The places that November will take me
Did bragging that I am ahead of my word count for NaNoWriMo on November 2nd jinx my progress? Seven days later, I am now over a full day’s word count (2,000+ words) behind….and feeling that I am destined to fall even further behind.
The graph on the NaNo website states that at my current writing rate, I will hit my 50,000 word goal on December 5, not November 30. As sophisticated as their website is, it doesn’t take into account hosting Thanksgiving dinner, spending five days at a resort near Cancun, Mexico, with my middle daughter and her family, and celebrating my birthday, just to name a few of the activities that I have given permission to distract me from writing.
I should hit the road writing when I get up in the morning–but I don’t. First it’s the local news (usually a repeat of the prior evening’s news) followed by the national news then trying to convince myself that I need to take my medicine and get ready for the day. All things I would do every day of every other month. Except the fact that it is November allows me to use them as excuses to–wait for it–procrastinate!!
The truth is I will take what I get out of NaNoWriMo. Any quantity of words, even in the form of an extremely rough draft, that I can add to my novel or use as the basis for the final novel in my trilogy is a bonus.
As a reminder, I am a pantser (I write without an outline though in this case I have about ten lines of an “outline” composed on Halloween evening). Today I spent hours with my husband at the hospital having his carpal tunnel syndrome evaluated. When we returned home, I started writing. The scene that developed is a medical emergency that sets up a hospital stay!
It’s possible that I am easily influenced by current events. My current events. Unfortunately, this scene is the second medical emergency/hospital stay of the book. And not part of the outline. But it is chronological. No islands when I’m participating in NaNoWriMo.
Can’t wait to find out where 50,000 words are going to take me…..that’s what I love about being a pantser.
Posted on November 9, 2015, in blogging, Karen Whalen, NaNoWriMo, writing and tagged Cancun Mexico, Carpal tunnel syndrome, Island, Pantser, procrastination, Thanksgiving. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Eleanor Ingbretson
Karen Whalen
llandrigan
Heidi Wilson
Mike M
Thursday Night Writes 
You are so right about the surprises ahead for the pantser. We never know where we are going, and in writing that’s a good thing. Keep it up. We’ll all still love you if your word count comes up a mite short. 50,000 words is just a round, ambiguous number.
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It is an ambiguous number–one I would so like to reach!!
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You can’t be destined to fall further behind. The best thing about writing is that YOU ARE DESTINY! Just think of all those little characters, waiting breathlessly to see what you will hand out to them. As a favor to me, give a good fate to some porky and irresponsible Irishman.
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Actually Christian is Irish–but it remains to be seen if he has a good fate. The luck of the pantser…..
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