9,785

That's how many words I have left to write to complete NaNoWriMo. I entered and/or wrote 30,000-something words during the holiday weekend. I worked on The Book from Hades for about eight solid hours yesterday. I now have 40,215 words entered and an outline of what I have left to write. (I made notes when I got home from King V and Queen S' house last night. I was going to write more, but just couldn't.)

Next year, I'm kicking open the door of NaNo 2008 with outlines, character sketches, and a clear idea of how my damn book is going to end. This year, I faced down the blank page/screen with nary an idea of how I was going to win and nearly gave up at least two or three times. Many thanks to my friends who've been giving me pep talks, including my friend Phoenix who told me to keep at it because I would be surrounded by a lot of hot, slutty girls when my book got published. That's one hell of a motivator, as was the cheer she left on my voice mail which I have saved and will re-save through the end of the month and possibly the rest of my life.

At the moment, I am so tired -- and sore, I realize, as I assume the position to type this entry and realize my torso is aching -- that I want to die, but knowing that I only have to complete 1,915 words/day until Friday and then I am done is helping me keep my head up. As is the Starbucks la-tah-tay I stopped and got this morning. I slept away most of Saturday, which was awesome, but apparently undid all the yummy sleep goodness yesterday. Okay, it didn't help that I didn't want to go to bed last night. Hush.

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving weekend!