I am agog, I am aghast

I'm alive, but somebody hold me!!! Not only have I just killed off a character, but No Man's Land has arrived. I am staring down into the trenches of the unknown, ready to jump, and I am scared stiff. I don't know how the story gets from here to the finish. Will this go well past 50,000 words or will it be wrapping up by then? I have no idea. The story is gaining momentum, but I am losing steam... Honestly, I feel like my heroine; terribly overwhelmed and downright exhausted. And there's no escape in sight!

But I don't have the luxury of writer's block or giving into the urge to go back and fix glaring plot holes and character inconsistencies, so I refuse to let this turn into a pity party. Instead, I'll dwell on 5 things that have really been helping me through this process:

1. You might have noticed a very sad and empty bulletin board hanging in my room before NaNoWriMo began. But now it's filling up with note cards documenting what happens in each scene.

The pink cards indicate the introduction of a new character and there are big red dots flagging high action scenes. But I must admit, I've not not been very good about writing these cards. I tend to just blaze ahead to the next scene rather than go back through the one I've just written. Right now, only half of what I've written is represented on that board.

2. Secret boards on Pinterest. They just added this feature and it's incredible. Naturally, I made one for my story. I've had one for general story inspiration for a long time, but the secret feature gives me the freedom to really go nuts on this specific project.

3. Encouraging e-mails from friends. If you don't think sending me pictures of my favorite gents is helpful, then clearly we've never met.

Sorry, Gerard Butler, I couldn't fit you into this screenshot!

Obviously my darling friend Anna (who has almost been married two whole weeks!) knows me very well! In fact, one of these life ruiners is the spitting image of one of my story's villains whom I shall soon meet in No Man's Land. Can you guess who?

4. Songs like "Truth" by Balmohrea, "Village Dance and Finale" by Christopher Gordon, "The Takers" by Barcelona, "The Cave" and "Holland Road" by Mumford & Sons... Luckily, even though I'm running all of these into the ground on a daily basis, they're still keeping me inspired.

5. Speaking of music, if I can weave all of my plot lines together as seamlessly as they do it in "One Day More" in Les Mis (a ridculously tall order), then I'll be one happy camper. That's another one I've had on repeat. Forever. If I'm not talking to you about my story, chances are I'm talking your ear off about flawless Les Mis. So here's the fancy new trailer just for good measure!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHJDFKSLDFJLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There aren't enough exclamation points in the world to adequately convey my excitement! This is a double whammy of one of my favorite stories and one of my favorite musicals. Dark and twisty characters, themes of hope and redemption, France, period costumes, unrequited love, and Eddie Redmayne's face! *cough* I mean Marius! I'm crazy looking forward to Samantha Barks resuming her role as Éponine on the screen; I might even be looking forward to it more than hearing Prince Eddie sing. I know! Who am I?! But I think she might steal the show for me. And don't Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen look perfect for The Thénardiers?! I will say though, Enjorlas is a particular favorite of mine and that guy from Gossip Girl has his work cut out for him. That's probably the performance I'm the most nervous about since he sings what are, for me, some of the most powerful songs in the entire piece. But oh mon dieu! I think I'm in danger of seeing this as many times in the theater as I did for Pearl Harbor and The Lord of the Rings in the 9th grade (aka a hell of a lot). Oh la la! THERE WILL BE TEARS!!!

Ahem... anyway... 16 days and 22,582 words to go!