Sunday ROW80 Update

NaNo starts in two days! I can't believe it is almost here.  Today is just a quick update as I have a lot of homework to get done this afternoon.  I want to get it all done by tomorrow so when Tuesday comes I can just focus on NaNo.  So, here goes:

• Writing 1 hour a day on my WIP(s); Outline for NaNo by Oct. 31—Over the week as a whole,I put 4 hours in, not 7.  And most of that was the end of the week.  Wednesday I had decided to work on notes and the outline for my NaNo book.  Well that kind of happened but not how I expected it to.  On Friday morning I was standing in my kitchen, drinking a chai and staring out the window, when I had an idea hit me.  And it hit me hard.  Suddenly, I had this character in my head, and then that character turned into an amazing idea for a setting, and well, since Friday I have been scribbling notes and ideas down in my notebook, and on my computer.  I had planned on doing NaNo on a totally different story idea but this one hit me out of the blue, and I just have to write it. I'm itching to start right now, that's how excited I am.  But I've held back, instead sticking to just jotting notes and scene information down. I even drew a map!  A MAP!  Now, this is pretty significant, because I have absolutely NO artistic talent but I needed to visualize the town and surrounding area where this is going to be taking place. It's definitely not something I would hang on the fridge, but it is good enough for my purposes. I can't wait til Tuesday when I can officially start! 
• Comment/respond to three blogs per week—done, done and done!  I actually exceeded the minimum.  I am really glad I put this as one of my goals this round.  I am learning so much from all of you! And, more importantly, it keeps me engaged. Reading everyone's check in(s) and blog posts, motivates me to keep chugging along.  So thanks everyone--you are all such an inspiration! 
• Blog once a week, minimum, whether ROW80 update and/or otherwise—Met this goal too!  And, in fact, I even did a non-update blog post yesterday, link is here.  I wrote it based off an experience I had this week in a class I teach, and that evolved into an interesting facebook discussion about teaching students to write and communicate.  If you are at all interested in that, feel free to check it out.  Would love to see what fellow writers/readers think about it.  
• Read one book a month.  I read, for October, 4 books in total.  Of course, that includes the 2 books I read while I was on my vacation, and another one that was for a class I was taking. Hopefully I can get some reading in this next month but I am not going to push it given I will be writing like a mad woman for NaNo.  
• Moving 5 days a week—Only did 3 days, but 3 is better than none so I guess I can't beat myself up too bad!  On the plus side, I've been cooking since yesterday--soups and a casserole, so I should be good for all my lunches and dinners this upcoming week.  My week always ends up being so busy that I rarely have time to cook, and then I end up eating like crap.  This way, I can grab and go, and at least my choices will be the healthier ones I cooked, as opposed to fast food or pre-packaged foods that end up making me feel all blah.  

Happy Halloween!!  Good luck this upcoming week and see you Wednesday!