Words are not scary...

I'm a winner! Yes, I completed National Novel Writing Month. I have the winner's certificate and the crippling addiction to salt and pepper Triscuits to prove it. It's been a month, well 26 days, and I'm looking forward to going back to the novel and fixing it. Editing is not the goal of NaNoWriMo; getting to the end is. There are lots of things I'd like to go back and add and finesse. And I will. After I take a little break from these characters and spend a little time doing other things like reading and eating real meals.

It's been an interesting month. I have spent at least 3-4 hours a day writing since starting the novel on November 1. This is in addition to going to work, seeing family and friends, running errands, doing chores, you know living life and all. When I wasn't sitting at my computer writing, I was jotting things down in my notebook or thinking about some plot point or little thing about a character. My daily word goal might have been 1667 words (although I did more than this almost every day that I wrote), but I was writing more that didn't make it in or was just for me to reference. There's actually an entirely different ending somewhere in the book. It would have been sadder but also true to the characters. However, other things would have had to happen that didn't for this ending to work.

Which brings me to the most fascinating part of NaNoWriMo: every single person I talk to wants to know either what I won or when my novel will be published. Here the definitive answers to both of these questions: a sense of accomplishment and I don't know. You don't really win anything by finishing a NaNoWriMo novel. There are contests you can enter that might help with the publishing part and we get offers for binding the book and other author-y things but there's not a novel that is voted the winner. Over 300,000 people participated in some way this year. How would a winner be selected? So my standard answer to what I won is a sense of accomplishment and knowledge that I can do this. I can take an idea (however small and odd to everyone else), create characters, figure out a plot, and get us to an ending that I enjoy. If you don't try something you'll never know what you're capable of and now I know that I am capable of writing a novel.

Then there's the second question: when are you going to publish it? I really don't know. It's not ready for publishing. First of all, it needs to be edited. I rarely went back and reread what I wrote. I knew that if I did that I would never finish because I would keep changing things and focus too much on something that may or may not matter in the larger picture of the story. BUT there are also lots of things I know I need to work on before I would feel confident letting people read it let alone consider publishing it. There are some plot points I want to tighten and a few I'd like to expand (I would like to spend more time with Marnie and Oliver in their first dating phase and definitely give Ms. Thompson and Mr. Webb some additional background) and I think I need to work a bit more on the Metro Counselor organization before we get to the big reorganization that takes place later in the novel. A month is not a long time and even if I had taken the extra four days (since I finished on November 26), I still would be exactly where I am today. So, maybe I will try to self publish it, maybe I won't. But I do promise that when I'm ready to, you'll be allowed to read it in its entirety.

So what does a finished novel and NaNoWriMo look like in numbers? Let's take a look at my experience this month by the numbers:

• Days to complete: 26 days 
• Average words per day: 1903
• Hours per day: 3-4 (although there were several days where I wrote all day and others when I wrote for 30 minutes)
• Pages: 100 (single spaced, 12 point Times)
• Chapters: 30 plus a Prologue and Epilogue
• Final word count: 52,217
• Words to finish (what I wrote on the last day): 3476 - this breaks down to 1259 to reach the 50K goal and another 2217 to finish the novel
• Number of Hallmark holiday movies watched while writing: 15
• Number of boxes of salt and pepper Triscuits consumed: 3
• Number of hours I owe Pumpkin in petting and attention: 624
• Number of times I asked myself why I was torturing myself this way: 75
• Number of times I listened to my "Lou Reed Dance Party" mix: 17
• Number of times I listened to the song "Gold Dust Woman": I wish I had kept track. I would estimate about 75
• New bands added into a writing mix during week three: 4 (thanks to those who suggested music)
• Glasses of champagne consumed upon completion: 1
  

Top five favorite things I wrote:

1. "Holy cats, Marnie! You've been Lloyd Doblered!"
2. "He hates scarves and unnecessary hats."
3.  "Later today I promise to walk into something in the office because I’m daydreaming of Oliver if that will make you feel better.”
   “Yes it would. Just don’t cause any real injuries. You have a presentation tomorrow and a press conference on the 30th. No casts, stitches or braces please.”
   “I make no promises.”
4.  Marnie and Oliver's second first date - second first dates should be a thing
5. A debate between Marnie and Oliver about the album Lulu (Lou Reed and Metallica) - I agree with Marnie that it will age well.

