NaNoWriMo Daily Accountability Journal

[Chessie]

I wrote 2414 today despite not feeling well. I felt worse yesterday so I didn't write...which only puts me at 13, 214. Kinda sad but I plan on catching up with some marathin writing sessions this weekend.

I decided to tell my internal retentive editor to buzz off, so I felt a lot of freedom writing today. The last scene I wrote didn't go where I expected it would but was even better. And now I'm at the point where the antagonist comes in so that should be fun.

 

[nlough]

Day 9: Officially starting to write my story got distracted by some new video games that came out recently but now it's time to write. I already have 2629 words written going for more.

 

[Philip Overby]

Day 9: Broke into 21,000 words. In the middle of a scene so I always prefer to leave off that way so I can jump back into the scene without thinking, "What should I do next?" Things are moving along pretty well so far. I'm hoping (HOPING!) to break 25,000 by the end of this weekend. Can I do it?

 

[Butterfly]

Day 9: I'm hoping (HOPING!) to break 25,000 by the end of this weekend. Can I do it?

Absolutely yes!!!

 

[Chessie]

Go Phil! You can get there!

 

[Philip Overby]

Thanks! I'll try not to disappoint.

Just reached 23,465. So only 1,535 words to make 25,000 for the weekend. Reaching that halfway point is always so great. Congrats to Butterfly, by the way for breaking through that barrier earlier!

 

[Jackarandajam]

Phil,

I just wanted to thank you again for this thread. I've actually spent almost no time on the NaNo forums, and it's not that they're bad... It's just that this thread meets my exact needs. It's convenient and encouraging, and most importantly quick enough that it doesn't take away from my actual writing.

great idea, and thanks for the help!

 

[Philip Overby]

Phil,

I just wanted to thank you again for this thread. I've actually spent almost no time on the NaNo forums, and it's not that they're bad... It's just that this thread meets my exact needs. It's convenient and encouraging, and most importantly quick enough that it doesn't take away from my actual writing.

great idea, and thanks for the help!

That's great! I'm really glad this thread has been helpful. One reason I created it was for the very reason you mentioned: the NaNo forums aren't bad, but there is so much going on, it can become a great distraction for me especially. I think consolidating things down to what we're working on, successes, problems, and word counts allows us to share our experiences and see how others are doing as well.

I'm especially glad to hear it hasn't taken away from your writing. That, of course, is that most important thing.

Keep up the good work and hammer out some more words!

 

[NellaFantasia]

Day 9: 5,855 words total

Wrote 2k today. I'm in shock, to be honest. Hadn't given up, but didn't think I was going to be doing much either. NaNo says if I write 2k a day I'll still be able to make 50k by the end of the month. Doesn't sound so bad.

I tossed my original story out and picked up one I started over the summer. Already had 30k in it, but I'm feeling better about this decision. If I can manage the 50k in it I might be able to complete the novel by the end of the year. Certainly another incentive to keep going

 

[Philip Overby]

Yes, Nella keep up the pace! I find that if I work for about 2 hours I can get the minimum 1,667 words. That's just me though, some may work faster.

So, I made my goal for 25,000 words before the weekend was over. It's Sunday morning 9:00 am here in Japan and I stayed up all night and worked on and off (I have insomnia from taking a nap at around 10:00 pm on accident). My final word count after this marathon session is 25,017 words.

Yowza! Half-way there to the 50K!

Whew! Thanks again everyone! I almost quit a couple of times, but then I thought, "Nah, I'll push through. Just 300 more words." I did that about 10 times before writing over 4,000 words in one day. The words of encouragement here definitely pushed me onward. It was tough, but I did it. Now for sleep!

 

[Chilari]

Wow, Phil, you're really getting through it. I'm still at a little over 8k words, but yesterday I did manage to top 1,667, and today I'm going to Leicester, the region I used to be ML of for three years, to join some old friends and write like the wind. Or so goes the plan anyway.

