For me, NaNoWriMo is kind of like the Twilight Zone where the rift between fiction and reality is a little fuzzy. Fiction starts feeling real and reality seems distant and hazy. When you spend an entire month stuck inside a novel it gets awfully difficult remembering those characters aren’t actually real, and those events didn’t just happen, and. . .did I remember to shower this morning? It’s a very dizzying time, NaNo. You may have tried to hold on to your sanity those first few days, but by the time you’re stepping into week two it has given up on you. Don’t worry, it’s so much easier to write when sanity isn’t bogging you down with its silly responsibility and common sense. You won’t miss it. Mine went fleeing pretty fast (not that I ever had much sanity to begin with, but you know). I mean, when one writes 50k words in 9 days, there’s really no room for sanity. Oops. Yeeeah. My mind is swimming with words, words, WORDS and it’s a little hard seeing reality past them all. But who caaaares? NANOWRIMO. “Reality is a lovely place but I wouldn’t want to live there.” Now that I’ve hit 50k I’m just going to keep writing until I’ve reached “The End”. But being as how I’m only about halfway (maaaybe a bit past halfway, I’m not sure) I’ve still got a l whole lotta writing ahead of me. Things are definitely going quite. . .swimmingly. (Hehehe. . .hehe. . .heh. . . Ahem.) It’s getting interestiiiing. Cael just did something *le gasp* NICE. And not out of manipulation, I’m pretty sure anyway. Just a genuine act of kindness. (I won’t tell you it’s his last one before horrible things happen. . .) And Iavin, my dear, sweet, shy Iavin, has actually shown some backbone. He even threw a chair out of anger! I mean, it only flew about two feet before plunking to the ground, but it was a good effort. Sayleth is also proving to be a lot more spirited than I thought she was. Cael has a way of bringing the rage out of even the mildest of people. . . Basically, my days are entirely full of my novel. I literally sometimes have a hard time focusing on normal daily tasks because my mind is so heavily centered on my story I’m not even paying attention to what I’m doing. The Twilight Zone, I’m telling you. But that’s okay. I kind of love it. Getting the opportunity to spend a month so heavily immersed in my novel that I feel as though I’m breathing the same air as my characters. . .ah, it’s a feeling that can’t even be described. It’s these moment that I realized why I love to write. Those moments when a character isn’t just a character anymore, but someone so close and connected to your heart you laugh when they laugh and cry when they suffer and long for their company when you’re not writing. Those times the words disappear from your eyes and instead you’re there, living right along your characters, feeling and seeing and experiencing everything they do. That moment you wake up and are so enthusiastic about your novel you almost skip breakfast just so you can dive right into writing. These moments are rare. Mostly writing is just a lot of staring blankly at a screen or painfully forcing those words out when you’d much rather be perusing pinterest. But, once in a blue moon, we get touched with a bit of magic, invigorating, beautiful, and it reminds us why we trudge up that tiring mountain. Or, you know, you think you’re floating through the Twilight Zone and wonder why on earth you chose to be one of those mad writers. But it’s all good. Good luck on week two, NaNo’ers! This is usually when steam starts running out, but just remember why you write. Never stop reaching for the magic. It’s always worth it! Today’s Writing Snippet: "You know, ripping holes in someone’s castle is considered rude." Sayleth leaped to her feet and Iavin spun around. Nemayn was already crouched, ready to pounce at the white haired boy mere feet from her bared teeth. Cael did not seem very concerned, despite the dried blood running down from his temple that served as a reminder of the last time he encountered the begrudged dragon. His clothes were also a little torn and streaked with stained blood. Whether it was his own or someone else’s, Iavin did not want to know. "Things aren’t looking good out there," Cael said. "For…who?" Iavin dared to ask. "Depends on how you look at it." Cael took a hobbling step forward but Nemayn’s warning growl halted him. "Careful there, girl, think of Sayleth. You already gave me a pretty bad blow." He rubbed at his temple, wincing. Nemayn just responded with a warning snap of her teeth.