[MaeradCase]

Hello fellow nerds,

 

I have returned. Felt like taking a mental break. Was on NF on a daily basis to post for the last month - sometimes twice a day, and felt like maybe I needed to slow down. 

I also have determined that walking in the morning makes my feet already hurt by the time I show up to work, thus making standing for 6-7 hours absolutely miserable. This connection has been discovered by my doing almost zero exercise this week... 😅

Yesterday I was feeling so good and had some spare time so I did walk around the park a bit!

 

I have almost no idea what I'm doing this month aside from NaNoWriMo, and even that itself is daunting because I don't know how it's going to go. I'm using week 0 as a chance to breathe before getting into a new thing. I don't know what to do about my walking problem, and I don't know how easy I should take things in order to focus all my energy on getting words in for each day. I'm so nervous about it all, and I don't know how to reconcile that since all my physical challenges have been within my means in order to improve. This is just a huge challenge to face a daunting project in daily portions... But I don't know how hard it will be because I've never done it before.

 

I feel like a couple weeks ago, I was really confident about this, so I may need to contemplate what changed - possibly my focus because I had a week to cram for my friends' D&D session on Saturday. It went well. I had an instigator to burst into a room full of ghosts and nearly start combat with them, except I let them be chased off by one of the spell-casters. They caused a scene in the ballroom which played out hilariously, and they fought some giant spiders in a library - hurting several of them badly enough that they fled, and killing those that couldn't run fast enough. They also found clues regarding a red-lit trophy room that helped them discover that secret portals had been carefully composed in red chalk to hide them in plain sight.

With holidays coming up, we won't be playing again for a few months, but they sound excited to continue the game.

 

The way I currently am thinking, I think it'll be good for me to kick off my month of NaNoWriMo at a local event on the 29th. Maybe it'll be all prep and encouragement, and that may be exactly what I need. Starting week 1, I'm going to try sitting down for half an hour (with what lyric-less music I can find to play in the background) to type for half an hour. Current dilemma is whether that will be in the morning or the evening. If I'm really skipping exercise to see if my body will stop screaming at me for a month (except maybe warm-up and stretches bookending the writing session), then it could take my morning routine's place, in which case I might get extra words in by continuing to think about it over the course of the day, and adding more in when I get home. 

 

If I don't have it figured out by week 1, I'll at least be trying out the pattern to get back into prep mode, in which case I can confirm that it's what I want to use for this challenge. 

 

Fingers crossed for this one, 'cause I don't see how it's gonna end.

Maerad

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

That's a tough one with the mystery of the hurting feet. I hope you can get that sorted.

[Elastigirl]

I can see where if you are on your feet a bunch for work, it would be hard to start off the day with a walk. It might be a good idea to have some sort of time dedicated to movement  of some sort,  just to keep up the movement habit.

Here to cheer you on!

[JuiceeTarget]

Hmmm... maybe finding some simple core exercises you can do in a chair or lying down in place of the walking might help. Even if it is five minutes of going into/out of plank at whatever level you are at might be worthwhile.

I've also found that most of my back/leg/foot issues feel much better if I focus on hip mobility stretches and exercises. I like the gmb.io hip mobility routine: https://gmb.io/hip-mobility/ and find just doing it in the morning when I wake up feeling weird in my feet/legs/back makes the whole rest of the day better.

 

Following along to see if I can be nudged to try NaNoWriMo again.

[Sovalis]

The hurting feet is definitely a problem. I can see needing to scale back to make sure you aren’t in pain and are able to meet your writing goals. That said, don’t underestimate a walk as a good way to think through a writing block; there’s really something about it that jars things loose when I am stuck. Julia Cameron swears by it, too, and she’s as close to an expert on these things as I can quote. I am really excited to see your progress with your writing. I did NaNo a few years ago and got a lot out of it. My advice is to take it like you take your workouts - one motion at at time, whether that be a word, a sentence, a paragraph, whatever. If you need to back off, you’ll know. If you can push a bit harder, you’ll know. And anything you create during this process is a win, even if you don’t make the enormous word goal at the end. I also liked to leave myself off at a place where I knew a bit of what needed to happen next so that I had a bit of a lever to get started the next day, especially if I were writing in the mornings. Starting cold on a new scene is something I do better with when I am fully awake and caffeinated.  