I had a blast doing this and will definitely do it again next year. I plan to work on The Metro Counselor a bit over the holidays so hopefully I'll have something that I feel comfortable showing people sometime in the new year. Today is the last day of NaNoWriMo so if you know other people who are participating make sure to cheer them on in this last sprint to the finish. The last 5000 words are the hardest. I want to thank Neek Confessional and Bad Shakespeare for being my two biggest cheerleaders this month and for sharing their own novels with me (and the world). I wish Jessica and I had thought to get #hemingwaywasadrunk trending but alas, we did not. Maybe next year. They're both hilarious and great writers so if you haven't checked out their blogs, you should. It's good for your soul.

So you if you want to relive my NaNoWriMo posts, here they are in order starting at the beginning of the month:

• Let the writing commence!
• My main character is probably me
• That was unexpected
• Lou Reed Dance Party

I guess I should also thank the late Lou Reed. I had not intended for him to be such a big part of the novel but it happened. I like that his music was playing when my Marnie meets Oliver and that they share that musical moment. I like that Oliver made Marnie a mix tape called "Lou Reed Dance Party." I'm not entirely sure Lou would enjoy this novel but I hope he doesn't mind that he inspired some of it.

Up next on the Island: One month left in this leading lady quest so we'll check in on my progress and see what's left to do this year. And I promise the return of Lazy Movie Weekend with a holiday themed entry.

Lou Reed Dance Party

It's taken some time but I am finally ready to talk about Lou Reed. I've read just about every article that has been published since his death on October 27. The articles range from tributes to the ubiquitous "why Lou Reed matters" stories to his music wasn't that important anyway and his was a curmudgeon pieces that I have chosen to ignore. The one I like best is Laurie Anderson's wonderful love letter to him that ran in the most recent issue of Rolling Stone. We should all be so lucky to have someone write something so beautiful about us one day. I also love this video of her and fans at a tribute to Lou in New York last week:

When I was ten years old, I didn't know Lou Reed. It's possible that I had heard his songs; my aunt listened to that kind of music so I'm sure I "knew" who Lou Reed was but I was ten so I was way more interested in boy bands and Debbie Gibson. I was, as most fourth graders are, interested in being liked and what my friends thought was cool. I can tell you that fourth graders in Slidell, LA were not interested in listening to Berlin or Transformer. Fourth grade was not a winning year for me: that was the year I got glasses (and they were horrifying) and I believe I may have also gotten my first perm. I'm also certain I wore stirrup pants and over-sized sweaters in horrible patterns. Yep, I was awesome. I'd share a photo but well, I'm just not going to. I'd rather save those moments for my possible offspring to gaze upon in horror.

Anyway, boy-girl parties were also a big thing in the fourth grade. They were so novel and exciting. I don't remember which of my friends had the first one but I do remember it being a big deal. And of course, she had to invite everyone in the class because that was how things were done. I have no recollection of this first boy-girl party but I'm sure the girls sat on one side of the room and the boys on the other and we talked about each other. And probably ate pizza.

The other thing you have to remember about the late 1980s was that roller-skating was still a thing. I spent a good portion of my elementary and middle school years at the roller rink. I loved roller-skating and if I remember correctly, was pretty good at it. It was the closest thing this indoor kid was going to get to being into sports of any kind. There is something magical about roller-skating; maybe it was the music. Roller rinks, like bowling alleys, always have the best music. I often fantasize about the soundtrack of my life and I think that started with roller-skating.

The party I remember most vividly was a skating birthday party. I don't remember whose birthday party it was (it was not mine) but I know it was one of the girls and that the boy I liked was there. His name was Peter and he was super cute for a dorky fourth grade boy (all fourth grade boys are dorky - even the cool ones). I had no expectations that I would even talk to Peter at this party. We might have been school friends and talked frequently in class but this was a party. All bets were off at a fourth grade skate party. The other important fact to know about Peter is this: the Queen Bee of our class also liked Peter. She and I were what we'd now call "frenemies". I can't remember her name but I remember how fake nice she was to everyone and how much she liked Peter. I even remember her bragging about how she was positive that he would skate with her for every couple skate.

