A couple of weeks ago, I did my first NaNoWriMo check-in, and here I am back again. My goal was to finish the first draft of this manuscript by the end of November. As I write, I have nine days to go.

Yes, that was a wail of pure panic.

On the other hand, I can say I’ve only fallen behind by about 7,000 words, which is something I could conceivably make up as long as I don’t want to, say, sleep.

I did have a brilliant flash of insight this past weekend. Okay, maybe not brilliant, but important. I plot a fair bit before I start writing. I do discover stuff along the way, the plot shifts and twists, but in the end I stick fairly close to a general outline that I have in place before I begin. If I don’t have a road map, I generally write in circles. Or at least I thought this was how things worked.

However, because I’m writing this fast, I realized that I deviate far more than I suspected. Those thousand small adjustments can be handled gradually if I’m writing at a normal pace. Hurtling along at NaNo velocity meant that my average 2% variation sent me flying from an off-ramp worthy of a motorcycle stunt rider—and not in a good way. Something about speed x word count x plot variation = edit squared. There was time lost Saturday as I sat down and pondered things like plot structure and the zen of backspacing.

The words I’ve written are fine, the book is fine, but it’s not what I expected. The result of rushing through the manuscript is not that it’s bad, it’s just that I haven’t had a chance to get to know it like I normally would. During my first edit pass, I’ll be reading Chloe and Sam’s story more like a reader than the author.

Which leads me to wonder – why is it that we don’t absorb the book merely by the act of writing it? Is part of our brain switched off, so that the writing function can be in the “on” position? Or am I the only one who experiences things this way?

The creative mind is a very curious thing.

Halloween has barely cooled its pumpkins but, when I was tearing around the streets of the downtown on my lunch hour, I noticed Christmas decorations. I was about to go into a huff about it being far, far too early for such things and then realized we’re pushing into the middle of November. Christmas Eve is six weeks away! For once, it’s not the retailers who are ahead of themselves; I’m just out of touch with the calendar.

I easily succumb to glitter. I like shiny. I like snow (in small doses) and turn to sentimental goo at the sound of carols. In other words, I’m a merchandiser’s dream around this time of year. The catch is that when I go shopping, I turn out to carry home as many parcels for me as for everyone else because this is the time of year all the really cool stuff comes into the stores.

I’ll throw in a disclaimer here: I actually buy a lot of presents at craft fairs because the money goes straight to the artisans and I can find really unique items that aren’t otherwise advertised. Here, though, I’m posting about things you can get through the web, because what’s the point if you can’t share the fun?

So here we go: Sharon’s shopping picks, 2011

If you know any folks who do work at home, this might be a hit. I know I want one! This is a heavy vinyl mat that will take an office chair rolling back and forth – and yet it looks like a Persian carpet. This is definitely on my Christmas list because my place is small, so my office is in my living room. I need to get a chair mat to protect the carpet, but most are so ugly that I’ve been stalling. This would go a long way to a compromise between practical and pretty.

Speaking of pretty … one of my very favourite craftspeople is Melissa Caron, who does amazing silver work. I love the organic feel of her designs. Click on the ring to visit her Etsy store and I guarantee that you’ll spend a lot of money, at least in your imagination! I came across her booth at a local craft fair last year and one of her rings followed me home.

Speaking of Etsy, drop by the Steamworkshop to check out these decorative USB drives. They are both practical (they work for real—I have one from this seller) and fun—and could probably survive an airship crash. Just about everyone uses jump drives, so it might be the ticket for a hard-to-buy-for. I like having a bunch of different USB drives to keep my novels-in-progress separate. The more unique-looking, the better for telling them apart.

Please keep in mind that while I’ve had good experiences with the Etsy retailers listed, it’s always buyer beware out there in the land of on-line shopping. This is not a paid advertisement nor is it a guarantee. However, I’ve had good service and a lot of pleasure out my purchases.
So, what nifty items are out there that you know about? Care to share?

I’m beginning to think the National Novel Writing Month should be retitled to the National Why I’m Not Writing My Novel Month. If you want to find out why the words are not showing up on the page, this is the exercise that will bring all that to light. In my case, it’s mostly because my idea about what I do with my time and what I think I do are some distance apart. Like, in different towns.

Keep in mind that I’m not talking about scheduling inconveniences like landslides, volcanoes, or abduction by space aliens, although as the month carries on, those might seem like attractive options. Let’s face it, if a crisis is big enough, writing falls off the radar and rightly so. What I’m encountering is the part where writers are nibbled to death by ducks—in other words, small things that gum up the works.

That’s not to say anything super-unusual happened, but my attention has been drawn to the fact that I undertake many “writing-like” but not actual writing activities. A night out at a lecture to gather ideas. A night out with my critique group. A night out talking about writing instead of doing it. And then there are the weekly classes at my gym. All worthy endeavours, but not bum-in-the-chair writing time.

Now, one might argue such things are vital to a balanced life. Yes, they are. However, NaNoWriMo is not about a balanced anything. It is imbalance in favour of writing 50,000 words in 30 days and these, lovely, social moments are exactly why the word counter isn’t climbing the way it should. Ironically, I always considered myself something of a hermit. Apparently I’m not as antisocial as I thought!

The lesson? If you’re going to bite off a heroic chunk o’ wordage, there will be sacrifices. Perhaps modern communication devices should be the first to go. Then, perhaps all social acquaintance. If that doesn’t work, a stint in a cloisters might be in order–at least for the month of November.

Have you ever made an unexpected discovery about the way you spend your time?

I always wonder about people who renounce things. You know – give up on part of their identity, or an affiliation, or the world in general. The notion presupposes that we have the power to banish such influences from our lives. As if we could say, “Get thee behind me, chocolate!” and the temptation would be gone.

I dunno. Conquering that chocolate addiction isn’t about running away from the candy counter. It means examining one’s relationship with the dark forces of Hershey’s and coming to terms with its grip on one’s soul. Becoming a cave-dwelling hermit removes the chocolate from one’s vicinity, but all that ends the moment the candy dish comes back into view. It’s not enough to say we’re done with something. Its grip needs to be gone whether or not we’re in the same room.

Put another way – one can take the hermit from the Hershey’s, but can one take the Hershey’s from the hermit?

For chocolate, substitute criticism, rejection, insecurities, procrastination and all those other thorny bits we encounter as human beings. Those are all things we could cheerfully put to rest.

As I’m writing this, it’s Halloween. Candy is an issue, given the day, but I’m thinking beyond that. Halloween is also the New Year’s Eve of the Celtic calendar. It’s the day when old things—items or ideas we no longer have a use for—can be put to an honoured rest and new projects born.

Now, the harvest isn’t the New Year’s resolution where we worry about going on a diet or working harder or getting to the gym more often. Those are the resolutions that tell us we need improvement. That’s the thinking that would send us to a cave in the hills to avoid what we apparently don’t have the strength to resist. Stuff and nonsense. Running away is giving an issue more power than it deserves. It’s running away that makes the monsters chase you.

No, this resolution is to say buh-bye to all the nagging voices in our heads that tell us we can’t run faster, jump higher, or do whatever the heck we see ourselves doing in our happiest fantasies. We are that fabulous person already. We’ve just been trained not to believe it.

It’s a new year. Something holding you back? Burn it. Compost it. Let that energy go and transform it into something you can use. That’s what this harvest time is all about.

And while you’re at it, have some chocolate. Harvest is all about celebration, not self-flagellation.