NaNoWriMo Update: Day One
No, I’m not going to do daily updates. Please–I have a novel to write! But I will do periodic updates, starting today. Day one has been a good NaNo day for me. As you can see from the widget on the sidebar, I managed to get 3,414 words written–at least that’s the “official” count. Word says I wrote about 10 or 15 more words than that, but it’s the official count that counts, so let’s stick with that.
I’m also really impressed with how well my NaNo Buddies are doing too. Some managed to write way more than me, some hit around the recommended daily average, but they all made a start on their NaNo projects. Well done everyone! May the words continue to flow.
Speaking of words flowing, I want to let you know that my inner editor is not functional right now. I know for a fact that there are many words I’m writing that will not survive the first round of editing. But what I’m very encouraged by is the fact that in the midst of all these words is a story. I’ve said before that my NaNo project is a re-write of what little I’ve done of my WIP, and I hope by November 30th to be at least close to finishing it. In the midst of my NaNo prep, and even in the work I’ve done on day one, I’m seeing more of a story than I ever did before. There’s even a potential novella that could come out of it! It’s all very exciting, and I’m looking forward to continuing tomorrow.
Keep an eye on the word count, and feel free to give me a kick in Twitter if it doesn’t move much for a few days. 🙂
I have distracted my inner editor with thoughts of editing come December when I’m on a plane 😉
Good luck, Colin! 😀
Thanks, Miss Cole! You’re making a return visit to NC, are you not? Hopefully we’ll still have our fall colours when you arrive. 🙂
All the best to you, too! 😀
Glad to hear your first day of NaNo went well and that you’re managing to keep your inner editor at bay! Hope getting off on the right foot means great things are in store for you WIP in November 🙂
I hope so too, Erin–thanks! I’m hoping that by the end of November, I’ll have the story written, and be so excited about how it’s developed over the month that editing it will be a joy. 🙂
Well done for your first day of NaNo! Congrats on keeping the inner editor quiet as well. Keep it up! =D
Thank you Robin! And well done to you, too! 😀
It makes me very, very happy to be able to watch you get your passion back for TEENAGE ALIEN. 🙂 Keep up the hard work! And don’t stress missed wordcount days.
I worry sometimes that NaNoWriMo focusses too much on ‘you must WIN. anything below 50k is LOSING’ when actually writing anything at all semi-regularly is winning. I can’t do daily writing or 50k in one month, but 50k in two months is looking like it might actually happen…
Thanks, Emma! And I agree with you about word count. I think one of the things the 50k “win” does, though, is provide motivation to those that need it. Usually I don’t, and many of us don’t, and we’re just in it for the fun and the challenge–but we would write our novels with or without the “win.” I think for me, I really want that win because I need that kick up the backside to write this novel. There’s a story here that I’ve not been giving time to, largely because I’ve allowed myself to get hung up on details (“I don’t like that start,” or “I don’t know enough about x,” or something like that). NaNo gives me the opportunity and incentive to just write the thing, and at the end of November look back and see what happened.
So I absolutely agree with you about the “win” aspect of NaNo, but I think for me, this year, this novel needs it. 🙂
Sounds like you know exactly what’s right for this story, then. I’ll be cheering for you the whole way. 😀
Awww…! 😀 I really appreciate that, Emma.:)
Go you good thing!
Thank you, Samantha!! 😀
Colin, I’m crazy-impressed with your first NaNo day! Here’s hoping you can keep up your pace and knock NaNo out of the park!
Thanks, Katy! And thanks for the encouragement. 😀
I totally thought I left a comment on this post. Whoops! Sounds like you had a really good first day, Colin. That’s awesome! I’m struggling to meet the daily goal of 1600+ words, but that’s probably because it’s difficult to shift gears from revising one story to writing another–all in the same day! I’m trying to turn off my inner editor too, and that’s a huge challenge for me. I think now that I’ve been working on this story for two days now it should get a bit easier to get into it each day. We’ll see! As for you, keep up the great work! 🙂
I hope you get into a good writing rhythm, Jaime. As I told FirstBorn, just remember it’s a first draft. Write. Just write. It’s all about putting down words and seeing what they inspire, and what gets born in the midst of what you write. That’s what I’m counting on, anyway. 🙂 I’m sure you’ll do well!
I signed up for NaNoWriMo, but my elective is keeping me so busy that I still haven’t started. Bummer. I don’t think I’ll get very far this month. But congrats, your progress is impressive!
Thank you! I hope you manage to make some progress this month despite your heavy med-school schedule–even if you don’t “win,” that you do enough to feel as though you accomplished something out of NaNo that you wouldn’t have otherwise. 🙂