Two thousand what? Post I: Step into my office...

I offer my deepest, most sincere apologies that I haven't update in forever (well, almost a month, anyway). You see, I've been incredibly busy, more than probably anyone could understand.

Because of being so busy, I've had time to come up with excellent post ideas. More ideas than I can fit in one post. So to save my poor computer from a technological meltdown, I've broken them up into 5 separate posts, and for each of the next four days I'll write a new one. Easy, eh?

Now to the good stuff.

As already stated, I'm a busy girl. The source for all this activity? Well, actually, it's all because of a book. One book, that I'm absolutely positive no one has ever read, but someday might get to read.

You think I'm joking? I'm not. See, it's not just any book... It's my book.

I've been working solidly for exactly two years (anniversary of my start date is sometime this month). Right now, I'm at about 240 pages. It is not a biography, nor an autobiography. It is fiction, more likely to be considered fantasy by some. It's not about fairies and elves and all that happy magic stuff, but it is set in an imaginary world, on an imaginary continent, with some pretty strange names for its people.

Originally, I based the seven main characters, the core group, after myself and six of my closest friends. When it became clear that changes needed to be made, the core adapted quite a bit, and now only a few actually resemble my friends at all; I combined some of my friends into one character and created another out of thin air. It was quite fun, really. I have this ancient floppy disk full of people whose fate I can control, twist, destroy... It's like playing God.

Not that I'm power hungry, or that I consider myself equal to God-- I'm simply suggesting that it's fun to be in command of such characters.

Yet at the same time, they are in control of me. I can't force any of them to behave in a way untrue to their personalities, or make them do something for the wrong reasons. Despite the sorrow that could result, I have to do as the characters would do naturally. The brave must be brave. The wicked must be wicked. The martyrs must be martyrs (no matter how I am affected by the loss of such a character).

So it is a mutual ownership, I in control of when and where, my characters in control of how and why. They have affected me in a way I cannot properly convey through words. It is amazing to see how much I have learned from my own creations, what my own brainchild has taught me; it is my favorite part of this writing process.

It's so strange to have them interject into my real life, too. For instance, their first home in the novel is pretty much an exact replica of the basement in my friend's house. Whenever I'm in her basement now, it feels like they were there before, like I am standing in the very place my seven characters once stood. It's the oddest feeling.

Or even when I'm watching a movie, or reading another book. My own plot will somehow manage to intertwine with the other, and soon enough I've found a way to squeeze my characters into the story. I love it. Not just because it's totally weird, but because it's hilarious as well.

Speaking of hilarious... Did I mention that the computer I'm using for thsi particular project runs on Windows 95? Yes. Twelve years old. I'm shocked that it still runs at all. I have to use a floppy disk for saving since I don't have a CD writer or a USB port, and then I've got to type in size 14 font to even see what I'm writing because the moniter's all messed up. Not that that matters much, because the font sizes are differently proportioned as I go from 95 to XP... Like I said, it's quite comical.

Take yesterday for example. I refer to the incident now as "Battle of the Technology." I was typing on my computer and watching Pride & Prejudice with the portable DVD player on a card table next to my desk. The first attack was very swift, coming when I accidentally kicked the power strip and my computer shut down; my loss was only three pages of text, so I was thankful. Casualties of the next attack were far worse. After I had set up the computer again and settled back in to type another three pages of text, I proceeded to once again manage to somehow hit the switch on the power strip, costing me again those same three pages. Not only that, but as I flew back in frustration, the DVD played shot off the nudged table and crashed to the floor, where the movie instantly stopped (not because it collided with my floor, but because now it wasn't level... I find that funny somehow) and the DVD tried to escape from the player.

I should now mention that I was quite panicked, for the DVD was not mine (borrowed from a dear friend) and it would have been difficult to attempt to explain how I had cracked it after only one day of the loan.

So I wrestled it back to where it belonged and once again set up the computer to continue typing. After finishing a decent section of text, I quickly saved and tried to lean back in contentment. Bad idea. My hand caught on the keyboard and sent it careening off my desk, while in reaction I stood up and once again knocked the DVD player to the floor, where the movie did indeed fly out of the player and I found out the noise a card table makes when it hits a human shin.

Determined not to be the loser in this battle, I shut down my computer, picked up the keyboard, fixed the DVD player, checked for scratches in the DVD (I thank God that there were none) and then watched the movie from start to finish to make sure it worked right. It did, and I was pleased. Final battle won. No shots fired.

As you can clearly see, I've been busy. Quite busy. But I promise I'll have four more posts within the next four days to keep you busy out there.

-Abby :)