Bold words. He never asked her to couple skate but he did ask me. It was my first couple skate ever and it was to the song "Satellite of Love". At the time, I had no idea who sang that song or anything about it but I knew that it was perfect for couple skating and hand-holding. I didn't know anything about the song or the lyrics, I just liked it and liked skating with Peter. That was really all that mattered to me at the time. It wasn't until high school that I "discovered" Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground and glam rock and punk. It was then that I listened to "Satellite of Love" again and realized that it was the song from my first boy-girl skate party and couple skate. It's not even really a love song; it's about an unfaithful girlfriend but for me, it will always be about that one moment and that one boy. And it will always be perfect.

In my NaNoWriMo novel, Lou Reed is the reason that the character, Oliver, even exists. Both main characters give being a Lou Reed fan as the reason that they like the each other; people have gotten married over less. R.E.M's Michael Stipe described this best, "Lou Reed was massively important to “Island of Misfit Toys” kids. Every single child of the 21st century who is not square owes him a moment of reflection and thanks." Marnie and Oliver are those kids, thanking him with their devotion and loving the music.

I didn't expect to be this emotional over the death of a musician even one I love as much as Lou Reed. I've been listening to my favorite songs a lot since the end of October and discovering new ones with every article or tribute I read. I even had Oliver make a mix tape for Marnie called "Lou Reed Dance Party." It's part of his plan to go "Full Romantic Comedy" to get her back. The last song is Laurie Anderson's favorite.

Lou Reed Dance Party

1. Wild Child
2. Make Up
3. Candy Says
4. Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
5. Perfect Day
6. Sunday Morning
7. New Age
8. Who Loves the Sun
9. Legendary Hearts
10. Iced Honey
11. Rock & Roll
12. Satellite of Love
13. I Love You
14. Run Run Run
15. Pale Blue Eyes
16. Lady Day
17. Femme Fatale
18. White Light/White Heat
19. Coney Island Baby
20. Venus in Furs
21. Stephanie Says
22. Sweet Jane
23. Nowhere At All
24. Some Kinda Love
25. How Do You Think It Feels
26. Heroin
27. I'm Sticking With You
28. Power of the Heart

NaNoWriMo Update: As of 11.21.13, I hit 40, 518 words! I'm on track to finish before November 30. Will Marnie and Oliver end up together? Let's hope so. I mean, when you find your Lou Reed  soul mate, you have to do whatever you can to stay with them. 

Oliver is currently planning their second first date (they're getting a do-over; it makes sense in the larger world of the novel). His plan? To pull out all the stops by going Epic Romantic Comedy. I envision a little Say Anything, a little Sixteen Candles, a little Amelie, possibly some Love Actually, and maybe some sort of food related crawl (I've had a suggestion of a cupcake crawl - could work) - it could get out of control.

That was unexpected

There wasn't supposed to be a love story. When I started mapping out my NaNoWriMo idea in late October, there was no love story. I actually had a page in my writing journal about whether I should introduce a boyfriend for my main character, Marnie. At the time, the answer was no.

And then it happened. I sat down on November 1 after work and started writing. The idea for the Prologue came to me during the day at work and I had jotted some of it down in between my training sessions. I settled in on my couch to start writing. Originally, I was just going to listen to music while I wrote but Lou Reed had died that weekend and VH1 Classic was showing the 2007 concert film, Berlin. I couldn't not have that on in the background. It was my first time watching the film and it's a rarity since Reed hadn't performed that album in its entirety since the 70s. Hearing him sing "Lady Day" and his general Lou Reed-ness was what I needed to mourn the loss of such a talented performer.  It's a cool album that has aged well; I feel like one day I'll say the same thing about Lulu.

Lou Reed is the reason that Oliver exists.

I admit that I was listening to a lot of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground in the immediate lead up to NaNoWriMo so it was on my mind. I may or may not have cried when I listened to "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Perfect Day" over that weekend. I don't personally know a lot of people who feel about Lou Reed the way I do. It made sense that at least one of my characters would have strong feelings about him. So it just happened. Marnie walked into that coffee shop on her first day at her new job and Oliver was there and "Satellite of Love" was playing. That's was how it began. And of course, the appearance of Oliver changed the story significantly.

I'm not a good dater. Dating turns me into a rambling idiot. I'm not saying this is why I'm single but I'm sure it is a contributing factor because it means I have an aversion to dating. Which, of course, means I don't really date. So I didn't set out to write characters who would have to go out on dates and move through the stages of dating because it's not something I'm comfortable with at all. I guess that's the point - NaNoWriMo is supposed to be a challenge. It's been hard to write these sections of The Metro Counselor. I feel like I'm writing dialogue for a Hallmark holiday movie (and of course, you know I love those).

