One week today and it’s all over. NaNoWriMo, that is. The writing won’t be, I can guarantee that. Even if I finish this novel, there’s another simmering on the back burner, its aroma wafting through my words, teasing and tantalizing. A writer is never finished writing.
My NaNo progress has been slow so far this month. Despite writing every day, the word count continues to fall below the needed daily average. At this rate I certainly won’t make the 50,000 by month’s end, but I’m not so inclined to toss verbiage onto a page just for the sake of racing to “The End” this time. I’m conscious of a needy protagonist that deserves more focused attention, a storyline that will wander if given half a chance, and several sneaky adjectives and adverbs just waiting to slip in from the margin if I don’t take the time to find stronger alternatives.
So it’s a slow and steady approach right now, which is why I qualify for this “Progress Badge” offered by Merit Badger… “for getting just the tiniest bit closer to where you want to be, even if you’re not sure you’ll ever make it all the way there.”
How about you? NaNoWriMo projects aside, are you a dash-to-the-end kind of writer or more of a slow-and-steady sort? Can you regularly chalk up 3,000-word days, or do you have to stop and ponder a lot? What kind of writer are you?
MUSINGS 
I’m a ponderer. I am so much one that I could never play the Nano game. Just thinking about 50k words in one month stresses me out.
Tricia, if I’d “pondered” longer before I started I would probably be making better time now. You can’t think of the 50,000 words as a lump sum; it’s too defeating. I think of just 1,667 words per day. That’s less than seven pages. That’s doable if I do it every day. But writing less one day means compensating with more the next… and I didn’t. 😦
I have had quite a day. My Mac admin account crashed and I’ve spent from 9 pm until right now fixing it. All because I downloaded The Sentimentalist onto my Kobo. It wiped my Kobo clean. Then I lost my permission preference and … well, you get the picture. LOL. I feel like I accomplished something just the same. I’m here!
I’m proud of you, Carol. I think your progress is admirable. Can’t wait to read your new book.
Oh, my! You have my sympathy, Joylene! What a nuisance! Did you ever figure out why the download caused all the problems?
I don’t have an eReader but downloaded the free Kindle software onto my laptop… it’s a compromise that allows me to take eBooks with me wherever I take my laptop. The only problem is, it tempts me to read instead of write.
I wrote the first draft of my first and only novel several years ago during a time when I had stopped working to care for my then-husband Bill (deceased 1996). I wrote as a dash-to-the-finish writer. The story begged to burst into written form. I felt compelled to hurry. My window of opportunity to spend time writing ended in 1996 until 2009, when I found my buried novel and nearly trashed it. I decided to read it first. Many revisions have since changed it, but the story line is the same.
I admire your ability to write quickly toward the goal. Blessings to you on the novel you are constructing. May it bless God and bring you pleasure and prosperity…
Hi Carol,
You are doing great! I, too, am still plugging away at NaNoWriMo, but I think I may be more behind with it than you. Amazingly, though, I am actually enjoy the process, and I even took on PiBoIdMo at the same time. All this writing is fun, and I appreciate the inspiration of like-minded writers I’ve found along the way.
I didn’t know there was a progress badge, but I think I would like to get one for myself, especially since I have never taken on so much writing at one time and didn’t know I could really do it.
I enjoy your posts. May I wish you continued success in your writing. Blessings. 🙂
Carol Ann, I’m glad you didn’t trash that novel. Like many of our earliest works, it may not end up published, but it still represents a lot of thought and energy expended.
Thanks for your comment, Lynn.We Wrimos need all the encouragement we can get, don’t we? Continued success to you, too. BTW, the progress badge isn’t specifically a NaNoWriMo product but is just one that seemed appropriate for my current achievement level. There are NaNo participant badges on the NaNo site under the “Fun Stuff” menu if you want something directly linked to the effort.
I am taking this book slow and easy. The others I know I rushed through with my own deadline. I want to savor this one and enjoy the process:)
Hi, Terri. Some stories benefit by more of our attention, too, don’t they? Enjoy!