50 pages and out

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're probably wondering what has happened to me. Well, I don't know. Maybe I didn't like the story. Maybe I lost focus. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

At any rate, I'm working on other stuff now. I had an article published by Associated Content. You can read it here. It's called "Motorcycle Track Days: Getting Started at Schools or Open Sessions".

I have an interview tomorrow with a travel writing website for a content writer position. I'm looking forward to that. And on December 15th, they're suppose to announce the winners of a screenwriting competition that I entered. Snowballs chance in hell, I know, but it will still be nice to read the roll call.

18,000 wds.

Sadly, I have to report that NaNoWriMo has really zapped my productivity in other areas of my writing. Leading up to NaNoWriMo, I was quite productive banging out articles, travel guides, and polishing some short fiction. But, since writing a novel in a month takes a lot of time, I've dropped the other projects, in order to focus on NaNoWriMo.

On a whole, I'd say my productivity is way down. I think the variety of the different projects made things more fun. Now it's dreadful, and I don't feel like much of a writer because I've dropped a lot of projects that made me a professional.

On top of that, I'm gravely behind.

15,938 wds.

Better no doubt. I still have confidence, although the harsh reality of how quickly November is ending is now fading in. According to my count, I have 13 days, and 13 hours left. I'm going to focus on milestones. 20,000 words, 25,000 words, 35,000 words (which really is the home stretch). Breaking 20k is a good start. Reaching the half way mark at 25k is insperational, and from there pushing on to 35k is cake. Once at 35k you're a weekend of writing away.

I'll probably have 3 days off plus the weekend for Thanksgiving, so hopefully that won't inspire me to be lazy, and not write, but rather give me time to crank out some 4,000 word days. Certainly, the hen party on Thursday will give me inspiration to sit in the living room and type on my laptop.

[32% done]

12,894 wds.

Yeah, I know. I suck.

But this year I have an advantage. I know the possibilities. 15,000 word in a weekend? Not impossible.

In fact, I'm basically done. I've got a few words to hash out today. Some tomorrow, but pretty soon I'll be ticking past 25,000, and then boom. One weekend away from done.

I'm ahead of schedule. Time to kick back and have another Coke.

12,024 wds.

Well, it's something.

8,558 wds.

Success, if you will: My main character is now in Chile, he's lost his shoe, been blackmailed, and is forced to sail for the "kingpin" of Arabian horse dealers. Not bad for chapter two.

[17% done]

6,823 wds.

I know, I'm a slow slug. The problem, now that I completed my last novel via three 4,000 word days, is that with twenty-five days of writing left, their isn't significant pressure. This has been such a different contest the second time around. The important things is I'm still working regularly, and when the story starts moving, when I feel some pressure, I can zap out 8,000 words in two days, and shoot the gap, so-to-speak.

[14% done]

5,740 wds.

It's a strange thing, when you're plunging forward, begrudgingly, and you stumble upon an outcome you didn't conceive via your carefully plotted outline. That is the beauty of NaNoWriMo. It teaches you to forge ahead, that you don't have to have the perfect answer. That is the point of creativity and writing: discovery. I would go so far to wager. The more you practice spontaneous writing, the more creative you'll become at discovering beautiful outcomes.

I'm a bit down on words, after a great start, but I'm looking forward to rocking this weekend. Plus, I need to find that point, where outcomes are inevitable. The story is still too open ended.

[11% done]

2,525 wds.

NaNoWriMo 2005 is out of the gate! I wrote a couple pages at midnight, and I've learned an important lesson already. It's much easier to conclude the tail end of a 35,000 word story than it is to deal with the infinite decisions available in a brand new, 0 word story.

Other than that, things are progressing slower than I'd hoped, but fortunately I have the time this week to start right, and now, it sounds cheesy, I believe in myself. I hope to topple 4,000 tonight, and brush through week one, straight on into the realm of finite possibilities, so I can cruise home with an easy victory.

[5% done]