The National Novel Writing Month -
November 2010
For NaNoWriMo 2010, I have not decided what I'm going to write about. It seems that the years I go into it with an agenda, my novel sucks. This year I'm going in without a plan. It can't be any worse...can it? I sure as heck hope not!
The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. That comes out to about 1,667 words a day. Or if you want to look at it another way, it's about 200 pages, double-spaced. This page is my diary of my NaNoWriMo progress for this year.
November 30, 2010 — 50,015 words total
November 29, 2010 — 47,524 words total
November 28, 2010 — 44,800 words total
November 27, 2010 — 38,558 words total
November 26, 2010 — 36,210 words total
November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving) — 31,877 words total
November 24, 2010 — 31,877 words total
November 23, 2010 — 31,877 words total
November 22, 2010 — 31,191 words total
November 21, 2010 — 31,191 words total
November 20, 2010 — 29,620 words total
November 19, 2010 — 28,661 words total
November 18, 2010 — 26,885 words total
November 17, 2010 — 24,865 words total
November 16, 2010 — 24,816 words total
November 15, 2010 — 23,815 words total
November 14, 2010 — 21,511 words total
November 13, 2010 — 15,903 words total
November 12, 2010 — 14,928 words total
November 11, 2010 — 14,928 words total
November 10, 2010 — 14,330 words total
November 9, 2010 — 14,330 words total
November 8, 2010 — 14,330 words total
November 7, 2010 — 13,837 words total
November 6, 2010 — 11,229 words total
November 5, 2010 — 8,812 words total
November 4, 2010 — 7,067 words total
November 3, 2010 — 5,227 words total
November 2, 2010 — 3,510 words total
November 1, 2010 — 1,818 words total
Monday, November 1, 2010 — 1,818 words total
I'm off. I don't know what I'm going to call the book yet, but it's going to be a futuristic science fiction horror. I'll tell you more about it when I know more.
I didn't get started until late in the day, but I made my daily word count. So far, so good.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 — 3,510 words total
I wrote 1,692 words today. It wasn't much over my goal of 1,667, but it was enough. I'm still on track. Oh yeah, and I'm tentatively calling my novel The Depths. Like yesterday, I didn't get to work on it until in the evening, but I'm still on track to make 50,000 words by the end of the month.
My main focus today was to go back and fill in a ton of detail that I was skipping over. I was writing like it was going to be a short story instead of a novel.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 — 5,227 words total
I wrote 1,717 words today and I'm still on track to make my goal by the end of November. So far, he plot and characters are starting to develop nicely. Par for the course, I didn't start writing until later in the evening. I keep trying to get an earlier start on it, but somehow I never seem to be able to.
Thursday, November 4, 2010 — 7,067 words total
It was even later tonight before I had a chance to write, but the words came pretty easy. Before I knew it, I had 1,840 words. I'm beginning to get a feel for the story and it's starting to make more sense. Maria says I need to blow something up.
Friday, November 5, 2010 — 8,812 words total
It was a hard writing day. I really thought that I'd have an opportunity to write a little bit earlier in the day, but alas, work encroached. What's up with that.
And then when my wife came home, I had a great idea (inspired by her) on what to do in the story. I knew it was enough to carry me through today's word counts, and probably the next couple of days. But when I actually started writing, my allergies attacked and I had to take a Benedryl. That, of course started making me sleepy. I had to get up and walk around every couple of minutes to keep me awake. But I'm happy to report, I wrote 1,745 words today. I'm well ahead of the 8,335 goal I should be at today, if I were only writing 1,667 words a day.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 — 11,229 words total
I got a really late start writing tonight. I went to my daughter's swim meet earlier and I thought I was going to have an opportunity to knock some words then, but I didn't. And then by the time we got home, my allergies were kicking my butt. I tried to write, but I couldn't muster it and I had to lie down. But my wife was smart enough to get me up before it was too late. And I'm glad she did!
I knew where the story was going today so it was fairly easy to get a lot of words on paper. In fact, I wrote 2,417 words today. It has been my best day so far for this year's NaNoWriMo. I should be at 10,002 words today, but this puts me over 1,200 words ahead of where I need to be. I'm pretty happy about that!
Sunday, November 7, 2010 — 13,837 words total
Off and on all day, but in the end, a great writing day! I wrote 2,608 words today, my best daily word count this year. To top it all off, I'm over a full day ahead now. My goal for today was to be at 11,669 words. Tomorrows is 13,336 words. I'm even 500 words beyond that.
But the story today is more than words. In fact, my words didn't come that easily, or quickly, today. What is the story today is that I'm becoming more intimate with my characters. That means it's just a little bit easier to extract their stories.
And I must admit, it really feels good to be writing again! And one final note, I'm about a third of the way to the end of NaNoWriMo!
