Na…Na…Mo

As you may be aware if you follow this blog, I have previously attempted NaNoWriMo… successfully once and DD succeeded where I fell by the wayside another time. In fact, she then went on to also complete her target the following year and, after a year off, is going for it again this year with a target of 24k words. Not bad for an 11 year old! Puffs up with motherly pride.

I, on the other hand, have a rather busy month ahead and know I won’t have the time to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. Let’s face it, I can barely manage to knock out more than one blog post a month, let alone come up with a new plot and nearly two thousand words a day. No, that Na… I have committed to this year is NaKniSweMo, or National Knit a Sweater Month, which involves knitting a jumper or cardigan of at least 50k stitches in support/sympathy of those doing the NaNo. I’m doing the rather lovely Esme in a remarkably similar shade of deep red to the one I used for my Blanky. (I seem to have a bit of a red thing going on at present.)

Neither of us exactly broke out of the stalls at a gallop, only starting our endeavours on Day 2 :/ Whilst I have managed to catch up, DD is still somewhat behind and, at the present rate, won’t be finished before that Bank Holiday thingy* at the end of December. As she has pointed out, it is a little more difficult for her since she is at school, in various after-school clubs and then has to turn off the computer by 8pm (although she was given until 8.30pm last night). Mind you, I suspect that getting distracted by YouTube and games probably doesn’t help much either.

*You know, the one that begins with  “C’ that doesn’t get mentioned this early in the year

Anyhow, she’s on somewhere in the region of 1500 words and I’ve managed to complete 8603 stitches so far. I have to admit that she probably has the harder job as there’s no pattern to follow and you can’t write novels on autopilot. Here’s what I’ve done so far:

Whilst DD strides ahead in achieving more than many people manage in a lifetime (at 11, she is building a small business making and selling dolls, has had work exhibited in the National Gallery, written one novel and is working on her second), DS  has prompted an email from his tutor suggesting that he involves himself in more extra-curricular activity so that he has something to write on his personal statement when he applies to 6th Form College next year. He is actively working on writing a computer game with a chum (he’s pretty good at graphics), but I think they may be looking for something a bit more ‘outgoing’ and community-minded and a bit less ‘festering in his room in front of a computer screen’. Unfortunately, he has a major problem with enthusiasm for anything other than the latter. DD, on the other hand, usually needs to be reined in to stop her over-estimating that amount of time she has to do all the things she dreams up.

Is it a girl/boy thing, do you suppose? Or, just completely contrasting characters?