The first week of NaNoWriMo was a lot of this:
And there still was an element of that this week, because I think there always will be with me, but I really got to business and was more like this:
One of the great things about NaNoWriMo is that it forces you to write. You know that every day - whether it's at the same time each day, or stolen minutes here and there, or all morning one day and all night the next - you will be writing. Your butt will be in that chair, your fingers will be on that keyboard, and you'll be creating words...and worlds.
Now, as most of you know, this isn't the first book I've written. I've written a dozen or more books in my lifetime (many of which will never see the light of day, but 4 of which are already published). So how is November different from every other month? I guess in a way it's the pressure, which can be a good thing or bad thing. Last year the pressure was bad. I hit 50,000 words but I was so miserable I set that book aside and haven't touched it since. This year, that pressure feels more like motivation. I want to write this story, I want to get my characters' stories told, I want other people to read it and hopefully love it. Last year I let all my insecurities and doubts go to my head and mess with me. There's nothing wrong with the story I started last year - I simply let the pressure weigh me down and make me crazy. I'd like to go back to that story eventually and give it the proper attention it deserves, and finally finish it.
At this point, I'm feeling confident. I like getting into a writing groove and writing every day. I normally try to write every day anyway, but it doesn't always happen. Besides the distractions and the million other things that come with being a self-published author (basically being my own pimp), there are also the weeks or sometimes even months where I'm not writing because I'm doing revisions and editing. I have a love/hate relationship with revisions - a lot of the meat of the story comes out during revisions, but it's time consuming and often frustrating. There comes a point where you just want the story to be done.
So...I'm in a much better head space than I was last week at this time where I falling behind and freaking out. I wrote every single day this week (except Sunday, and now I can't remember why) and had good numbers. Here's a breakdown for anyone who's interested:
November 8th - 3,290
November 9th - 3,281
November 11th -
2,554
November 12th -
2,339
November 13th -
3,100
November 14th - 1,948I've hit 29,247 words total as of Thursday night. Which means I'm finally ahead, which also means I can do this:
But not for long because David Tennant is still telling me:
And I should be writing. So off I go!
Ok, fellow NaNoWriMo'ers. How'd you do this week? Are you feeling pressured or motivated? What do you do to prevent yourself from freaking out? How's your word count? Don't forget to add me as a buddy or chat with me on Twitter!
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I had hit 24,000 words before I took a couple of days off. I go back in yesterday to get to the best part of the story and somehow I had lost 6k words even though I had saved it multiple times. So yesterday I spent recreating part of that 6k and today I'll finish recreating it.
ReplyDeleteI struggle to write a review let along participate in something like this! I think I'd have a panic attack. Congratulations on your amazing word count! Good luck with the rest of the challenge. :)
ReplyDeleteI've done okay, but I did take yesterday off. Some days don't work out. Lucky for me I have left some room for this.
ReplyDeleteAnna from Shout with Emaginette
Can I just say you are doing SO WELL? I'm really really happy you're having such a positive NaNo experience this year, after last year. That makes me happy happy happy. Seriously I cannot WAIT to see this story *ahem still waiting for writings* because I know YOU and I know it's gonna be great.
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