Monday, November 8, 2010 — 14,330 words total
I was really glad I was a day ahead today. I went to get some dental work done, an implant to be specific. It wasn't supposed to hurt much, but it did. It hurt quite a bit. I still managed to get 493 words out, but it was hard going the entire time. My goal for today was 13,336 words total, so I'm still about a thousand words ahead.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010 — 14,330 words total
I still didn't feel too well. I didn't write at all today. My goal was 15,003 words total. I'm officially over 600 words behind.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 — 14,330 words total
I didn't write today either. My implant is feeling better, but I was still a little out of sorts. My goal today was 16,670 words. I am definitely behind now.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 — 14,928 words total
On paper, it only looks like I wrote 598 words, but in reality, I wrote more because I deleted 431 words. Yeah, I know. I'm not supposed to delete words during NaNoWriMo. But I figured out why I didn't write yesterday. It was because I'd written myself into a corner that I couldn't get out of. So I didn't really have a choice.
In reality, I wrote 1,029 words today. It wasn't even my 1,667 word goal for the day, but I feel so much better about it because now I know where I'm going to take the story; at least for a while. My goal for today was 18,337 words total. I'm definitely behind that goal, but I can make that up. I'm going to make that up!
Friday, November 12, 2010 — 14,928 words total
I didn't write today. It was a busy day at work I guess. I don't really know why I didn't write. My goal for today was to be at 20,004 words total. I'm over 5,000 words behind.
Saturday, November 13, 2010 — 15,903 words total
I did write tonight, but I didn't make my word count. I only wrote 975 words, but what I wrote really pushed the story forward. My goal today was to be at 21,671 words total. I am 5,768 words behind.
Sunday, November 14, 2010 — 21,511 words total
Okay, this is the day where I'm going to play catch-up. I haven't officially started writing yet, but it's still early in the morning and I'm planning on putting a lot of time in on my NaNo-Novel today. Stay tuned. My goal today is 23,338 words total. I have to write 7,435 words to get completely caught up. Let's see how close I can get to that goal.
Update: I wrote off and on all day, doing 20-minute writing sprints. By the end of the day, I'd written a whopping 5,608 words for the day. It was short of the 7,435 words I needed, but a good step in that direction! By the end of the day, I was still 1,827 words behind, but what a great effort! I was really proud of myself!
Monday, November 15, 2010 — 23,815 words total
I went to my writing group tonight. The intention was to write like the wind since we're all involved with NaNoWriMo. We wrote, but it was more like a stiff breeze. I blame most of that on me, but we did get some writing done. I did more when I got home. My goal today was to be at 25,005 words. By the end of the day I'd written 2,304 words, which was more than the 1,667 word goal, but 1,190 words behind from where I should be. But I'm almost there!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 — 24,816 words total
I got a pretty late start tonight, much later than I intended. By the time I was too tired to continue, I was only to get 1,001 words into the day. I should be at 26,672 words today, so I'm still 1,856 words behind. Bummer.
On a happier note, the story is coming along nicely. I do think it might lend itself better to a screenplay than a novel though. We'll see when it's finished.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 — 24,865 words total
It was my day off. I was supposed to write like the wind. I didn't even write like a breeze. I almost didn't write at all. I don't know what happened. It was a productive day. I got a lot done. It's just that I found other things to do than write on my NaNoWriMo novel. It doesn't feel so bad today, but I know it's really going to hurt down the road.
As it was, I wrote a whopping 49 words. Not 50. 49. My word count today should be at 28,339. I'm 3,474 words behind.
Thursday, November 18, 2010 — 26,885 words total
I started the day 5,141 words behind. And it was a late start before I wrote anything, but luckily I knew where I was going with the story and it flowed out of me. I ended the day after writing 2,020 words. It's was better than my 1,667 minimum that I needed, so not only did I not fall behind, I even caught up a little. My goal today is to be at 30,006 words. I'm 3,121 words short of that goal.
Friday, November 19, 2010 — 28,661 words total
I started the day 4,788 words behind my goal of 31,673 words total. And as usual for this year's NaNoWriMo, I got a late start in even beginning to write. It was the opening day of the new Harry Potter movie and my daughter just had to go, which means we had to deliver her at the theater and pick her back up.
But all said and done, I managed to crank out 1,776 words. That was over a hundred more than I needed, which means I'm about a hundred words closer to being caught up. For the record, I'm 3,012 words behind where I should be.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 — 29,620 words total
I started the day off 4,679 words behind, but I got an early start writing; much earlier than usual. That's because I had a birthday party to go to in the afternoon. By the time I stopped, I have written 959 words. Not a bad start. Unfortunately, that was as far as it went for the day. By the time we got home from the party, we were all beat, so we just called it a night.
My goal for the day was 33,340 words. I ended up 3,720 words behind. I'm going to have to kick into high gear tomorrow!
Sunday, November 21, 2010 — 31,161 words total
I started the day off 5,387 words behind. I managed to write 1,571 words, but what I realized is that my story has taken a very wrong turn. No, it's not my inner editor telling me my story sucks. It's my common sense telling me that my story sucks. But my biggest clue that it sucks is that it is nothing like it was intended. It was supposed to be a Science Fiction novel, and it turned into a futuristic drug-dealing less-than-trilling thriller.
So, that being said, I took the evening off from writing so I could fall back and regather my thoughts and see what it is I'm going to do with this piece of work.
