I‘m well into a string of six-day work weeks and no end in sight until mid December. How did I over-extend myself this way? It sneaks up on me. One week I’m working at a steady, relaxed pace, then one Sunday night I flip the organizer book over to the next page and it looks like Armageddon.
I bring this on myself. Please tell me I’m not alone.
There are a gazillion commitments this week – everything from throwing a NaNoWriMo plotting workshop to advising the November online issue of the Vortex. In the next two days I’ll rake in around 80 freshman essays that need grading, I’ve got a novel rewrite due, judges for a freshman comp essay contest to wrangle, and the 2nd Edition of the Easy Street Carnival of Writing and Art to judge and post.
Halloween is coming and I have no candy.
So is NaNoWriMo and I have no plot.
Clearly I’m suffering from Sunday Night Panic. Just so you know, the antidote is writing this blog post. Short of knocking myself in the head this seems to be working fairly well. Mainly because I just put blogging on my to-do list so I could check it off with a flourish.
Ta-da, y’all.
No Telling 
I only have time enough to say, “me, too.”
Actually, if my commitment list looked anything like yours, I'd have myself committed.
If it helps, you say “I'm screwed,” way funnier than anyone else.
Mundane, baby…bless your heart, because it's your duty to come to the plotting workshop tomorrow night. This is just me sucking you into my bad scheduling…mwah, gal!
Hmmm…it's a lot, but we are out there trying to come together… I have so much I need to do, I do hope I can show up for the NaNo writing event kick-off on Nov. 1. I don't even know which end is up, here…
This blog entry made me so happy because for once I am prepared… I have a plot, the maincharacters and everything… All I need is the permission to start writing the story. But maybe this is just a NaNo-virgin getting overexited…
Blame it on the boogie.. 😉 And íf I´m rippping my head off by the end of November.. I´ll just blame you. If there wasn´t your blog, I wouldn´t even know about NaNo.. 😀
I have so much to do I panicked and booked an airline ticket to go see grandbabies in Georgia . . . am I weird or what? But somehow it all gets done. 🙂
I signed up for nanowrimo for one purpose- to amuse myself…
In the last week, I have found myself:
a.devouring books about writing fiction (the best one was written for children 🙂 )
b.driving out to spend time with my favorite horse – not for my enjoyment or her beautification – but because she has become a part of my plotting
c.spending time with my eyes firmly closed trying to channel “Sean” – so my family dares not to speak to me!
d. wondering whether it might have been a fire that started the whole chain of events
It's hard to get anything else done
so, I've mananged to take something designed to amuse myself and turn it into another obligation- but still, I think it's going to be a fun (though jam packed) month
wish we were having a plotting party here!
Yay for NaNoWriMo! I must say…. To find it mentioned on a randomly chosen blog made my day! And it is a sneaky little thing… I had completely forgot it was coming, until I got an email NaNo HQ. Good luck to us all…
Your not alone sister. I just wonder if your a Virgo? I have panic attacks once a week when I see the events scheduled in my life. Work, school, blogging, kids, gym, cooking, cos I gotta for the blog! Etc…..My advice is take a deep breath and tackle one thing at a time. As my southern grandmother said “You'll have plenty time to sleep when your dead.”
Monda,
I've said it a million times. I don't know how you get everything you do accomplished. Especially the grading of the essays. I'm looking at a whole stack of them myself that are due Thursday and if I want to be able to write come Sunday, I'd better bust my ass getting them graded. I obviously was not looking at the calendar when I scheduled the due date. Otherwise, I would have scheduled them to be due LAST week. And I only have 50 to grade. Please tell me you've got a good TA who can help you.
Can't wait for NaNo and I'm super excited to “know” so many people who are doing it.
For some Sunday is most exciting day of week, though not for me
Erin, I know the feeling. The plotting party tonight was a blast, though! Such great folks – I can't wait to begin on Sunday!
Lindiz, if you go crazy it will be during week two of the NaNo. I promise to take full responsibility! Sounds like you're much more prepared than I am.
You're dead-on, Amuse Me. It always does seem to get done and always more stylishly than we plan. Grandkids are the perfect excuse for everything anyway.
Keep channeling, Sally. I suspect gals like us always turn amusement into something more complicated – no matter! At the end of this hayride there will be novels. Novels, I tell you.
And good luck indeed, Kat! What a happy accident. I'm glad you'll be scribbling with us.
GunDiva, there's no TA so we're both busting ass this week grading papers. I swear, no one can misschedule a due date like I can – I'm the queen of bad timing. Tomorrow, we grade.
Anyone in education knows Sundays are workdays, Pesto, we just work in more comfortable clothes. We're going to make it, though. I'm confident.
Oh Monda… you are so not alone and I'm so glad to that neither am I. I'm winding down after a grueling day where yet again I've attempted to exercise my “no” muscles at work. What made today a slog was that I'd worked until midnight last night on writing business process and I had to fight off more requests set upon me as my team was laid off 3 weeks ago.
Your blog is so dear to me and when I come up for sanity air it always warms my heart and helps me feel like there is a tribe for me.
My word verification for this post is browerd. I looked it up and doesn't appear to be in the dictionary. I'm coining this word now… browerd: the condition afflicting women who over commit and get really tired.
I can hear the tired in your voice, hon. Same thing here. Yes we are a tribe, and we're spinning ourselves into ash through over-commitment.
Let's all go grab a glass of something, a good book, and call it a day.
Whoa, thanks for the Halloween candy reminder. I am looking forward to checking that one off with a flourish.
I have no plot, no characters and no general idea of what I am going to write about for nanowrimo. Then again, I've never been the type to plan my stories. I think if I just write openly and freely then it will be much easier for me to write 50k words than if I had to stick to an outline.
Good luck and getting caught up!