which I've achieved so far this year.

Four down...

...only one, three or hopefully four left to go.

I've already got the leftovers out of the fridge in preparation lol

Just had my chapter reward so I'm gonna crack on with the fifth chapter of the day and keep my fingers crossed the leftovers don't get too warm while I'm writing lol

Three down...

...two, four or five chapters to go today.

I've had my chapter reward and I'm gonna make a start on this morning's fourth chapter, but be ready to stop at any time my carer comes so that I can have my instant soup for lunch.  I've decided to have yesterday's leftovers as a reward for getting up to five chapters, alongside my J2O 'cos I need to get them eaten before tomorrow otherwise I'll have to bin them, which I really don't wanna do.

And another one bites the dust

That's two chapters in about 4 hours, which ain't too bad at all.  Gonna have my chapter reward then make myself another hot drink and get cracking on my third chapter of the morning.  I'm hoping to have pretty much done 4 chapters by the time my lunchtime carer arrives, but if they turn up part-way through a chapter (like they did this morning) then that's OK too.

Another one down...

...a minimum of four, six or ideally seven to go for today.

I've had my first chapter reward of the day and I'm just waiting for my carer to turn up, any time from now so I'm gonna start on the next chapter but may have to stop suddenly... it's only twice a day though, so that's not so bad.

I've earnt...

...two chapter chocolates since I've been back but no J2O today, but that's OK 'cos I wasn't online for 5 hours so was thinking that'd happen anyway.

That's me finished writing for the day and week and I'm hoping it'll be an 8 chapter day tomorrow which'll just leave the last 7 chapters to go, that I'm hoping I can get the majority of finished on Tuesday 'cos it's my groceries that'll be interrupting me then, but that's OK cos I've still got the rest of the week and month to finish it in and it's not a race this year, so if it takes me 24 days to write 15 chapters then so be it!

Nah, not gonna...

...risk rushing a third chapter this morning otherwise I won't enjoy it and it won't be the chapter that it could and should be, so I'm gonna leave it until I'm back I reckon.

Two down...

...three to go.  The second chapter only took about an hour to write and there's about an hour to go, so I'm gonna get myself the chapter reward and another drink to see how much time is left then.

One down...

...four to go.

I'm only aiming for five chapters today 'cos of being offline for a few hours when I won't be able to write, but I've written my first chapter of the day and made a start on the second one.  I'm hoping I can get three written this morning before I go offline, but I'm not gonna risk starting if it's too close to the cut-off time.

That's another...

...8 chapters in the bag and I'm up to 62% after 4 days, so that's pretty good I reckon.  Tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday are gonna hopefully be 5 chapter days, but it's no biggie if not, and I'm hoping I'll be finished by the end of the week.

I'm starting to tie up loose ends now, very slowly instead of rushed in the last few chapters... I can almost see the finish line now and I've enjoyed pretty much every minute that I've spent writing.  It's been tough to get started so far each morning, but when I've got going, I've been totally focussed all day.

It sounds strange, but rewarding myself after every chapter and having the daily J2O to work towards has really helped to keep me motivated.

Time for me to take my pills and wind down for another night now methinks, but I'll be back again tomorrow morning to hopefully knock out a couple of chapters before my carer turns up then the other three when I get home.

I've just achieved...

...today's 5 chapters so I'm about to crack open my reward in the knowledge that everything else today is a bonus.  In an ideal world I'd like to get another 3 chapters under my belt, but not at the expense of my enjoyment.

Only got...

...two more chapters to go before I've earnt my next big reward and 5 more to go before I hit my daily mini-target of 8 chapters and it's not quite 11am yet.

Today is gonna be another good writing day I reckon!

As of now...

...after 3 and a bit days, I'm finally half way through my NaNo novel and I'm still enjoying it and not worrying about how long it's taking.  I'm at the top of the hill now, so the end is in sight.

Yees!

I managed to write another 8 chapters today, as well as making my lunch and putting a load of laundry on to wash then hanging it up when it was dry.

If tomorrow is anything like today, I'll hit the half way mark just before my morning carer arrives then I can start to see the finishing line and hope that I cross it in under the 10 days that I set myself but it's no great shakes if I don't.

My hands and back are stiff and sore, but it was worth it 'cos I'm 46% of the way through the entire challenge after only 3 days and I haven't put my life on hold at all.

