The end

I just wrote those words. Ywriter says I have written 61080 words in total. I'm about to export and validate.

Here's what NaNoWriMo's validator says 61032 words.

I wrote on 25 days, hence I didn't write on 5 days. On one of the days I was sick, on one I was on a business trip and the other 3 days were pure laziness. This is more active days than any other year to date. I'll analysis the day totals later.

I have to admit I sumarized the last few scenes, so I'll expand on those in the next few weeks. I wrote more than I've ever written in one month. It's also better than anything else I've ever written. I didn't have to pad or use any dirty tricks to reach the total.

I know it's not perfect and I know I still have scenes to write. I also know the whole thing needs to be reorganized and I need to work on the timeline and plot outline. I was originally going to write more scenes in December, but I'm half tempted to go through the plot and write a new outline and rearrange the scenes into the right order.

Well I'm going to take a short break. I might write a little, but no where near on the level I have been. I do want to write every day or most days, just not always on this story.

I won!

Day 30

I'm sick. It's not serious, but I feel really, really bad. I'm tempted to just verify and be damned.

However, I'm going to try to write a bit now and verify at lunchtime or early afternoon. Then I'm going to go to bed and hide from the world for the rest of the day.

So I should still make it to 60k, only about 1500 words to go...

Day 29

It's been quite a good day, though for some reason I found it impossible to produce a capital letter on the first try. I still managed to write 2503 words, bringing my grand total to 58514 words.

Writing was definitely easier today. No idea why. Tomorrow I'm hoping to add about another 2000 words so that my total in the validator reaches above 60k. I know that the validator and word counts from the editor don't exactly match, so if I can be 500 to 1000 words over I should be safe.

I might do a bit more tonight, I will see how things work out. It's going to be a busy evening so there may not be time. Still there's still tomorrow.

Day 28

I have written 2482 words today and my grand total is 56011 words. I'm on track to reach 60k if nothing bad happens. If something does come up, well I'm beyond 50k so I've won anyway. And yes it is backed up.

I will try to write another 500 words today if at all possible. If it is possible, I'll try to update here tonight. I will update NaNoWriMo.

Oh and I'm still not at the end. I was hoping to make it before the 30th, but now I'm not so sure. The ending seems to be getting further away at the moment. Having said that, I'm not sure how much of the scenes I'm writing now will make it into the next draft as the story seems to be shifting direction.

However, maybe this new direction is the right one, and the previous scenes will go. Well I'm making no decisions now, that will have to wait for the new year.

(Updated with the extra words)

Friday and the weekend

Over the last three days I wrote nothing. Not a single word. I didn't even open up the file. I have to admit I enjoyed the break, but it's not exactly what I should be doing.

So I have until midnight on Wednesday to write as much as I can. To be honest I will probably verify sometime on Wednesday afternoon, just to make sure that I do get round to it. It would be a nightmare if I did all this and then I forgot to verify.

So I'm currently at 53529 words. So 60k is not out of the question. Let's hope there's not too much other stuff I have to do in the next few days.

Day 24

I jsut found out that I made a mistake in my spreadsheet and I only had two days when I wrote nothing instead of the three I had been claiming. It may only be a small improvement, but it makes me feel better.

Today I wrote 3027 words, bringing my total to 53529 words.

Tomorrow I am out all day, so I'm not likely to write very much. I will try to write something in the evening, even if it's only 19 words - my minimum above zero word count in one day.

Starting to write the end now. I should hit 60k, I think. Still it's definitely more difficult to write now. I think it's the over-50k-syndrome.

At the end of November I will take a short break, before continuing with writing scenes - some scenes I still have in summary. Hopefully I will still get everything I want written before the end of the year. Then all I have to do is make the scenes into a book...

update

Yesterday I added another 500 words after writing the blog entry. I ended the day with 50502 words.

Today I'm struggling to write anything. I think it's because I've reached the 50k and I know that as far as NaNoWriMo is concerned I've won. When the validator goes live on the 25th, theoretically I can enter my text and seal the deal.

