NaNoWriMo Progress Report

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been blogging much lately. That's because I'm elbow deep in writing a novel during National Novel Writing Month.

Today is the midpoint.

For those unfamiliar with NaNo, the goal is to write 50,000 words of a new novel during the month of November. That equates to 1,667 words a day.

Generally I'm a slow writer because I tend to edit and cut words as I go, but I'm trying my best to just let the words fly. It has worked to some degree, especially in the beginning. I didn't edit much except for quickly reviewing my the previous day's chapter and fixing tiny mistakes before proceeding to the next chapter.

My progress during week two has been slower. I found myself doing more re-reading of previous chapters along with editing and fixing of plot holes because my story is taking off in a new direction.

It's both fun and frustrating.

In addition to the stats provided by NaNo, I have a spreadsheet that breaks each chapter down by word count. I have a line entry on the spreadsheet for each chapter. The spreadsheet helps keep me organized and on track. The word counts on my spreadsheet are generally a bit shorter than how they're validated by NaNo, which is a good thing. Maybe they're giving me a 20-word bonus.

Now, for my progress report.

This morning I tallied the words on my spreadsheet and I've passed the 25K mark. Actually, I'm at 25,101.

So, at the half-way point I'm half way there.

This weekend is shaping up to be busy but I'm hoping to take some time to write some more.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Oh, if anyone has any extra words lying around they're not using, send them my way.

Winner of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope and Healing for Your Breast Cancer Journey

Sorry for this delayed announcement.

Since starting National Novel Writing Month I haven't posted on my blog or visited other blogs as often as I'd like.

Thanks to everyone who left comments for the drawing for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hope and Healing for Your Breast Cancer Journey, featuring Alice Muschany's true story "Hats Off to Betty with Love."

Special thanks to Alice for her generous donation of the book.

The winner is  BOOKIE

So, if you will send me an e-mail at dvolkenannt (at) charter.net (please replace the (at) with the at sign--I didn't want to put my entire e-mail address so I don't get Viagra ads). Be sure to include your snail mail address so I can mail the book to you next week.

Congratulations, Bookie, and thanks again to everyone else.

Now, back to my novel-in-progress. I hope to post my word count early next week.

National Novel Writing Month - I'm in!

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I decided to take the plunge this year and give National Novel Writing Month a try. I signed up late last night after reading the rules and thinking I can do this.

I'm not sure about all the etiquette of belonging, so if showing the crest in this post before I reach my goal is a NaNo no-no, will someone let me know.

Awhile back I developed a chapter outline for a novel I've been wanting to write. Last night, between answering the doorbell for trick-or-treaters, I dug the outline out of my file and printed off a copy.

I logged on to the site even later last night and discovered I needed to write a synopsis, which was no easy task --  and was a change from where the outline was headed. The synopsis got me to really thinking about my novel, though, so when I started actually writing the first chapter I was surprised at where my fingers went across the keyboard and where the story is taking me.

Writing without editing as I go is painful for me, but I'm giving it a whirl.

Before I climbed into bed early this morning I had written over 1,000 words, then when I woke up a few hours later to get Michael off to school I stated another chapter then went back to bed and took a nap.

I've been a member for 16 hours now, and my official word count is 1858.  So, I'd say I'm off to an okay start. We'll see what the rest of the month brings. I'll post my word count weekly to try to encourage myself to continue the task.

If any of my blogger buddies are doing NaNo this year, let me know.