Word count goal for the day: 10,000

Actual word count: 6,017

Total NaNo word count: 56,097

Word count for the year: 181,284

So, I fell a little short today. I’m a little disappointed, but I do realize I’ve had a good word count for the weekend. I’m afraid to force myself to write more, since I don’t want to lose whatever tenuous grip I still have on the story and have it spin out of control. I’m just trying not to stress about the writing. I’m already aware this will need extensive editing, and I have a feeling that Samantha’s voice is creeping into the story, and that’s not quite who Nerina is, so I’ll have to work on that. But otherwise, I’m pleased. I’m currently writing about the Underworld!

I did get a bit of reading done this week. I read Rhett Butler’s People, by Donald McCaig. Now, I was really excited about this book. Gone with the Wind is my favorite book ever. Period. I’ve read it probably 25 times. I’ve read Scarlett several times as well. I don’t like it as well as GWTW, but it’s still not a horrible book, and I thought the characters stayed true. Rhett Butler’s People? Not so much. Frankly, my dear, when I finished it, I wanted to throw it across the room. Aside from a few things I found different from GWTW, there were some other problems as well for me. From the flap copy, I expected it to be told, hmm, from Rhett’s point of view? Well, part of it was. And a big chunk of it was from his sister Rosemary’s POV. Then there were some scenes from Scarlett’s POV. Did I mention a couple of scenes thrown in that, if they actually happened, should have been in GWTW? I didn’t have any problems with the writing itself. No issues there. Just story issues. Did I mention that I didn’t like what the author did with Melly? No? Consider it mentioned. The absolute worse thing, though, was…(spoiler alert)…THEY BURNED TARA! Yes. Can you believe it? I couldn’t. I mean, this is Tara we’re talking about here. If it hadn’t happened right at the end of the book, I would have tossed it. Sigh. But apart from that…Seriously, though, the author is much braver than I would ever be. Can you imagine what kind of nerve it would take to write a sequel to such a classic book as Gone with the Wind? He deserves respect for that, if nothing else.

I also read A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton. I’ve been looking forward to this since I heard her read the first chapter at Conestoga back in July. I was a little disappointed it was so short, but I enjoyed it. It resolved some things, and finally answered the question of how she was going to pick just one of Merry’s men to be king.

Word count goal for today: 10,000

Actual word count: 10,236

NaNo word count: 50,080

Word count for the year: 175,267

Woot! I managed to pull another 10k and I hit 50k today! Yay! That’s almost a week later than I wanted to hit it, but still way better than nothing. Now if I can just pull another 10k out of my, ah, hat tomorrow, I’ll be all caught up and back on track to reach my personal goal of 100k.

In short, this week has been another crappy writing week. Some days, it seems like I’ve lost my will to write. I think stress is the culprit, but I’m trying not to let it get me completely down. I started getting up a little bit earlier, so I can get some sort of writing done before I leave for work. That has helped me pick up the odd hundred words or so. Basically, I’ve gotten less than 2k written total all week. But…I intend to get 10k today, which will put me at 50k. And I intend to get another 10k tomorrow, which will put me right back on track to make my personal goal of 100k. I know I won’t be able to hit the requisite 3,333 words a day, but I’m hoping to make those words up on other days, despite the fact that I’ll be going out of town for 5 days next week. I’m determined, though. So, here are my current stats (Not including the 2k I’ve already written today).

NaNo word count: 39,844

Word count for year: 165,031

I’ll be updating this later tonight with today’s progress. How is everyone else doing?

Eh. Not a very good (writing) day today. My family decided to take a last-minute trip to visit my grandmother, and I went with them. By last-minute, I mean that I sat down at the computer, opened Word, and then the phone rang (My mom, calling to ask me if I wanted to go.). I tried to type in the car, and did a little bit (In fact, the only words I wrote were in the car.), but I’m easily distracted and my laptop was not fully charged, so it died in half an hour. Oh well. I did get some writing done. Then, when we got home, we went to a service re-ordaining my dad before he takes his new job. That ceremony was a blessing to attend, and I’m very glad I did. So, I might not have gotten anywhere near as many words as I wanted, but it was still a great day.