 

As always, here to cheer you on! Don’t feel pressure to update here every day - show up at the page and knock it out of the park! 

[Everstorm]

6 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I don't know how easy I should take things in order to focus all my energy on getting words in for each day. I'm so nervous about it all, and I don't know how to reconcile that since all my physical challenges have been within my means in order to improve.

 

One of my favorite NF articles of all time was this post about thinking of fitness as a dial not an on/off switch.  November is definitely going to be extra, it's just a question of how much.  So maybe dial it down a bit (especially if your feet are hurting any way) and try some stretching or yoga as many wise voices above have suggested.  You can dial it back up in December...or even January. 

 

6 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

my friends' D&D session on Saturday. It went well. I had an instigator to burst into a room full of ghosts and nearly start combat with them, except I let them be chased off by one of the spell-casters. They caused a scene in the ballroom which played out hilariously, and they fought some giant spiders in a library - hurting several of them badly enough that they fled, and killing those that couldn't run fast enough. They also found clues regarding a red-lit trophy room that helped them discover that secret portals had been carefully composed in red chalk to hide them in plain sight.

With holidays coming up, we won't be playing again for a few months, but they sound excited to continue the game.

This sounds so freaking awesome

 

6 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Fingers crossed for this one, 'cause I don't see how it's gonna end.

 

Like this:

 

(I am stocking up on writing memes for the challenge)

[MaeradCase]

7 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

That's a tough one with the mystery of the hurting feet. I hope you can get that sorted.

Thanks, Tank.

 

6 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

I can see where if you are on your feet a bunch for work, it would be hard to start off the day with a walk. It might be a good idea to have some sort of time dedicated to movement  of some sort,  just to keep up the movement habit.

Here to cheer you on!

It was neat tracking some distance into my routine, and it helped prepare me to walk a lot on my road trip. I think the takeaway I'm getting from the last challenge is that I'd rather go on my walk in the evening with Cid than go in the morning, especially if the morning might be put to use differently.

 

6 hours ago, GoodDoug said:

Hmmm... maybe finding some simple core exercises you can do in a chair or lying down in place of the walking might help. Even if it is five minutes of going into/out of plank at whatever level you are at might be worthwhile.

I've also found that most of my back/leg/foot issues feel much better if I focus on hip mobility stretches and exercises. I like the gmb.io hip mobility routine: https://gmb.io/hip-mobility/ and find just doing it in the morning when I wake up feeling weird in my feet/legs/back makes the whole rest of the day better.

 

Following along to see if I can be nudged to try NaNoWriMo again.

Ooh, hip stretches! Some of those look like things I already do for post-workout leg stretches, so I think I'll try them out as part of a warm-up/stretch-out combo 

 

I may not know what I'm doing, but I am a hundred percent excited about anybody to join team NFNaNo this coming month with @Everstorm,  @fearless 2.0,  @Stronkey Kong, and me! Let me know your username when you get logged in!

 

5 hours ago, Sovalis said:

The hurting feet is definitely a problem. I can see needing to scale back to make sure you aren’t in pain and are able to meet your writing goals. That said, don’t underestimate a walk as a good way to think through a writing block; there’s really something about it that jars things loose when I am stuck. Julia Cameron swears by it, too, and she’s as close to an expert on these things as I can quote.

