lunchtime post: fall cleaning

So I didn't do much of anything last night on the writing or anything else, because I sort of got struck with a cleaning bug and have decided to rearrange things and really clean things, especially in my bedroom. It has gotten out of control, so when I get off work today I'm going to go buy some plastic storage bins and tonight I'm going to clean out my closet, rearrange the room, organize my books (huge job) and work on getting rid of the clutter. Honestly, I don't know why I'm holding on to some of the junk I'm keeping. Some of the cute little figurines and other little girl decor from when I was a child could go to Hannah. I'm sure she would love them. I have computer games that don't even work on my computer because it's too new. Those could go to Noah. Some of the young adult books could go to him too. He's a big reader and is always looking for new books. There are lots of things I could do to help de-clutter my world, and I'm ready to do them! After all, what is the point of keeping something around when you don't even use it? If it's been sitting in a closet for 2 years, you probably will never need it again. I honestly think one reason I'm so unfocused in all aspects of my life right now is because there is too much clutter. Not just in my room, although it doesn't help matters that my room is filled with stuff I don't need, but my mind is cluttered too. Everything is jumbled up in little compartments, nooks and crannies. So I'm taking action. And the first step is to get rid of the physical clutter. The mental clutter will take a little longer and will be more complicated, but I'm determined to get rid of it too.

November is coming, and you know what that means. National Novel Writing Month! Once again, I will embark on the crazy journey, attempting to write 50,000 words in one month. Last year went so well that I'm kind of afraid of what will happen this year! I have two solid ideas, and one not so solid one. I'm probably going to start over on After the Storm in January, because I don't like where it's going and it has just been impossible to stay focused on the story. I think it may still be too soon for me. One year after Katrina and things are still a little too raw for me to really work on a story that takes place in the aftermath of a storm. The breaking point for me was when I read an article about the suicide rate in Mississippi going up since Katrina. That's when I stopped writing. I just couldn't continue. Emotionally, it was just too hard. So I have another story in the Faithgirls series that I could do, continuing the tradition of doing Faithgirls books for NaNoWriMo. I also have a YA story I've been planning. It's sort of a coming of age, but in reverse, if that makes any sense. It's kind of nonlinear, which might be fun. I've never done a story like that before, and I'm not sure if there is any real market for it, but I think it might be fun to write. It doesn't have a title right now, and I really want to have a title before I start, so we'll see what happens.

I have LOTS of great plans for my group this year. Being ML is going to be great this year, because I'm already working on recruiting and have already made some really fun plans for the parties and write-ins. I love NaNoWriMo!!

Well, I guess that's about it. Lunchtime goes so quickly...