*As curtain opens, Catherine strides out on stage....followed by a whiny literary child*

TMC: But Mother!! I've only grown 2k this month! 2K!! 

Oh relax, Midnight Cave! There's still plenty of time in NaNo. Why, it's only the...22nd as of this writing. 

TMC: Yeah. That only leaves a week left in NaNo, remember? 

Oh don't bother me right now with trifles. I gotta get this post done and then I'll back to....

*a bedraggled literary-child drags herself and her torn luggage in* 

Catherine: WHITE ROSE!!

*Catherine rushes to her literary baby's side* 

TWR: Mother, I've got bad news. I need to have Plot Surgery, a POV reduction and a Main Character reconstruction. 

Well, considering the mess you were in when you left, I kind of expected....

*Catherine reads the official diagnosis and performance sheets from the editor* 

Ohhhhhhh boi. Well, I can't say that the Editor wasn't thorough. No flowers, huh? That's not happening. The rest seems...reasonable. 

*Catherine tosses the sheet aside as TMC comes up* 

TWR: Hmm, still as small as when I left. I thought you would have been bigger, Midnight. 

*Midnight Cave glares at White Rose as Catherine notices the audience coming in. Hurriedly, she shooes them off stage* 

Lord preserve me from jealous literary siblings. 

Welcome one and all to the last installment of the 2020 WIP Special, hosted by Julian Daventry! Man I can't believe the end is nearly upon us (I mean that in a limited sense of course). 

Today's installment is all about how NaNo has gone in conjunction with all the craziness in 2020. All I can say is, be ready for a hot mess....

1. How has COVID-19 affected your writing this year?

When the pandemic first started, I used some of the extra time to work on edits for the The White Rose, which was extended into the Camp NaNo session in July. Once the lockdown measures in PA were eased, I went back to work, and applied for graduate school. Since then, writing time has been difficult to find. 

2. How has COVID-19 affected NaNoWriMo itself for you?

COVID-19, surprisingly, is not really affecting NaNo for me that much. Had the lockdown continued or restarted, then it would. But, things have gotten to about 80% normal for my area (the mask mandates and capacity limits are the big things). Instead, the problem is from another sector, as you'll see in a minute. 

3. What particular or personal (non-COVID-19) challenges do you face for NaNo this year?

This year, I started graduate school full-time. That has been a huge time adjustment on multiple levels. I have suddenly had no time to keep up the house, and things have been dropping for my two volunteer positions AND I've recently been forced to cut my hours at work. And any SPARE time has been devoted to keeping the mischievious puppy Skye out of...well...everything. 

4. Are you trying to over-achieve and go over 50K?

Heck no. I'll be lucky if I get up to 5k. 

5. What is your plan if you don’t reach 50K?

The plan is to immediately table The Midnight Cave after November and start in on editing The White Rose so I can get her published by next year. At least that's the hope, as long as the dreaded Plot Surgery doesn't have any complications. 

6. Have the current situations given you any new ideas and/or changes for your story?

Absolutely! It has really made me rethink my entire plot, and hopefully will make it much more realistic. 

7. What are some things that excited you about writing this November? 

The plot changes and the continuing of the story that I started with The White Rose

8. What are some ways you took care of yourself during NaNo?

Take care of myself? Me, Certified Glutton for Punishment, take care of myself? Who are we kidding? 

9. How would you describe this NaNo year (in one word)?

Pitiful. 2k in 30 days? That's the worst I've ever done in any NaNo event. 

10. Are you going to relax in December or do you still have more work to do?

Uhhhh, NOPE. The first half of December is finals week for graduate school, so there will be plenty of work there. And then straight into edits....which will last an eternity and a half. 

And that's a wrap! A huge shoutout to all of my fellow WIP Special participants Julian, Sarah and MK, aka The Overachiever Squad. Y'all rock :) 

How has NaNo gone for you guys??

Scribbingly yours, 

Catherine