NaNoWriMo Day 6 - chugging along

I did manage to get some words written today. Crammed in mini writing sessions on my breaks and reached around 1300 words. Not bad at all! I'm at 9.759 words and I should be at 10,000; a 241 word deficit is nothing and I will make it up. Maybe not tomorrow or the next day. But by next weekend I should be ahead. My annual writing retreat is coming up and I hope to bank a bunch of words because the following week is busy.


NaNoWriMo is working its magic. I, so far, am writing every day and today the story flowed through me. Now that I've let go of the idea I went into the month with, the story is coming through. It is not the story I started with or what I thought I was going to write.


I like what I've written these past two days. Don't know where it's going and don't know what I'll do with it all later. I'm not even thinking about that right now because November, for me, is for writing and following the words.


Editing will come later, in its appropriate time. Now is for creating.

NaNoWriMo Day 5 - caught up, until tomorrow

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I had a job this morning. Then a break. Then a long piece of work.

I knew this going into the day so I took my laptop so I could write during that three hour gap. I managed to get caught up in my NaNoWriMo word count.

I did some thinking on the page.

And I let the character lead the way and just observed, writing as she went, and did not try to force her back into the little bubble I created as a frame for this year's novel. It went much better that way. I thought that this year I had a good idea. No, I had a good idea which was worth trying and I did, but I got a little stuck so I decided to move on and, again, let the characters take the lead.

This is my fun part. It gets messy, sure. But it's fine. I enjoy putting words on the page and/or screen. I love letting the language flow and letting it be whatever it will be and seeing where it goes. So I did. And it moved.

I believe I'm through the little stumbling place and will be back on track.

And I wrote a lot of words today and got caught up with the daily average word count target. Until midnight. Then it starts again and I have another chunk to go.

That, my friends and followers, is NaNoWriMo.

Go, go, go.


My ending word count for Day Five is 8,436.

NaNoWriMo Day 4 - even on show day

I met up with another writer today. And what is amazing about that is the is was Show Day. I interpreted a show in the evening, but we still carved out a bit of time to write. Awesome!

See? This is one of the reasons I do NaNoWriMo. I've learned over the years that I can't fall too far behind because it becomes very hard to catch up. I have, every time, when I've fallen behind. This yer the story has been a bit tough from the first keystrokes, and I'm only on day 4 (actually, it is now day 5 as I type this).

So I know, write some every day, if at all possible. And I made it happen today, even with and interpreted performance in the evening.

I manage to get nearly caught up; just a couple of hundred words short of where I should be at the end of day four. And I'm okay with that.

There has already been a shift in the story and a couple of gems came out in my writing. It seems this story wants to go in another direction and I'm going to let it go and follow in its footsteps. I learned my lesson about five years ago when I tried to insist on too much control of a story's direction.

So, flow story, flow, and I will follow.

Ended the day with a word count of 6505. The target for day four was 6666. Not bad.

NaNoWriMo Day 3 - meh

I had another appointment today. Then final rehearsal for the play I'm interpreting tomorrow night.

And not much writing.

It's okay. It's still early in the month. I did write some. And I wrote more past the midnight word count cutoff. But whether looking at my current word count as part of the 3rd or the 3rd and 4th, I'm still behind. A little

Okay. Word count as of the end of my writing time today is 4239 words. Slow. I'm going to call that my end of day 3 word count, so I'm only 761 words behind. Which leaves me, let's see, 761 + 1667 = 2428 words to write on a show day. I can do that. Especially with having a 2-hour writing time scheduled with another NaNoPal tomorrow. I will still have time to go through the script again, shower and get my show clothes ready, meet the friend for writing, get dinner, get to the show and do what we need to do before we begin.

Probably not much writing will happen after the play tomorrow since I have a morning job on Saturday. But that's okay. I will keep my fingers moving at the writing time and get story words written.

I'm stuck in the story. Not sure where it's going and not being able to let go of the foundation I'm drawing from. Hopefully I will break through that soon. But, for now, I'm still writing, even if it isn't great literature and if it feels a little flat.

Isn't that part of why I do NaNo? To move through the debris and garbage and get it cleaned out so I can write. And to recommit and strengthen or revive a writing practice. So even 'meh' words written are still more words written than the pace I've been keeping recently.

Yeah, me. I'm writing! Goal for Friday is 2500 words before I interpret the play tomorrow night.

I can do that.

NaNoWriMo Day 2

On the second day of NaNo, I ended with a word count of 3307, just 30 words short of meeting the 1667 words per day average. The story stalled a bit, but I kept writing. It ended up being a busy day and I didn't get started writing until after several things were done - some of which took way longer than anticipated. But I still got in a good word count. I plan to keep writing and writing through this boring bit, before going to bed.

The other things today: acupuncture, another personal appointment, researched and bought a new phone for S (it was almost like buying a car! Final research at home, go to the phone store, where they toss out numbers and terms and it doesn't make sense initially and no matter what they say all it really means it that there is no longer a loyal customer discount and you're going to pay a shitload of money for a new device), went to dinner at the only truly authentic Southwest restaurant in town, then home and the transferring data and setting up the new phone process was painfully long when the store used to do it in a few minutes. Oh well. A good day.