But Oliver is such a big part of the story now. He writes a blog about oddities and mysteries of DC so the secretive Metro Counselors is a story that's perfect for him. Marnie hasn't told him what she does for a living and this is creating conflict (I found my conflict!). On November 14, I hit the 25K word count (25,704 words to be exact) with Oliver's blog about the mysterious Metro Counselors. I thought I'd share that little nugget with you today. Soon Marnie will have to decide what she's going to do and if Oliver is going to be part of her life. Her answer should be yes because they are supposed to be together. I don't know if it's actually going to happen. I guess that's the beauty of novel writing and creating a world of my own - I get to decide what happens in that world.

Decisions are the worst.

Oddities, Mysteries, and Legends of DC

Are You Being Observed?

            Regular readers of this blog know that urban legends abound in the metro region. If you grew up in Virginia, you’ve probably heard of the Bunny Man; or in Maryland the Goatman – axe-wielding psycho killers who haunt overpasses and seek their revenge on the unsuspecting. Or maybe you’re a visitor to our area and you visited the Smithsonian to see the famous Hope Diamond and heard whispers of the curse. These are just a handful of the colorful tales of the DMV.

            Urban legends, like traditional folklore, exist for a reason. They help us deal with the harshness of reality or give us a way to explain something that seems unexplainable. It’s easier to tell your teenager, “Don’t go to the overlook, there’s an axe-murderer there” than to have an actual discussion about sex or values that you have. Legends and community stories give us a shared history even if they are outlandish and crazy.

            Most urban legends have some grounding in reality – there’s some truth in the legend even if it’s the smallest fragment of a shard of truth. Owners of the Hope Diamond met bad ends so there must be a curse. Why is there no J Street in DC? It can’t be because “I” and “J” look similar in print. No, it has to be because L’Enfant hated Chief Justice John Jay and this is how he exacted his revenge. Not true but it’s a fun story to tell.

            So what of the newest urban legend making the rounds in DC? People, residents and tourists alike, have been reporting strange things happening on the Metro. And no, it’s not haunted. At least not this time. It’s the feeling of being watched and of someone always watching out for them on the Metro.

            Paranoia is part of living in DC. It’s hard not to be paranoid when you live in the Nation’s Capitol. It’s not really surprising that people have reported being watched and sometimes even assisted by total strangers. These strangers seem to know exactly what to do and say to fit whatever situation. Are there witches on the Metro? Psychics? Is Metro trying to make the commuting experience more pleasant?

            Maybe it just seems weird that someone, particularly a total stranger, would want to help someone. We’ve become a pretty disconnected and suspicious society. Are we being pranked?

            So who are these silent watchers? Is DC really the base for something sinister and the Metro will be where the Hellmouth opens? Are they watching to keep this from happening or to make sure that it does? Two reports have included descriptions of these watchers as looking like “a librarian or teacher”. Is Giles waiting in the wings to find the next Slayer?

            Probably not. Those same reports also talk about how calm and at ease the person made the rider feel. Being helped made them feel happy. One person even said that it felt like he had a guardian angel.

            That seems like a bit much. In my research, I’ve found several supporting mentions in newspapers starting in the late 1990s. More recently, pages from a handbook of sorts for something called a Metro Counselor were uncovered. It seems like there is a group of trained professionals out there making the Metro more pleasant for riders. The paranoid DC resident in me thinks that something is up. The normal human in me wants to believe it’s just a group of people who want to make the city a nicer, more pleasant place to live and visit. Maybe they’re just Good Samaritans who enjoy helping people.

Who are these Metro Counselors? Why the secrecy? Does Metro even know they exist?

Hello Chanel, La Troisième Partie: My leading lady fashion moment

I have watched awards shows forever. The Tonys and Oscars are my favorite - I love the fashion and the drama of awards shows. There's always going to be that moment when someone thought they were going to win and they don't. Of course, the camera stays on the loser as they make a horrible face or something. And of course, the gowns. More than the show itself, I truly love the fashion recap shows and articles that run for weeks after. I also secretly hope someone will trip in their enormous gown (thank you Jennifer Lawrence). Makes the celebrity seem more human.

My company hosts an annual meeting and awards program every year. It's a way to come together to celebrate the accomplishments of the year and to celebrate those who made significant contributions to our success. We can it the H'Oscars (ha ha) and I am actually a two time H'Oscar winner. This year, the event planning team announced that the theme of the awards portion would be black and white. It would also be less formal (cocktail attire). I opted for a statement purse. 

