For those of you participating in Nano, may all of your days be filled with at least 1,500 words. To those not participating, please don't hate us for being a little more uncommunicative than usual. ;)

While I'm not "officially" participating (the forums and word wars are much too tempting for this writer to lose herself in), I am still aiming to get 50,000 words added to my current WIP by November 30. And, now that I've revised it to a young adult novel, I'll end up with a completed first draft if I play my cards right.

Then again, I never did too well in cards. Well, except for Euchre. ;)

This has been an incredibly biz-ay week for me with the completion of a bunch of articles, copywriting work and other heinous business-oriented activities that I really shouldn't avoid -- like following up on billings and filing the masses of stuff piled on my desk.

We also have a photo of a conscious Zaphod. Good times!


Seriously though, this is the time to buckle in, down or whatever and really push to get some goals taken care of. Well, at least the ones that are in your control anyway. During the So You Think You Can Dance tour show last night, I couldn't help but think that none of those dancers would be on the stage unless they did two things:

1. Practice
2. Audition

And, as Michelle says about America's Next Top Model, writers can also learn a thing or two from So You Think You Can Dance. You don't make it to the top twenty without sweat. You won't catch a judge's attention without taking a risk. Sure, you'll pull some muscles (Ow! My brain!), but you'll also learn how to improve your technique so that you won't injure yourself as badly next time.

Even more important, these dancers stepped out of their comfort zone and explored new styles. That's akin to someone well versed in dialogue (the pun is intentional people) taking the steps necessary to strengthen their ability to create effective narration or description.

So now, I will wear a dance outfit while writing for inspiration. Or not.

It's too bad that Michelle doesn't think that making Thierry (her Brontean vampire hero) a secret ballroom dancer is a uber-cool idea. The dance-off at the climax of the book would have been awesome, I'm sure. ;)

Back to the barre...

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