And I wrote. Something. Nothing stellar and it's boring. Truly. Boring. But sometimes that's what it takes to get ahead in the writing, moving through the slow stuff!

NaNoWriMo Day 1 (a)

Wrapping it up here at the midnight write-in. I currently have 1750 words written. The first 1558 words came in the first hour and I've been slowly eeking out a few words between conversations and a trip to the bathroom and the snacks table.

I reached the end of a section or a scene. I'm not sure what it is but it feels like there is a period at the end of what I've written so far.

Which means that I am going to write a little bit more. I don't want to end on a "completed" note. I want to stop my writing session tonight (this morning) with something happening and forward motion. It makes it easier to pick up the writing at the next writing session and keep going.

I am satisfied with what I've done at the outset of NaNoWriMo 2016. Off to a good start.

Yay. Me.

Oh. I received a little boost of energy and inspiration on Sunday. A piece of my memoir was accepted for publication in Hippocampus. I feel proud and very excited for this opportunity. Receiving such a sweet and welcoming acceptance email for this piece was just the shot in the writer arm I needed to launch me forward into NaNo.

No, I'm not ready to share what I'm doing in NaNoWriMo this year. In NaNo I am calling it "No. 9" which is for it being my ninth run at a NaNoWin. I do have another working title, but the content and that title are still secret.

This one is not a mystery novel.

NaNoWriMo 2016

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It's here!

The NaNoWriMo novel 50k writing marathon is under was as of midnight November 1st.

Below is my monthly progress.

KEY
Green = good, met daily average.

Yellow = okay, about have daily goal.

Orange = I wrote something.
Red = nothin' written and that's okay, but want minimum red.

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Momentum at Rest

It really isn't as contradictory as it looks. It's also another title that I'm not quite sure where it came from, but it bits. Or I hope it fits. Or it will fit before I'm done writing.

What I was thinking about when I started to write this is how it's getting closer to NaNoWriMo. I'm excited and feeling - yes, again - doubtful that I can do it. Again. This is going for number nine.

Hey, that's a good number!

My point. I have a place to start this year, and a plot, but still no outline. And I'm good with that. No, I'll take it back. The story I am basing this year's novel on has a Scapple of the pieces - which is a type of mind mapping software made with writers in mind (the same people who created Scrivener). The mind mapping is not an outline but could serve a similar function.

See? There I go thinking about pantser or plotter. Maybe I'll go for a hybrid this year; that looks like where I'm headed.

So it's a week plus a day before NaNo begins. The period of waiting. Getting pens and paper and backup laptop battery and extension cord with multiple plug ins on the end to share with fellow NaNoers. Preparation in whatever form that takes.

The "momentum at rest" is the active and conscious version of "inertia." With inertia my brain goes numb and I am filled with doubt (I've already admitted the doubt, okay), and the project is fogged over, murky, it's gray like Portland November skies. But with momentum at rest, the energy is there, I'm alert, and I know the blue is on the other side of the clouds, but I can't take action at the moment, so I rest.

Momentum at Rest. And counting down toward NaNo.

Gathering Resources and Making Plans

November is getting closer, which means NaNoWriMo is almost here. Yes. I am going for the 50k in 30 days, again.

Do I think I can do it? Yes. And no. Depends on when you're asking and depends on, I don't know, the wind, perhaps. Yes, I know I can reach the 50k. I've done it for the past eight consecutive years. Going for number nine.

Last year was one of my dull years. I crossed the finish line but what I had was a mess and probably won't be going anywhere and I haven't opened that file since November 30, 2015. It was only the second year I'd written all those words and have no intention of ever looking at them again. It was kind of like cleaning out the garage and the attic - a good thing to do but not something to revisit any time soon.

This year I hope to write something I like and feel good about. Do I have a plan? Maybe. So, yes, I guess, I have a maybe plan. An idea that I think I will go with.

But here's the deal: even the dull years where I'm pouring words onto the page and hitting goals and cleaning up head/hand/heart space, I'm writing. For me, that's what NaNo is about: writing. If I get something "good" - yippee! A bonus. I do hope this one goes better.

And by better, I mean that there is a cohesive and complete story. It will need editing because I am a pantser. Yes, I am. I may try to have a minimalistic outline - if I go with the maybe plan - because I have a lot of information about this story already.

No, I'm not telling. Not yet.

NaNo is coming and I am excited. I have my writing retreat booked and tonight I even ordered up a few food supplies for that retreat. I have my schedule planned to include some writing around work and theatre. And some other slots besides the retreat tagged as writing time where I won't let myself add more work. Because, NaNoWriMo.

My plan to get up to daily writing speed hasn't happened. Not yet. It might still be a good idea to get there. Or get to almost every day writing. I'll try. Because, NaNo.

Now I must get to bed because - no, not NaNo - my weekly writing meetup is in the morning and I need some sleep.