A Pox on My House
Faerie has chicken pox.
UGH! My poor baby is covered in spots. And tomorrow is her birthday.
Plus, my MIL is now reconsidering coming down here to watch the girls for the Big Formal Christmas Party next Friday. She's had chicken pox but isn't convinced she's immune. So we're kind of frantic and hoping Faerie gets over it quickly so she isn't contagious anymore by then. Grr!
But...I finished Unholy Ghosts last night. Of course I think the entire ending is a study in suck, but then I would, wouldn't I? We have a final word count of 81,135. A bit short, but I know I have some stuff to add, so I expect it to roll in around 83k.
I'm pleased about one thing, though. This seems to be a pretty clean draft. Obviously it needs editing but at least I've advanced beyond the "write numerous unnecessary scenes" stage. Although only going back and rereading will tell me that for sure.
So it's done. I believe it took 9 weeks total, but in actuality 8 due to kiddie conflicts. I would say now I can relax, but c'mon. We all know I'm going to be editing and thinking obsessively about the book at least a few more weeks.
Super Finished Metrics
Unholy Ghosts
New Words: 4,438
Total wordcount: 81,135
The Good: We all lived, and now we get to do drugs and have sex!
The Bad:Ghost planes, earthquakes, horde of black magicians, superevil entity
The Gross:Worms under baddie’s skin make it move
The rampant drug use:Generic pills
Location: Haunted airport
Downspeech:“ Ain’t a usual kind of night, leastaways.”
I Hate My Work: People are going to think you can’t properly finish a book, because this is so dumb. Way to ruin a great story, lame-o.
12 comments:
My oldest got his first pox on his first birthday, and did he ever get them good. He had them all over his - how to put this delicately - all over his diaper area, even under his foreskin, ouch. He had them inside his mouth. He had one on his conjunctiva and another on the white of one eye. He had so many, he walked around like a naked ghost for a week, entirely white from calamine lotion.
Congrats on finishing! And don't be so hard on yourself. I go through periods where I think I'm freaking brilliant, then I'll read the same stuff a week later and can't imagine why anyone would want to read it.
Happy birthday, Faerie!
Ouch, poor faerie. Those blasted things itch.
Congrats on finishing. 80K in eight weeks ... *turns a nice shade of verdigris* :)
Well look at all the ass you kick! Way to go DQ!
Poor Faerie! Poor you having to scramble for a sitter. I hope it works out.
The Boy's pox weren't bad. I felt bad for the daycare lady though...her kid brought it home and infected the entire group. She voluntarily ran a sick room for 7 kids for two weeks. A much stronger woman than I, I must admit.
SdB
My two both came down with chicken pox at the same time: the first day of a camping trip in Big Sur when they were little. Luckily, there were a lot of things to keep their minds occupied; and my medicine kit had plenty of Calamine lotion and children's aspirin. They were all better when we went home. :)
Finishing a novel is one of the best feelings in the world.
Eight weeks. One novel. You rock most mightily.
oh no! right in time for the holidays re the pox. i hope she feels better soon!
and congrats on finishing your novel! i had to revise 3x before i wrote my actual ending that didn't suck.
Poor Faerie! My daughter got it when she was two, and she promptly gave it to her eight-month-old brother. Our house was sooooo fun back then.
You finished! You get chocolate now, right?
The "diaper area" is where hers started, Kis, it's so awful. And so hard to keep clean and dry, we're very worried about her. (I was the same way when I had them aged seven, and on my eyelids--I had to pry my right eye open in the morning, I remember, ugh!) But oh dear, on the eyes themselves, oh no!
I'm trying not to be hard on myself. I'm just not very good at it. :-)
Yep, Gabriele, I'm going crazy with calamine lotion and we're giving her oral antihistamines, she seems to be doing okay, but I dread when it gets really bad. Itching is horrible.
80k in eight weeks...yeah, I'm pleased, but I do wish it had been faster. :-)
Thanks Seeley!
One of the women the hubs works with offered her daughter as a sitter, so if worst comes to worst we'll do that, since barring craziness she should be feeling fine by Friday.
Wow, seven sick kids. She must have been a real gem.
Oh, Bernard, on a camping trip! Those poor kids! Good thing you had all that in your kit.
Yeah, it does feel good...but actually, not really for me. I don't like finishing a book. I feel bereft and like now the real work starts and I start to doubt my work will actually go anywhere. I wish I could feel good--and I used to--but not anymore. :-(
Thanks Paca! Keep in mind it's rather a short novel, though, only 81k. :-( I was hoping it would be longer.
I know, Cyn! Her birthday, the holidays, the party, the timing couldn't be worse! And thanks! I actually had a couple of little brainstorms last night that I think will strengthen the climax a bit. :-)
Oh, no, Robyn! One of my friends here got it when her son was born, and he had it at three weeks--awful!! I can't imagine having to deal with a BABY with it. At least Faerie is old enough to understand when we tell her she can't scratch.
I'll get my treat when it's really done, when I've done at least one major editing pass. Not chocolate. Bourbon (of course, I have that already, but still. This will be celebratory bourbon.)
Congrats on bringing this one to life. Hope your little one feels better soon. I had the chicken pox and the mumps when I was a kid. the mumps was the worst.
Congrats on finishing! :D That's great, and everyone needs to dink around for a while after the last page has technically been written. [cough]
I hope the kidlet feels better soon. :(
Angie
Woot woot on the story: poot poot on the pox.
I had four come down with it all at once.
The older they are, the sicker they are.
Your MIL is right to be wary.
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