My Night of "Terror"...

Quote of the Day--Horror Movie Wisdom:

1) When it seems that you've killed the monster, never check to see if it's really dead.
2) If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they do not know, or if they speak using a voice other than their own, shoot them at once. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run.
3) If you're running from the monster, you will most likely trip or fall. If you are female you will.
4) If your car runs out of gas at night, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help.
5) People arriving to rescue you generally get ambushed by the monster, so don't rely on them as your only means of escape. In fact, expect to be surprised and delayed by encountering their flayed corpse at some point.

And my personal favorite:

6) Do not search the basement, especially when the power has just gone out.

I spent about two hours last night, in the power-outed basement (and SUB-basement) of a nearly 400 year old mansion, with my heroine. It was, to say the least, terrifying. In fact, it was one of the first times that I felt I was really there with her, jumping at shadows, feeling blindly in the tomblike blackness, screaming at the noises that weren't my own...and of course the phone rang in the middle of it and I nearly jumped out of my skin...

Writing is such an emotional thing. And I nearly always get emotionally involved.

I have to say, yesterday was productive. I got in 6000 words yesterday (this novel seems to be writing itself) and the only way I did it was because it was thundering and storming all day and all the kids' sports were cancelled, so they hunkered down in the basement and watched movies and played, while I tapped away upstairs on my laptop.
I originally wasn't going to have my heroine go through the whole "floundering in the dark basement" thing, but that scene just came out as I was typing and I let myself get caught up in it. As it thundered and flashed outside my window, it thundered and flashed outside her windows...
At least my power didn't go out! (No, it wouldn't have been scary, just highly annoying.)

Of course after that I was bad and spent over an hour yacking with a friend online (that was TOO much fun, Michelle!) and didn't get a thing done, but it was worth it because my writer friends are the best.

Now I have to clean my kitchen. I'm not going to get much writing done today because it's a Clean the Neglected House day...(heh heh).