About a month ago, I started chronicling my fashion moment, creating a purse made out of Legos (part two can be found here.) I found the idea through a Buzzfeed post and decided to attempt to make this for an upcoming work event. As I started working on the purse, I decided to drop the pencil box version (although I did complete it and am staring at it as I write this) and go for a purse made entirely out of legos. I mean, if you're going to make a statement you should make a statement. Right?

Last weekend I finally finished the purse. The last stages of construction included figuring out the hinge situation and making the interior pocket and cover so that my phone and lipstick wouldn't make noise or move around the night of the event. I had no idea how to make the hinging portion of the purse work. I had the two halves of the purse and there wasn't a ton of room to add a hinge. I didn't want to make it bigger; that would make it harder to carry. So I did what any girl would do when approached with a construction question: I asked my dad. My dad and I measured the space and he figured I could use a medium size hinge and glue it so that the purse would open and close with little to no gap. We also attempted a closure but it didn't work (and wasn't necessary).

Dads know everything! The glue worked perfectly for the hinges and the weight of the purse keeps it closed so there was no need to have a clasp. I'll figure out clasps on future versions of the purse (and there will be future versions).

The final stage in construction was lining. Legos are plastic and if you put anything in a plastic container and move it around there's going to be noise. Since I made both versions of the purse, I spent my last construction day lining them with plain black fabric. For the purse I would be using, I made one of the sides a pocket instead. I thought that it would be more usable if I could stash my ID and room key and lipstick in a pocket rather than letting them roll around. My cell phone got its own side. Pumpkin decided to help me measure and cut the fabric. You know how she likes to help.

Both versions turned out better than I expected. And this wasn't that difficult of a project to complete. It's time-consuming but not a hard craft project. The most challenging part was the design phase since I kept going back and creating different patterns before I finally settled on the design on the left (one of my friends described it as "way more Chanel than Chanel" - probably not true but a nice compliment.)

I packed the purse in a velvet jewelry bag and eagerly awaited its debut at the H'Oscars. At the airport on Wednesday, I showed it to some of my friends as we waited for our flight. Their reactions were fun; I don't think any of them really knew what to expect even though they had seen photos or read the previous posts. That's part of the fun of fashion right?

People love legos. And they love lego purses. I'm sure this isn't something that they thought they'd love but love they do. Everyone wanted to hold the purse and would ask if they could open it (since you should never open a lady's purse without her permission). Some of the greatest reactions came from the men - I don't think most of them realized that legos could do that. I also talked to 2 or 3 that wanted pictures to show their daughters. I thought that was exciting. I loved legos as a little girl and now I can make them into fashion. And they can too.

At least four people asked if I would make them one (the answer: probably). The lego purse was the exact fashion moment that I needed. My dress was a simple black cocktail dress. The purse elevated the look and was truly a statement piece. This, my friends, is what fashion is supposed to do. And it was fun and whimsical - you know I love whimsy.

While I didn't win a H'Oscar this year (although I was nominated), this was a particularly successful event for me both professionally and personally. I presented twice this year (as part of the general session in front of the whole company and at a breakout session later in the day). Both were extremely successful. The feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive. It's both gratifying and humbling to be considered an "expert" in anything and then to be told that you are by your peers and the senior leadership of your company is just, well, amazing. Work has been a challenge recently and an event like this helps to put that challenge into perspective. Does it fix the problems? No, but now I have some thoughts for how to better approach my job and to feel proud of what I accomplish.

And, of course, we had fun. I have never worked for a company that has an event quite like this. It's really meant to be experienced not explained. Now to catch up on sleep and word count for NaNoWriMo (I fell a little behind this week).

(I call this last photo "At the Club".)

My main character is probably me

I didn't realize how much I would enjoy the process of writing a novel. In the space of one day of writing the story I had in my head actually changed pretty dramatically with the addition of one character. I had not intended for there to be a love story nor had I intended for Oliver to exist. But exist he does. I wrote the ending yesterday, longhand, while riding on the Metro.

Stats: Day 4, Word Count 8048, Chapters: 4 (almost 5)

Here's chapter one. I think I like Marnie a lot. And now there's Oliver. Sigh.

