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Wednesday's Word Count...Late

I know, I know. I didn't get my Wednesday's Word Count up this week. I'm sorry. By the time I remembered, I didn't think it was worth it since I had a spotlight to post. And well, I'd pretty much thrown in the towel on NaNoWriMo, and it's never fun to say, "I'm giving up."

Current word count: 22,903.

Goal last week: 20k.

Accomplished: 7,663.

Words 'til finish: 27,097 / 9,032 words a day until Nov 30th.

Goal this week: 2,100.

Comments: Some unexpected (but good) things came up this week and I got a whole lot busier than I expected to be. I knew I wouldn't be able to write my 20k, and I knew, if I didn't write that 20k, I'd never be able to catch up. So I decided to let it go rather than stress myself out. Instead, I focused on my secondary goal of 25k this month and 25k next month. That leaves roughly 2k for the next three days, which I can definitely do, and I feel so much better with that number than say, 27k.

What I have to remember is, it's still a lot more than I probably would have written without NaNo, and for me, that's still a WIN.

With three days left, how are my fellow NaNoers doing? And, most importantly, how was everyone's Thanksgiving? I hope it was full of thanks and good times!
on Saturday, November 28, 2009

12 comments:

  1. Lisa NowakNovember 28, 2009 at 2:05 PM

    I'm so glad you were able to re-evaluate your goal. Sometimes life gets in the way, and being able to adjust without beating yourself up is a healthy trait. You gained a lot from NaNo, even if you didn't technically "win".

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  2. Tricia J. O'BrienNovember 28, 2009 at 6:41 PM

    I really like your attitude, Casey. We often have to adjust our lives to accomodate what's going on, and adjusting is different than giving up. I think 25K is a super accomplishment.
    I got lucky and not only had nothing seriously derail me but also had the story popping for me. So while I had to push myself some days to write 2K I did and now I'm almost there at 48K. But what feels better than the numbers to me is that I think the story is going somewhere good and that I taught myself to keep going on a sustained basis.
    I had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the beach. Hope yours was fantastic, too.

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  3. storyqueenNovember 28, 2009 at 6:46 PM

    My NaNoFiMo is sucking rocks right now. I only wanted 35 k....and am no where near close.

    So, you are not alone.

    Shelley

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  4. Kristi FaithNovember 28, 2009 at 8:12 PM

    Seems to me that you won in the long run, Casey. :0) I did reach the 50K mark, barely, but I was proud of myself. However, I learned that a lot of other things suffered and a comfortable goal would be 30-40K in a non-nano month. It's been a huge learning process for me and I think you are wise to realize that you did not throw in the towel, you adjusted the temp. :0) Great job!!

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  5. Buffy AndrewsNovember 28, 2009 at 9:05 PM

    Here's the thing, Casey. You tried and you learned so many things and you have the beginning of something that I'm sure will be great. Everyone's right. Life happens. It can be crazy at times, especially when you are doing all that you are doing and raising a family. I'm proud of you. You continued to push and push all month long, doing what you could when you could. And that's something to feel great about.
    Here's a quote I like:

    Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not.
    Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it.
    Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away.
    - Unknown


    So hold on to your dreams. They WILL come true.

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  6. Hilary WagnerNovember 28, 2009 at 10:00 PM

    Casey!

    All you NaNoers are inspiring, no matter how much you write or don't write! People in general are too hard on themselves, but writers really like to inflict the self-torture! You did and are doing great! No worries my dear! I'd rather write less and be happy with what I've done for the month, than write more under stress and be unhappy with the end result! You're doing great, girly!

    xoxo -- Hilary

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  7. kathrynjankowskiNovember 29, 2009 at 3:23 PM

    Prep for Thanksgiving and unexpected but totally welcome visitors left little time for writing last week.
    I won't meet my goal of finishing a draft this month, but I'm almost there and happy with the progress I've made (revisions to four chapters, 3 or 4 left to go).

    As long as you're working on your story, you haven't given up, Casey. True writers perservere.

    We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Great food. Watched a storm blow through from our sunroom, happily wrapped in down throws (the women, that is; somehow the men in my extended family seem impervious to cold and will traipse around barefoot in tee-shirts while my sisters and I shiver).
    ;-)

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  8. Heather KellyNovember 30, 2009 at 8:52 AM

    Okay--who puts a write a novel in a month contest in one of the busiest months of the year? I swear. Thanksgiving week was a bust for me, writing-wise. That being said, I did manage the 50,000. But I didn't finish the novel--and that was my goal. I think I have another 5 to 10,000 for that.

    Casey--I think that it is great that you re-evaluated your goals as a writer, not as a nanoer. I'm excited that you are making great progress on your novel.

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  9. lotusgirlNovember 30, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    Thanksgiving was fantastic. It's better to have 22K of stuff you will use that 50K of mishmash. I'm just saying...

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  10. Jemi FraserNovember 30, 2009 at 8:40 PM

    Good choice - priorities and balance are super important. On the flip side of that I decided not to sleep last month and managed a nano win :)

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  11. Frankie Diane MallisDecember 1, 2009 at 11:31 PM

    We have an award for you!!
    http://firstnovelsclub.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-awards-and-come-along-contest.html

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  12. Casey SomethingDecember 2, 2009 at 4:50 PM

    Absolutely, Lisa! I'm kind of bummed I didn't do better, but I do know that I did a lot more than I would have. It's all good!

    Thanks Tricia. Sounds like you did awesome with NaNo. And the fact that your story is going somewhere good puts you above a lot of NaNo winners I think!

    Aw, sorry your NaNoFiMo didn't go so hot, Shelley, but it's still progress!

    Yay Kristi! I'm so glad you finished. My writing really suffers during NaNo too, which is why I might not participate next year. If I do, I'll probably shoot for 20-25k, which is a more reasonable target in lieu of wanting to write quantity and quality.

    Thanks Buffy! You're always a fabulous source of encouragement and inspiration.

    Thank you, Hilary! I agree. I've learned a lot doing NaNo, and one of those things is that I write crap, and then don't even want to revise it. So, a smaller, higher quality word count is best for me.

    Kathryn, we have the same phenomenon here (with men). The women in my family are always freezing and the men are always too warm somehow. Weird. Sounds like you did a great job with your draft, even if you won't meet your goal!

    Thank you, Heather! It sounds like you did awesome, especially if you didn't write much on Thanksgiving week. Yay!

    I agree, Lotusgirl. Glad you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

    Yay Jemi! Congrats on your NaNo win. Will you be hibernating for December?

    Thanks so much Frankie!

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