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Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Start Of Something Big?

Despite having the same number of days as April, June and September, November always feels like a very short month to me. Here in the UK, we've left summer far behind but it still seems too early to start thinking about Christmas. And yet...do you remember how short the summer holidays seemed when you were at school? Then you find time passing even faster, when you get out in the big wide world, with all its distractions. Six weeks ago we were basking in a warm, sunlit Indian summer. In exactly six weeks' time, it will be Christmas Day! It's pretty frightening when you look at it like that. I've decided that this year, I'm going to make the most of November. I've found it's a good time to start a new project - bringing a final burst of creativity to finish the year. 
November is National Novel Writing Month. Are you part of NaNoWriMo?http://www.nanowrimo.org/ If you want to write a novel, encouragement is almost as important as inspiration. The NaNoWriMo website is a great place to find help and support - their forums are a fund of useful information and encouragement.
For the past few weeks I've been doing a big blog tour (see http://rbpp-ch.blogspot.com/, which has involved writing a lot of short pieces over and above the daily word count target for my current WIP. That means a lot of time spent sitting at the computer, which will only only increase as the days shorten and the weather closes in. It was while we were snowed in last winter that I wrote my current release for Harlequin Mills and Boon, Weight of the Crown. I decided then that I needed something I could do indoors during my non-writing time that involved more moving about. It's taken me this long to do anything about it, but I've finally sent my ancient sewing machine off to be cannibalised for spares, and bought myself a new model. It's pretty basic as all I usually do is repairs and make curtains, but after blogging about my urge to do something creative, lots of people commented with suggestions for craft sites. So far, I've managed to make fleecy hats for each of my triplet nephews (and resisted the temptation to embroider them with the names Huey, Dewey and Louie!) and I'm in the process of making draught excluders for our exterior doors. Sewing still involves a fair bit of sitting at a machine, but there are also breaks for measuring up and fabric shopping. That means trips to town,  which is a great excuse for meeting up with friends for coffee and cake....I can see the time is going to go faster than ever this November! 
How are you planning to spend the run up to the holiday season?

Christina Hollis writes Modern Romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon Ltd. You can catch up with her on her website, http://www.christinahollis.com, read her blog at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com and on Twitter, where she tweets as @christinabooks.

9 comments:

Elanor said...

Hi Christina, I know how you feel - this Friday just passed marked the exact middle of term for me, 5 weeks to go until the holidays! Where's the time gone?? Unfortunately the approaching festive season, or the start of it anyway, is when the lecturers start asking for essays to be handed in, so I'll be spending the run-up to the end of term feverishly making notes and looking up citations! But at least with both sewing and essay writing, we get something tangible out of in in the end.

Christina Hollis said...

Good luck with all those essays, Elanor. Sounds a bit passe but you won't regret putting in the hard work now. It's so much better than having to cram everything into the last few days!

Kaelee said...

Thank you for the chuckle Huey Dewey and Louie wise. I can just imagine the reaction of the triplet's parents.

I would like to get my Christmas cards mailed out by the end of November this year. I'd also like to get a bit of baking done. It has been too many years since I've made any cookies. I need to find a good gluten free treat I can make as I've a great niece and her mother who have been diagnosed with celiac disease. I know someone on the blogs to ask.

Mary Preston said...

I'm making a list & checking it twice!!

Christina Hollis said...

Thanks for commenting, Kaelee. That's one of the big advantages of the internet - put 'Gluten Free' into a search engine and you can find anything from contact groups to recipes.
Baking for Christmas is a lovely idea - I might try Stollen, my sister's favourite!

Christina Hollis said...

Hi Marybelle :D - just make sure you don't lose that list between now and Christmas!

Nas said...

Hi Christina,

It seems we just celebrated Christmas 2010?

I feel like we just took down the decorations for last year and now we have to put it up all over again. So where have the whole year gone to?

Melanie Milburne said...

Christina,
It's summer here in Australia which means the days are long and warm. Not exactly great writing weather! But they go past just as quickly as the other side of the world.
I feel like Nas, I should have left my tree and decorations up from last year!

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