I'll keep my evening walks with Cid just in case I need them for stretching out my legs, or unsticking my brain. 😉

 

5 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I am really excited to see your progress with your writing. I did NaNo a few years ago and got a lot out of it. My advice is to take it like you take your workouts - one motion at at time, whether that be a word, a sentence, a paragraph, whatever. If you need to back off, you’ll know. If you can push a bit harder, you’ll know. And anything you create during this process is a win, even if you don’t make the enormous word goal at the end.

I think it got daunting from having no prep for a week. I got in a couple hours of prep-reading for one of my characters today, so I'm slightly less terrified. 😅

 

5 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I also liked to leave myself off at a place where I knew a bit of what needed to happen next so that I had a bit of a lever to get started the next day, especially if I were writing in the mornings. Starting cold on a new scene is something I do better with when I am fully awake and caffeinated.  

Ooh! That sounds like a neat trick. I may try it, but I also foresee a lot of cliffhanger moments...

 

5 hours ago, Sovalis said:

As always, here to cheer you on! Don’t feel pressure to update here every day - show up at the page and knock it out of the park! 

Thanks, Sovalis! 😭

 

3 hours ago, Everstorm said:

One of my favorite NF articles of all time was this post about thinking of fitness as a dial not an on/off switch.  November is definitely going to be extra, it's just a question of how much.  So maybe dial it down a bit (especially if your feet are hurting any way) and try some stretching or yoga as many wise voices above have suggested.  You can dial it back up in December...or even January. 

That was extremely helpful alongside a lot of these comments. It helped remind me that just because I may need to change my effort level doesn't mean I must immediately backslide. I can still emphasize veggies because I enjoy them, hydration because it's refreshing, and exercises that make my body feel more relaxed. 😍 Y'all are helping me today. Thank you.

 

3 hours ago, Everstorm said:

This sounds so freaking awesome

I based it on the original haunted house Cid ran when I played for the first time. 😅

 

3 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Like this:

 

(I am stocking up on writing memes for the challenge)

(I am looking forward to seeing them)

 

Thank you, all, for your input and encouragement. I'll definitely set in stone some goals come Monday, but I think I'm less scared of this because I'm not doing it alone and I don't have to fail everything else to manage doing this. Also Zemi has been enjoying my company while I relaxed at home after going to the dentist (I underwent the torture of psychic damage incurred by drilling into my teeth to put in fillings! Yay!), so points to them for being cute and cuddly even though they insist they're not a lap cat.

 

(I have obvious proof otherwise, but apparently pillows, blankets, and jeans all don't count)

 

Thank you again for your support!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[shaar]

Hi Maerad!  Your kitty is SO CUTEEEEEE 😍

 

I feel that sometimes not having a solid plan is a good plan in and of itself - it allows you a little more freedom to see what works and sticks vs what doesn't, if that makes sense?  More room to explore!

 

I'm sorry about your poor feets - I'm gonna echo @GoodDoug because I am a sucker for GMB and mobility work - I've literally been using their foot mobility drills for years now because my feet and ankles especially tend to get real achy due to old sports injuries... https://gmb.io/feet/ ❤️ 

 

Happy new challenge!  I'm rooting for you!

[Artemis Prime]

Good luck on NaNoWriMo! One of these years I'm actually going to participate, but for now I'll just send all my good writing vibes your way.

 

20 hours ago, Sovalis said:

I also liked to leave myself off at a place where I knew a bit of what needed to happen next so that I had a bit of a lever to get started the next day, especially if I were writing in the mornings. Starting cold on a new scene is something I do better with when I am fully awake and caffeinated.

This sounded like a good strategy when I first heard it, but it just doesn't work for me. I sit down and stare at where I left off and think "I know I was going somewhere with this...but where?" If I have a strong idea, it's best if I get it down on paper asap.

[Salinger]

GOOD LUCK!!!!!! Always in awe of people doing the NaNo writing challenge, amazing. 

 

You can do it, we totally believe in you xx

[MaeradCase]

On 10/21/2022 at 7:44 AM, shaar said:

I feel that sometimes not having a solid plan is a good plan in and of itself - it allows you a little more freedom to see what works and sticks vs what doesn't, if that makes sense?  More room to explore!