 

[Philip Overby]

Full disclosure, I'm teaching online from home at the moment and doing private lessons on the side, so it's not like I'm working full time or anything. I just don't want people to think I'm getting this word count and still engaging in a pretty busy life, because I'm not at the moment. However, I've done almost this same pace in previous years. It's all because of having an outline and doing some decent pre-writing before I sit down. Also not finishing scenes helps me a lot, too. If I stop in the middle of a scene, I can jump right back into it in my next writing session. For instance, last night I stopped in the middle of a potential tense situation where one character is forcing another character to make her a drink. Things haven't popped off completely yet, but it allows me to get back into the scene without having to think, "OK, what to do next."

 

[Philip Overby]

Day 10: I'm staying on my pattern of writing from about 12 am to 3 am. I'm working at night at the moment, so that's sort of my thing. I figure if "it ain't broke, don't fix it." Got 25,017 words after writing pretty much all through the night off and on. Aiming for a regular night tonight. Maybe 2,000? We'll see. I put the obligatory tavern scene in my story. I'm liking it so far as I don't think it's too typical.

Anyway, good luck everyone!

 

[Chessie]

Dang, Phil nice work! You're an inspiration to us all.

My body chose the wrong time of the year to become sick, so the last couple days of writing have been brutal not feeling good. Still, I produced 2020 words yesterday, bringing my total to 14, 153. Now, I have no idea what's going on with the antagonist's introduction scene. My plotting hit a wall yesterday when I realized "Uh, oh this doesn't make sense at all!" So I'm leaving that scene where it is and moving on to the next part. Big hole there for the moment.

 

[Philip Overby]

Thanks Chesterama! It means a lot for you to say that. I'm glad our little group here is motivating each other to succeed.

I was also sick for about two weeks. Just now getting over it I think. Weirdly enough, I think I did a lot of my best writing when I was sick. Most of that had to do with "I'm sick so I'm not going to go anywhere, so I may as well work on writing." I guess it depends on the severity though.

Good move on skipping the plot hole for now, by the way. I think it's important to keep moving along if you have a place to move on to. Getting hung up on it could cost you days of not writing. And we know what that means!

 

[Graylorne]

Did 2,112 today. I'm getting behind; still wrestling with the multiple POV. But I'll get there in the end.

 

[nlough]

Day 10: It's the 10th day of NaNoWriMo and I've only written for two of them yesterday and today. So far I have just about 4500 words. I should be able to meet the goal by the end of the month, but if not at least I have made progress in my novel. I'm trying to push past all of my blocks. I know what what I want to say at points, but just unsure of how to say it. Luckily there's the revision and proofreading steps for that, but it's still difficult for me to keep going knowing certain section can be better. Alas in order to meet the goal I must continue on.

 

[Chilari]

Day 10: Thanks to a trip out to Leicester where I used to be ML, I managed over 2000 words at the write-in and another 460 ish when I got back. Cool! I'm still a few thousand words behind, but after two consecutive days exceeding the daily goal of 1,667 I feel a lot more confident. Word wars are definitely a strong motivator - especially with loads of others around my typing away and not saying a word, and especially when two of those are the current MLs who were always both good friends and sufficiently challenging rivals when it came to word wars. So I think I'll go back again next week, and if I can manage it with train times, arrive earlier and stay later. And in the meantime, I've got some catching up to do to get back on track.

For anyone who hasn't been in the chat at the same time as me recently, I've been organising impromtu word wars of 15 minutes duration most evenings between 9 and 10pm UK time (early afternoon in the USA, possibly very early morning in Japan) which I at least have found fruitful (the timer helps me think only of moving forward and stopping myself from going back to edit). I'd be very happy to see more people there - the more the merrier.

 

[Philip Overby]

Glad to hear the write-in helped a lot. I may have to find one around here at some point. I know they have them here in Japan also, but I haven't found one that works with my time yet (I work nights). The word wars idea is excellent. I'll check in on the chat next time I'm available and see if you're doing one.

 

[Philip Overby]

Day 11: Another late night session generated over 2,000 words for 27,394 words. I'm hoping for a good midnight stab at it to crack into 30,000 words for Day 12. Maybe I can do it? Not sure. I have some lessons in the afternoon tomorrow so I can't stay up as late as I have been. Here's hoping it'll turn out pretty good!