Wednesday, September 27, 2006

I was enjoying my ride home on I-10 this afternoon when I got hit.
The most awesome idea for a novel just struck me, broadside, and I had no choice but to take note of character names in anticipation of NaNoWriMo.
I'm not starting early, but I couldn't help but write down a few things.
Good ideas flee me like cats run from a screaming idiot. Only less humorously.

This morning I broke Scotland. Fortunately not the whole country - just our office there. Anyway, I managed to talk the on-site tech through restoring services while I drove in.
Next time I break Scotland I'll do a poorer job of explaining myself in the hopes that they will send me over to fix the stuff personally.

Later in the day I helped a guy at work by deploying a crappy application for him. He promised me a user list and wandered off. Hours later he stepped back into my cube, visibly angry.
He berated me for not responding promptly to his email and for delaying his deployment. Also he was angry that when I had responded I had feigned ignorance.
Then he leaned back out of the cube and looked at the sign. He read my name plate. Twice, at least.
Then he apologized. He had thought my name was something else supplied by the global address list and sent an email to someone at an office in Wyoming.
I laughed at him. A lot.
I mean seriously. I had to get up and leave. I made it to the men's room (wash your hands six times) and the Coke machine before I had even slowed down.
To be fair, he laughed too. Of course, then he wanted me to do stuff and our relationship fell all apart again.
You know. Like they do.

10 comments:

Joe said...

Was the crappy application he needed help with an evil application? With lasers on its head?

Baby burners!

Anonymous said...

From the NaNoWriMo faq:
Do I have to start my novel from scratch on November 1?
Yes.

This sounds like a dumb, arbitrary rule, we know. But bringing a half-finished manuscript into NaNoWriMo all but guarantees a miserable month. You'll simply care about the characters and story too much to write with the gleeful, anything-goes approach that makes NaNoWriMo such a creative rush. Give yourself the gift of a clean slate, and you'll tap into realms of imagination and intuition that are out-of-reach when working on pre-existing manuscripts.

Does that mean I can't use an outline or notes?
Outlines and plot notes are very much encouraged, and can be started months ahead of the actual novel-writing adventure. Previously written prose, though, is punishable by death.

It's all good, man! Me, I've got a plot, poorly-developed characters and a list of possible hijinx! No zombies, pirates or ninjas though.

Katy

Garrick said...

I'm extremely happy you are participating in NaNoWriMo. Shared suffering rules!

How do you write a book without ninjas? I can't even write technical documentation without those guys turning up somewhere.

Anonymous said...

I *live* with ninjas.

If I wrote about them, it would no longer be a work of fiction.

And it would become too scary.

(Ok, fine, maybe they'll get a cameo...but as girls in pink sparkly ninjawear.)

Garrick said...

Katy,

I would SO read that book!

Joe,

I make it a point to never find out what applications actually do. However, I made an exception in following up on your (quite possible) lasers-on-its-head theory.
The application is deployed at chemical plants owned by this company. It automatically files a report with the EPA in the event the waste water produced is not 40% cleaner than the source water from the utility company or if the solar-powered system that converts waste benzine to floral-scented ozone drops below 98% efficiency.
I know what you are thinking. I totally agree. No Springtime Fresh? Evil!

Darrell Davis said...

Freakin CHEATS! I've dropped like the five GREAT ideas I've had because of the rules!! I'm starting from scratch! Nothing and all that stuff. I'm down for the cause and you go and cheat! Shame, Shame on you!
That's what I would have said if I wasn't already cheating!

Garrick said...

Darrell,

As part of our completely non-scientific survey, does your "completely as yet unwritten" book contain ninjas?
I mean, will it possibly contain ninjas when it is written entirely in November?

You rock,

G

Anonymous said...

Darrell must be one of those ultra-Orthodox NaNoWriMo fanatics, following rules far more strict than those found on the original tablets. Does he use separate keyboards for his nouns and verbs? More importantly, will he eat a bacon cheeseburger when his writing is complete?

Darrell Davis said...

Yes to the keyboards, it keeps the mind fresh. No and yes to the ninjas (all DEAD ninjas due to the pirates and all). Did someone say cheeseburger? I want a cheeseburger, when can I get a cheeseburger? Why even mention a cheeseburger if no one has a damn cheeseburger? Where's my damn cheeseburger?

Pamela Moore said...

Glad you washed your hands.

I'm reading No Plot No Problem right now. I'm doing my novel in October and Andrew will do his in November. One of us has to be free to cook, clean, poop the dogs, go to work, etc. This way we can split the shift easier.