My goal for the day was to be at 35,007 words. I ended the day 3,816 words behind.
Monday, November 22, 2010 — 31,191 words total
I started the day off 5,483 words behind and I didn't write a single word. I know where I went wrong on the story and where I want it to go, but for some reason, nothing made it onto paper.
My goal today was to be at 36,678 words.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 — 31,877 words total
I started the day out 7,150 words behind. I didn't write much to help that, but I did manage to put 686 words into my novel. I have to say, it may not have been much, but it did get my novel started in the right direction again. They were a really good 686 words. I ended the day 6,464 words behind.
My goal today was to be at 38,381 words total.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 — 31,877 words total
I started the day 8,131 words behind and I didn't write a thing. My goal was to be at 40,008 words total. I should be 80% completed.
Thursday, November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving) — 31,877 words total
I starrted out 9,798 words behind and I didn't write anything today either. I did make cornish hens and all the fixings for Thanksgiving though.
My goal today was to be at 41,675 words total.
Friday, November 26, 2010 — 36,210 words total
I started the day 11,465 words behind. This is a record for me. I've never been that far behind for NaNoWriMo before. But unlike the last couple of days, I did something about it today. I wrote 4,333 words. It's been my second best writting day for the entire month. By the end of the day, I was only 7,132 words behind. Go me.
My goal today was to be at 43,342 words.
Saturday, November 27, 2010 — 38558 words total
I started the day 8,799 words behind. Hey, that's better than 8,800 words behind. Anyway, I wrote 2,348 words today. The story is moving along nicely, it's going where I want it to go, and things are looking up.
My goal today was to be at 45,009 words total.
Sunday, November 28, 2010 — 44,800 words total
I'm starting the day 8,118 words behind. I figure that if I write 4,000 words a day, I'm going to still be able to make 50,000 words by the end of November. I'm off today and tomorrow, so I should be alble to get 4,000 words on paper. I do work Tuesday though, so that might be cutting it kind of close. We'll just have to see.
My goal today is to be at 46,676 words total. Wouldn't that be nice?
Well, as it turned out, I had a pretty good writing day. I managed to crank out 6,242 words. It was my best writing day for the entire month of November! So by the end of the day, I was only 1,876 words behind. Nice.
Monday, November 29, 2010 — 47,524 words total
I'm starting the day 3,543 words behind. If I can make 4,000 words today like I'd like to, then I'll be all caught up and ready to cruise across the finish line tomorrow!
I didn't make 4,000 words today, but I did make 2,724 words, whiyhch only puts me 819 words behind where I should be. My goal today was to be at 48,343 words total.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010 — 50,015 words total
There's just nothing quite like taking it right up to the wire. As the day began, I was 2,486 words behind. I thought I might be able to sneak in a little writing during the day, but alas, work encroached on my superfluous writing time.
That meant I only had my evening, my free time, to make it to my 50,000 word goal before midnight! But once again, evil forces conspired to keep me from it! It began with taking my car to the shop. Luckily, I took my computer with me and I was able to crank out a quick 600+ words in the service area lounge of the local Kia dealership.
Then, it was time for dinner. Being at the Kia dealership, my family and I were just a block away from Pacific Star, one of our favorite restaurants and one that we haven't fequented lately. What was I to do? I'm helpless against the Crawfish Pirogue. And trust me, when it arrived, I was helpless. My intention was to take half of it home. As it turned out, I took all of it home...in my belly. Man that is good.
But, that lead to another dilemma. Write? Or nap? I wanted to write. But I really wanted to nap! Luckily, my wife made up my mind for me. She gave me the ultimatum! I needed to write.
And if I haven't given my wife props recently, let me do so now. She is the only reason I'm where I am as a writer. She is my Number 1 fan with a capital N and a capital 1! She is my inspiration, my sounding board, and my love. Go Maria!
But I digress. By the time I got home, I still had 1,883 words left to write. According to Maria, I was to "write like the wind." And that's what I proceeded to do. It didn't take me until midnight to make my numbers, although it did take a little bit longer than I'd anticipated. But by 10:10pm, it was official. I was a NaNoWriMo winner!
I ended up with 50,015 words for the month! Not bad for a hard month's work. I would like to say that this is the eighth novel I've completed, but alas, that would be a lie. In truth, I probably have another 25,000-35,000 words to go before I can call this novel complete.
In fact, this year's novel really consists of a novel and a screen play. I had an idea for a novel at the beginning of the month, but then it morphed into something else that, in fact, would lend itself into a screenplay quite nicely. But for a novel, it was way off track from where I wanted it to go! So basically, I started over. I kept my words from the first half of the month, but kind of added on in a weird sort of an I'm an artist, no I'm an author kind of way.
Bottom line, I have 50,000 words. Or put another way, I have half a screen play, and I have half a novel. But either way, I'm pretty sure I don't have one story, but two.
So until next year, unless something else comes up first, let's try this ludicris, crazy madness of writing a novel in a month all again. And for the record, of the five years I've now won NaNoWriMo, this one was by far the hardest for me!