Commitment Report Vol IV

NaNoWrimo Day Four…

The interesting thing about writing a novel in 30 days, is you just write. Like I said the other day, there isn’t time for the petty nitpicking many of us spend on our writing–you know, the stuff that keeps us from finishing things in the first place. I’ve heard a lot of people down on NaNo because of the quality of the work produced, but no matter how much time you spend working on your novel, if you’re constantly scraping, rewriting and editing it as you work, you’re going to lose your focus. Maybe that’s one of the greatest benefits to finishing a 50,000 word writing project in 30 days. Maybe you disagree, but either way, you definitely need some kind of workable system if you want to complete the ultimate novel writing challenge.

For my own system, I definitely try to write above and beyond the maximum word count requirement as often as possible, so when I have off or lazy days when I just don’t feel like writing, I don’t fall behind the mark. Take yesterday, for instance. Putting together the final touches on Goblin Market on top of work kept me busy most of the day, so I didn’t feel like writing much yesterday. Because I’d written so much between days one and two, I didn’t fall behind.

My total word count at midway through day four, is 6842, and with six hours left of the day, I plan to kick out roughly another 2000 words before bed time. The novel itself is coming along nicely. My full word count is 19,939, just hedging up on 20,000, which I plan to pass tonight before bed. I’m happy with where it’s going, how the characters and plot are progressing and developing, and I have to tell you, writing senseless, violent murder is definitely therapeutic on those days you just want to well… strangle someone. It will also keep you out of prison. Win-win, FTW!

I’ve also been keeping an eye on a lot of my NaNo buddies, and I have to say I am impressed with their continual asskickery. Quite a few of them are on track, or above the mark, despite day jobs, family responsibilities and a whole host of other real life excitement.

So, I’m keeping to my commitments. I am trying to get the next episode of Goblin Market ready and recorded before Friday night and I have a short story I need to finish and record for a special project airing at the end of this month. I also have sestinas to write and a flash fiction contest to run, work to do, and then I get to spend the weekend with James. I’m looking forward to that the most, but I still want to make sure I stay on track. I’d love to hit the 12,000 word mark by Friday. So that’s my current goal. Wish me luck.

I hope that no matter what you’re committed to, you’re keeping yourself in check. Even when it’s hard to stay on track, just remember that you owe it to yourself to keep your focus and finish whatever it is you’re doing.

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