LeNoWriHo! (Or how I am spending the next 40 days. Also, acronyms are fun!)

I've deactivated my Facebook, I've thrown myself into my novel, I'm writing book and TV show reviews, I'm reading more and more, and social life is taking a backseat. Why you ask? Because it is LeNoWriHo!

Why, what could LeNoWriHo possibly mean, Ben?? Let me tell you! It means: Lent Novel Writing Holiday. Yes, I came up with that all by myself. I consider myself somewhat of an acronym connoisseur.

I've got my thinking hard hat on! (No, I'm not a construction worker).

For the next forty days and forty nights, I shall write, read, blog, review, and more! My last blog post was all about seizing the moment and realizing that both good and bad moments are never permanent. So in the spirit of Catholic guilt, I shall give up the addiction to Facebook, the addiction to stress and worry, the addiction to cronuts... (er, actually, I won't be giving up cronuts, who am I kidding with that one!).

Heaven never tasted so good.

So, 

Follow me as I continue to write my novel. Things are heating up in this fake world inside my head. Only the fluorescent screen of my computer shares in the exciting drama of my novel. Soon, world, soon...

"A mind needs books, like a sword needs a whetstone."

Follow me as I compete in my first ever "52 books in 52 weeks" challenge. I kept seeing my former roommate compete in this challenge year after year and I kept telling myself I was going to do it. 2014 is the year. Check out my goodreads page and be my friend to see the stats! I'm already 10 books in. 42 more to go.

Follow me as I also compete in a "Reading Bingo" with my girlfriend. Basically, you have to read a specific book in order to cross it off the bingo sheet, such as the "second book in a series," "a forgotten classic," etc. It's a fun way to read and learn. Nerd Alert!

I'm the green one. Mel is red. She clearly needs to catch up :)

Follow me as I write book and television reviews for the website Whedonopolis.com. They write about all thing Joss Whedon and all things geek. One of the shows I review is Bates Motel, which is in its second season. If you haven't seen the first season yet, please watch it on Netflix. The show is quirky and creepy and altogether a bit psychotic!

Now... LeNoWriHo shall commence! I promise* I will stop using these obnoxious acronyms.

*by promise, I mean I don't promise. Not at all.

- ben josé

Day 8

Day 8
Word Count: 15,459
Mood: Stressed/Weird. I just used a neti pot on myself because I'm been sick. It works, but leaves the weirdest sensations in my nose.

I've been fighting a cold/cough/sore throat thingy for the past week, which is perfect. I love being sick. On top of that, I have been stressed because I am in the beginning stages of moving into a new place. I am moving into a house in Hollywood with 5 other people, 1 cat, and 1 dog. Now, there is a sentence I'd never thought I'd say in life!

So, I'm sort of using those two things as excuses as to why I have been procrastinating all week. Ughhhh... this week! As I sit down to write, I distract myself so easily: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the damn INTERNETS are so distracting. Somehow I managed to get 15,000 words though. Which is about um.. more than 1/4th of the way through I think? I used to be good at math. Le Sigh.

Luckily, I've been getting great advice from some awesome NaNoWriMo Pep Talkers. The wise words of authors, James Patterson, Malinda Lo, Catherynne M. Valente, and Pat Rothfuss, saved me from writing destitution. Follow them on Twitter because thanks to them I didn't have a mental breakdown and throw my computer across my office in frustration!

(Side note: things and feelings are happening with my nose. Seriously, try a neti pot! I swear I'm not trying to sell them or something!)

Neti Pots: The Nasal Saviors

As for my novel, things are developing quite nicely. Some exciting things were written in the past week for two of my characters. I don't want to reveal too much about the story and plot twists, but one of my characters is very different and could be considered controversial for a fantasy novel. But, I hope whenever people ever get a chance to read this (ha!), that they see what I was going for in the grander scheme of things.

Coming up, I am about to write a chapter on a character named, Theo. He is a young, naive scientist new to town and he is about to learn some dark things about his employer and his special, secret work. Ooooh.

I have no idea if I am making sense right now. Still sober.

Tomorrow is the official NaNoWriMo Marathon! I plan on donating some moolah and reaching 30,000 words, which may be stretching it, but its good to hope! So, get ready for the NaNoThon! Follow up on Twitter! 

Thanks for reading!

- ben josé