That's a good point.  I still see myself as new to taking better care of myself, so I feel like I need to know what I'm doing, but also this month's challenge is to try something big, and take care of me without overdoing it. 😅

 

On 10/21/2022 at 7:44 AM, shaar said:

I'm sorry about your poor feets - I'm gonna echo @GoodDoug because I am a sucker for GMB and mobility work - I've literally been using their foot mobility drills for years now because my feet and ankles especially tend to get real achy due to old sports injuries... https://gmb.io/feet/ ❤️ 

 

Happy new challenge!  I'm rooting for you!

Good to know! I'll keep both handy in case I'd rather alternate than do the same thing every day.

 

On 10/21/2022 at 9:36 AM, Artemis Prime said:

Good luck on NaNoWriMo! One of these years I'm actually going to participate, but for now I'll just send all my good writing vibes your way.

I accept all the good vibes. 😍 I've known of it for a while, but never really figured I'd actually try it, but I really want to, so I am. 😅

 

On 10/21/2022 at 9:36 AM, Artemis Prime said:

This sounded like a good strategy when I first heard it, but it just doesn't work for me. I sit down and stare at where I left off and think "I know I was going somewhere with this...but where?" If I have a strong idea, it's best if I get it down on paper asap.

Also a good point. I'll let you know how my brain reacts should I dare to leave the space open to describe onward into a scene I have pictured in advance. 😉

 

On 10/21/2022 at 10:12 AM, Salinger said:

GOOD LUCK!!!!!! Always in awe of people doing the NaNo writing challenge, amazing. 

 

You can do it, we totally believe in you xx

Thank you, Sal!

 

Week 0 Saturday Update:

 

I went to the science museum yesterday with Cidran and two of our friends. I had my Pokéwalker all day, and it says I managed 4 and 3/8 of a mile. Wow. It was fun, though! 😍

 

In regard to the upcoming challenge, I'm currently picturing my goals as the following:

1. Change up morning exercise routine - try stretching instead of walking, and body weight exercise days are extra credit this challenge

2. Spend half an hour typing before my phone gets turned on - for week 1 it will be a mix of outlining, background development, and character development

3. Resume evening walks with Cidran

4. Tally up progress on NaNoWriMo website before going to bed - I don't even know how to do this, but I'm hoping it's easy enough to do on my phone, otherwise I'll do it on the computer while I also add any addition writing done at work and/or whatever notes I have to carry on the next morning.

 

It does feel like a lot ahead, but I still think that there'll be an end result to enjoy. I don't know that all four characters will get the same attention, and I don't know that I'll manage to tie their stories together in a significantly cool way. If I end up writing primarily for one or two characters, the others may shine another time.

 

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good weekend.

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Everstorm]

2 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I don't even know how to do this, but I'm hoping it's easy enough to do on my phone,

 

It should be pretty simple to do on your phone.  From your project dashboard, tap NaNoWriMo 2022 (as shown below)

and it takes you to the place where you input your word count (you can't input anything yet, of course).  It also has all kinds of fancy charts and whatnot to track your progress to see if you are where you need to be to finish:

[Novaurora]

On 10/20/2022 at 9:06 AM, MaeradCase said:

NaNoWriMo

You go, you writing badass!!!

[Sovalis]

On 10/20/2022 at 5:57 PM, MaeradCase said:

I may not know what I'm doing, but I am a hundred percent excited about anybody to join team NFNaNo this coming month with @Everstorm,  @fearless 2.0,  @Stronkey Kong, and me! Let me know your username when you get logged in!

I'm Sovalis there, too! 🥳😬

[MaeradCase]

On 10/22/2022 at 6:27 PM, Everstorm said:

 

It should be pretty simple to do on your phone.  From your project dashboard, tap NaNoWriMo 2022 (as shown below)

and it takes you to the place where you input your word count (you can't input anything yet, of course).

