Days 12 and 13 were not good days for my NaNoWriMo novel; I wrote about 350 words on Thursday, and 225 on Friday. Work — that thing they pay me to do — leaped up and bit me on the ass. I was a couple of thousand words ahead of pace for the full NaNo when I went to bed Wednesday night. Now (Saturday morning) I’m starting Day 14 a couple hundred words behind. Not too bad, really; I’ll catch up and build a little cushion again this weekend. I’m going to need it; this is going to be a rough week at work.
Even with that pressure, I think it’s fair to say that I’m putting aside the Half-Assed NaNoWriMo goal of 25,000 words that I made my initial commitment. Ever since the Siren got passed over for grand jury service on November 2, I’ve thought I might be able to handle the full 50K, and so far, I’ve been able to stay on pace for it (less 211 words). So I’m dropping the “Half-Assed,” and committing to make a run at doing the full 50,000, with the understanding that between a rough few weeks coming at work, plus the holiday, there’s a good chance I fall short. I’ve hung in there so far, and I may as well take the shot. Even if I don’t get there, I’m going to get a heck of a lot farther than 25,000 words; my real goal has always been to get a running start at Breezeway Blows Town, and that I’ve already accomplished — I’m very happy with how it’s turning out so far, and the NaNo goal has kept me at the keyboard and rebuilt my discipline. With that in mind, here’s my word count widget with the new goal number:
21455 / 50000 words. 43% done!
Doyce Testerman is posting daily NaNoWriMo tips on his blog, many of the motivational sort. If you’re getting bogged down during the long dark tea-time of the soul that Weeks Two and Three can be, check out his site.
The Unfocused Life 