The main computer’s out of action until one of us gets around to taking it to a computer repairer. Daughter has more time than me so I’m trying to get her to do it as businesses are open the exact times I’m at work. I don’t want to have to rush at lunch or after work to try and get there because of the time it takes to get into the centre of town from the edge of town where I work. So, as I said before, that’s left us with the netbook and the laptop.
I played a game on the laptop until I got bored with it, so no games! I’ve deleted the netbook game console as all the games were trial only and many of them seemed to be for primary school kids. The game console took up a massive 31 MB and space is always an issue on a netbook. (Just had a popup message to say the McAfee anti-virus trial ends today – what a ripoff!)
Bored with Facebook and still not in the mood to do genealogy, I’ve been spending less time online. I’ve been scanning slides but as I can’t upload them I don’t want to go on with it until I’ve uploaded a batch and had a look (and photoshopped any). I haven’t visited deviantart.com since I can’t upload any photos. I sincerely hope we can get our access back and that we don’t lose everything (things like Sims 2 and Photoshop – other stuff is backed up).
Coincidentally, the warmer weather is coming and the days getting longer, so getting off the computer is a timely thing.
Those two reasons – lack of a decent computer combined with the season – may also be responsible for my creative juices finally stirring. A colleague had mentioned one day that she’s signed up at a website for writing a 50,000 novel in the month of November. I thought nothing much of it at the time as I didn’t think I could do such a thing (but was slightly envious). Then an ex-colleague had done the same thing. Then I got an idea, something I’d mentioned before to daughter and had thought about sometimes, so… I took the plunge and signed up as well based on this one small idea.
I will be busy in November, writing a novel! The website doesn’t expect a finished and flowing work of art – just 50,000 words. It could be a jumble of ideas or a very rough draft, they don’t care, as long as it’s not the same word repeated 50,000 times. It’s an exercise to get you started and there’s nothing to lose. I’ve felt the urge to create something several times but apathy (and the computer, probably) have prevented me starting anything.
Since signing up I’ve been busy thinking of ideas and making notes and even thinking up dialogues in my head. I’ve got a month to get some sort of outline in place from point A through several others to the ending. My ideas so far have got me through a potential third of the book. I’ll be racking my brains to think up more scenarios. The story lacks a main event, but who cares. I’m not aiming to publish this thing, just to write and write and write.
Ironically, the netbook will come in very handy. I’ve downloaded free software to help with the process – somewhere to store the ideas and scenes and link them up when needed. Excellent. I hope this enthusiasm lasts.
Reflections 