Working Title: The Greatest of These
Word Count: 50,038(11:25 pm 11/29)
What's Happening: You'll have to read it to find out!

nov 30: hooooraaaaaaayyy I did it I did it i did it!!

At 10:17 pm tonight, I crossed the finish line. Woohoo!! I'm three for three for winning Nano.

The novel isn't finished, although it's pretty close. It's in wrap-ups. I think, though, that I'm going to set it aside for a little while, just as it is. In order to write the ending I want, I need to fix other stuff. And I don't have it in me to start the editing process just yet! I think I'll wait until January.

Well! It's sure a relief, and something to be proud of. Mainly, though, I'm just exhausted. Congratulations to all the other winners, and the winners yet to come in the waning minutes of November.

Thanks for joining me on the journey. :)

nov 29: down the stretch

This is it. I have 24 hours left in which to write just under 2000 words. I'll make it. I'll make it. I have to make it.

I'm overwhelmed with work, with home, with everything. Finishing this novel will take a load off. Unfortunately the novel is not going to be done at 50K. I think I've probably got another 4000 words to go. Or, I might take a page from my 2002 experience and write a quick, ridiculous ending, just to say it's done, that I go back and fix later. Yeah... There's plenty going to be needing fixing anyway.

When I'm done, though, I swear I'm putting this away until after Christmas.

Onwards! Upwards! Somebody cheer me on from the finish line!

nov 25: coming home

Thanksgiving vacation worked wonders... even though I essentially lost four days traveling, I made up a lot of ground. Less than 7000 words to go! The story has grown worse and worse, but oh well.

It's funny how what seems so dramatic and inspired at midnight is utter drivel the next morning.

nov 19: the wall

So I made great progress on Wednesday, writing 3000 words and really getting into the real meat of the story. I think I did break through the "wall of Week Three," but I also came to realize, with some disappointment, what exactly the wall is. The wall you have to overcome is the dream that your novel is actually going to be GOOD. Until a certain point, you haven't ruined it yet. Your characters are shaping up, the plot is building... then you realize you're getting absolutely nowhere that way. So you have to let yourself write crap. Forget the ridiculous idea that you're going to write The Bestseller. Just focus on dragging your dead weight characters through the muck to the end of the story.

At least, that's what *I'm* doing.

nov 16: lagging behind

I'm torturing myself by writing just enough to stay in the game, but not enough to be where I should be for the month. I really need to try to get at least 2000 words every night... and that's pretty tough. Chris Baty over at NaNoWriMo says that the wall that we hit should start coming down during week three, and I really hope that happens. The main action of my story should start within the next 2000-3000 words, and here's hoping that it really takes off from there.

nov 11: this is not a blog

While wasting time today, I calculated that at approximately 9:58 am EST, there were 3018 people listed at nanowrimo.org with more words than I have. I'm sure half of them are lying, though. Also, while I was browsing the list, I came across someone whose novel is titled the same as mine. Well, Amy M Bennett of New Mexico, bring it on!!! (Of course, she is one of the 3018.)

Nov 8: the dangerous Week Two

I feel pretty good going into the notoriously bad Week Two, probably because I spent most of Week One writing nothing and feeling crappy about it. I still had only 527 words when I left for the writing weekend on Friday afternoon. But, I managed to write 10,000 words between Friday evening and Sunday morning, and put in another couple of hundred to make 12,036 by bedtime Sunday night. The plot is finally moving along and I feel excited to continue the story. I hope this lasts all week, because I know Week Two can be full of pitfalls!

Here are a few notable pictures from the writing weekend, which I highly recommend to Wrimos. Nothing beats some nice views, great companionship, and a hot tub.

Unfortunately, despite these amenities, on Friday night my friend Tracie managed to accidentally delete all 6000 words of her novel so far. This is bad and we don't recommend it. She made an incredible comeback, though, starting over from scratch and writing 10,000 words.

Here's me on the deck. We had nice enough weather for me to go outside in a short sleeved Nano 2002 t-shirt. It was kind of sunny and windy, though!

With views like this, how can you not be inspired? Laptop, drink, comfy chair and panoramic autumn view of the Shenandoah Valley... these will get the words flowing.

And of course, be sure to reward yourself after every various milestone. Usually snacks will suffice, but after a good 7000 words or so, a soak in the hot tub is called for!

In an attempt to return to normalcy, and consume something other than junk, we made sure to sit down for real dinners. It's nice to be civilized for a while in between bouts of insanity.

Nov 2: discouraged

I didn't get started writing yesterday until 11 pm, and even then I ended up staring at the blank screen for quite a while. Every sentence was a chore, and after an hour I only had 527 words. I have to write approximately 1700 words a day, every day, to finish this. To not even make 1/3 of that on the first day of Nano is a big blow.

Oct 31: eve of Nano...

Well, I have a set of characters. I have a rudimentary plot, enough to get me started and provide some direction. I have an opening scene drawn up in my head. That's enough to get me through the first day of Nanowrimo, at least, but it remains to be seen if it's enough to support 50,000 words over the course of 30 days!

The first year I did Nano, 2002, I was chock full of confidence. The second year I wasn't so sure of my story, but I still had no doubt that I'd reach 50K. But this year, I'm worried. I had some discouraging experiences this year with writing projects dying out and my confidence has weakened.

This coming Friday four friends (one a fellow Wrimo from California) and I are going away to a quiet cabin in the mountains overlooking the Shenandoah River, and I will aim to pound out 15,000 words over the course of the weekend. So if I can arrive at the end of next Sunday with close to 22K, I'll feel a lot more optimistic than I do right now.