Total words: 16,507
That…didn’t go as planned.
Despite some thorough pre-writing and my best efforts, I did not reach 50,000 words during November. I didn’t anticipate coming down with an aggressive, flu-like cold. On the other hand, I did know about a crucial deadline at work, so I could have planned around that better.
Still, that’s 16K words on a story I’m thrilled about.
I’m catching up on business I put off while I was sick, but I should be back on it soon.
Word count: 16,507
Best laid plans, yadda yadda yadda. I finally made some time…and then I caught a nasty cold I’m just starting to get over.
I’m getting better. If I hit 20K words by November 30, I’ll be satisfied.
Total word count: 16,304
So this week was terrible for getting any writing done. I was busy at work preparing for a deadline, taking care of Board of Trustees business, and dealing with some persistent fatigue. I knew I wouldn’t write much, but I skid to a halt.
I have all next week off. I just hope I feel better so I can get something, anything written.
Word count: 16,018
Things are about to slow down. I’m running headlong into several unavoidable commitments this week, so my time crunch is at its crunchiest. I’m also dealing with a bit of fatigue, possibly caused by my health regimen, or perhaps minor sleep deprivation caused by the time change and driving early to Orlando on Friday for a workshop.
There’s a good chance I won’t win NaNoWriMo this year. However, I’m still confident I’ll finish my novel – just not as fast as I had expected.
Total word count: 7,005
My “super-outline” spreadsheet – the one with too many columns – might be the key to keeping me on track this year. I had to work out every single plot beat in advance, including what POV characters to use each chapter. By sticking with the outline, I’ve been able to keep the words flowing, with minimal changes so far.
(One inspiration I forgot to mention: JK Rowling used a similar setup for her outline for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.)
…Are as finished as I can manage.
I have an outline. (There’s a subplot I need to add, but I’ll do that in the next few days, and it won’t interfere with the first couple chapters.)
I have a few strategies for getting the words out. Most days I’ll be at home in the evenings, but for those that I’m not I can either write on my lunch break, or immediately before or after whatever meeting I have scheduled.
The time is upon us.
I’ve been preparing for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, for several weeks. Last year’s attempt fizzled out for a number of reasons (and for the best – much of what I was satirizing in Doctor Who seems to be rectified with the new series). Here’s what I’m doing differently this time around.
It was Stephen King, in his mandatory book On Writing, that described his writing desk at two stages of his life. Early on, his desk was gigantic, “T-rex sized” as he puts it, in the middle of his writing space. But later, he got a smaller desk, placed it to the side, and filled his room with other things.
Perhaps the best thing that could have happened to my writing was walking away from it. After my output slumped in June, I decided to break from anything that wasn’t paying me (basically, everything but The Daily WTF) and focus on everything else in my life. I had to get rid of the T-rex desk in my own life to get some things in order, but coming back, I realize that writing never left me. It’s always there, no matter how long I break from it. The trick is, as King discovered, not letting writing run your life, but to live as broad a life as possible and still be able to write.
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Monument_Dusk_Jan_2006.jpg
I had an unpleasant epiphany a few days ago.
I had begun editing my NaNoWriMo novel from last year, now titled A Buried Stone Gate. I noticed a marked difference in writing style, pacing, and intensity in my manuscript right around the 50K word mark. The half written in November was plotted more slowly, with more tangents to edit; the latter half, written in spurts in December and finally finished in January of this year, is more judiciously written and far tighter, but missing a large chunk of the story.
I knew my novel would be about twice the size of the NaNoWriMo word count requirement, and that I couldn’t finish it in a month, so I set a deadline for December 31. However, after finishing the first 50,000 words, I had severe burnout, and I could only write 500 words a day for most of December. My pace picked back up in January to around 1K/day.
Preparation is key. Petroleum jelly in the right places, sunblock everywhere. A bandanna covers my forehead, for the sun as well as the sweat. My water bottles are filled and stowed away on my belt, and I strap my timer to it as well. Power gels or gummies are shoved into the front pocket. Everything ready, I stride out the door into the sun.
The first minute is always the hardest. Getting the stride back takes effort through no effort, much like thinking without thinking in Zen meditation. You don’t think too much about moving your feet; after a few minutes, your muscle memory will do the work for you.
I remember to time my breath. In two steps, out two steps, in two, out two. It comes naturally; I don’t break rhythm. If I feel winded or my legs ache, I shorten my stride.
On most days, running liberates me. But not last Saturday.