However I haven't finished the draft and I don't want to validate unless it's finished. I now know how it ends and who the murderer is. I've avoided the obvious suspect and made the actions of the killer work with the people involved. I could just write a summary and leave it at that.

But I don't want to. I want to write the scenes. OK maybe not all of them, but enough to make it part of the novel rather than an outline. I'm hoping to add about 10k before the end of November. It would be really cool if I could make it to 70000 words, but that really is pushing it.

In December I'll probably keep writing the first draft scenes as there are some I haven't completed yet. Then in January next year, I'll start cutting and pasting the scenes until a book emerges. I've written quite a bit in a linear time line, but that makes no sense for the storyline. Some will become flashbacks, other scenes will simply not make it into the book, but it was still worth writing them.

Once everything is in the right order, I'll go through each scene and chapter again. This time I'll rewrite them. For some this will only be a tweaking, but for others it will mean a complete rewrite.

After that, and if I get that far, I'll need to send it out to beta readers. Then it's to the last edit run. Of course this is all very far in the future, but this story is the best I've ever written and that may not be saying much, but it means a lot to me.

This one I will finish.

Day 23

So far I've written 2502 words, giving a total of 50045 words. I broke the 50k. I will still be writing and it would be nice to reach at least 60k before the end of November.

What I would like to manage is to write at least 5000 words per day on four of the remaining November days. This is including today. But I don't think I will. I'm leaving in half an hour and I will be busy for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is a possibility as are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. However nothing can go wrong on those days and somehow I don't see that happening.

Work has been extremely busy and frustrating. Home has just been busy. I will continue writing after the 30th until I have all the scenes written. Then I'll cut and paste them until I have a coherent story. Then it's time for the first rewrite. Hopefully this will be at the beginning of next year. I might take a break in between, but I'm worried I won't be able to get started again.

Please ignore any typing errors if you see them, for some reason things always get worse towards the end of NaNoWriMo. I can't seem to type the simplest word without making a mistake.

Day 22

Yesterday I wrote 5019 words, bring my total to 47543 words. If things go well today, I will break the 50k mark. If that doesn't happen today it will happen tomorrow, but I think today. I'm very happy about this.

I think I will end up with about 60000 words by November 30th. Less than I originally hoped for, but more than I've ever written during NaNoWriMo. The story is interesting as are the characters. This one I'm really going to try to transform into a readable book that can be submitted to agents.

I will probably start with writing some more scenes before I start cutting, rewriting and reorganizing the ones I have. At the end I hope to have a book of about 75000 words.

This year has gone so much better than any other year to date.

Day 21 update

I managed to write a grand total of 19 words yesterday. That is pathetic, but at least I wrote something. I did not update NaNoWriMo.

Let's hope today goes better. Trouble is I know I'm going to be busy again, because of the trip last week. Should be quieter from Wednesday onwards, so my word count should increase dramatically then.

Day 21

So far today I have written 0 words. And there is nothing missing from that previous sentence. Work has been completely crazy and I have not had time to do anything else.

Since last Wednesday I have written 0, 2207, 774, 793, 1210, 0 words up to and including today. Not the best of records, but except for the day I traveled to my business meeting and today, I have written everyday. I'm hoping to write tonight as well.

In my original plan, I should have written 63000 words, or at least to have been above the 50k. I'm at 42505 words, which is not bad. I'll definitely make it to 50k, but I'll have to summarize more scenes than I originally intended, so that I can finish on time.

Not a disaster, just annoying. I didn't always get a chance to update NaNoWriMo, but yWriter's log keeps track of my daily totals. A wonderful tool it is too.

Next few days...

I will be leaving for a business trip in 5 hours time. I will try to at least write the minimum between then and now, but no guarantees as I have to prepare for the trip first. Also I will have much less time to write. I'll be working about 12 hours a day and then there's the 7 hour drive each way (today and Friday).

And yes it's by car, so no chance to write on the way. I am not happy about this, but sometimes you just have to do things you don't like doing and I haven't had to go on a business trip since the summer. I know it's not that bad, but right now I keep thinking 'why me?'

