AIM Day 29

Word Count: 10,151
Song of the Day: A Little Piece of Heaven by Avenged Sevenfold

Reward yourself!

No, seriously. Meet your goals? Give yourself something for it! Two days until September, it looks like I may not meet my own goals, unless I get to some serious buckling down. I'd already decided that if I won NaNoWriMo I would buy myself some purple furniture for my new apartment. Since it appears I need some serious motivation to meet my 20k goal this month, if I somehow manage it, I'll buy myself some fun ice trays like these ones:

What would motivate you as a reward?

AIM Day 28

Word count: 9009 (I can't wait to have my computer back and get stuff typed up!!!)
Song of the day: Irene by Tobymac

Baby shoes! And they sparkle!!!! (My future daughters will be soooo spoiled.) Actually the inspiration is shopping for homegoods like decor and towels and such. What kinds of things would your character pick out? How would s/he decorate her/his place? Bet it's different than how you'd do your own.

AIM Day 27

Word count: 9009
Sing of the day: Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO

I'm catching up on posts since my power is out :0
Trapped indoors? Do a puzzle! Or better yet (for your WIP, anyway) do some plotting! I did both this weekend while hiding from Irene. (The pictures are of the same tree, btw, just different angles, of both the camera and the tree itself.)

How did you survive the weather, if it hit you?

AIM Day 26

Word count: 9009
Song of the day: U and Ur Hand by P!nk

Do something silly. My mom and I were shopping and I found this head piece. Never would I wear it, but I had to get a picture. Anyone else find that being silly makes you more creative?

AIM Day 25

Word Count: 9,009
Song of the Day: A Little Piece of Heaven by Avenged Sevenfold

Anyone else hunkering down for this monster storm we're supposed to get? I've got canned veggies and cereal and a few other things I can eat without cooking; the battery supply is stocked; my ipod is charged; and my notebooks and pens are set. So if we get hit as hard as we're supposed to and the power goes out, I'm all set to sprawl out on the floor and do some hard-core plotting and writing--long hand, of course. Nothing like being trapped indoors to spark your creativity, eh?

AIM Day 24

Word Count: 8341
Song of the Day: Pray for You by Jaron and the Long Road to Love (Thanks to Elizabeth Sogard for the suggestion.)

Today, I'm taking a break.

I didn't make that decision until seriously five minutes ago. I like to get in a few thousand words a day (cuz you can't edit a blank page, right?), but today that just ain't happenin'. It feels absolutely insane, but I think I need it. I've been staring at my open document (not a blank one, btw) all morning and into the afternoon, and I've gotten nothing written. Seriously, not a word. I was pretty much freakin' out.

So I'm taking a break. I have way too much on my mind right now to type out one coherent sentence, let alone 3 pages' worth. Unless I am struck dumb with the Lightingbolt of Inspiration, I will be sitting here plotting my NaNo project.

Do you take breaks from writing? Does it help you?

And since I mentioned it...Are you doing NaNo this year? What's your project?

AIM Day 23

Word Count: 8341
Song of the Day: According To You by Orianthi

Earthquake!!!

With the epicenter being only about 39 miles from here, a few of the nearby buildings sustained damage. Not ours, though. I spent the afternoon soothing nerves and assuring customers that we hadn't been ignoring them; we'd just evacuated the building. One of our agents called to check on us, and she said, "I hope you all have earthquake insurance!"

(That's probably a lot more funny if you spend 40 hours a week shuffling insurance calls to different people.)

Small as that little scare of ours was, comparatively, it got me thinking: What am I leaving behind if something happens? I always wanted to make a difference in the world, even just a small one. It would be fantastic to have a published book out there somewhere as a legacy, no? But first, it has to be written.

What do you want to be your legacy?

AIM Day 22

Word Count: 8,205
Song of the Day: Hell on Heels by the Pistol Annies

Today, my advice is to have obnoxious friends.

Okay, maybe not obnoxious...

I met Stephanie in high school. We've been friends ever since. Stephanie is one of those people who could be considered to have an abraisive personality. She doesn't sugar coat things, and if she wants something, she'll let you know. I made the fortuitous decision to let Stephanie read the first few chapters of my current work in progress. At the moment, I've been writing the "candy scenes" so that I could stall as I was figuring out the next chapter. I had dinner with Stephanie last night, and she let me know that she is none-too-patiently waiting for the next few chapters of my WIP. Seeing as I won't send someone a chapter when I'm in the middle of it, I need to get this chapter done so she can read it. In the mean time, I know she'll nag me until it's done. That's motivation, for sure!

AIM Day 21

Word Count: 7258
Song of the Day: Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold

Listen to music your character might listen to.

I needed some new tunes, so I went a bit more angry and hardcore than I'm used to; Nightmare, the title track of A7x's 2010 album, is pretty dark, and it fits with two scenes I'm in the process of writing. Inspirational? Totally. In a dark, angry sorta way.

What type of music does your MC listen to?

AIM Day 20

Word Count:7258
Song of the Day: Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns N' Roses

I didn't realize it until just now, but the song of the day goes with the advice--go shopping for baby clothes.

\

Well, not if you hate it, or something. I happen to love it, and I was going to a baby shower, so...tada! (It's got Pooh Bear on it, btw.) Do something you love! Other than writing. The happy juices will help you brainstorm. Yay!

What are your favorite activities to get creative?