Small, but something

I managed to get out for an hour and write for about 40 minutes. That got me 969 words--a pathetic number to be sure. But those few days that I cranked out more than enough for my count have been paying me back handsomely. Of course, those days are going to be limited! Fifty-thousand is still a long way off.

The thought of quitting NaNo crossed my mind a few times today as I have been grieving through the loss of my friend's child, and grieving for her loss as well. But a fellow NaNo writer, NarniaPrincess, and a friend in reality, encouraged me to try to stick out. She said that perhaps writing would be the one thing that kept me grounded and helped me though this. She was right. Writing this evening helped a lot.

My story involves angels, and though my head said, no don't even think it, my heart said, YES, just do it! So I wrote Savannah into the story. She appeared behind a receptionist in a white dress with a fluffy white tutu. She carried a magic wand with a star on the end and was as happy as she could be. That's how I see her--as happy as can be.

It did help to write about her. I don't know why. Maybe there's some therapeutic nature to writing for me. Well, yes, I know there is. But who'd have thought it would come out in my NaNo novel?

Total words so far: 16,819
Words to go: 33,181

Zero Day

It's 11:08 p.m., and I have decided that today is going to be a zero day. I wrote a lot on Sunday, so I'm not going to be set back too much. The reasons are grave however, so I think I can excuse myself for just one day.

I got some sad, sad news. My close friend's 6-year old daughter died suddenly this morning. I've known the mother for more than 5 years and have known her daughter almost her entire life. I'm in utter shock.

It's going to be a long journey of grieving, and I hope that the scriptures come true for both parents and the rest of their family--that God will turn their tears of grief into joy.

If you are the praying sort, please pray for their grieving process. Pray that they will find comfort in God alone. Pray that their friends and family will be a blessing to them. Pray that the funeral arrangements come out perfectly. Pray that they will be able to find comfort in the fact that Savannah did love Jesus so much and that she is dancing with Him right now. Thank you.

Rough going

From the moment I got up late today, the day was doomed. Late start. Busy morning. Frustrating lunchtime. Dull-heading afternoon. Busy evening. And who knew when I would get anything written for NaNo today?

As I sat there watching the last few minutes of "Restaurant Makeover" on the Food Network at 9:55 p.m., my husband said in that loving way, "Go write!" I turned the tube off at 10:00 and headed downstairs to find a snack.

Chocolate milk in hand, I wandered upstairs and looked around for a distraction. No TV. That was certain death if I wanted to get any amount of words written today. I turned on the computer and decided not to check my teen writing forums, but instead open up my NaNo Word file.

Ah, but while it's loading, why not pop onto the NaNo forums and see what's happening? After all, there may be two new posts I haven't read yet! :snicker:

So I procrastinated for about 30 minutes and by time 10:40 was rolling around, I thought, "I NEED to get started or just call it a zero count day."

I wrote and wrote until my eyes drooped. I do need to get up early tomorrow, so I might as well get some sleep. Hit 1,303 which isn't the minimum, but that's why I had such a good day yesterday, right? So that I could slack off this week if need be.

According to my NaNo Excel spreadsheet report card (yes, there IS such a thing for those of us who are obsessive compulsive), I'm 32% done. Not bad, I think for the beginning of week 2.

Total words to date: 15,850
Words to go: 34,150

Writing bliss

What an opportunity today! My husband is taking our 2-year old daughter out on a date today to meet some giraffes at the zoo today. They left this morning, so I retreated to Einstein Bros Cafe, getting here at 11:00 a.m. After a mere 30 minutes of procrastination, I got down to some serious work.

Three hours, fifteen minutes later, I did my word count and WHOA--4,360 words for that chunk of time. It probably would have been more, but I had to do some research online about schizophrenia diagnosis and treatment. Still, even with the researching time, I took a good slice out of the total words needed.

I also came here planning to give some tender love to The Visitors. I have 45 minutes left and will be romancing those characters back to life before I leave today. Ah, what writing bliss!

Total Words: 14,547
Words to go: 35,453

One Hour Challenge

The homepage at NaNoWriMo had a challenge for the weekend--to spend three 1-hour time slots for both Saturday and Sunday to get ahead on the novel. Unfortunately for me, today was really busy, so one one-hour time slot was all I could devote this evening.

I did come out in fine form with 1,764 words. I was telling a couple of my crit partners about my progress today, and Donita reminded me... Pride comes before the fall. May I be humbled by the words that God has put into my head.

Total Words: 10,187
Words to go: 38,813

Victory!

Morale is high today. I give it an 8 out of 10. I'm sitting here at Einstein Bros Cafe and have just finished writing for today. I managed to bang out a whole chapter--2,675 words. I am enjoying this story the more I write it, though I still have a longing for the novel that I have left behind for this month, The Visitors.

I feel as though those characters are looking at me from behind the ice wall that has formed there. It's a thin barrier at the moment, able to be broken at any time, but they are crying out for attention. I'm still taking those chapters to my Tuesday night crit group though, so I have a lot of warmth left for them.

For now, though, Layne and Jesse have my attentions and affections. Their relationship is growing in my mind and, as Stephen King would say, the monolithic creature that is their story is being unearthed more each day.

I should breach the 40,000 words-to-go mark tomorrow.

Words to go: 41,606

Procrastination fails

I tried my best to procrastinate my way out of writing tonight. Strange how hard it is to do something when you have a deadline. Procrastination is just a way of life, I guess! Probably a part of that sin nature thing.

After watching two episodes of Good Eats and one episode of MythBusters, I finally sat down with the intention of getting my writing done. I checked as much email as I could and even got on my teen writing forums before I finally plowed through.

Came out of the end with 1,885 words. Not too bad--and over the minimum. As an added bonus, I don't think all of it was complete drivel. ;o) Could possibly get massaged into greatness at a later date. After November, of course!

One of the Colorado gals on the NaNo forums posted today that she is already throwing in the towel. Noooo! It's been less than a week! I will try not to be shaken though. There are still many, many other writers who are hanging on. Seeing their words counts has inspired me to keep going. I saw one word count around 8,000 already. Whew!

Words to go: 44,281

You are getting sleepy...

I can't believe how tired I am, and it's not even 11 p.m. yet! Could the time change have affected me that much?

No "official" writing time happened today, just a sporadic 45 minutes of driveling whilst I sit up in bed. Got in a tad bit of editing and 1,172 words, but I'm not sure if it's any good. This isn't even the minimum (1,667 words per day), but I figure since I'm falling asleep typing, and I did manage to write more than the minimum yesterday, I can let it go for one day.

Not editing is starting to look better as it takes up SO much time.

Words to go: 46,166

Over the minimum

My husband, bless his loving heart, has agreed to come home early everyday this month in order to allow me at least a couple hours of uninterrupted writing time outside the house at Einstein Bros Cafe.

I went this afternoon from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. and re-read what I wrote last night. A good deal of it was gibberish--which is okay. I couldn't help but re-write great chunks of the monstrosity. This worked out really well though because I ended up fleshing out the chapter a bit more, which means more words!

All in all for the first day of NaNoWriMo, I ended up with 2664 words. Verified that online at the NaNo site. With the editing, it think the chapter actually came out pretty well. I'm considering posting it as an excerpt on the site as soon as they finish the "sexy, new" flash profile pages. ;o)

Words to go: 47,338

The first words

I've written for a solid 30 minutes and produced 1375 words. That's not too bad for being dead tired. I tried to make an even 45 minutes, but I'm afraid that's all I have in me for this evening. Tomorrow is another day, and I will be at Einstein Bros Cafe for a little more writing then.

Until next time...
Words to go: 48,625