Word count goal: 6,000

Actual word count: 874

NaNo total: 38,084

Word count for the year: 163,271

Okay, I must confess. I have not written anything since last Sunday (unless you count the pathetic 105 words I got on Wednesday. Which I don’t. Horrible.). I know, I know. I’m a terrible NaNoer. I skipped five days. FIVE whole days! Arggghhh! It was terrible. The guilt. The shame. The embarrassment. But I have a really good excuse, okay? (Alright, maybe not a really good one, but an excuse, nevertheless.) I was exhausted. The time change always kicks my butt, and I always forget that, so I’m sitting around wondering why I’m about to pass out at seven o’clock. Also, work was horrible this week. (Seriously. Why people feel they have to act like complete morons at work is beyond me. And then they get angry when the have to face the consequences.)

But…I went out on a limb and decided that this weekend, I was going to try to make up the word count I skipped during the week as well as the word count I had planned for the weekend anyway. So, make up 13k, and also write the 12k already planned. (Ambitious, me?) How did I do? Well….excellent today! I’m really proud of my word count, and if I can just do the same again tomorrow (which will be a true miracle), not only will I be caught up, but I will also break 50k. So wish me luck!

Today’s word count goal: 6,000

Actual word count: 12, 507

Total NaNo word count: 37,210

Total word count for the year: 162,397

Goal for today: 6,000

Actual word count: 6,019

Total NaNo word count: 24,598

Total word count for the year: 149,785

It went pretty well today. My characters did a few unexpected things, and I always enjoy that. I thought Nerina was going to be a stowaway, but apparently not. And she’s a bit nosy, too, which I hadn’t realized.

Let’s see, what else have I accomplished in the last week? I made an editing plan for Witches. Unfortunately, that will almost for sure be trashed, since there is the very distinct possibility I will be moving out of state in the next few months. So, that will set me back a bit. Oh well. I think the move is a great opportunity, it just means packing up everything, selling my house, actually moving, then finding a new job, etc. Wonderful. I hate to move.

Did a bit of reading. Patricia Cornwell’s Book of the Dead. I’m a big fan of her Scarpetta series (and only her Scarpetta series), but I’ve been a little disappointed in the last couple of books. This one…was better, but some of the plot developments upset me. I always enjoy trying to figure out who the murderer is, but there wasn’t as much of the mystery stuff in this one. And one of my favorite characters was acting really weird! (Marino, by the way.). On the up side, at least she can’t end the series there. She has to let us know what happens next!

I also finished Touched by Shadows, by Karen Chance. Liked it a lot, even more than the first book in the series. Also Beneath the Skin, by Savanah Russe. That one wasn’t bad. I’ve read the other books in the series, and I like them. I like the whole bat thing that the vampires turn into, and the spying aspect. That’s a nice idea.

I read the first chapter of Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff. I put it down after the first chapter. Two problems I had with it: One, it’s not the first book in the series, but normally the author includes a bit of backstory to let the reader know what’s going on, some worldbuilding explanation. Not so much in this one. I never did figure out what the deal was. Two, the scene transitions were a little jarring for me. Actually, there weren’t really any transitions to speak of. Suddenly, it was just a different scene, and I had to keep going back to figure out what was going on (not that I ever really did). So, I had to put that one down. And I was looking forward to reading about the self-taught wizard, too!

I had a good, productive day. I hit my word count goal again. Yay! If nothing else, this teaches me how hard it is to write consistently every day. Sometimes today, the words flowed. And sometimes I had to bang my head on my desk to jar then loose and get them to come out of hiding. But, whether hard-earned or not, they count, and I’m proud of what I did.

Today’s word count goal: 6,000

Actual NaNo word count today: 6,042

Words on zombie story: 940

Total word count for today: 6,982

Total NaNo word count: 18,579

Word count for the year: 143,766

Word count goal for today: 2,400

Actual word count: 2,459

NaNo total: 12,537

Word count total for the year: 136,784

It did not flow quite as well as yesterday, but still pretty easily. I’m thrilled with my progress so far, and I have big plans for my weekend word count. I also have to do a little more work on the zombie story, so it should be a busy two days.

I just finished my writing for the first day of NaNo. I reached my personal goal. Yay! My word count today was: 10,078 words. That’s a personal best for me, by around 3000 words. I actually took a nap yesterday after work, then got up around 11:30 p.m. and started writing at 12:01. I did about 2.5k in that first session, then snatched a couple of hours of sleep (The phone kept ringing all night!), got up this morning and did another 2.5k. Then I cleaned house, took a nap, wrote another 3k. After supper, I finished up my last 2k, and now I’m off to relax a bit. The story is flowing pretty well at this point though, and I’m really excited about it.