Grab a chair and a couple of root beers...

Okay, so... I wanted my main character to take an impulsive trip to Europe, but... he's refusing to go. Instead, he stormed out of his apartment and went to Book People, which is a totally cool, and bookworm friendly bookstore in Central Austin.

Leaving his best friend to pout and worry in her apartment.

While the tall, dark stranger that keeps appearing and unsettling him is having trouble figuring out just how he's going to acquire him.

DAMN this story!! It's driving me NUTS!!

Can I start all over now, please? You know, just... throw my hands up and write another story? Really, I could do it, catch up... sure!! I can write 20, 000 words by Wednesday, no problem! And y'all really believe me, too, right? Yeah, didn't think so... *sigh*

*whine whine whine*

Can y'all tell this is frustrating the hell out of me?

AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Okay, so the Impossible Son and I are working our way through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and as I'm reading out loud to him, I came across a line a few weeks ago that I have been meaning to ask about.

Okay, so here it is. In Chapter 12, which is entitled "Professor Umbridge," on page 248 of the U. S. edition, I came across this line...

"There had been a previous occasion when Harry, expecting to be caned by Professor McGonagall, had instead been appointed by her to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."

O_O!!!

Caned???

So I went back and checked Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (man, I hate that title, it pisses me off every time I see it), and I found this little snippet...

"Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

'Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?'

Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?"

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone page 130

The first, fifth, and seventh books are the only ones I don't have Bloomsbury editions for, so I'm asking those of you who have them... is it the same? The Impossible One said, "Caned? What's 'caned' mean? She would hit him with a candy cane? Or an old lady walking cane?"

Well, that took some thinking! You know, "Must... not... give... BDSM explanations... to child...ERK!" Though, you know, the mental image of Professor McGonagall whacking Harry Potter over the head with a candy cane (the Impossible Son's explanation when I asked him what he thought it meant) nearly made me inhale my iced tea! Especially the way Mr. Manzie verbally illustrated it, by whacking his Chimchar over the head with a pencil (imaginary candy cane) and saying, "BAD Harry Potter! BAD Harry Potter!! No more flying for you!"

Oh dear!

As y'all can see, my equilibrium is somewhat re-established, and when I told my family how close I came to Giving Up Writing Forever, their individual expressions of horror were something to behold, and for some odd reason, reminded me disturbingly of when I was a kid and my parents were trying to quit smoking. My sisters and I would put up with it for about a week, and then we'd beg them to start smoking again.

THO said, "I may not always understand what you're going through, but I'll always support you in this. Just... what can I do to cheer you up when you get so... grumpy?" He was being diplomatic and tactful. Believe me.

"Um... stop trying to cheer me up?" I said with a smile. "Really, when I'm grumpy because I'm having a hard time working through a plot, because my characters won't cooperate, or because I've written myself into a corner, or for whatever reason, I don't need to be cheered up. I need to be distracted or just plain left alone. If I'm unhappy because of anything else, by all means, cheer me up, but if it's my writing... it's better to leave me alone. Make sure I have water, or tea, and then tiptoe out quietly and let me get on with it."

Really, someone needs to write a manual entitled, "The Care and Feeding of Writers: A Manual for Spouses, Partners, and Those That Love Them in Spite of Themselves." I'm sure THO would be first in line to buy one!

Speaking of which, I've been sitting here trying to think of extremely annoying songs. I'm working on my NaNo fic, and my character has a hangover. I'm trying to think of the last song you'd ever want to have blasting out of your phone as a ringtone if you've got the Hangover from Hell. So far, I've got the Dropkick Murphys and "I'm Shipping Up to Boston," which gives me fond, fond memories. Ah, the joys of retaliating against neighbors listening to THEIR obnoxiously loud ethnic music with MY obnoxiously loud ethnic music. Anyway, beyond that, I'm stuck. I mean, I guess I could make it something by Megadeth, or some equivalent, but... hmmmm... I must continue to ponder.

I'm up to 3, 735 words so far. Wanna know what the hardest part of doing the NaNoWriMo is? NOT going back to edit. Usually, I edit as I go along, then run back and fix awkward phrasing, or re-write something that doesn't fit... and we're not supposed to do that.

It's driving me nuts.

Okay, I'm rambling now, so, I need to toddle off to bed. But I did want to ask my question while I could!

I'm going to do NaNoWriMo again this year, and maybe this time, I will actually finish!

*glares at any pneumonia bugs that are even considering landing on Auntie*

I have only the vaguest idea what I'm going to work on this time. We shall see what we shall see, eh? It's funny, because I'm still working in the novel I started for last year's NNWM! Though part of my problem with that one is I know the world it is in so well that I'm having a hard time actually getting it out and written.

Oh well, I still have a little over a week to think about it.

*gets busy pondering various non-HP bunnies*

For those of you keeping track, I posted my word count for NaNoWriMo just a few minutes ago.

10757 / 50000 words. 22% done!



Let me tell you, this is a challenge, but you know, I'm working! These characters have been living in my head for so long, it's rather a relief to get them out! I've got the prologue, and chapters 1A, and 1B posted at http://auntiewrites.insanejournal.com/ , so if you want to check them out, that's the place to go!

And for now, dearies, Auntie needs to crash. Sleepy-time, over and out!