October is flying by. I can't stand it. I love October. It's been such a beautiful fall this year, with mild temperatures and gorgeous shades of gold, orange and red. I want to live in that world forever. Sadly, with each day that passes, the weather gets colder. The leaves fall to the ground. Winter is nearing. I am not ready for it.

I have been neglecting my blog again. But it hasn't been for nothing, I swear! I've finished the outline for my NaNo novel, which is something I really struggled with last year. I still need to re-interview my characters and get to know them again, but other than that, I feel prepared for the insanity of NaNoWriMo.

I'm sure I would have had my character interviews finished by now if it weren't for the crack that is The Hunger Games. I've spent the majority of October immersed in the world of Katniss Everdeen and her friends, family and enemies. I have to say, I've learned a lot from these books. Suzanne Collins put that poor girl through hell but I think it just made me care about her and what happened to her even more.

It's gotten the wheels in my head turning. When we throw things at our characters -- death, the possibility of yours and probability of those around you, heartache, torment, indecision, etc -- it forces them to grow and react in ways we might not have realized. It's the true test of whether your character is developed enough.

So, as a result, I've been pondering my novels. Trying to think of anything I can throw their way. To see what they're made of.

What are your thoughts? Do you think hardship strengthens your characters and the bond your reader has with them?

Okay, so it's official. I am a horrible, terrible, god awful blogger. Two weeks since my last entry. That's just unacceptable. And I wish I could say I had an excuse. A real, honest to goodness reason why I have been MIA for fourteen days. But I have nothing.

To be frank, I've been the queen of all slackers. Not only haven't I written a blog entry, I haven't touched my revisions. I have half a page of scribbled notes for chapters three and four, but other than that, I haven't done a single constructive thing lately.

Why, you ask?

Because of this:

Yep. I'm addicted to The Sims. To be fair, it's the only video game I play. Unfortunately, it's one of those games that sucks you in and you lift your head three hours later and wonder what the hell just happened. When did the sun go down? How did that movie you were half-watching end? I'm sorry, were you saying something. Yeah, it's like that. I stopped playing this game last year for just this reason, but the moment I reinstalled it on my computer, I knew I was asking for trouble.

Turns out, my willpower is crap. Absolute crap. My thought process looks something like this these days:

I should work on chapter three.

Oh, but my Sim is thisclose to a promotion at work.

But Mari's at the doctor. I should really finish that scene.

But...Sim toddlers are SO cute!

Mari's baby is cute, too.

Yeah, but it's still a fetus!

And so on. I'm slightly worried I'm going insane. Or maybe I'm just desperate for mindless distractions so I don't have to sprout a few more gray hairs from working on my book.

In other news, Fall is here. I love me some fall. It's by far my favorite season. But with the cooler weather and changing leaves comes the realization that November is just around the corner. And November means NaNoWriMo.

Oh, boy.

NaNoWriMo.

And I haven't even developed an idea to run with this year. I was seriously hoping to have Mari's story finished and polished and perdy by the time November rolled around. I don't think that's gonna happen. Nonetheless, I'll finish her story. November will just be a vacation.

Ha. I don't think you can call writing 50,000 words in 30 days a vacation of any kind.

I need a game plan. And for someone to steal my Sims discs.