National Novel Writing Month 2013 progress week 3

My NaNoWriMo 2013 progress week three

As you might remember, National Novel Writing Month for me this year started off rough with me tossing my first idea into the round circular file. I did catch up a little bit on my shortage week two, which left me at 11,564 words on day fourteen, and only halfway of where I should have been at that point (according to the suggested 1667 words a day that the official NaNoWriMo site suggests).

I wish that I could say that I have managed to catch up to where I should be at this point in the challenge, but I haven't. As always my failure to do so will probably make my Three Worst Critics very happy.

Day 15: The night of the local Open Full Moon ritual which I attended (I am a member of the Hearthstone Community Church's board, so I try to always attend the OFMs). 12,231 words.

Day 16: Spent the day running errands--my word count continues to grow ever so slowly. Looking over the stack of books that I want to review on one of my other blogs, I start writing a post about Demonolatry. 12,330 words.

Day 17: Reading over the daily email of a Yahoo group postings, my planned Demonolatry post starts to look more complicated, simply because I am about to give a positive review to an author who ended up getting roosted for one of her previous books (and has annoyed one of the big names in the Golden Dawn). I end up spending more time than I originally planned to on finishing the Demonolatry post (which is located here). 12,506 words.

Day 18: The best day so far during this year's NaNoWriMo--I add 3943 words to my total. I finally hit the point where I am a third of the way towards the final fifty thousand word goal for the month--and 55% of where I should be. 16,449 total words so far.

Day 19: I don't gain any ground, but I do not lose any ground either. 19,128 words.

Day 20: Again no gain, no loss. 21,357 words.

Day 21: Awoken up early by bill collectors--it throws me off for the entire day. I start working on the chapter that explains how fast food companies squeeze their workers to maximize their profits (the one chapter that has to be published, even if I hit delete on the entire book). Only 1017 words for the day. My grand total at the end of week three: 22,379--44.7% of final goal done--64% of where I should be at this point.

In order to finish the fifty thousand word rough draft on the 30th, I have 27,621 words still to write--basically, I need to write 3069 words a day to accomplish that.

And for those interested, I have already promised myself that if I miss the final goal that I will continue to hack out words until the rough draft is complete.

NaNoWriMo week two progress

At least, I am visible on the chart.  

So yesterday was day fourteen of the joys that are the National Novel Writing Month, therefore it is time to update all my loyal readers about where I am at in the process (and by "loyal," I mean random people coming by who are so bored that even this entry is entertaining).

[For those of you who have not came directly from the last entry, my score on November 7, 2013 was 4918 words with an estimated finish date of January 11, 2014--basically, I was at 42% of the suggested word count by the end of that day.]

Day 8: 4945 words--estimated finish date is January 20, 2013. I did complete some writing this day, but it had nothing to do with the NaNoWriMo--it was a rant for the Hearthstone Community Church's monthly newsletter...those words do not count towards the novel.

Day 9: Depression rears its ugly head. At the end of the day, I am only at 4959 words--January 30, 2014 is when I might be done with the first draft.

Day 10: I hit 6701 words by the end of the night, with January 14, 2014 looking like my estimate finish date. I also hack out a short erotica story and upload it to Smashwords. Just like the OFM column, the erotica story does not count towards my NaNoWriMo word count.

Day 11: 6722 words--I fall to January 21, 2014. Maybe I shouldn't have written that erotic story the night before.

Day 12: 7968 words--January 15, 2014. Sadly my wife's computer is exhibiting problems.

Day 13: 9695 words--January 7, 2014. Yep, my wife's computer definitely has an issue--joy! I get to share the computer with her until her computer gets fixed...which means that given a choice between her working on her business or me working on my rough draft--she wins.

Day 14: 11,564 words, and my new estimated date of completion is December 31, 2013. I need to hack out 2,261 words a day (opposed to the 1667 that I would need if I had not fallen behind), and am currently at 49.5% of where I should be at this time.