Day 15

I've written 5494 words so far today, bringing my total to 37521 words. I should break 50k in the next three days, if I keep up this rate. I probably won't write any more today. I'm going quite fast, which was never the intention I meant to go at a more steady pace, so that I didn't get lost.

However having said that, the story is going very well and is on track. I'm in the middle section at the moment, which is good and where it should be. I don't think I'll make it to 80000 words. I might make it to 75000 words, which isn't too bad. Anything over 50k is a bonus and I'll be happy.

I think this is my best year yet. I had a rough outline and some subplots, a good storyline, and interesting characters. It's not turning out how I originally thought it would, but it is staying inside the broad lines and the characters are speaking for themselves.

I hope this continues.

Yesterday

I ended up writing 5271 words, giving me a total of 32027 words. It was the first time I'd written over 5000 words in one day. I'm not particularly keen to continue with such a large amount, however I still need to catch up if I want to reach the 80 000 word goal.

Let's hope today goes as well.

Day 14

Today was a good day. So far, I've added 4765 words, bringing my grand total to 31521 words. I'm hoping to write some more later, but I wanted to put an update here first. So I have less that 20000 words to go to make the 50k. In that respect, I'm ahead of the game.

I'm slightly behind my optimistic goal, which called for 3000 words per day. I'm currently on a 2251 words per day average. I did know I wouldn't write everyday, but this is still lower than I was hoping for at this stage. I would like to write another 500 words today and then write a similar amount tomorrow.

I have to go on a business trip on Wednesday, so I am unlikely to be able to keep up the word count. I'll try to compensate the following weekend, but if last weekend is any indication that won't happen. Still it might...

The weekend

went badly. I wrote 240 words on Saturday and 19 0 on Sunday (apparently I didn't save my 19 words). I didn't bother to update NaNoWriMo. I knew I would have off days. Still my total is now 26756 words, which means I'm still on target to reach 50k before the end of the month.

I am, of course, behind on my goal of 80k by the end of November, but that was wishful thinking. There are just too many things on my plate for me to keep up with writing 3000 words every day. Still I'm hoping I'll do better today.

The worst is that from Wednesday I will be away on a business trip. I should be able to get something written, but it's unlikely I will be anywhere near my target for those 3 days. I'll try to catch up over the weekend, but if this weekend was anything to go by, that just won't happen.

Day 10

Well the day isn't not over yet, but before I forget to write an update, here it is. Today I have written 3150 words, bringing my total to 25509 words.

I had originally hoped to reach 30000 words today, but due to illness I didn't. I don't consider this a failure for two reasons. The first is that I have written more consistently this year than ever before. I have written every day even if it was just a few words.

The second is that I'm enjoying writing. This year is a joy. I'm enjoying the characters, the plot, the setting, the everything. This is in complete contrast to last year when I hated the whole thing.

I know I can write to a deadline, but I know I'm lousy at writing without one. Without a deadline, everything else seems suddenly so much more appealing. This year's NaNoWriMo is changing that, because I'm changing the way I write.

I write in smaller chunks - just 500 words at a time. These can quickly add up and I don't need to set aside a large chunk of time to write thousands of words in one sitting.

I write every day. In previous years, I wrote 5k a day for ten days, normally the last ten days. This year I want to write almost every day.

I keep back ups on all my available computers, but my main file is on my USB stick. This means that I can use any computer to write on. I also have a netbook, which allows me to write almost anywhere. I used to keep my main file on my work laptop and a back up on the USB. This made it difficult to write at weekends as I didn't always take the laptop home with me.

What I've done, in essence, is to make it easier to write and it's having an effect.

Day 9

Spent  most of the day asleep. However I did get to write this afternoon. I added 2167 words, bringing my total to 22359 words.

I'm still behind my perfect target of 3000 words per day, but still on target to finish 50k well in time. I'm hoping to catch up a bit over the next few days, but I'll have to see how ill I am.