I'm still enjoying writing this story, but my body will be glad when I finally crawl into bed lol

That's...

...5 chapters in the bag already today, so I reckon that 8 chapters should definitely be doable before I head to bed tonight, so that's a relief!

Gonna have my chapter reward (a treat-sized chocolate) now and my 5 chapter reward (a J2O) after lunch 'cos I'm not sure how my stomach will react to going so sweet then immediately savoury and I dunno when my carer will turn up, so don't want two open liquids (the J2O and the mug of instant soup) on the go at the same time in case I accidentally knock one of them over, it goes into a plug socket in the extension lead and the house bursts into flames lol

I'm 40% of the way there now after only 2½ days, so that's pretty impressive considering I'm not writing for speed this year!

Will I be able to...

...put in another day of 8 chapters?

I've written 4 chapters so far this morning, so I'm trying to remain cautiously hopeful.

First...

...reward of the day has been earnt, even though I spent a few minutes throwing up this morning, so I'm feeling pretty proud of that.

Gonna make a start on my second chapter of the day while I wait for my first carer of the day to arrive.

Will this be another 8 chapter day or a 7 chapter one like it was yesterday?

Only...

...7 chapters today, but that's OK 'cos I'm already 30% of the way through after only 2 days so I'm feeling pretty proud of that.

Just got...

...2 chapters left to go before I've earnt my next big reward.  I'd already had it by this time yesterday, but that's OK as long as I manage it.  I'd like to knock out another 8 chapters if I can today, but not at the expense of my enjoyment of the writing.

After only 2 days...

...I've just hit the 20% mark, which feels pretty good.

Not too bad at all!

I've managed to write 8,016 words since 4.43am including the time it took to get washed and dressed as well as make and consume two meals and multiple drinks, so I don't reckon I've done too badly today.  Now that I've got that dreaded first chapter out of the way, the words really are flowing.

I'm not gonna take any risks with writing another chapter and I've drunk my last drink a bit close to bedtime, so I bet I'll wake up at 3am desperate for a wee, which I'll take as bonus writing time again, as opposed to trying to get back to sleep.

I'm stopping writing for the day now though and stretching out all my sore muscles.

Until I see you all for another day of writing, it's goodnight from me and I'll see you all in the morning, I'm just not sure what time lol

I'm hoping for...

...another chapter before I head to bed, to make it 8 chapters today, which'll put me 3 chapters ahead of schedule, then if I manage to write 7 chapters tomorrow, I'll be a day ahead of myself, so I can relax on Sunday instead of getting stressed out about how many chapters behind I'm getting and/or worrying that I'll forget what has already happened in the story.  

I'm hoping that the delay won't take too long on Friday and it'll be over and done with in minutes rather than hours, so I'll still be on track for writing 5k and earning another big reward by the time I hit the sack on Saturday.  Hopefully I'll get a few chapters under my belt on Sunday although I doubt it'll be the full 5 to earn the reward, then another 7-8 on Monday and with any luck another 5 or 6 on Tuesday which will mean that I can relax a touch on Wednesday and hopefully produce at least another 5 and still be on track to finish around the 10th.

I refuse to get stressed out about how quickly I can finish it this year... there are lots of things happening which I have no control over so I'm just taking it as it comes and writing for enjoyment rather than speed.

It's got dark outside, so I'm gonna close the curtains then crack on with potentially my last chapter of the day.

That's my...

...first reward of the competition earnt, so I'm gonna go and grab a bottle and hopefully find the bottle opener to celebrate then I'll start on my 6th chapter of the day.  This is definitely a better way for me to write... I can still function and get my rewards but I get rewarded at the end of each chapter and a bigger reward after 5 chapters rather than rushing through it to try and beat the speed of the previous year.

Assuming I finish this year, I reckon this'll be my new-normal for NaNo and JanNo 'cos it's a lot more relaxed and enjoyable instead of feeling guilty for every wasted minute of the day.

So far...

...I'm really enjoying my new NaNo system and I've already written 8% of the total word count as well as being able to get washed, dressed, eat breakfast and have a reward for each chapter so I've only got 1 more chapter to write today to get my first big reward of the competition.  I'd like to write as much as I can this afternoon 'cos I've got a busy Friday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of me, so I wanna get as much written as possible during my free days.  I'm not rushing it, but I'd like to get it finished around the 10th if I possibly can.  Enjoyment is the word I'm focussing on this year, rather than speed.