It's Over - For Now!

Thanks to all of you for attending the T.G.I.O. party today!  We ate pizza and shared the names of our NaNoNovels and the genres.  Some of us read 100 or so words.  It was wonderful to finally get a sneak preview of the stories that have been brewing inside your heads for the past few weeks.

Our next meeting is January 17th.  We will begin the revision portion of our novel-writing quests.  If you have not finished your book, keep writing.  I intend to edit my novel a little bit each day during Christmas break.

Here's an article about us...  http://www.mpsaz.org/academy/articles/15068/academy-writing-project-celebration

Here's a sneak peek from In the Wings, my NaNo Novel, copyright (c) Karen Procopio, 2011.

The lunchtime bell rings. Classroom doors swing open and chattering voices echo the hallways.



Katie nudges me with her elbow. “Look,” she whispers. “Here comes Ava.”


In the distance, I can see a commotion forming, and the epicenter of it all is a tall girl with shiny, black Cleopatra hair, dark brown eyes and porcelain skin. She holds her chin up and shoulders back as she walks through the hallway, and I wonder for a moment if she is a ballerina. A swarm of teenage girls buzz around her and flit in and out of the group.


“Who are all those people?” I ask.


“I call them the Lessers, the Wanna-bees, and the Tongue-Waggers.” Katie says. “The Lessers are the girls who are never invited to anything Ava does. She doesn’t even know they exist, but they follow her everywhere, hoping desperately that she’ll ask them for a piece of paper or a pencil just so they can say they talked to her. The Wanna-bees are the girls who were her friends last year but were pushed out of the inner circle. They hope Ava will let them back in.”


“And the Tongue-Waggers?” I ask.


“They’re Ava’s henchmen. They do her dirty work, like spread rumors and bully people.”

T.G.I.O.!

T.G.I.O. - Thank Goodness It's Over!  Well, not really.  I'm glad I finished my novel but I miss my characters and can't wait to begin revisions and edits in January. 

In the meantime...

The T.G.I.O. party will be held this Tuesday, December 6th, from 3:45p - 5:00p in my classroom.  Bring $3.00 for pizza and 100 words of your NaNoNovel to share!

Our writing group wrote a cumulative 420,000 words!

Our next Writing Club Meeting:  Tuesday, January 17th, 3:45p - 5:00p.

Read this... http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/node/1097263

NaNoWriMo - Day 29

November Checklist:

Post progress reports.  Done.
Cook Thanksgiving dinner.  Done.
Oh, and a little thing like write a 50,000-word novel.  Done.

NaNoWriMo - Day 26

It's Saturday evening and I'm looking at the finish line on Wednesday with 6,000 words to go!  I know one of you already finished 50,000 words (yahoo!) and the rest of us are still plugging along.  Don't give up.  Keep moving forward. 

If you haven't uploaded your word count yet, make sure you do so before the end of NaNoWriMo so your words will count toward our class goal!

NaNoWriMo - Day 25

Update:

I'm  at 41,000 words as of 1:30 a.m.  Yes - a.m.!  I wrote about 6,000 words today.  A certain group member is ALMOST FINISHED with her 50,000-word book!  She's in sixth grade (can't mention her name on the Internet) but we know who she is!  Woohoo!  Congratulations to you!

Mark your calendar:  The NaNoWrimo TGIO Party (Thank Goodness It's Over) will be held on Tueday, December 6th from 3:45p - 5:00p in my classroom.  Spread the word!  All writing club members are invited.  Here's what you need to be admitted to the party:

• 100 words of a favorite section of your NaNoWriMo book to share with the group.
• $3.00 to pay for pizza and soda.

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving yesterday!  I think the best part for me about the holidays is the day afterward.  The house is clean.  There's a ton of leftover food in the refrigerator so I don't have to cook.  I don't have to work and I finally have some time to write!

I looked at our virtual classroom and I'm pleased with the progress everyone is making!  Keep up the fabulous work, Wrimos!  Don't give up.  We're so close to the finish line!

NaNoWriMo - Day 23

This is the first time in my NaNo history that I have been lagging in my word count on Day 23.  Life happens, as they say, and my life has been happening at an exponentially busy pace lately.  Those of you who know me know that we're making a huge tech transition at work, so my normal writing times before/during/after school have been non-existent due to my involvement with the transition.

BUT

No excuses for me.  None for you, either.  Tomorrow is turkey day and I intend to write for the next four days to get caught up, get ahead, and possibly finish before November 30th. 

Some of you have begun to back out of NaNoWriMo because it's getting harder and harder to write.  Please don't give up.  You're so close to the end of this endeavor.  It would be a shame to stop now!  If you need inspiration, download the NaNoWriMo workbook for your grade level.  There are many helpful suggestions to keep you moving forward.

So, what if you don't make your word count?  Keep writing no matter what.  Look at the words you've written since the beginning of NaNoWriMo.  Did you think you could write even that many?  That's a huge accomplishment.  Focus on the positive and keep writing!  There's still time.

Yougottawannasoquityerwining!  See you at the finish line.

(-:

NaNoWriMo - Day 21

Are you backing up your data every day?  If not, what are you waiting for?

1.  Email the files to yourself.
2.  Put a copy on the school's server.
3.  Save it in Google Docs.

Do it now!