Nano and the dreaded Week Two

Total Nano Word Count= 16,718
Nano Goal For Day 11= 1700
Words So Far= 0

So, the second week of Nano is here. Actually, it came a bit more quickly than I thought. And there is something I noticed right off the bat. Firstly, it is much harder to get my words that I need and second, I am pretty sure I have found the Week Two blues. Don't get me wrong, I love my novel. I think it's one of the best ideas I have had so far. Problem is I've gotten to the "murky middle", you know, that place a lot of writers like to give up? I've gotten myself in this deep hole and I have no idea how to get out. It's a little scary. However. I had an amazing writing day yesterday that gave me the courage to continue, even through this rough bit. I know that if I can get through this week, I can win this thing. Already I am farther on this project than I am on my other WIP, farther along in this than I have ever been in a project in about ten years.

I think Nano should be my new secret weapon, accept I don't want to use this crazy word count goal once a year, I want to use it for every project. I was afraid that by doing Nano I would wreck my book, but I see that it has helped me so much more than I could ever think possible. The secret to finishing a first draft is simply one thing. You tell yourself you are allowed to write bad stuff and make it shine on the revision. That's it. So many people give up because they want their first draft to be perfect. I am done saying that. Now I will tell myself that I can do this. I can finish this.

To anyone out there reading my blog while also taking part in Nano I have only this to say: Don't let Week Two get you down, don't let it defeat you. Keep going. Keep writing. Because the feeling we will get when we finish will be unlike any other experience.

Well, I'm off to write!

Word Envy

My Total Word Count is: 3,386 after finishing Day Two of Nano. This is good. I am staying on target here. This isn't really my issue. My problem= word envy. Quite simply I let other crazy huge word counts affect my ability to keep writing. When I see someone over 15k on only the second day? I just want to quit. It makes me want to have that word count...and yet there is no way I can get there.

So. I need to change this. I can't worry about who has what word count. I need to focus on meeting my goal every day and so far I have done that. I need to try and be proud of my accomplishments because writing this much is a huge breakthrough for me. I can't get all envious now because that will destroy my want to write.

My new goal is to get my total word count up to 5,000 by noon tomorrow because after that I have a doctors appointment, I need to buy some new clothes and a whole bunch of other stuff that will make it impossible to write. Hopefully I can do that otherwise I will fall behind. Then I would feel really bad.

Sorry this has been nothing but a rant. I really needed to let that out. Hopefully tomorrow I can talk about other things besides just Nano.

NanoWriMo has begun!

Well, I have actually decided to do it. A few days ago I signed up for National Novel Writing Month. I had to come up with a new story idea and everything because the guidelines say that you should not start Nano with a book you've already begun writing. Also, you aren't supposed to write a word until Nov. 1st. So. I put my YA novel to the side and came up with a story for Nano. Today is the first day. You have to write at least 1,667 words a day to meet the end goal of 50,000. And you know what? I did it! I got 1,708 words. It has been so long since I have written nearly anything close to that. It felt good. I really like my story idea too, so that helps.

Tonight I am going to plan some more scenes for tomorrow. I am hoping to add at least 2,000 more words to my current word count. Wish me luck on that.

I have decided to participate in some regional write-ins. A write-in is where fellow Nano'ers get together at a library, coffee shop or another location and write as much as they can for a certain amount of time. I have been told it is a great way to get your word count in for the day. I am pretty excited since I have never done one before. Who am I kidding, I haven't even tried Nano before! I need all the help I can get!

I have decided to post my word count most days here and vent about where I am in the process. If anyone else is doing Nano, I hope it is going well for you!

So far everything has started off quite nicely. I even like most of my words. Which is new for me.

What Are You Willing To Sacrifice?

While emailing a published author a few days ago she asked how much would I be willing to sacrifice to get published, because, truth is, you DO have to sacrifice something, and you don't get to know what it is ahead of time. So....I thought about it and realized that writing is more important to me than even I originally thought. My dream is worth it to me to take risks, even if it means writing four or five books a year to keep my head above water...I'll be doing what I love, and that is what matters to me.

But that isn't even all of it. Not only do most Novelists worry about money and spend pretty much every waking minute at the computer...they still have to worry about their project getting rejected. Or about their novel doing so badly they have to switch to a different publisher...

And even though I know all of this I STILL want to do this for a living. Writing is my life and I know it would be more fulfilling if I could write full-time.

So my question to you is this: How much are you willing to sacrifice for your dream? Maybe you'll find, like me, it is worth more to you than you thought possible. Maybe it will give you the strength to keep going.

Now I must go spend time with my hubby. Then its back to plotting my project.

I Found One Of The Problems In My Story

It took awhile, but it just hit me a minute ago: some of the scenes I've written don't move my story forward, don't bring any interesting conflicts or change...or are just plain boring. Now. This is normal for a first draft, but it was taking me in the wrong direction...which means I would have had to start all over again if I had not caught this. So I haven't been continuing my writing. Instead, I'm looking through my planned scenes trying to add new ones and see which ones need to go or just need to be fixed. This may take some time.

Something that might work for you: I did a timed writing asking myself what was I doing wrong, what I needed to change, ect and I came up with quite a few new scenes that way. It also gave me ideas I had not even thought about before. I have heard about timed writing before, but I never really thought it would work. But I was desperate and I tried it. And it did wonders for me.

The only worry going through my head at the moment is I won't finish this book by the deadline I gave myself. But, considering what I'm going through at the moment, I think I'll manage.

Do You Read While You Write?

Not sure if any of you who read this are writers, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Many published writers I have read about say that when they are in the middle of a project they don't read fiction. And for good reason. Writers tend to be a bit like sponges. They can lose their voice while getting lost in another persons.

I find that to be the case with me.It's very hard for me not to take on the style of the book I'm reading if I'm also writing, especially if the book is amazing. So I have learned that, for me, I should stay away from fiction as much as possible when I'm in the middle of a project.

But for others, they don't have a problem reading while writing. In fact, they can find it to be an experience that lifts them up and keeps them excited about writing without affecting the way they write.

So. Do you read when you write? Do you think it's harmful? Does it even matter? I'd love to see what people think about this.

Story Update

The walls have finally come up. Now I need to stop and figure out what is going on so I can get back on the right track. But, I have an idea what my problem is. Mainly....my plot cards kinda suck. This is the first time I have used this technique, so I'm trying to cut myself some slack, but I know that is what it is. My conflicts don't matter to me, the twists, I feel, are too easily seen. So. I won't rework these plot cards but I will focus on making the middle matter.

I am already starting to dread the revision, and I just started! I know it's a pretty common fear, but I can't stop worrying. I'm driving myself crazy really.

Ok. Back to dealing with new plot cards. Hopefully I'll be working on my story again soon.