Lights Back...with Kindle!

We're back!

The 48-Hour Dark Experiment was just what I needed to cut the umbilical cord between me and Mother Internet.

While I was offline I:

• went to a friend's birthday bowling party and had chili fries for dinner
• had my first acupuncture session
• incorporated my first beta round notes into my to-query project (Novel #2)

And at 1 a.m. last night when the boyfriend got home from work, he presented me with a fast-breaking/early Valentine's gift:

Displayed is the first book I bought: The Warrior's Path (When Women Were Warriors #1). Fitting, because the first novel I ever attempted started as a short story in college about female warriors.

I had decided that the Kindle wasn't worth it, but he'd already bought one for me, aw.  I'm sure I'll LOVE it once I get on the plane next week without 5 hardcovers.  I'll also be bringing pages from my critique partners, so send 'em on over, ladies!

The first social network site I visited with my Kindle?  Twitter.

How did your Dark Outs go?  And to those who are just starting theirs - you can do it!

The 48-Hour Dark Experiment

You can't make me, but you can sure join me!

Julie commented:

I want to unplug for a little while too! If you do, I'll do it with you.

You're on, lady!

I hereby declare Wednesday and Thursday the 48 Hour Daaaaark Experiment  ::Dracula accent::

Here are my highly (un)official rules:

• If you work through the internet - meaning FOR PAY - allot the necessary time needed to check and respond to work email.  I will give myself a total of 40 minutes each day to be divided into 2 or 3 increments.
• If email is vital to your work as a writer, allot the necessary time.  For instance, I am expecting some pages/responses from my critique partners.  I will allow myself a 5 minute check in the daytime and another 5 minute check in the evening.
• NO blogging, reading other blogs, surfing the internet, twittering, facebooking, stumbling upon, digging, gchatting, yahoo talking, AIMing, iChatting, liking, updating books on Goodreads, hating, crying, whining, eating too much ice cream.  (Because that's bad for you.)  
• Mine begins tonight (technically Wed) at 12:30 a.m. PDT and ends Friday 12:30 a.m. PDT.  If you join late, feel free to start your 48 hours whenever you like.

Please feel free to join in by commenting below and then promptly turning off the internet.  If you want to blog about your experience when you return, let me know and I'll link to you when I come back.

Here's to laughing in the face of internet!

I Am Not An Addict! You Can't Make Me!

It's official.  My internet, um, "predilection" is out of control.  I'm spending more time reading your blogs than working on my novels. 

I spend more time combing your Goodreads reviews than reading actual books.

Last night when I had Real-Housewives-of-Beverly-Hills-induced insomnia, I spent an hour reading all of Seth MacFarlane's tweets dating back to last August.  That was kind of worth it.

I need to unplug.  Mary Campbell used to do a dark week.  I would probably die, but at least I would finish my third novel.

Okay people, how do you control your internet, uh - cravings?  Do you go dark regularly?  Did you die?