NaNoWriMo: Day 2

NaNoWriMo Update

It is Day 2 and I am going strong
(lol, it is only Day 2 - but I know you'll scold me if I don't keep on keeping on!)
Add me as a Writing Buddy!

The hardest thing is to not go back and rewrite. It isn't so much editing (although I fix spelling errors as I go, those squiggly red lines make me crazy), but wanting to change something as I am writing that I've already written. I'm trying to just leave myself a note that it doesn't fit in with something that happened before and hope for the best. 

Luckily my most fabulous friend has already offered to do some editing for me. Unclear passages be warned, I'm sure she is very fond of the red pen!

Na No Wri Mo Begins!!

Na No Wri Mo is the National November Writing Month where writers all over the world take the goal of 50,000 words (or set their own goal) and try to complete it in one month. 

I'd like my goal to be 80,000 words, ideally, because that is the standard length of a YA Novel. However, I also know that this is almost the impossible task as it is, so I'm shooting for 50,000!

I've "cheated" and began writing this past weekend to give myself a head start - I know that I'll be busy this month and I don't want to get discouraged!

Today I'll be working on some character sketches as well as an outline.

What I can tell you right now is that there are two characters: Jenna and Elliott. Jenna is sixteen and was back in the dinky town where she grew up for a funeral. Elliott was Jenna's brother's best friend and seeks answers above all else. 

The book is a twist on the dystopian theme that seems to be everywhere right now.

Good-bye Halloween

Halloween is my favorite Holiday out of the whole year! But, this year's day was a total bust! I got a terrible cold on Tuesday and spent all day yesterday as sniffling mess with a whisper voice. Sigh!

Fancy Nancy and Amelia Bedlia before heading out on the Bookmobile!

However, I did do my first really cool Outreach Librarian thing! I took the bookmobile (that's right, I DROVE the giant traveling library) to the After School Program in our town. All of the after school kiddos are bussed into one school that has a great space and programming for them. After my predecessor retried in January, the bookmobile stopped coming to them. Even through my foggy medicine head, the kids were SOO excited that we were back. 

Then I had such a wonderful time I almost forgot I didn't feel well!

Highlight of the day? Other than when seeing kids I've know since they were little or know because they are regular library patrons, the highlight definitely came while I was reading Cinderella Skeleton (by Robert D. San Souci).

 In afterschool club, I read stories while small groups of kids go out to the bookmobile. I was about five pages into the story when it was time for the second group, as I started to call on kids to go out, no one wanted to go (although they had ALL raised their hands about ten minutes before saying they wanted to go out and checkout books). I tried to entice them by telling them about the fun Halloween goodies we had brought along and one girl said, "I'll go out later, I really want to hear the story first." The other kids (even the boy who, at first, wouldn't even take off his Halloween Mask) were nodding in agreement. I quickly got back to the book! Who knew that storytime with a group of third thru fifth graders would be so rewarding!! 

Thank-you Robert D. San Souci for the GREAT book!!

After my busy day at the library I went straight to Fall Festival. Although I couldn't go cotton candy feeling sicky, I did get to be a costume contest judge! What little cuties were out there last night!! I love how families come as a theme and their teenage children even participate! Brilliant!! 

Na No Wri Mo: Two More Days!

I've never done something like this ... I've thought about it, but wimped out at the last minute. Well, there is no wimping out this time because I am totally telling the world I'm doing this (as recommended: Tell everyone you know that you’re writing a novel in November. This will pay big dividends in Week Two, when the only thing keeping you from quitting is the fear of looking pathetic in front of all the people who’ve had to hear about your novel for the past month. Seriously. Email them now about your awesome new book. The looming specter of personal humiliation is a very reliable muse.) 

I am taking a sort of, no even half finished, novel I wrote in college for a creative writing class and turning it on end. Pretty much everything is different except the setting and the two main characters. It is YA (obviously, because it's the best!) and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens!

Check out my Na No Wri Mo Page!

I'll be updating you with my progress as we go!! 

Glee!! 

Lack of updates and VAMPIRE DIARIES

Now, I realize I'm supposed to be reading, however I've been reading all picture books to prepare for some upcoming outreach programs and enjoying the start of fall television shows (don't judge, I didn't watch television until I had graduated from college - I'm catching up for lost time)! Even with a lack of blog posts I have still had ever climbing blog views these past few days. The culprit? This Vampire Diaries post I wrote a few months back where I compared the book to the show.

Now, all fans know that the show comes back on this Thursday, October 11th and it is going to fabulous!!!! Because I feel like reminiscing about how much better the show is than the book (and the simple fact that I NEVER get to say that) ... here is some eye candy to tide all you fans over for the next couple days.

Celebrate Banned Book Week With Me

It is always so surprising to me that patrons of the library thing that we are banning books when banned book week rolls around. I didn't keep count last year, but NUMEROUS, patrons came up with The Bible from our display table to express an irate complaint that we had banned it. After calming them down through a detailed explanation of what was going on, things were usually better. I'd tell you all about what it is, but I'd be preaching to the choir. Glad my reader base is smart :)

Enjoy these graphics all from here and check out the "To Read" list at the end of this page.

100th Post and one VERY Cool Library

WooHoo! It is my 100th post! The totally awesome thing is I never thought I'd stick with the blog long enough to get to this point. Golf clap for me :)

I've been dreadfully absent lately - but I've been working on so many fun new programs and outreach ideas for the New Job that will be showing up on Mini-Lizz here shortly. 

I've also been working away on my house, and you can see all that I've been doing on my other blog, Lizz the Fabulizer. 

Enjoy some great library pics today and I'll be back with an update on Insurgent soon :)

Source

The Palatine Library in Parma, Italy was founded in 1761 and their collection includes over 700 million books. It is one of the richest libraries of Italy (of the world? that is a massive collection!).

Source

The working library of Herford Cathedral in England originated in the eleventh century. The chained library at the cathedral, containing 229 medieval manuscripts, remains the largest historic chained library in the world, with all its rods, chains and locks intact. In has been preserved in the form in which it was maintained for 1611 to 1841 (Source).

So, I understand what a chained library is (lol, totally from Harry Potter), but I wanted to know a little more. If you do too check out these sites:

Wikipedia: Chained Library

Despectacled Librarian

Source

Books take you to magical places, but these books live in a magical place. Look at those ceilings and shelves! Marvelous!! This is the Library of the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, Austria.