This is just going to be a quick update of where I’m at with stuff (aka NaNoWriMo sanity check).
The most excellent news is that I’m still on schedule to complete the 50K in 30 days and sailed past 35K this evening. There was a mini meltdown on Monday evening, when the pressure of producing so many damn words got to me and I could feel myself getting worked up. So I took myself off to bed with a trashy novel. That did the trick and the next day I was back.
The thing I am finding most challenging is coming up with so much story in such a short amount of time. Clearly I need practice at this! In the past, my slow-burn writing process has provided plenty of thinking and mulling time. I’ve been able to carefully consider where the story should head next, then carefully consider the words used to go there. Not so with NaNoWriMo and this new ‘rough first draft’ I’m attempting. Every night is a new scene and I have to figure out what’s going to happen. Ack!
The thing that got me on Monday night was the completion of a major turning point on Sunday, which meant I not only had to figure out the next scene, I had to figure out where the entire novel needed to go. This sort of thing can take me hours of mulling and brainstorming… which meant of course I didn’t actually have any time left to write, what with the dayjob and all.
But all is good. I figured it out the next day and am back on track again — words-wise, that is. The quality of the story itself remains to be seen. But I think it’s going in the right direction, which is the main thing. There will be much rewriting in the new year. Definitely.
That’s all I wanted to say at this stage, really. There are just 9 days to go, and in many ways that seems like an eternity. Yet at the same time it’s hard to believe I’ve been at this for 21 days already! The time has really flown.
Because it’s Wednesday, and I’m supposed to present my inspiration of the week, I’m going to include it here at the end. And this is the thing that has kept me going for the past 21 days: my writing community — including both my local writing group, my online wana facebook group, and any other writers who happen to stumble upon my blog and say hello. You guys are all awesome! (And for those non-writers reading this, your support matters a lot too!)
E V Gregory 
Congratulations on hitting 35K! It’s good to see you’re getting so much out of the challenge, and even if the novel is awful (which I’m sure it isn’t), it doesn’t matter. And now you’re on the downhill slope, so I’m pretty confident come December 1st I’ll check back here to find a NaNoWriMo winner’s badge on your blog 🙂
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Thanks for that! I really hope I can make it… this weekend is going to be make or break.
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I stop by and say, “Hello!”
*shakes octopus pom poms*
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hehe – the octopus pom poms almost scored a mention in the post, actually. 🙂
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I wish I was like a sorcerer of arts and crafts so that I could make some octopus pom poms, and then my fevered dream would live 😉
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Way to go on getting past 35K in 21 days! That alone is a huge accomplishment. I’ve been struggling with NaNo as well, but am also on track to complete the 50K by the end of the month. And like you, we’ll see how much I like it when I’m done. I’m sure about 25K words will have to be scrapped, but hey, I got the story down, right? 🙂
The only thing saving me each night as I sit down to write (besides the chocolate and wine) is the outline I made ahead of time. Without that, there’s no way I’d be able to keep up my word count. This is the first time I’ve created a full outline and I’m sold on them now. It’s been immensely helpful.
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Tami, I’ve been keeping track of your progress via the site, and we’re neck and neck 🙂 Both doing great.
I wish I’d done more planning before starting this challenge, particularly world building and character planning, because this is where I’m really skimping at the moment, and it’s the part I love about writing. When it comes to plotting and story planning, I find it hard to stick to it too, so don’t tend to thoroughly plan too far ahead…
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*jumps up and down shaking pom-poms* You can do it, you can do it, you can, you can! An encouragement cheer for all brave NaNo-ers.
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Thanks, Elizabeth! The more pom poms the better. 🙂
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Octopus pom-pom shaking going on here too! Congratulations!
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Thanks, Sara… Love those Pom poms!
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