NaNo expected word count: 30,006
My word count: 17,293
Words behind: 12,713
Days behind: 7.6
Here’s the thing: I have been getting a few good writing sessions in, all things considering. Also, I have to stop and say to myself, you’ve written almost 20,000 words so far? That’s close to 25,000, which is half way to 50,000!
My daughter was sick and out of preschool for the first 4 days of November. Then a holiday. Then, where I live flooded (Fraser Valley, BC, Canada) and schools closed. All this to say: out of all the time I was *expecting* to write turned into 1.5 days. (Note: my house itself was not flooded!)
I’ve been able to sneak in a few sessions, and I write furiously. I seem to be lucky, in a way, that this has been surprisingly easy to write. I think it might be because the plot seems to come alive the more I do, and the future of the novel takes firmer shape the more I write. I am finding different patterns and repetitions. One thought of a character’s action can turn into a whole scene: the characters surprise me, sometimes, with how they seem to be writing their own story. The novel is becoming more complex, and it’s simultaneously easy and SO, SO hard.
I am pretty sure the only reason I’m finding any semi-success with writing so much with very little outline is because I studied Creative Writing and English Literature at university. In fact, I got that degree in order to become a high school English teacher. Suffice to say: I’ve read, dissected, and regurgitated thousands of books. (Yes, I keep track!)
Just because I’m spewing out words without a clear idea of how I wanted the book to go doesn’t mean it’s the right way for everyone. In fact, I wish I had more of an outline to work off of, but for some reason, this way is working just fine. For now. We will see.
I am hoping I’ll find the time to complete this in November. If not, I’ll finish it in December. With being a single mama with very, very little time alone (and trust me, writing with a 3.5 year old running around is not feasible), I’ve discovered that I simply cannot write 1,667 words a day, every day, as much as I would absolutely love to.
How are you doing in NaNo? Anyone keeping par? Anyone AHEAD?
the collection archive 