NANOWRIMO And Failure

They seem to go hand in hand!!!

Two years of NANOWRIMO and I have failed twice.  Three times if you count the first time I started 15 days late.  At the end of last years attempt my word count was just over 35 000, of the required 50, 000, before November ended.  This year my word count is sitting just over 10, 000.  So why did I fail to reach my goal?

Aside from the obvious attempt to keep my social life the same, the main cause, which I did not have last year, would be school.  Although I tried to work NANOWRIMO around it, I still had two essays that were due in the first week of the month and a reader’s theatre script due during the second.  Thankfully I only had two tests during NANOWRIMO!

So with school taking up the time I had free the previous year I thought my solution was simple.  At least it seemed simple enough: just go out less and stay home to write.  Fat chance that happened as I probably spent the nights exploring downtown, and the rest of the Peg, just as much as I normally do.

The beginning of the month I wasted a good portion of my time jogging around Assiniboine Park and the Terry Fox Fitness Trail before the snow finally put a stop to that.  Now that we have snow, and lots of it, I have gone to explore the park in its winter wonderland glory….when I could have been working on my NANOWRIMO novel.

The month is winding down and I have not typed a word for NANOWRIMO since last Saturday.  With exams around the corner I just do not see me getting around to finishing the required word count by the end of the month.  Although I will still work on the novel, even after the month is finished, probably as my device to relax from studying, I realize my failure.

This NANOWRIMO novel (a collection of short stories) is one that I plan to finish one day.  Maybe without the constraints of school in December I will use my time to finish the other 40, 000 words!

The Great Burger Hunt – Lo Pub

So damn tasty!

Ah the Lo Pub , home of SECRETHANDSHAKE , and a collection of tasty local beers.  I never would have found this place without stumbling across SECRETHANDSHAKE.  Now this pub is a favorite of mine.  If I want to grab tasty beer and food between my Wednesday classes, Lo Pub is where I go.  The wireless Internet is a bonus as well.

To say I eat here all the time would be a lie but I have ordered the fries a few times and loved them.  Everyone else claimed the food was fabulous, and it always looked that way, but I never ordered anything other than the fries.

So when Travis and I went on an expedition for The Great Burger Hunt in his area (Main and Hartford) we struck out with burger joint after burger joint.  Not that they were necessarily closed they just looked closed.  Maybe if the places did not look like a prison, with just a picture of a burger on the front, and they actually had an open sign, or answered their phone, we would have got out of the car and attempted to try their food.

So when we failed to find a place in Travis’ area that met our fancy we decided to head downtown.  Parking and walking up Ellice to another burger joint we were again met with failure, as this one, while looking like it was open, was actually closed.

Back to the vehicle I could not figure out where to go, until we were driving by the University of Winnipeg.  I knew right then that we should go to Lo Pub.  Having heard such good things about their veggie burger I knew it was a perfect choice.

Travis and I both ordered the Mushroom Nut Burger and a beer.  I also ordered a Humulous Ludicrous, a tasty beer from Half Pints, which is sadly seasonal.  While we waited for our burgers I noticed they had a bottle of Makers Mark behind the counter….so next time I may be drinking some bourbon!

The burgers arrived quickly.  I expected the burger to be very dry but it was not.  It actually was very good and I would eat it again in a heartbeat.  The fries were fantastic, like usual.  I cannot recommend these enough.

I forgot to grab my receipt after I ordered the burgers so I am not sure the exact amount it cost but it was just over $10 I believe for the burger and fries.  The prices for the rest of the vegetarian friendly menu are all about average.  Beer prices are good too.

What I got: Mushroom Nut Burger and fries $11 (roughly)

Burger Taste: 4/5

Fries Taste: 5/5

Price Value: 3/5

Menu Selection: 4/5 (bonus point for the beer selection!)

Overall: 4/5

NANOWRIMO

The gauntlet begins!

So with school, life, and every other distraction I do not need to do NANOWRIMO.  Which is National Novel Writing Month.  Yet, here I am, 4:31 AM and I am working on word 2000 already.  I do not expect to actually complete this daunting task of writing a 175 page novel, 50 000 words to be exact, between November 1st and 30th but I am still going to give it my best.

I am planning on keeping the creative juices flowing by writing a collection of short stories based around a single event.  The idea has been tossed around in my head, and with the help of others I have done enough research for the idea that I have a decent outline.  And since outlines can be created before November 1st I am in the clear since I never really wrote the story down.

Once I get the big story out of the way, I expect the first week to be spent solely on the main story, I will delve into the other smaller stories which I think will be much stronger and actually be distinguishable as decent writing.  Wish me and my terrible grammar luck!