Day 8

I'm really not very well, but I did add 669 words to my total. I might add a little more later, but maybe not. I can barely keep my eyes open. So my total is 20192 words. A little behind my perfect total, but still way ahead of my expectations.

At home tomorrow and I'll take my netbook upstairs tonight, so I should be able to add some more tomorrow.

Sick

I'm definitely sick and will go home soon. I still hope to do some writing today, but I don't think it will be as much as other days.

Day 7

Due to a rush at the end of the day, I never updated my blog. So yesterday I wrote 2314 words. Bringing my total word count to 19523 words. If I was writing 3000 words per day I should be at 21000 words at this time. I am instead averaging 2789 words per day, which is not bad.

So far I have written every single day, which is also a record. I don't think I will manage every day in November, but I'm hoping to get close. I know I won't write on either the 18th or the 25th as I have a trip that will happen on one of those two days. Date is yet to be fixed.

Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy.

NaNoWriMo update

So for the first time ever, I believe, I actually wrote on the weekend. Not a huge amount, but more than ever before. Beating zero words isn't exactly hard, but still it's an improvement.

On Saturday I added 1635 words and on Sunday 2051 words. Bring the grand total to 17209 words. This is slightly under my target of 18000 words by Sunday, an average of 3000 words per day. But I'm happy with it and that's all that matters.

Now for today's writing...

Day 3

I didn't blog yesterday simply because I didn't have time. I added about 2500 words to my total, which ended up at 10007 words. Not bad for three days or writing. I wrote less because it was a busy day and I had less time to write. The writing is still going well and is not slowing down at all.

Let's see how long that continues for. Today I'm hoping for at least 3000 words. It would be nice to do more, but I have a busy afternoon/evening so I don't think that's going to happen. And for the first time ever, I'm going to write at the weekend too.

In previous years I have only ever written on weekdays, during quiet periods at work. This year I'm trying to be a bit more structured and write less per day, but for more days in the month. I normally write the 50000 words in ten days randomly spread out through the month.

This year I'd like to reach 80000 words or there about. I'm using a new editor, yWriter, which allows me to write in scenes. These I'll rearrange later on into the correct order. I find I write better if I write the first draft using a linear time line, however the story works better with flashbacks. I find I can lose consistency if write a later flashback before and earlier one.

If I don't use some of the scenes, that easy and I can still add in new ones. But seeing them laid out in the correct time line means I don't have the reaction happening before the action.

Day 2

And I'm currently at a total of 7246 words. So I've written 3213 words so far today.

I have changed my goals again. I still of course want to write the minimum. That is the basic goal, which won't change. However my daily goal is now 3000 words. If I do this every day then I will write 90000 words in November.

To be honest I don't think I will reach 90000 words, but I hope to get close to this total. I know I won't be able to write everyday, but I should manage to write most days. And some days I will write more than others.

I'm still finding it astonishingly easy to write at the moment and I still have lots of scenes lined up. I actually know what is going to happen next.

I will admit to only writing the backstory at the moment. It will be placed at appropriate points in the story to illustrate some points. But I'm writing the whole thing in chronological order at the moment and I'll move the scenes around later on. I'm also trying to write more than I actually need. I think this will help too.

So currently I'm very happy with my progress and excited by the project. Can this last?

Day 1

And it's a good one. I have written 4033 words. I'm not going to add to it again today. I think 4000 words a day is a good total to aim for. I would like to have a grand total of about 80000 words or more by the end of November, which might even be possible.

Of course I am having a good day and I'm pretty sure there will be bad ones too. Not to mention days off too. But if I make it to 50000 words, I'll be happy. If I make to 80000 words, I'll be ecstatic.

The whole thing just flowed today. I almost can't believe it.

Not starting off too well...

After being so tired last night that I forgot all about writing to being woken up twice in the night by a power failure and a mouse, I'm not getting off to a good start for NaNoWriMo.

I completely forgot my files as well. I'll start without them and hope that what I write now matches what I wrote then. It's mostly names that I forget and sometimes I transpose characters.

Still here's hoping I make it to 1700 words. Making it to 5000 words would be fantastic, but I'm not betting on that.