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.