Rat Ramblings

When is "Halloween"? When does Halloween really begin?

I've come to realize that there's a sliding scale:

Kid	6:00pm 10/31, when your parents let you start trick-or-treating
Teenager	9:00pm 10/31, when the party starts
Adult	8:00am 10/31, when you need to start preparing for the day
Stores	10/1, as soon as it's October and no longer "back to school"
Fabric Stores	July.

Unfortunately, I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year. First time in five years I haven't. :P

It was a deliberate choice, based on other things going on right now. I'm helping Kit during some of the rough early parts of pregnancy. Also have a couple furry projects going on, including two commissions that need to have time set aside. (And I'm not being paid for my writing time -- yet!)

On the writing front, though, I'm still progressing:

• I've completed rewrites on "A Place Without Walls" and am querying agents. (Finally!) Will post here if there's any exciting news, obviously.
  
• I'm outlining my next novel project. I have a setting and sample chapter; still fleshing out major storyline and characters.
  
• Working on a couple short pieces, here and there.
  

So given the multitude of projects, I'm officially skipping NaNoWriMo. I'll miss the rush and community spirit. But, as you see, I have plenty to keep me busy with my own rush. :)

Best of luck to everyone who is participating, though! Remember my two pieces of advice:

• Shoot for 2000 words per day. 1667 is just the minimum.
  
• Caffeine and sleep are totally interchangeable. Honest. ;)