*sigh of relief* Thank you, Ever. Those are very straightforward directions. 😃

 

On 10/22/2022 at 9:36 PM, Novaurora said:

You go, you writing badass!!!

😍 Thanks!

 

On 10/22/2022 at 9:46 PM, Sovalis said:

I'm Sovalis there, too! 🥳😬

I'm happy to have you added!

 

Week 1 Monday Update:

 

Good morning everyone!

I got up a little before my alarm thanks to Cid's waking me up (his is half an hour earlier than mine, but he tends to turn it off earlier than it's set, so it isn't usually my wake-up call).

I attempted the hip exercises this morning. Since I was leaving my phone off until I had written, this left me doing them by memory (probably not the best way to do them, but I remembered 7/8 of them - I forgot the internal rotations). The Frog stretch got into a hip motion that pops back and forth, so I may need to be careful to do it well. And the kneeling lunge step felt killer on my knees (probably holding the position wrong, so I'll be careful with that one, too... Or I'll do the modified version in a chair to keep my weight off of my flexed knee).

 

After that I sat down to do my typing. I didn't actually start typing for about half an hour because I was arranging my docs, and moving notes from emails to myself into a doc I could reference side-by-side with the rest. Then I finally pulled up a fresh new doc to start typing in, and built up scene ideas for Paige. I got 1500 words in developing the narrative path of her backstory. I want to add more segments to this story prep, because I only got through act I of her life. I am aware of what acts II and III are going to look like, so I just have to build them up to that point. Maybe act IV for her will involve the combining of stories? That makes sense to me.

 

I'm ready enough for Paige's world, probably Ekaterina's, not as much for Varsha's, but maybe for Alidavai's. Morning and evening writing this week should help take me from my vague notions into a story-boarded concept I'm ready to flesh out into story.

 

Also some time ago someone asked me what tone I would be using, and while I am using third person past tense for all my reference work, I feel like first person would be better in the composition of the story so that I can see the world directly through their eyes, and maybe get different perspectives and attitudes rather than a consistent singular narrative viewpoint. Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to make myself cry a lot. 😳

 

Anyway, glad to have you along!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Rhovaniel]

Here to follow and encourage! Good luck with NaNoWriMo!

 

5 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

And the kneeling lunge step felt killer on my knees (probably holding the position wrong, so I'll be careful with that one, too...

I get this too. Bad knee that tends to flare up on ultras/long walks for me, but any lunge stretch on it HURTS. Definitely consider modifying them. Even if your are holding the position wrong, any pain more than a discomfort at the stretch is bad news. (You probably knew this already, sorry if it comes across as lecturing)

[Everstorm]

5 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I got 1500 words in developing the narrative path of her backstory

That's good work for 30 minutes!  Sounds like your prep is going well

 

 

[MaeradCase]

59 minutes ago, Rhovaniel said:

Here to follow and encourage! Good luck with NaNoWriMo!

 

I get this too. Bad knee that tends to flare up on ultras/long walks for me, but any lunge stretch on it HURTS. Definitely consider modifying them. Even if your are holding the position wrong, any pain more than a discomfort at the stretch is bad news. (You probably knew this already, sorry if it comes across as lecturing)

Thanks, Rho!  I'll be trying a similar form but with a chair's support to keep my weight off the bent knee.

 

58 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

That's good work for 30 minutes!  Sounds like your prep is going well

I think so, too. Having it partly done in the morning also means I can play catch up in the evenings, so I like this arrangement as of day one of trying it. 😂

I'm glad for the prep, but also feel like I'll be winging a lot of this without referencing what I've prepped because looking up things I decided in advance would use up my writing time. 😅

I'll sort out inconsistencies after all the writing is done. First drafts are for exploring concepts, not for telling the complete and final tale. 😉

[MaeradCase]

Week 1 Tuesday Update:

 

Good morning, y'all!