Chapter One – Always Early

Marnie was early. Not a few minutes early but an hour early. It wasn’t shocking to her anymore. She was a punctual person. It annoyed her when people were late especially when it was related to work. It was a skill that she thought all professionals should have. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been the case in her last office. She was one of the few punctual people on the team. She often wondered how they did on the road by themselves. She would have been mortified to arrive late to a school visit.

Sometimes she wished she could just be on time. Marnie tended to be early for things and that could be problematic. In her last job as an admissions counselor, if she arrived early she had three options: sit awkwardly in her car and wait until it was acceptable to go in, drive around and hope there was a coffee shop or shopping center parking lot she could sit in, or go in early and annoy the counseling staff. She usually opted for driving around. Sitting in a school parking lot like a creep was not a great idea; school security usually didn’t appreciate it. And she didn’t want to annoy or anger any college or school counselor. These are the people that helped her get students interested in her college. They needed to be “friends” or at least cordial to one another.

Marnie didn’t have her car today. She had taken the Metro so she was stuck with whatever was nearby. Today must be her lucky day because there was a coffee shop on the corner opposite the building that housed her new office. And it wasn’t a Starbucks. Marnie felt like she had won the lottery. Starbucks was fine but it wasn’t her favorite. She liked local places with a little character. She always hoped she’d become a regular and she’d be able to walk in and they’d just know her order. And of course, she’d have her meet cute here too. There’d by that guy writing across the shop from her window table. Isn’t that how it worked in movies? Today was not about meet cutes. Today was about starting her new job.

As she walked across the street, Marnie realized that she’d be able to watch the building from the window table. She could see who walked in and maybe get a sense of what this company was all about.

The coffee shop, Joe’s, was on the small side but was very welcoming. Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love” was playing as Marnie walked up to the bar to order. “This is one of my favorite songs,” she said to the barista. The guy smiled and replied, “Mine too. But I’ve always liked Berlin best. I know, it’s cool to say that but I really do like that album.” Marnie laughed. She knew what he meant. People were always trying to out cool one another with stuff like Lou Reed albums.

“I believe you. “Lady Day” and “How Do You Think It Feels” are great. It has such a musical quality.” It was shaping up to be a good first day if it started with Lou Reed.

“Thanks. What can I get you?”

“Medium latte and a croissant.”

“That’ll be $5.60. And I’ll keep the Lou Reed on while you’re here.”

Marnie paid and thanked him for the music. He gave her the croissant and went about making her coffee. He was cute and liked Lou Reed. Marnie could get used to starting her mornings this way. She took her pastry to a seat near the window and began watching the building across the street. It was a just an office building. It wasn’t remarkable in any way. Honestly, had she not been here weeks ago for her interview, Marnie probably would have walked passed it. From her vantage point across the street, it actually looked like the building was hiding. It seemed further back from the sidewalk than the other buildings and it wasn’t as tall as the buildings it sat between. It was unobtrusive. The buildings unobtrusiveness made sense. It was a place dedicated to teaching people how to be Metro Counselors. Metro Counselors were supposed to be unobtrusive or invisible. No one was supposed to know who you were or really that Metro Counselors even existed.

This was one of the aspects of the new job that troubled Marnie. She wasn’t sure how to deal with being invisible. In her previous profession, she was the face of the university. For many students, she was the first person they met and she had worked hard at being the best first impression she could be. Marnie was a great with crowds but also adept at listening and connecting with individuals. She suspected these were also skills that made a great Metro Counselor. But how did one learn to be invisible? And did she want to be? How would she explain what it was that she did for a living? In this city, a person is their job. What if no one could know what your job was?

The barista put her coffee on the table. The noise jolted her out of her thoughts and almost caused him to spill the drink. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“That’s okay. You looked lost in thought so I decided to bring it over to you instead of calling out. I figured you wouldn’t hear me anyway.”

Marnie knew he was right. She wouldn’t have heard him. Even the music, some of her favorite songs, had faded into the background.

“It’s my first day at a new job and I’m super early and a little nervous.” Marnie started to fidget and play with her spoon.

“I’m sure you’ll be great. You’re a Lou Reed fan; you’re already ahead of the game.”

“Thanks. I’m Marnie. I’ll probably be in here a lot since I just work across the street. It’s always good to know another Lou Reed fan.”

“I’m Oliver. Nice to meet you. Do you work in the little building?”

“I do or I will be working in the little building. I was just thinking that it looks like it’s trying to hide from the other buildings on the street,” Marnie replied.

