Current word count: 26,038.
Goal last week: 2,100.
Accomplished: 3,135.
Words 'til finish: 23,962/856 words a day until Dec 31th.
Goal this week: 5992.
Comments: Well, I made my secondary NaNoWriMo goal, which was at least 25k. Yay! I'm thinking about making 25K in Nov a yearly tradition. Why? Because I've learned, between last year's NaNo and this year's, that I write really sloppy when I'm trying to write that much. Soo sloppy that I don't even want to revise what I've written, making it a darn-near waste of time.As for this month, I'm not sure what's going to happen. I want to write another 25k but I'm kind of tired of the push and shove, especially with the holidays approaching and everything that's going on right now. I'm going to try (try! try! try!) but I might end up taking a break until the new year. We'll see!
Wednesday Question: What are your plans for December? Do you let your writing hybernate for the month? Are you holding off on submitting through the holidays? Or are you chugging along per usual?
I love that you lower the goal to suit your own pace.
ReplyDeleteStill stinging after I gave up as soon as I started worried that I was way over my head.
I'm thinking, if a work out schedule works with better results when done on every other day, then maybe the writing works in a similar way. One month on, one month off..?
Good for you on going beyond your goal last week!
ReplyDeleteThis month I am trying an experiment I recently read on another blog. I'm not very happy with the time line in my current WIP, so without looking at my WIP or any of my notes, I am writing out the bones of the story in a straight linear fashion. I hope this will help me see where I have added unnecessary scenes.
The verdict is still out as to how much I'll do in December. I'm basically re-writing the end of my MG during its revision, so I guess my goal is to get a great (what draft am I up to on that one?) fourth (?) draft done. After that, I'm hoping it'll take one more solid revision to polish it up. It would be great to have something to query early in the new year!
ReplyDeleteBut having an intense December after a successful Nano, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. Maybe I'll take it easy.
Holidays don't really mess too much with my writing. In fact, what I need is to make sure they do mess more with my writing, so that I can fight the drive toward breakdown.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, I'm really unsure how I want to approach to idea of deadlines since last time around I was pretty aggressive, and ended up pushing too hard.
Even so, the WIP with which I am currently engaged is at 3500 words after a couple of day's wokring on it. By this time next week I would lke to be at 8K-10K. By the end of December, I would like to be at ~50K or more.
Firm deadlines: I need to have a chapter outline by next Wednesday and I need to have submitted one short story to a magazine or contest.
I hope those are the right balance between aggressive and sensible. Being sensible is not my strongest suit.
Looks like you're doing great, Casey! 856 words a day--you can do that with your eyes closed, right?
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping my draft will be done before the end of the year. Finished another chapter yesterday, so it's possible. I'd like to work on something different in January.
Congrats on reaching 25K!
ReplyDeleteI, too, had a secondary goal of 25K, but I didn't make it. There were so many other things competing for my time. Even having an extra day off in the week didn't help. But it was fun trying! I'll be happy to take my time with my new novel now that the madness of NaNoWriMo is over.
Way to go Casey. Nothing like a list of goals to keep you motivated. I just did that today, too. I don't want to lose steam from Nano. I learned I can write fairly well if I do so daily. I'm not shooting for 50K each month or anything. I will most likely have to soothe the inner editor with some revision time. :0)
ReplyDeleteI got to 25k just like you did. I'm hoping to finish this draft up, and then I'm gonna take a break from writing, because I think my mind could use the break.
ReplyDelete25K is great!
ReplyDeleteIt worked out that I finished my YA ms in Oct and spent Nov doing revisions - so Dec. it's in the hands of my critique group and I'm taking a break from it until I get feedback. I'm hoping to do final revisions over the holidays and query in the new year. In the meantime, I'm reading books I've been meaning to get to and doing a lot of agent researching. Happy Holidays!
25 k is great! I got 23k done. Wow. I'm happy with that! I really can't believe it. I'd like to write another 7k in December and then hit January with 30k. Here's to hoping!
ReplyDeleteCasey:
ReplyDeleteIt's important to celebrate your own writing process. Maybe that's the reason I've never done NaNo. I thought it would wreck my process.
I'm letting the NaNo book stew for a while, but... In order to try and keep that November gumption rolling, I'm going to work on editing something I wrote last year that I never really finished.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your wonderful word count. =o)
December's goal?
ReplyDeleteGet through a second draft of my new YA.
That's it!
I actually have a word count to report this time. 2867 words since I started the first draft of my new novel Redline on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteDecember is one of my biggest months for writing, so I plan on getting at least halfway through my first draft. I'm finding it really tough to get started, though, and I totally sympathize with your struggles.
I think it's great that you've modified NaNo to fit your own needs. It's important to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses then find a system that works for you. If you try to work in a way that's against your nature (no matter who says it's the right way) you will always struggle. But if you go with the flow of your personality, things will come easily. "Wei wu wei": do without doing.
Well, back to work. I'm supposed to be writing, not screwing around on the internet!
You were a writing machine last week! I'm pleased that I got so much further on my book last month. It's pretty close to finished, but I'm happy to step back from it for a little to think through some stuff. I think 25k for the month of November is an excellent idea. I'll join you on that next year :)
ReplyDeleteWell done Casey! You do such a great job setting goals and barreling through until you accomplish what you set out to do!
ReplyDeleteHolidays don't interrupt me much, I just keep working whenever I can. I've never kept track of my daily word count but I think I should start. YOur organization is inspiring.
My best wishes for you and your beautiful family to enjoy the holidays. First Christmas being married! Anything special planned? I hope health, happiness and joy for you all!