January Update

No, I haven't finished my NaNo yet, so I guess NaNoFiMo was a real bust for me. December's a rough time to try to wrap something like that up, and I guess the fact that I'm trying to make excuses says my heart wasn't in FiMo in the first place. I do want to finish it, and I will finish it, but after a month of constant cohabitation, my characters need a break from me, and I... I need a break from them. You forget how exhausting it can be to spend so much time with the same people in such a short number of days until something like this comes up.

Truthfully, I think it would have been a huge bust for me regardless of which month of the year it was, though. Mostly because these characters are as sick of me as I am of them, and space does us good, but also because other novels I have sitting around just waiting to be polished. Those characters are tired of me paying so little attention to them, they want to make sure their story isn't forgotten. And they want to make sure I get it right this time. Seems like a win-win to me. I get a break from one set (and them from me), and another set gets my time and energy for awhile.

We'll see who gets top billing for NaNoEdMo - the fight should get interesting. I'll keep you posted.

Final Word Count/What's Been Happening Since?

Days 29-30 Combined Total: 3938

NaNoWriMo Total: 50,183

Purple status bar on my NaNo profile? Heck, yes! Success is sweet. It would be sweeter if the novel were finished, but they say that that's what NaNoFiMo is for (National Novel Finishing Month). No, NaNoFiMo is not anything official like NaNoWriMo, but it sounds appealing for the people unable to complete their novels... whether they got to 50K or not during November. And that would be me.

After going back and reading a little bit, I realized I am closer than I thought I was to completing the first draft of this novel. Just a few scenes, and I am done - as long as those scenes don't decide to multiple too much. Once it's done, I will put the novel away for a few weeks, until after the holidays. Then I will be studiously separating each section of the novel so when NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editting Month) comes in March, I can set goals for the number of sections I want to complete in a day.

No, NaNoEdMo is no more official than NaNoFiMo, but anything that propels me towards getting a novel ready for publishing is well worth pursuing. NaNoEdMo's goal? 50 hours spent on editing in 31 days. Should be considerably less nervewrecking than the 50k in 30 days.

Here's to hoping my next blog post will be a general jumping up and down in excitement type of post because I have finished the novel. And that my patience with the internet connection and Blogger will have been restored, so I don't get so upset because I have to spend twenty different times trying to get the blog post up.

Oh... and I am leaving you with the title of the novel. You've been so patient, waiting to be updated, and only getting word counts. Should have the summary and other things soonish, but for now, here you go: Something Beautiful

50K in 30 Days?!

Yeah, it's about 2:45, and as we speak, I am getting the word processor file ready for the NaNo site to validate it. 50,001 on my computer, but previous experience with this validator tool is telling me I should end up with a word count slightly higher than that.

Is the novel finished? Not hardly. I still have a plot to work out (remember that whole not showing up until late thing? It means I'm far, far away from being done). But I have hit the 50K mark, and it seems crazy after all the work I've put into this in the past month for me to not get the work validated and get the award and stuff. It would be easy for me to forget. Today is Sunday, and Sunday is usually full of things to do. If I don't validate what I have now, I won't remember in time, and I'll be a sad panda come tomorrow morning when I realize I didn't win because of it.

Celebration time, yes? I'll come around in the next week or two and post the final word counts for the month. In the mean time, let's bask in the knowledge that not only did I take on the challenge of writing 50K in 30 days, but I conquered it!

Day Twenty Eight

Days 26-28 Combined Total: 12,750

NaNoWriMo Total: 46,245

Yes, I am currently less than 4K away from making it to 50K in 30 days. I would feel a lot better about it if the plot hadn't decided to show up at about 40K, but I'll take what I can get. Especially when it comes from an all-nighter resulting from an obnoxious ear ache last night.

You'd think I would be curled up in a ball of misery, but nope... I ended up hunkered down at the computer with a bottle of aspirin and my liquid refreshment of choice for the month (PowerAde, baby...). The pain has proved to be an excellent motivation to write. 10K in 7 hours. I never thought I had that kind of writing power in me... nice to know I can focus and write that much in that amount of time.

I did get some sleep, when I went to bed at 8 this morning. Slept for a few hours, then pounded out another couple thousand, to get to the total above. And now I am off to bed again, because getting sleep so I can get more coherent writing out is of great interest to me. Goodnight!

Day Twenty Five

Days 18-25 Combined Word Count: 13,352

NaNoWriMo Total: 33,495

I wish I could say that the 13K or so in the past week was merely an accumulation over the last week, that I kept to the goals I started out with as far as word count, and that I did not kill myself trying to get to this point. The only true statement is that I did not kill myself to get to this point (but that should be evidenced by the fact that I am alive and posting this blog... although I suppose I could be a bot that has just so happened to put together a blog post in a manner coherent enough to sound like it is really coming from a person, as opposed to not. Just trust me, I am no bot).

I'm totally kidding that only one statement is true, though. Truth is that with the help of word sprints on the NaNoWriMo boards, I was able to make it through the 13K this past week. It still doesn't really catch me up, but it does at least allow me to feel slightly productive - although I am feeling grossly unproductive at the sight of all those people who blew by 50K in the first half of the month. Yeah, I know. Don't compare them to me. Just don't do it. First year and all that jazz. Right? Right. So, let's move on.

Thankfully, Thanksgiving is generally quiet around here. I should have some time to get things done and close the gap between here and 50K.

Oh, did I mention that they've got the validator up and going on the NaNo site? The 33.5K I'm posting tonight is from their count, not mine. According to my word processor, I'm about 150 words short of that. Can't complain, though, if they want to count more words than I am. And I won't. I'll take it wherever I can get it, so long as I come by it honestly.

Day Seventeen

Days 11-17 Combined Total: 4147

NaNoWriMo Total: 20,143

Definitely not where I was wanting to be at this time, but since I'm not too far off the halfway point at just a little bit over halfway, I am trying to not stress out too much. Besides, this weekend was definitely crazy, and there was very little time to find a computer and type even if I wanted to - lock-ins, picnics, helping my brother-in-law pack up the house here in AZ so he could get the stuff to the new house in Maine... yeah, crazy, hectic, and busy don't even begin to describe it.

Guess I'm just going to have to make it up. Now, if only that stupid plotline would show...

Day Eleven

Days 10 and 11 Combined Word Count: 3433

NaNoWriMo Total: 15,996

Yeah, this not trying to update my word count every time I turn around is turning out to be a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, I'm floundering on the idea of a real, actual plot. Please, make yourself known soon. 16,000 words in isn't the greatest place to start, but better before 25K than after, right?

P.S. - Happy Veteran's Day!