On Saturday the 29th at 10:30 in the morning I crossed the proverbial finish line and claimed my first National Novel Writing Month victory!
The last 2500 words were the hardest to write. I reached 47,500 on Wednesday with the plan to take Thanksgiving completely off and resume NaNo on Friday to claim my win. It must have been the tryptophan still lingering in my system because I struggled to put down the 300 words or so I wrote that day. The last part of my novel is very intense and after a day off with family I had a hard time getting back my mojo. Thankfully I found it on Saturday and got out the last few words of my novel. In hind sight it might have been better for me to go for the win when I was in the middle of my intense scene.
I was amazed at how I was able to keep my inner editor at bay for so long. I hardly heard a peep from her the entire time. There were a few moments when I wondered if I had lost her completely, but then she would come back after a writing session and tell me what I just wrote was not my best work and we would have to surely revisit that piece in a month or so. My greatest fear when I started NaNo was not being able to turn her off or tell her to go on hiatus for 30 days, but I have surprisingly proved myself wrong.
I have learned in doing NaNo that I can write up to 4500 words in one day if I put my mind to it. I have learned that when writing the rough draft of your novel everything does not have to be perfect. That is what editing is for. I've learned that the power of the NaNo community is a huge driving force in keeping participants focused on that finish line and having upwards of 100,000 people doing the same thing at the same time can be very inspiring. And most importantly, I have learned that I can start and finish a novel. That treasure I will take within me and run towards my destiny.
I want to thank each and every person who stopped by my blog during the month of November and cheered me on whether by leaving a comment or just by reading my posts. You all have played a part in me being able to complete this challenge. I also want to thank my family and friends who stood behind me and told me I could do it.
I will most definitely be participating next year for another round of NaNoWriMo!
With less than six days to go I've got a little less than 10,000 words to write before I can claim my first ever NaNo victory. And I intend to do so.
Other writers out there doing NaNo talk about what kind of rewards they give themselves after writing a hard scene or doing a session of really good writing. Some give themselves a piece of candy, chocolate, or other food item. Others reward themselves with a new video game or movie they just bought. When I sit and think of what I do to reward myself after doing a writing session, nothing comes to my mind. I guess I don't reward myself in ways that you can see. I get my biggest reward in knowing that I am a thousand or two thousand words closer to my goal. Sure I flip on the TV after writing or go play a game on my computer afterward, but I wouldn't consider that my reward. That is more my down time after writing.
Ever since I crossed the halfway mark I have been even more motivated to get to the finish line with my 50,000 words in tow. I wake up, perform my morning rituals, and get to my laptop for the days writing session. The word count from the previous day motivates me to write more. Now that I have just over 40,000 words, the drive to reach 50,000 is stronger than ever. Coming this far in this challenge only to fail is not an option.
Yesterday I got through a difficult scene for me to write and I must say that if I was not doing NaNo I would have stalled there. I would have found excuse after excuse not to complete my novel and remain stuck at that one junction. Thanks to NaNo and my desire to get to finish what I have started, I pushed through and out to the other side.
The next time I provide a NaNo Update it will be to tell you that I have claimed my victory and completed my novel. See you all on the other side!
The best way out is always through.
-Robert Frost
Over the past seven days there was only one day I did not write and that was Monday. I just was not in the mood and could not get myself motivated to move my novel along. Wednesday and Friday I got my butt in the chair, BIC as the Absolute Writers call it, and wrote as if my life depended on it. Those days I pounded out 3211 and 4352 words respectively. I was really impressed with myself.
It blows my mind every time I think of how I am writing a novel. When I finish this challenge and claim my victory on November 30th this will be one of the greatest accomplishments I have ever done in my life. And one that I have dreamed of doing since I was a teenager writing in my room upstairs.
One of my friends asked me "How do you know what to write when you sit down in front of your computer?" My first reaction to the question is to chuckle because I really don't know. Everyday I take my laptop put it on my lap, open my novel and just start writing where I left off. More often than not I do not have a preconceived notion of where I am going next. I just write and the ideas come to me.
Some of my friends have asked me if I am going to try and get this NaNo novel published and the short answer is, Yes. As I said in my last update I will not be working on my second draft until next year, but I do plan on it. I think for some people doing NaNo does not mean that the novel they write will be publishing material or even that they will want to publish it. There are so many reasons people do NaNo.
I am doing NaNo to force myself to do something I had neglected for far too long: writing.
Why do you NaNo? And for those who are not NaNo'ing, would you ever?
With just over 15,000 words under my belt translating to 30% complete, I survived the first week of NaNoWriMo. There were times when I didn't think I would make my quota for the day, but something inside kept pressing me on. I took election day off so I could watch the race unravel and the next day I was able to catch up adding 4,000 words to my novel. A few more days like that one and I will be well on my road to success.
I have found that doing 30 minute 'word wars' with the other NaNo'ers at Absolute Write is an outstanding way to make me focus and really get to work. In doing these 'word wars' my story has taken a few twists that I did not plan or even think of. The words just came to me as I feverishly typed. And, in the sprint of keeping my inner editor at bay, I ran with those ideas.