Tonight is the Open Full Moon ritual, therefore I am probably not going to get a lot done today on the rough draft. I imagine that will make some of my haters happy--after all, I suspect that they would like to see me fail to complete the NaNoWriMo goal this year also. I am undecided on whether I should let them be happy or not--but I will admit that there is part of me that wants to set them on fire with lots and lots of words.

NaNoWriMo 2013 week one

You can barely see my progress this week.

As some of you know, I am once again attempting the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month...actually, it is international nowdays)--that wonderful time of year when some writers welcome insanity into their lives and try to write a fifty thousand word rough draft in the space of thirty days--yep, that is right, an entire rough (first) draft of a novel.

This is my seventh attempt. The first five happened in college. The first year, I missed my word count by the amount of words that went into that semester's term papers...which is why I count the first year as a partial win. My last year of college, I lasted a whole day...it was the same semester as I was doing my senior seminar in literature (I was reading two books a week just for that class). Last year...depression, exhaustion, it was just not a good year for me at all (in hindsight, I have a real good idea of what was actually derailing me).

So here is how my first seven days of Nanowrimo went:

Day 1: Just three words written. At that pace, I would finish on June 19, 2059. Things could only get better...well, provided that I did not completely give up. I had went to one of the food banks on this day (and realized that I really needed one of those two wheeled shopping carts on the way back--thank goddess for the kind Christian ladies who decided to have mercy on me and give me a ride...because after half a mile [three quarters] I was exhausted).

Day 2: 207 words completed--it is really just an outline (still exhausted from the food bank run). On a bright note, estimated date of completion--March 1, 2015.

Day 3: Spot massive plot problem. Only at 223 words--I might finish the first draft by September 7, 2015.

Day 4: Decided to toss the first attempt for the time being--someday, I will attempt to finish Farmer Ants...but not this month. Switched to an idea that I had earlier in the year, Burger Flipping Confessions. The only problem with this idea is that someone might mistake the novel for the story of my own life--it is sure to get at least one family member upset. Still, I am starting to feel desperate, and I had been kicking around doing this one for at least six months. I reset my word count. By the end of the day, I have 1434 words done on Confessions--new estimated date for completion is March 20, 2014.

Day 5: I don't actually remember what happened on this day. I know that I had a panic attack about something...probably the household budget. I do dimly remember talking about going back to looking for a job in food service. At the end of the day, I am only at 1447 words--April 23, 2014 is the new estimate for date of completion.

Day 6: The calendar for the NaNoWriMo that I had printed out said, "Send in the flying monkeys." Sadly, that is exactly what happened. Some person took offense to a very neutral, and very true statement that I made on the internet, and decided to let me know that they were upset. I am presented with a choice of giving into their demands which will take days to accomplish (if I can even do it that quickly) or allowing them to sic their lawyer on me...considering that I had done everything that I was legally required to do, I decide to ignore them and work on the novel instead. There is now a chapter in Confessions that I am really hoping ends up on the cutting room floor, but might end up in the finished novel if the theme shows up again. I finish the day at 2029 words--maybe by March 28, 2014, I will be finished with this rough draft. (Also took some pottery photos.)

Day 7: First day of actually hitting the suggested daily word count. I feel more positive than I did the day before considering that a flying monkey did not succeed to derailing me. (I took more pottery photos.) The chapter I wrote needs a heavy reworking. But still, at the end of the day, I am at 4910 words, and might finish on January 11, 2014.

So in summary, I am at about 42% of the word count that it is suggested that I be at by the end of day seven. On the bright note, I believe that I have enough to flesh out the rest of Burger Flipping Confessions. And I took a temporary cover shot yesterday for the book.

If you buy ebooks on Smashwords, Burger Flipping Confessions is currently set at "Reader determines the price" which as we all know is the same as setting the price for free, except that you are actually considered to have brought the book (unlike the "free" setting), therefore you can access the final version on Smashwords after I edit it and set the price to something realistic.