A Wise Use of Time

So, for the second time in two days (and yes, the only two times I've used school time to do so...), I am sitting in a classroom doing something completely unrelated to what I should be doing - grading.

Oiy. The Grading.

Grading that has piled because, let's be honest, even though I brought home two bags worth of papers over Thanksgiving, I knew, in my heart of hearts, that it wouldn't get touched. Part of me completely underestimated the amount of things I had to do to get ready for dinner(s) with family. Part of me simply relished the opportunity to spend time with Snickerdoodle and family, and part of of me was simply a bit burned out. Not to mention that I had to keep (hah!) up with my novel. Oh, and Friday I had a migraine and truly did not intend to look at a glowing computer screen.

Needless to say, I got behind on my novel. And the grading? Well, when I realized how close I was to "winning" NaNoWriMo, I gave up until this coming weekend. I told my students that flat out, too. Yes, Monday was midpoint, and yes, I have parents who want an updated average for their children, but my novel had to come first. Or it would never finish. As it is, I WON!!! 50,000+ words in a month! I am very excited, but there is still sooooo much work to do, and my story isn't finished, but I have a huge chunk done, and I finally finally finally have a plan for where it should go. But I now need to do school work. And what am I doing? Blogging. It's beautiful...

I will catch up. I will. And I will make sure to set time aside during Winter Break (2 1/2 weeks, but who's counting?) to at least finish the story, even if I don't get started with revising. I honestly didn't think I would be able to do this. Prose was never a strong point in my college classes. But I feel there is something I can use here, so we'll see what happens... In the meantime, I'll take interviews and sign autographs as long as you bring some chocolate.