NaNoWriMo 2021: Days -7-0

I finished typing up my notes a little early for The Coffee Shop Book, and decided to just jump right into my NaNoWriMo – because, I mean, at this point, I’m already breaking all the rules in existence as it is. 🤣

But… that’s also not the only rule I’m changing.

I am going to actually try to hit a huge word count. Which is weird. Because I’m revising. 😆

HOWEVER. Because I’m revising, I’m not totally writing everything. A lot of the words used will be old ones still being used, you know?

So, seeing as my goal is to complete my 3rd Draft of my novel, my goal instead became…

100,000 words.

It sounds crazy, I know! But every draft of the novel thus far has been over 100k. Which isn’t saying much, seeing as there’s only been 2, but still! 🤣

If I hit 100,000, that means that I’ll be nearly finished revising my novel again, which is an insanely good win in my mind.

Let’s do this.

(Also, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, I explain it all in my previous post! 😁)

~Day -7~

I was really excited to begin, and decided to mark the occasion by making an elixir that my dad first made the day I finished my 1st Draft of this novel. It used matcha and honey and colostrum, among other things to give you an idea of what it was: sweet, smooth, and creamy. 😉 I then had to chase down all my family members to give them their mugs before I could start. 😆

I worked with my writing buddy, which was awesome. She asked me afterwards to describe what my characters even looked like, so here’s a small sneak peek for you of that:

Snippet of the day:

And they will all be forgotten after this moment.
Like me.

Revised today: 2,274

Total word count: 2,293

Just to be clear about my word count: I typed up a few things yesterday (October 23) to prep my file; mainly it was just sections of the book. Also, I did not write almost 3,000 words. 😂 I wrote maybe 300 new ones. Most of this is just me adding in a few things, ironing out some wrinkles, and trying to keep everything smooth and in the right mood. Which is way harder than it should be for some reason. 😅 So, most of those words are old ones! Just keep that in mind for the rest of NaNoWriMo as I appear to revise superhuman amounts of words. It’s not me writing all of them; it’s past me doing all the heavy lifting. And making trouble by making mistakes I need to fix. (I’m annoying that way 😝)

~Day -6~

Today served as a reminder to me of what writing this novel was like during NaNoWriMo last year: very reflective and ruminating. And slow, at times. 😂

Today was less fixing and more actual writing. I have a couple of new scenes I’m adding to the novel – six – and I wanted to knock them out first thing, since they’re the newest additions to it. These first three are especially interesting to try and write because I haven’t written from this POV since the 1st Draft a year ago. It’s one I took out completely from the entire story during the 2nd Draft, and it significantly improved the story.

But the entire first half of my novel is in a sad, sad state. 😂 I need to fix suspense, tension, and pacing in it – and part of my solution was to add in three scenes from this POV. Hopefully it has the effect I want it to. 🤞

My hand tightens on the armrest as the violins crescendo.
Nothing, nothing is going to stop me.

Written today: 1,093

Total word count: 3,386

~Day -5~

Me thinking about my characters: what a bunch of weird munchkins.

Today I remembered something else I did last year while writing this novel: I listened to myself a lot. Even if I hadn’t hit my word count goal, I’d stop when I felt like I should. It’s a healthier way to write, because you don’t burn yourself out this way.

All things considered, I did a pretty good job today with my writing; it’s another new scene. Though if I actually want to hit 100,000 words, I’m not exactly on track for that. 😅😂 I need about 2,632 words revised (or written, if it’s a new scene) per day for that. And I haven’t hit that at all yet.

Source | *Live footage of me and my goals*

But that’s okay! This is more about revising and making my book better. I’d rather take the time to do that well. 😉

“Sonder!” Grandfather says scoldingly – but more in the kind of way where you know you should scold something having been said aloud, but meanwhile you’ve just had the same thought at the same time.

Written today: 1,057

Total word count: 4,443

~Day -4~

My goal for my writing today was simply to finish up the scene from yesterday. I have to leave earlier for work today, so I know I won’t even have that much time.

Surprisingly, though, I really… enjoyed writing the rest of this scene?? 🤔 I wasn’t expecting that, to be honest. I’ve barely spent any time in this character’s headspace, and when I did in the 1st Draft, I hated pretty much every moment of it. Yet I slipped in so easily today and worked through the rest of the details I needed to add into the scene. Sometimes that meant backtracking to redo how I introducing information, because I seem to forget really quickly what my intention was for something. 😂 I haven’t written for so long, though, I’m giving myself some grace; it’ll take a little time for me to get back into the swing of things.

