Regardless of my scheduling mess up. Ah, well.

2138 words today, Lainey’s on her first rest break at Yentna Station checkpoint. Showing the tedious things required for a rest break here. Fairly easy going on this leg of the rest. Next chapter she ends up at Finger Lake.

And then I have some fun with the Farewell Burn!

(Be glad you aren’t one of my characters . . .)

I’ve just discovered that I made an error when I originally calculated Lainey’s checkpoints and times in and out. I confused Yentna and Skwentna checkpoints. She’s at Yentna . . . 34 miles away from where I had her time in and 6 hour break.

grumble

The checkpoint I described was Yentna. But thirty-four miles? That’s a lot of ground to make up (though not in the long run, really.) That puts her entire race – rest schedule off, times in and out off . . .

UGH!

Maybe I’ll just gloss over it . . . I’m a fiction writer who’s never attended the Iditarod. I should get a little leeway, right?

grunt

Good thing I checked my schedule last night . . . imagine my surprise to realize I work graveyard tonight!

Stayed up until 4am in preparation, got some writing and chores done today, and caught a quick nap. Now I’m off to get ready for work. It looks like it might only be a half a shift. Thank goodness! (And thank the gods for my scooter’s new rear tire! No walking home at four in the morning!)

Went over my last chapter and added close to 500 words after getting it back from my beta, Kim. Then put in another 1100 on chapter twenty-six. 1640 total today. Even though I’m off work tomorrow, I doubt I’ll get two k out. Most my morning will be asleep in bed.

Got a grand in just over an hour. Finished chapter twenty-five which is now off to the beta readers.

Whew. I’m glad I finally got to the race itself! Maybe the rest of the book will ‘race’ as a result! LOL!

Over 27 grand in 27 days. Haven’t done that in a long while.

Had a bit of a hiccup to start today’s writing. You know the type – staring at a blank page, knowing where to start, but not knowing how to start it. Finally got going and whipped out 1013 words in an hour. I hate to stop, but I’ve still got chores and work today.

The race is beginning, Lainey’s leaving the starting line. I’ve got a question in to my primary beta, Kim, about the start of the Iditarod which will be incorporated into what I’ve already written. Tomorrow I’ll get Lainey through Anchorage and to Eagle River.

Didn’t know if I’d get anything done today!

Yesterday, I got sidetracked with research, so wrote nothing. The few days before the Iditarod starts are packed with writing opportunites . . . did I want to start with the vet check on Wednesday? The mandatory musher’s meeting on Thursday? How about the banquet on Thursday evening where the mushers draw numbers to see what order they leave Anchorage in? Then there’s all day Friday for Lainey to get antsy about the race starting Saturday morning. Choices, choices!

Oi!

Then this morning I went to the doctor. I’m pinless! I’m castless! I’m wearing a splint for the next couple of weeks, but I can now remove it to shower. YAY!

My wife is down with the flu. Spent the rest of the morning cleaning house, mopping floors, and running an errand to the store for more Nyquil. Didn’t sit down to write until almost one pm!

Got 2266 words done! Chapter 24 completed. Next up is the race itself!

But haven’t started this morning’s words. It’ll be one thousand today since I have work this afternoon.

I just wanted to thank Kim for her assistance with the Iditarod novel. She’s a former Alaskan, transplanted elsewhere this year, and in twenty-four hours she’s given me so much information on the Alaskan lifestyle . . . Wow! Lots of stuff I needed to know that is second nature for folks up north.

Thank you, Kim! You totally rock!

Chapter 23 done. And finally, finally I’m in March and the beginning of the Iditarod! YAY! All back story is complete, all romance set up, all training issues discussed.

Through my day off goal. 1087 words down, at least a grand to go. I took a break in between to grab a not so healthy lunch at McDonald’s and pick up some gifts for my lady love’s early birthday presents. (It won’t do her any good if I buy long underwear in May.)

Got my scooter back from the shop. (Thanks, James!) Now I have wheels for those late work nights so I don’t have to hobble home. I’ll probably be needing those wheels as early as Friday next.

Finished out the chapter with Lainey in the wilderness on a long training run. Gives some idea of what mushers go through on the trail. Gives some insight on Lainey’s character and focuses a bit on her alcoholism.

1379 words today.

Now on to work. Blech.

1005 words today. Originally planned to show the first and second qualifying races, but have since changed my mind. The story’s starting to drag a bit, and I still haven’t reached the Iditarod. I don’t want to go overboard on describing the smaller races Lainey is required to run when I’ve still got the big bang ahead.

