So there I was, putting laundry into the machine, minding my own business, trying not to get my toes wet in the water that floods out of the thing every time it fills (as one does). All of a sudden…
CENTIPEDE.
First action: squeal like a little girl while standing frozen in place as it scampered under the dryer, where it’s much… well, dryer. Second action: thank GOD it’s a wayward garden centipede and not a house centipede, which I still believe we don’t have here.
If you know otherwise, don’t tell me.
Still, this thing was huge, and definitely not supposed to be in my basement. I raced upstairs to beg my knight in Kevlar armour to slay the beast, and he said, “Oh, yeah? Huh.”
MY HERO.
He didn’t even escort me back down when I had to move the laundry over.
Fast-forward to yesterday morning, and I found myself needing to return to the basement to do that whole “writing” thing. Guys, I had JUST set up my office about 3 metres from the laundry stuff, and I had no idea where the gol-darned critter had got to.
So what to do? I wasn’t about to move the washing machine and dryer to find it. And when I thought about it, I couldn’t in good conscience kill the centipede. They’re beneficial animals, even if they scare the crap out of me, and this one was probably taking care of the sow bugs that once lived under the washer.
I could have tried to catch it and put it outside, but again, moving the machines. Also, it’s been pretty cold. That just seemed mean.
So if you can’t beat ’em, what do you do? I’ll tell you. You name ’em Cindy, pretend they have hearts of gold under their hideous exteriors, and let them be, at least until the cats catch and eat ’em.
Also, you put one of these up on the floor net to the door of your office, because we don’t want to be TOO neighbourly:
Think it’ll work?
—
On to the update:
Writing: Days one and two of NaNoWriMo netted me just over 5,000 words. I had wanted to hit that on day one when the excitement was still there, but I only got 4,000. Still, not too bad. Unfortunately, the family is already on “You’re going back down there AGAIN?” mode. You’d think after three previous NaNo years they’d aticipate my absence. Still, I guess it’s good to know that they miss me.
…and that’s all I have to report on, except to say that my characters are behaving themselves well so far. I’m re-drafting the sequel to Bound, and so far Aren has behaved admirably while confronting an old enemy, and Rowan has given him proper shit for implying that she needn’t bother herself with politics, so I’m proud of both of them.
That said, I don’t seem to be able to get the words out as quickly as I want to (like, say, 30min1k sprints). I hadn’t realized until now how much more quickly I can type a blog post than I can fiction these days. I could totally get my word count done in an hour if I were blogging.
Hmm.
No books to recommend this week, but one resource: @NaNoWordSprints on Twitter. Great bunch of people, good fun, nice challenge. I have trouble focusing for more than a few minutes at a time, but guided sprints really help, and reporting in keeps me honest, even though it’s very non-competitive.
Oh, and some fun news: we’ve passed 250 WordPress followers here at DtP (255, to be exact, plus e-mail subscribers), which is kind of exciting. Sure, a bunch of them are blogs who followed me hoping I’d be super interested in their tips on getting blog traffic/making money from my blog/selling me something else, but I appreciate every one of you who actually reads my posts, whether you like, lurk, or make my day by commenting.
If you’re reading this, you’re the reason I blog. So thank you.
So, how’s your week going? Anyone doing NaNoWriMo who I haven’t added as a friend? I’m KittySparkes there, if you want to add me. If not, what else have you been up to?
disregard the prologue 
November 3rd, 2013 at 9:45 am
Urgh! I hate centipedes too! Sounds like you’re doing well on NaNoWriMo; keep it up! I did 4009 in two days so am quite pleased with my progress so far. I’m on the site as mrsbongle if you want to be a writing buddy.
November 3rd, 2013 at 9:48 am
Way to go! That’s a great start. I think I’ve already added you– the name sounds familiar. I’ll check. 🙂
November 3rd, 2013 at 10:21 am
I’m not big on centipedes either. Hope your sign helps ward it from your writing area. Nice going on the word count, and your story sounds entertaining. I’m at 3453 total for day 2, which is phenomenal for me. I’m dapperdragon on NaNo.
November 3rd, 2013 at 11:35 am
Yay for you on the word count! I sloughed off a bit yesterday, but I’m going to hit it hard today. Have to say though, I’m glad I’ve read Anne Lamott and her “shitty first drafts” advice, because that’s all I’m thinking as I’m typing. Yes, I’m getting the words down, but damn, I do not think they are spectacularly good at this point.
Keep on keeping on…
November 3rd, 2013 at 11:37 am
I always remind myself that you can’t edit a draft you haven’t written. This is why I’m so grateful for NaNoWriMo. 🙂
November 3rd, 2013 at 3:40 pm
I’ve managed to live my entire life without encountering a centipede. Thank goodness. You are much braver than I am. I would never go down in that laundry room again! Congrats on the word count and best of luck for the remainder of the challenge.
November 3rd, 2013 at 5:19 pm
Well,nothing to report on centipedes. Life is good, though my writing has been sluggish. Decided against NaNaWriMo this year in order to retain my sanity … Last two times were tough. Hope to have a mellow holiday season filled with whatever words I can get out of myself.
Good luck with NaNoWriMo!
November 4th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
Sure that sign will work! 🙂 You can also chant, “Centipede, centipede go away. And don’t return another day!” That helps me. (And yes, I’m on anti-delusional medication.)
Congrats on getting past the 4000 word mark. That’s awesome! I’m semi-NaNoing–trying to get to 30,000 words by the end of the month (around 4 pages a day). I came up with my own chart to track my progress and a list of scenes to write. I’m not certain of the words, but I had 12 pages by the end of day 2. But getting the four pages written for day 3 was tough.
November 4th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
I still live in terror of centipedes. My mom still laughs about the time I came running in terror to get her help because there was a “centimeter” in the bathtub (I was six at the time, so don’t tease me!). Centipedes and all sorts of crunchies were kind of inevitable in a 200yr old house where the basement was dug out of the shale, I guess.
And though I “knew” what sow bugs were by sight, I’d never known what they actually were (I knew them as pill bugs) until I searched them because of this post. Did you know they’re crustaceans related to shrimp, prawns and lobsters, not insects at all?
I have this image in my head of a cheesy 50s style sci-fi movie now maybe called “Attack of the Land Lobsters!”
Great NaNoWriMo counts… I know what you mean about making use of the early energy. I don’t do it much, but I know what you mean. 😀