Many NaNo'ers are talking about starting on their second drafts in December, but I think I will be following the advice of Stephen King. He waits a minimum of six weeks before he goes back to a manuscript to make his first edit, or second draft as some call it. I want to be completely objectionable when I read my manuscript. I may not be able to wait six weeks, but I'm going to wait at least until the first of the year. It has been very hard to not start reading the novel each time I open the document. I tell myself that I will get a better idea of where I need to go, and then I get slapped back to reality by the writer in me. Write, write, write. Reading is for later. Much later.
My goal for the coming week is 12,000 words or an average of 1715 words a day. If I manage that I will be a little more than 50% done. I will have to kick it up a notch in the third week, but I can do it.
A big Thank You to all who have commented on my previous NaNo update. The enthusiasm and support is appreciated.
I had to change my word count widget because the one I choose was not loading properly and not keeping up with my word count updates. The one you see over there seems to be the least temperamental. The actual word count is at the very top in teeny letters beneath my name. At the bottom of the counter is a red bar that moves along as my word count goes up.
So, for the first three days I have clocked in 4491 words. Not quite where I wanted to be on day three, but I am still pleased. My goal was 2084 words per day and if I had stuck to my goal I would have 6252 words right now. In fact I am really close to the bare minimum of 1667 words per day. I got stuck once, and managed to get through it by telling myself to move forward with the storyline. It is a tougher challenge than I thought, but I know my determination will see me through it.
I went to the library to return Duma Key and got Third Degree by Greg Iles. I figured that since reading helps motivate me into writing I had better get a new book. I have read most of Greg's books and really like his style. Highly recommended.
I also joined a writing forum called Absolute Write Water Cooler and have been chiming in on the NaNo discussions. There are a lot of fun people there. One writer, Jen at Scribbling, has a NaNo Catch Up Calculator on her blog. According to the Catch Up Calculator I have to write an average of 1686 words per day to meet my goal. For a new comer to NaNo I am very pleased that I am keeping, somewhat, on track. What does the Catch Up Calculator say about about your progress? How many words per day do you need to succeed?
With the rain drumming the windows outside and the fireplace blazing I think it is time to get comfortable and crack open my book.
Less than 2 days before NaNoWriMo officially starts, and as the day gets closer I find that a lot of the writing blogs I follow are posting their words of advice and great tips for the new comers to NaNo. I am doing my best to take all of their advice and use it the best way that I can. These tips come from veterans of NaNo and even people who have published a book or two.
SamProof over at The Path to Publication wrote a post on NaNo that really made me think. He called it Nanowrimo How to Schedule Your Time. The first thing I remember about NaNo in the beginning was someone saying that if you just write 1,667 words a day you'll get to your 50,000 by November 30th. While, in theory, this is correct (divide 50,000 by 30=1,667) it is not the best way to approach NaNo. SamProof points out the obvious in his post. What about taking a day off? What about Thanksgiving? I'm pretty sure my family would be fairly unhappy with me when I excuse myself for a few hours because I have to get my 1,667 words out that day. Besides, the fingers and the brain have to take a break at some point. Sam suggests taking at least one full day off from writing a week and definitely taking Thanksgiving off. In short my new goal will be 2,084 words per day, and I am comfortable with that. By no means am I going to stop writing for the day once I hit my magic number. Got 2,084 words and it's only 11:00am. I'm done! That would be plain silly. I will be using it as a marker and should I be faced with writer's block at least I'll know how many more words I need to put down to make my quota. Then I can focus on something else for a bit and return to my writing.
I promise that during the month of November I will not start any posts off like I wrote a few thousand words today and I feel great. Or I have horrible writer's block and I don't know what to do. How boring would those posts turn out to be?! I will, however, update you from time to time with my progress, but you will be able to see it any time you visit. I'm sure you have noticed my word count widget over there on the right side of my blog. That's the best place to look when you are interested in knowing how I am doing.
I hope I am able to achieve my goal and that this experience will be both fun and become a tradition with me. I have my family and friends supporting me and all of my new NaNo writers to help me in a bind.
I wish all of you good luck and I'll see you at the finish line! And remember, those 50,000 words could be the next best seller.
All right, I'm going to do it. Why not? It makes sense to me. I am an aspiring writer after all and what better motivation is there? I am going to put 50,000 words down on paper, figurative paper because I'll be using my computer, and turn it into a novel all in 30 days. The people over at National Novel Writing Month do this every November and this year happens to be their 10th anniversary.
Theoretically, if I write just over 1,667 words a day I can achieve my goal. I figure that's 2 hours of good, solid writing a day. And maybe more if I am on a roll. I haven't picked out a title. That I think will come later. And I'm not sure what to write about, but I am getting very excited about this challenge. I have joined a group at Blog Catalog . Come over and join us!
For those who are not going to participate in NaNoWriMo you can follow my word count progress right here on my blog.
On Saturday the 29th at 10:30 in the morning I crossed the proverbial finish line and claimed my first National Novel Writing Month victory!