Instead, I’ve shown the Fuller team returning from the Kuskokwim 300, added a bit about Lainey sponsoring Rye for the Yukon 300 (her next qualifier,) and some mushy romantic stuff between my main characters. I’ll finish out this chapter with the delivery of tons of meat and the beginning planning push for food drops. Might add a bit of an article Lainey’s writing to flesh it out.

Next chapter, I’ll do the same for the Yukon 300 and show the hectic pace and tons of work as Lainey figures out what she’s taking and what she’s packing.

Off to work.

1031 words today and chapter twenty-one finished. Rookie musher meeting is in the bag, I’ve introduced another rookie for Lainey to deal with on the trail, and prepped for an overnight training expedition* with Scotch in the next chapter.

Off to work!

*Git yer minds outta the gutter!

It’s been brought to my attention that it’s been quite some time since I’ve trotted this idea out. Some don’t know what I’m talking about and others want to know why I’m thinking about it now.

A friend of mine went to Dragon Con a couple of years ago. A group from a New Zealand television show were going to be there, and she mentioned them to me. The show is called The Tribe and is about some sort of plague that kills off the adults. The children are left behind to cope, to live, create their own society, etc.

I thought the concept was a cool one, so I checked out an episode. Didn’t like it. A couple of kids were doing virtual battle on a computer. Seemed to me that this was pretty darned sophisticated for kids. I’m not knocking kids! Many of them are very intelligent and fully capable of restoring electricity and all the other comforts of home. But ‘many’ are not ‘lots.’ I seriously doubt the majority of the kids left behind (and I’m not too sure about the mean age of the survivors, or why they survived in the first place,) would be all that interested in listening to the geeks among them.

I guess the major downfall of the show for me was this lack of struggle. (Again, not to downplay The Tribe. They’ve dealt with a lot of modern issues – rape, bearing children, etc.) And again, I’d like to reiterate my opinion is based on ten minutes of one episode.

But I really liked the concept!

That’s what Orphan Maker basically is. A plague has destroyed the adult population. The children have had to learn to survive. Some are better equipped, both intellectually and situationally, to handle things. But I doubt a group of gang bangers in the city would do better than consume all the resources available, killing other groups to ensure their survival. Sooner or later, the food’s going to run out. Disease and famine will follow. What then?

The book takes place five years after the plague is over. The oldest to live through it were those on the edge of puberty. They’d be eighteen or nineteen for the most part. Our weak and starving bangers are too far gone to take what they want. Their leader has grown past the stage of kicking ass to get the props; he’s tired of fighting, he wants to rest. So they go looking for the fabled Shangri-la, a rumor, a community of kids who live in a mountain valley. Hicksville. LOL!

As to the question, ‘Why now? It’s been a freakin’ year!’ I can only say it’s the Iditarod story’s fault. Living in a cabin with no electricity, the only heating is done by fireplace, I’ve had to do some research in survival stuff. Which brings me right around to the hicks in the hills of Orphan Maker. They know all sorts of stuff that the gangsters aren’t going to have a clue about. And Scotch Fuller’s family in the deep Alaskan winters would know a lot of it, too.

I really think I’ll be writing Orphan Maker next.

But it was expected. I’m scheduled for work at an abysmally early hour today. When I get home, I think I’ll try to punch through 500 words on world building for Orphan Maker. It’s been on my mind for a week now, but I know if I attempt to get started on it in my spare time, the Iditarod project will stall. That has to be completed! I’ve already stalled once on it – I can’t allow it to happen again.

No writing yesterday, either. Got my desk and printer cart delivered by 11am. Spent the next six hours putting it all together, rearranging the bookcase, and putting my new office corner back together again. The desk is smaller than my old one (which I waved happily to as it went out the door . . . Thanks, Scott!), but this one has a printer level, a monitor level, and a bit more storage than my last. The only reason we picked up the printer cart was for drawers – I had two for files and one for pens and stuff, I didn’t want to lose those. The cart has one file and a smaller drawer.

Beautiful!

I think I did a good job for being an arthritic old woman with a broken thumb! (Damned near wiped me out. But don’t tell my wife!)

Doubt I’ll get more than 1k done today. Office Depot is delivering my new desk today! I’ve never had a new one all to myself, so I’m probably a bit too excited over a piece of furniture.

In any case, this means rearranging my corner of the living room and unloading the desk and bookshelf into the bedroom for the time being in preparation.

On that note, I’m working my way through the non-fiction shelf and discovered A Fan’s Guide to the Iditarod by Mary H. Hood. Whoa! I’d forgotten I had that. I’ve borrowed so many books about the race from the library, I thought that this had been one of them. WOOT! I was just thinking yesterday that I wish I had this book in my possession again! The disir around here are going to get an extra helping of dinner this week!

Alright. Back to work!