But anyway! That extremely wordy paragraph aside, I’m pleased with how the rest of the scene went today. It’s like I’m taking the bare necessities of all those old horrendous scenes from the 1st Draft and mentioning them as I actually need them – and it’s not, you know, horrendous. 😂

“Sorry,” I shrug, completely uncontrite.

That was actually the first line I wrote today; guess that really set the tone 🤣

Written today: 1,002

Total word count: 5,445

~Day -3~

I really didn’t feel like writing today for some reason. I guess I’m really tired from work. 😂 But I sat down anyway and went through the scene for today. It was even shorter than the last two, and I don’t know how happy I am with it. But it gets the things done that I needed it to get done, and the line-editing phase will surely help it. ~~I hope. 😂~~

Me: *realizes partway through the scene that I forgot to even name one of my characters*

Dread.
Absolute and dark dread.

Written today: 955

Total word count: 6,400

~Day -2~

So I started off today by going back to the scene from yesterday and adding another 192 words to it. 😂 I think it helped it a bit, though.

After that, though, I moved on to a different new scene in the book.

And it instantly started giving me trouble!

*huffs*

I ended up pushing through, but didn’t get to finish the scene before I had to leave for work. I was a little frustrated by that fact. 🤣

“Fine,” I say shortly. “I didn’t stay for all of it.”
“Oh? Why ever not?”
“Too beautiful,” Sonder says cheerfully, materializing beside his grandmother. “She couldn’t take it.”

Written today: 2,010

Total word count: 8,410

I went and typed that out, then almost had a jaw-drop moment; I did not realize I’d written that much 😂

~Day -1~

We’re getting close to the official day of NaNoWriMo beginning! 😆 My little cheating self is, of course, already doing it, bUT STILL. 🤣

Anyway! Time to finish that scene from yesterday!

But first…

Coffee.

I ended up working on another clip that came after the new scene, and it took me 5 minutes to write 103 words. 😂 I only realized because my song was that long, and then when it ended, I looked at what I had – and couldn’t help but burst out laughing. I don’t like editing while I write, but I’d already backtracked a few times to fix my weird writing. 😝

Update from night: *rushes in* Okay, you’re not going to believe what I just found out!!

Remember how I wrote a whole post on Scrivener? Well, apparently they’re actually doing a special trail for NaNoWriMo! It runs all the way to December 7th, so if you want to check out what the application is like without having to spend a bunch of money to do, this is a great time to try it out. 😁 The link for that free trial is right here! There’s also a 20% off coupon code on that same page, so if you decide to buy it, you can do that right here! (That link right there is actually an affiliate link, which means I’ll get a small commission if you purchase Scrivener through that link, which helps support me and my blog 🙂 )

I glance over in time to see Aurelia take a bit of the tart she has instead of replying.

Written today: 842

Total word count: 9,252

~Day 0~

I didn’t work on my writing for most of the day; I was busy, and then exhausted. It wasn’t until it was around 7:00 at night that I finally sat down at my laptop to actually do some writing.

And, at long last, I finished this scene! 🤣

I’m pleased with how it came out, so that’s good. Of course, it all depends on the big picture; I’ll have to eventually read the whole manuscript again and see how this fits in with the rest of it. 😅

But protect him from what? A twenty-something woman who gets too much espresso in her coffee? What could she possibly do to him?

Written today: 686

Total word count: 9,938

This week was not what I expected. I mean, I don’t know that I actually had any expectations 😂 but mainly I just spent this week trying to get into the groove of writing and back into my characters heads. There were times I was just sitting there trying to think of how I would have worded something last year, and others where I was questioning whether I writing in the proper character’s voice. 😅

As I do every year, I won’t post about today, as who knows what will happen throughout the day. (Even though I’m going to be at work. 🤣) I’d love to hear about what you’re currently working on and how it’s going in the comments down below, though, whether you’re doing NaNoWriMo or not! 😁

I’ll be doing posts like this all of November, so if you want see all of those, make sure to subscribe! You’ll also get access to the password for my Resources page (which changes monthly), where I currently have a bingo for NaNoWriMo available. 😉And, speaking of that…

Here’s what mine currently looks like! 😄

I filled in more than I expected. I’m also not counting just sharing my bingo on my blog as sharing it with a fellow writer. 😆 I have to work for this, okay?