“It’s sort of shrinking from the street. I’ve always thought it was out of place. But there are a lot of old buildings in the city so I guess it fits into the character of the city. What is it that you do?”

Marnie paused. How was she supposed to answer? She was supposed to be invisible but no one had really told her how to respond if she was asked about her job. She had told her family she was moving to a different field of counseling; they were fine with that answer. She suspected that they actually had no idea what it was she did anyway. So she decided to keep with that line for now.

“I’m a counselor. I used to be in college admissions and now I’m moving into more personal counseling.”

“Like a shrink?”

“Not really. More like a life coach.” Marnie thought she sounded like a moron.

“Oh. I didn’t realize that was really a thing. Well, I hope your first day goes well. Make sure you find someone to have lunch with. You don’t want to be the kid who sits by herself on the first day.”

“Good point. I will do my best to find a lunch table.” They both laughed and Oliver returned to the coffee bar. Two men walked in and he started on their orders. It was getting closer to normal morning traffic hours. Marnie’s quiet morning was about to end.

Marnie checked her phone. She still had thirty minutes to kill. She needed to forget about her doubts about this new job and just look forward to this new experience. No travel season, no crazy parents, no applications to read. Her time would finally be her own (or so she hoped). She would be able to take vacations again. Maybe have a semblance of a personal life.

For now, she would just enjoy her latte (it was exceptional) and watch the building for signs. And then she’d walk across the street and start the next phase of her professional life.

Let the writing commence!

Welcome to November and to National Novel Writing Month! Yesterday was day one and I thought I'd start the month off by sharing a little bit of the novel with you. I can't promise that I will share the entire novel here on the Island but I do promise to keep you up to date on my progress and the progress of my awesome writing buddies. You can still sign up or just support NatNoWriMo by visiting their website. You can also buy your NatNoWriMo participating friends presents or drinks. That would be nice of you.

So here it goes - an excerpt from my novel, The Metro Counselor (title still in a work in progress). Please excuse grammar at this time.

Prologue

“How do people do this everyday?” Marie hadn’t meant for that to be so loud but it just popped out of her mouth before she could stop the comment. The Metro was exhausting and she couldn’t understand how people could go through the hassle day in and day out.

Her husband, James, sat next to her but didn’t immediately respond. He was distracted, staring out the window of the train watching the monuments speed by. Impressive and presidential; it would be cool to see these everyday on your way to work. How could you not appreciate being near all this history? Marie didn’t seem as enamored of the city as he was. Cities weren’t her thing.

“What did you say?” he asked.

“I said that I didn’t understand how people did this everyday. Commuting by train seems exhausting,” Marie answered.

“I can see that, I guess. But I can also see the positives. You don’t have to sit in traffic, you can read or listen to music, no standing in the rain at the bus stop. It seems like it would be sort of relaxing. Unless the train stopped and you were stuck somewhere,” James replied.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth the train lurched and stopped. And lurched and stopped. The train stopped and started twice more. And then it just stopped. Everything went very quiet and the lights flickered on then off. Audible sighs could be heard across the train car. People sitting near James and Marie started at James, shooting daggers out of their eyes – like his comment had somehow made the train stop.

The speaker crackled and the driver made an announcement that the train would be moving soon. His voice cut out so it was hard to hear exactly what he said when describing the problem.

“Did he say that there was bear on the track?” someone asked.

“I don’t think he said bear. Maybe deer but even that doesn’t make any sense.” Replied another random commuter.

The hum of conversation amongst passengers died down and people went back to whatever it was they were doing before the train stopped. James still noticed, or so he thought, a few people still staring at him accusingly. He felt uncomfortable. Maybe he was being paranoid but he really felt like people were staring at him. The train started to get hotter. It was a perfect May day – warm, sunny, a slight breeze outside. But trapped in a Metro car, the sun seemed too bright and the warm of the day too much for James. They sat and sat some more. It seemed like an eternity (but was really only 10 minutes).

“Do you think what I said caused the train to stop? Like how you’re not supposed to say “Macbeth” in a theater?” James whispered to Marie.

Marie looked at her husband and considered her response carefully. She didn’t actually believe he had caused the train to stop but he had been insufferable all week about the efficiency of public transportation. She really wanted to rub it in and have a little fun at his expense. But his face was so serious and she knew people were watching them and judging.

