Writer at Large

Total words: 53,306 (official NaNoWriMo count)
Average words per day: 1,777

It looked like it was going to end with a word count of 50,566, but then the muse would not shut up yesterday (3,194 words).

Yes, I “won”. The story itself is far from finished. At the 53,000-word mark, I think it’s probably about one-third completed.

This year was a bit less difficult than 2006, but seemed nowhere near the flowing ease of the 2007. (It’s interesting how memory fades. I went back and re-read those reports from 2007 and saw that I was struggling there too, but persistence won out.)

My next task is to put the scenes in the proper order so that later drafts will make a bit more sense. I also want to write up more complete notes on each of the main characters—particularly those who did not exist when I first started the story.

It’s been an interesting writing adventure this year.

Fourth week down and two days to go . . .

• Total word count: 49,513
• No new characters introduced this week. Okay . . . no new major characters. I gave some of the characters in the background first names so they weren’t just anonymous drones, but that doesn’t really count.
• Average daily word count for the week: 1,865. Nicely above average, thank you. I had set myself a stretch goal of 1,800 words a day and was pleased to not only meet, but exceed it this week.
• The muse cooperated for the most part this week. It hasn’t been as smooth of sailing as 2007 was, but definitely much less painful than 2006. (Never again!) I still don’t think I’ve quite found the voice for this novel, but I think it will sort itself out shortly.

And why didn’t I just push through and crank out those last 487 words and finish two days early? Because it was late, I was tired, and I knew I still had two more days to go. (And also I there were scenes I still wanted to try to write between now and the 30th.)

See you in two days . . .

And on Week 3, this is what NaNoWriMo did to me . . .

• Total word count: 36,458
• I introduced another character this week. I also realized that there are two of them that I know I need, but have done little more than introduce them. One of them needs to connect up with the main character, but I have yet to devise a believable manner of doing so that doesn’t smack of cliché.
• The muse has been kind, particularly during the latter part of the week. I’ve learned that she gets nervous when I take her away from the work and then starts spouting off ideas. Good muse! Biscuit!
• Average daily word count for the week: 1,759. This is back up from last week and just about dead on where I want it to be. I’m shooting for a minimum of 1,700 words each day, with a push toward 1,800 words if I can manage it.

And one last note . . . true to form, the muse has already determined the last scene in the book, as well as a scene in the sequel. (I had not originally planned on a sequel to this book, but the muse had her own ideas on the matter. And I do like how she tied it into another book of mine [yet to be written].)

One week and a small number of days to go . . .