NaNoWriMo 2012: Finished This Draft - 76,666 Words

That's about 307 pages and it's the second longest thing I've written so far.

As always, it was a tough slog and this time it took even longer to finish.  My last NaNo novel tops out at 76,761 words but I managed to finish it by the middle of January.  This one took almost another month of work.

There are huge plot holes.  I'm not satisfied with the end.  There are a couple of plot points which might not work and by the end I was just laying down words and leaving out some details so there's a stilted quality to the writing but this is a first draft and first drafts are shitty.

On the plus side, my characters really seemed to grow in this story.  They seem authentic and their character arcs fit them.  The story is exciting and takes place in New York City, Europe, and Asia.  And I cried at the end of the Epilogue.

I'm taking a week off from writing (this blog post excepted) then I'll finish another project that's waiting in the wings.  I'll start working on revising this draft in another month, maybe six weeks.  We'll see how I feel.

It feels good to finish.  The great thing about writing, about many endeavors for that matter but especially creative ones, is each time you finish and complete another milestone you add to your skills, increase your endurance, and learn a little more about how you work.  Writing is building slowly, completing work, working hard.  There's no getting around that fact.

NaNoWriMo 2102: 51,342 Words!!!!

Yes, sports fans, I did it.  I kicked ass and took names.  I stared down my own procrastination, excuses, and I plowed through that shit.

It was difficult.  It was a slog.  I was about 10,000 words behind going into Thanksgiving weekend but I did well these last three days, only had to write 2,000 words a day.  For those of you wondering, 50,000 words is about 120 pages.  51,342 words is about 125 pages.

And it's not over yet.  I'm guessing I'm about two/thirds the way through this story.  I may rest tomorrow then I'll keep writing.  I'm going to start out with a goal of 1,000 words a day but if that turns out to be too ambitious, I'll throttle it back to 500 until the story is done.  And who knows?  Maybe this will be the start of a good writing habit.  Maybe I'll spend the rest of my life writing 500 or 1000 words a day and never look back.

It can be done, this novel writing thing.  But it's really hard work.  It's a commitment.  It's a big deal.  And I might not get anywhere with this stuff but who cares?  I'm going to keep writing.  When I'm on my deathbed, I'll be frantically typing on my tablet or laptop, trying to outrun Death's grasping hands for a few minutes longer while I lay down my last words.

Have a good weekend, everybody.  I know I'm going to.

NaNoWriMo 2012: 20,178 Words

It's the middle of the month and I'm still behind.  Nothing new there but it's difficult to stay focused and I'm not sure why at this point.  I could blame it on a lot of things, and believe me I've been trying to but the blame isn't getting me anywhere.

I just need to write, dammit.  That is all.

I'm loving my story a lot.  Usually by the middle of the month, I start hating the story and the characters.  I think about quitting and I wonder why I ever bothered but this story is different.  I feel like it's a slog to get it down but I'm really enjoying myself.  Weird.

I'm starting to wonder if this story will breaking the 50,000 word limit.  Like the last NaNoWriMo novel, this one might.

Unlike previous NaNos, I had a much better idea of what this story was about because I've spent a lot of time thinking about it.  I took some random notes on the way to the starting line and I knew there were several scenes that had to be included.  I knew how it was going to begin and how it's going to end.  Thing is the story is still managing to surprise the hell out of me.  For example, my characters keep having these fascinating conversations and for the scenes I knew had to be in the story, they're going differently than I expected.

This has all been great, of course, but it's still a slog.  Onward to the finish line...

NaNoWriMo 2012

Yes, it's time for number three.  My third participation in National Novel Writing Month.  I've got a story to draft and with November close by, I'm going to give it another go.

The Rules:  50,000 words in 30 days.  Sign up at the website.  You "win" if you can verify your story word count at the end of the month.

I will not be participating in any of the group writing activities or hanging out on the forums.  There's too much work to do - about 1700 words per day of work.  I could talk about how this time will be easier because I've done it two times before but I'm going to assume it will still be a tough slog.

I have an idea for the story, a big fucking muddled stew of an idea, truth be told.  I have no idea how it's going to go.  This story is a cumulation of previous stories and the ending of a short series so it has to be great and satisfying.  Has to be.

Ever look at your own work, marvel at how cool it is and how well it turned out then wonder how the hell you did it?  I do that all the time especially in the beginning of a project.  Did those words really come from me?  How did I figure out those plot points so everything fits so well together?  I'm nervous, of course, as I am before all NaNoWriMos but I'm also excited too.  I can't wait to see how the story goes and what surprises come out.  I've got front row seats to the best show in town.