“No, you did not cause the train to stop. Unless you have some magical powers you haven’t told me about, there’s no way you could have caused it to happen. It’s not even like you were wishing for it to happen. Stop being crazy.”

She tried to change the subject. “What do you want to do for dinner tonight? We could try that place near the hotel that my brother recommended. Sushi sounds good right?”

James nodded and continued to look out the window. All week he had been making grand statements about the efficiency of public transportation sounding more insufferable with every statement. He knew Marie was being nice and placating him. Maybe he was being paranoid but out of the corner of his eye he kept seeing the man across the aisle glaring at him. James felt like the guy wanted to say something to him but was holding back. The guy was bigger than James. There’s no way James would be able to get out of a fight with this guy. He just kept thinking, “Please start moving. Please start moving.” If his comment could stop the train then this mantra would be able to get it started again.

The guy was really glaring at James. James was not being paranoid or dramatic. He was starting to get nervous and Marie was going on and on about sushi. Didn’t she see the man glaring at them? It would just take one small move or a glance to set this guy off. Would the rest of the passengers jump in and help the guy pummel James? He and Marie were clearly tourists and he knew the other passengers would show no mercy.

Just as James started to say something to Marie about glaring guy, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He didn’t really want to turn around but he knew he had to.

The tapper turned out to be a woman sitting behind James and Marie. She was probably in her sixties and looked like a retired schoolteacher or librarian. She smiled at James and Marie. “You have nothing to be worried about. No one is blaming you for the train stopping. This happens during rush hour on occasion. The train will start back up in a few minutes and we’ll all be on our way. And that man is not glaring at you.”
            James stared at her. How did she know exactly what he had been thinking? Was she psychic? Was she a witch? This was just crazy.

“Ummm, thanks,” he replied. “It just seemed really odd that it happened at the exact moment I said it. Maybe I’m just tired. We’ve been doing so much this week. It’s been amazing but it’s also really exhausting.”

The woman nodded and looked interested in what James was saying. She smiled again – such a warm, welcoming smile. “It’s hard not to push yourself when visiting DC. There’s something to do at every turn. Your wife is right; you should go to that sushi restaurant by your hotel. Sit outside. It’s definitely a sit outside kind of night. Is today your last day in town?”

Before James could respond, the train lurched again and this time it didn’t stop. The air kicked back on and the lights stopped flickering. The glaring man’s features seemed to soften and they were finally on their way. James felt himself cool down and sighed in relief. Marie took his hand. He turned back to the woman, “We’re here two more days. We were thinking of going to the zoo tomorrow and then spend our last day in Old Town.”

“Excellent ideas. The weather is perfect for the zoo and there are only so many museums you can see. Make sure to see the pandas.”

The woman went back to her book and James and Marie started discussing their plans for the last few days of their vacation. Their stop came and they got up to leave. James smiled and waved at the woman. The two left the train and went on to dinner. James was still unsure of how the woman knew exactly what he was thinking. She had found the perfect words to calm him down. It was odd. Comforting but odd.

The woman watched the couple leave the train. She knew that the man was confused by her comments. That was her job; she was supposed to help ease travelers worries and defuse situations on the Metro before they got out of hand. Her shift was just beginning and it was a Friday night. She hoped this was the only disruption - mechanical issues always made people grumpy. Drunk coeds and lost tourists were more her speed. She could help them make smart life choices and make sure everyone got where they needed to go safely. She closed her book at took out her phone. No notifications, no emergencies. It was early so she hadn’t really expected there to be anything yet. As the train pulled into the last stop on the line, she packed up her phone and book and moved with the crowds to get off the train. Instead of leaving the station, she simply moved to another car on the train. She waved to the driver and prepared for the rest of her shift.

Another Friday night in DC had begun for the Metro Counselor.

So there you have it - the beginning of my novel. I was not sure I would get to 1667 but I wrote 2742 words yesterday; that was just the prologue and chapter one. I even think I figured out a plot point that I hadn't thought of and I created a character I hadn't planned for but I think he will create more action later on. I hope that I can keep up the momentum throughout the month. I've decided to create an incentive box for myself. As I meet certain goals (as yet to be determined) throughout the month and when I get to the end, I can reward myself with something. Bribery, incentives, rewards - same difference.

Next week on the Island, it's time for the Lego purse reveal. I know you're dying to see how it turned out. I'm pretty excited about it and looking forward to seeing how it plays out at my work event next week.