 

Last night was nice. Cidran and I walked when I got home, and we discussed some of what my thoughts are in regard to the NaNoWriMo challenge (primarily that the goal is to write words for accumulation, but that my efforts for consistency are to get the writing time in before work, and the additional writing time in the evening isn't mandatory because I value spending time together with him). After supper (I made lentil stew), I added more to my doc about Paige. I put in another 1600 words before wrapping up what I know so far for her story.

 

This morning I did the same thing as yesterday: I did the hip exercises and I wrote before I turned on my phone. I did manage to do all eight of the hip stretches (though I couldn't remember how many I'd done until I referenced the list later to make sure I hadn't missed any). Doing the kneeling lunge stretch with a chair under me felt wobbly on one side, but having my weight off my knee made it far easier to hold the pose. The internal rotations were interesting, but I couldn't keep track of what number I was on. 😅 

 

As for writing, I started elaborating on what scenes I would like for Ekaterina. I won't be putting in more time on her tonight because it's game night, and because for the most part she's a little easier to sum up. I did do the time-consuming research mode that I would rather avoid in my morning writing because I wanted to know how all the parts of a hunted animal can be put to use... Tanning hides with brain solutions, cleaning sinew to dry for future use, making bowstrings out of sinew, carving antlers and bones into tools, avoiding bears, etc. Cool stuff, but also I want to be in the habit of making note of need to research while also carrying on the scene rather than delaying my writing time. Besides, if I leave the marker, I can research things during the day and add them in as a quick evening addition. Overall she got 1500 words.

 

Tomorrow I have to put forth some scheming for Varsha or Alidavai. Or if I want the quick and easy route I could also map out some of Ekaterina's pirate adventures. In which case I can spend tomorrow night reviewing more of the settings material for Varsha before fleshing out her outline. I'm least prepared for Alidavai. 😅

 

I'm looking forward to going to a NaNo event this Saturday. I may end up looking like a major D&D nerd, but that seems appropriate since all my characters are originally D&D characters being put forth into D&D settings for this first draft. So I'll just go full D&D vibes. 😂

 

I'm really enjoying seeing everyone else prepping, too. This is such a daunting task, but having people to accompany me makes it a bit less scary, and a bit more thrilling. 😍

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Artemis Prime]

19 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

the additional writing time in the evening isn't mandatory because I value spending time together with him

This is such a good and important thing. I am working on prioritizing time with important people over checking things off a to-do list. It's a struggle for me, though, because I do love all those checkmarks!

[Everstorm]

2 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I want to be in the habit of making note of need to research while also carrying on the scene rather than delaying my writing time. Besides, if I leave the marker, I can research things during the day and add them in as a quick evening addition

Yes, I am worried about long research rabbit holes while writing, too.  Definitely will be one of my bigger challenges

[Sovalis]

4 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I'm looking forward to going to a NaNo event this Saturday. I may end up looking like a major D&D nerd, but that seems appropriate since all my characters are originally D&D characters being put forth into D&D settings for this first draft. So I'll just go full D&D vibes. 😂

 

I'm really enjoying seeing everyone else prepping, too. This is such a daunting task, but having people to accompany me makes it a bit less scary, and a bit more thrilling. 😍

My story started out of our D&D Horde of the Dragon Queen/Tyranny of Dragons campaign from a few years ago. It’s changed substantially since then (so I don’t have to deal with copywrite infringement!) but I am working on my profile of Aryn right now and it is reminding me so much of Charles, who played him. It’s bittersweet because we aren’t as close as we used to be, but I feel a little more affectionate toward him and his understandable absence while I am trying to understand his character’s character.  

 

Definitely more thrilling to do it with people. I don’t think I would be attempting it this year if it wasn’t for your specific enthusiasm and boldness. I really admire those qualities in you! ❤️ 

[MaeradCase]

5 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

This is such a good and important thing. I am working on prioritizing time with important people over checking things off a to-do list. It's a struggle for me, though, because I do love all those checkmarks!

