Wow. I still can't believe it. Yesterday, around 4:15, I wrote my 50048th word on my NaNoWriMo novella. Together, with Part 1 of my book, I have 92,000 words. How amazing is that? And still, the story is not done yet. I never did the math, but had I written a specific number of words a day, it would have been around 1800 words to get to 50000? Is that right? To put that in perspective... Graham Greene wrote 500 words a day; a professor friend of mine writes 150 words a day. Near the end, I was shelling out at least 2000 words a day. Now, I know my book is not a work of art, like Graham Greene's novel, nor is it a piece of serious scholarship, but never did I imagine myself capable of such a feat. Really.
Through this crazy journey, I discovered some interesting things about my writing habits. For instance, since I generally work from home, it's virtually impossible for me to write - recreationally - during the day. The day is for working, my brain says. Hence why 1800 words yesterday took me over two hours. The first 1500 words were like pulling teeth because it was mid-afternoon: work time!
Hot tea is awesome, especially when it's cold out. This kept me hydrated for the majority of the month. Food, however, is greatly distracting during the writing process!
Outlines are great but even I, someone who seeks organization, even in a fairy garden, cannot stick to such rigidity. Why? The characters are unique and I have no idea what they want to do when I try to make an outline. Sure, I know where I want to end up, but the journey is unpredictable. When those characters take over, it's amazing how easily the words flow. And my main character surprised me. I thought she would be in bad shape at the end of this novella, but she is much stronger than I had anticipated. Who knew?
So, I call it a success, though now my attention must be turned to tedious editing. I've never had a goal for my writing so to accomplish something like this...it feels amazing. Last night, I felt like I could do anything. I even did my hardest workout video. Yay!
3 comments:
Congratulations!
Congratulations. I have never written to a plan either. At least a rigid one anyway. I have a general idea of the storyline but let it develope as I go. You have given me itchy fingers to bring out the Childrens novel I was writing.
Congrats!!
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