The End of NaNoWriMo 2011

NaNoWriMo has officially ended in Japan!  How did you all do?  Did you finish?  Will you try to edit and publish your new masterpiece?

To all of those who participated; whether you made the 50,000 words or not, congratulations on such an incredible accomplishment! I'm proud of everyone who took part, and I hope you'll join me again next year! Good job and good luck!  To those of you who didn't participate but are considering it for the future, perhaps you'll join us in 2012?

-Lana

P.S. Happy December 1st!

Jane Eyre - Book Review

Please note: There may be spoilers here.  I will be sure to write any spoilers in PURPLE with brackets { } so that you can avoid reading sections that may give away parts of the book.

I have recently finished reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.  I was inspired to read it for three reasons.  The first reason is that I always hear this book mentioned in popular culture such as on TV or in movies, and as I was not required to read it in school I always wondered what it was like.  The second reason is that it seems people who have read it either really like it, or really hate it and I wanted to know first-hand the causes of this split.  The last reason is that recently I've been thinking I should read some of the "classic books" and discover for myself their greatness.  It is funny too, that so many of the classics mention other classics and famous authors within them!  The more I read, the more I want to read!

I've read a few books written in older English, and they are usually very difficult for me to understand.  I thought that this book was going to be similar, but I was happily surprised to find that the English used in Jane Eyre is actually quite simple and easy to follow.  The book is long however, and may be a deterrent for some hoping to read it.

I saw the recent Jane Eyre film before I read the book, but I wouldn't recommend doing so.  Actually, I wouldn't recommend it for any book.  If you see the movie first, I think you'll be less likely to enjoy the book.  You already know what happens, and you already have the director's interpretation of the story and characters in your mind.

{Just by viewing the trailer, I thought it would be a ghost story of sorts.  Towards the end we figure out that it is not a ghost story and ends up being a classic love story; the tales of one girl's life.  I enjoyed reading about the time period and learning about the story and characters in more detail, but it might have been a better experience to go into it with a blank slate.}

All in all, I thought it was an pleasurable read.  Towards the middle the plot lagged a little bit and it took me some time to read through it, but it's no wonder that the classic has remained popular and withstood the test of time.  If you have a lot of time and are interested in reading some old literature, I would recommend this book.  If you're looking for a light and quick novel that can be finished in a matter of days, save this one for a different occasion.

Happy reading!

Next up is The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  Check the "Read Read Read" tab for the next book review, coming soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY (slightly belated) THANKSGIVING! I hope it was a good one. Although we didn't have the day off here, I was able to have a large Thanksgiving-style dinner last Sunday evening with a bunch of other English teachers in the area. Also, we had the day off on Wednesday due to a Japanese national holiday so it was a good week all in all.

To top it all off, I finished my NaNoWriMo novel last night at 50,121 words! I've updated my "NaNoWriMo 2011 participant" badges to the "2011 NaNoWriMo winner" ones. Anyone who crosses the 50,000 word finish line is a winner. Towards the middle of the month I was feeling less motivated, but I got a final burst of motivation triggered by comptetive spirit and I finished. The novel needs a lot of work, but perhaps someday it will turn into a published short story. For now, it is just a rough draft and will probably stay that way for some time. I think I'd like to do some planning throughout the next year and write another novel next November. Hopefully I'll have time to think up a fun plot-line and some interesting characters before then.

Here is a very short blub from my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel:

H&F

Sometimes I wonder if I could change things still. Even now.

There are light-brown stains on the index and middle fingers of my right hand. My hair is brittle from dye. I try to tease it for volume but it’s pretty useless. The cheap cloth of the uniform I’m wearing is wrinkled and discolored from overuse. It hangs loosely on my frame. Cigarette burns, beer stains, and oil marks from the dirty men who grope me as I walk through the isles form a visible pattern on the blue fabric, like they’re part of the design. God I hate this job. I hate those men. I hate their smoke and their money and their crude language, and everything about them. The people who come before the doors even open and stay until we kick them out are the absolute worst. Where do they get the money to gamble all day? Every day the same people come. They’re as addicted to pachinko as I am to not coming to work.

------------------

All for now. Good night!

ほぼ日手帳 2012 - My Personal Planner for 2012

ほぼ日手帳 2012

Pictures of the planner I bought for 2012.

I am slightly obsessed with books, notebooks, writing utensils, and other tools used for organization.  Last year I wrote a post about ほぼ日手帳, or Daily Planner.  You can review the blog entry by clicking the following link.

-ほぼ日手帳 2011-

I plan to keep everything organized using this one book.  By keeping everything in one place it makes it easier to see what needs to be done.  It also has a monthly and a weekly section, making projects easy to plan out and upcoming deadlines easy to see.

For those who hate organizing and planning, there are ways to make manageable goals over a period of time.  Different methods work for different people regarding how to accomplish them.  If you would like any ideas or advice regarding organization, please contact me by e-mail via the About Me: Contact tab.

Here are some other pictures:

http://www.1101.com/store/techo/2006/concept/images/p_open.jpg

http://art20.photozou.jp/pub/87/209087/photo/29643993.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNgR5SqJbLq1XR3Th6wy_wB7ULdye4R5hY0uB1EcTHoEZRfdlxREg0cIBCuzLIjUjDAIr9Vah3Bz1X5vhRjjHHevJEy_ZO59C11Uv3YYM1JqjD7JFHU082Kws0pg-nq0a3i9WAqMPeBk/s1600/IMG_0480.JPG

Happy planning!

And while we're on it, the New Year is coming up very soon!  What are your 2012 New Year's Resolutions?

My current count for NaNoWriMo is 33,055 words.  More than half way there!

November Articles

The November issue of AJET Connect magazine is now out!  In this issue I have two articles featured.  One is a full two-page article, and the other is a one-page column by "Rosie."  I have also  submitted a photo for the November photo contest.  I hope you will enjoy reading this month's articles!  They aren't perfect, but I'm happy to be writing and getting my work out there!


Screenshots:

"The No Impact Experiment" -LRK, PDF pg 15

 

"A Word to the Wise" -Rosie, PDF pg 54

"At Home in Serenity" -LRK, PDF pg 57

Here is the link for the direct download, and here is the link to access the section on the AJET website http://ajet.net/ajet-connect/.

And on a different note, I'm up to 9,451 words on my NaNoWriMo story.  Although I know it isn't a very good story, as in this case quantity as more important than quality, I am still tempted to post it on lulu.com when I'm finished.  If not for anyone else, I think I'd like to own a hard-copy of the story at least for myself.  It can be a reminder of this accomplishment of November 2011.  Also, if I ever do National Novel Writing Month again, it would probably good to have a physical copy of all of he work I've done from the past to keep track.

A day mostly well spent I think.
Good night Tokyo!