They're very alluring - I'm into badges, personally. 😅 

 

3 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Yes, I am worried about long research rabbit holes while writing, too.  Definitely will be one of my bigger challenges

Right? I have hopes to bypass it, but considering the fact that it managed to get me on day two of sit-down-and-type, I may have cause for concern. 😂

 

2 hours ago, Sovalis said:

My story started out of our D&D Horde of the Dragon Queen/Tyranny of Dragons campaign from a few years ago. It’s changed substantially since then (so I don’t have to deal with copyright infringement!)

That's the plan in my head - letting the existing material help me build up a world to play in, and then as things modify through my writing and editing, let it develop into its own world.

 

2 hours ago, Sovalis said:

but I am working on my profile of Aryn right now and it is reminding me so much of Charles, who played him. It’s bittersweet because we aren’t as close as we used to be, but I feel a little more affectionate toward him and his understandable absence while I am trying to understand his character’s character.  

😭 That's wonderful

 

2 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Definitely more thrilling to do it with people. I don’t think I would be attempting it this year if it wasn’t for your specific enthusiasm and boldness. I really admire those qualities in you! ❤️ 

😭😭😭😭😭 Thank you, Sovalis.

[MaeradCase]

Week 1 Wednesday Update:

 

Last night's game night was part two of a two-session run at Call of Cthulhu. Elaboration on the spooky Halloween game:

Spoiler

We were at the abandoned house trying to banish the invisible lurking horror djinn monster, and when we started our ritual at midnight it came at us in the form of a horde of zombie varmints, a couple bears, and two people who had fallen prey to its attacks. We managed to keep the ritual going in the circle while two of our party killed the zombies as they broke through the decades-old wards left by the foolish young men who had summoned, trapped, but not banished this monstrous entity so long ago.

The tide nearly turned when we managed to get a sight of it, throwing an arcane dust that made it briefly visible so we might avoid its acidic attacks. But as we pushed on through the last minutes of the ritual, and it grew desperate to interfere, it bisected the friendly cabby who had been on the weapons team, and shredded the academic professor (my character, Anastasia) who had been on the chanting team.

The remaining two resisted its last attempts to bargain for its life, and sealed it away from our world - the magic empowered by the blood shed during the ritual.

 

Anyway, playing lasted until 11, and Cid and I didn't get home til midnight. This morning I had to go to work early. So I ski-... Nope, I still did everything. 

 

I didn't do my hip stretches, but I did warm up a little, do a plank for a minute and a couple raised arm alt forms before stretching out.

I took care of my teeth and then sat down with about half an hour to type (I actually seem to be typing for 45 minutes these last few days, so I might want to keep that in mind...) before it would be time to get ready for work.

 

I decided I should give Varsha a bit of attention. I pushed her childhood scenes out of the way and decided to flesh out her adventure to the feywild. Then I gave a little thought to her later adventures as a griffin rider, and what kind of particular encounter I might blend together from two of my reference resources. Overall I got 1000 words in for her, but my parents want to do dinner tonight, so no additional work adding on tonight.

 

I've just finished reading the second Simon Snow book by Rainbow Rowell (they're a lot of fun, and the first one hits just the right spot of fanfiction despite being characters made up by Rainbow in a world she created... It's a little meta, but it's a beautiful homage to the beautiful stories one encounters from the minds of those who like recreating the world for their favorite characters)

 

Anyway, now that that's done, I figure I should focus reading brain on writing, right? 😅 Probably not gonna work, but in the meantime I happily discovered that my library had a copy of "No Plot, No Problem" that I can borrow! Yay! Gonna dip my toes in that for the rest of the week, and maybe it'll be super helpful. 😉

 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a great day!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Everstorm]

1 hour ago, MaeradCase said:

So I ski-... Nope, I still did everything. 

 

Haha I love it.  Well done!