Are you NaNoing?

I suppose what I should ask is "Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month?" I am! Well, kinda, but I'll explain that in a minute. For those of you who don't know, National Novel Writing Month -- or NaNoWriMo -- is where you commit to writing a novel during the month of November. Yep, a 50,000 word novel. In layman's terms, that's a minimum of 1,667 words every day for 30 days. Sound difficult?

For some, maybe not. For me? Hell, yes. I've said before that I'm not the fastest writer around. If I can get 1,000 words down in one day, then I'm doing really good. And you may say that an additional 667 words doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, it is. Especially when I'm an edit-as-I-go-er.

So, I decided to change things up. You guessed it -- I'm a NaNoRebel. Not only am I not starting a brand new novel for this experiment, but I'm also not really committed to the whole 50K thing. I know, I know. Why bother, then, right? Well, I'm bothering because I could use a good old fashioned kick in the pants. At the same time, though, I have to be realistic. I know what I can accomplish. I know what I want to accomplish -- which is to finish my current work-in-progress before the end of the year.

That being said, I've committed to writing at least 20K, with 30K being the max. And I also know that it's unrealistic for me to sit down and write 7 days a week. It's just not doable. So, I've committed to 5 days a week. Let me do the math for you -- that's 30,000 words in 22 days. 1364 words per day. Still a little high for me, but hey, it's worth a shot.

And how have I done so far, you ask? Well... Sigh. At any normal time, I'd say I've had a good week (so far). But for NaNo? I have to admit that I'm already a bit behind. Real life, and all that. I've logged in three word counts -- 11/1, 1120 words. 11/2, 1113 words. And 11/3, 500. Hey, I had to leave the house for a meeting, and then we went out to dinner, and then.... Well, you get the picture.

I have a feeling this is going to be a month filled with long, late nights. Not only does November have a huge holiday in it, but hubby's taking a bunch of vacation days, too. We're going to be doing some much-needed renovation around the house (new flooring, yay!), and all that starts today. But I'll trudge along, writing when I can to get those words in. Will I make it? Who knows. Will I enjoy trying? I think so. I'm having fun so far, and I love the direction my book is going, so win, win. Right?

For now, though, I'm off to get some words in for the day. Then, after that? It's hammer time (we're ripping up old tile!).

Have a great -- and productive -- weekend!

Kristin
www.kristindaniels.com
www.facebook.com/authorkristindaniels
http://twitter.com/Kristin_Daniels

PS, if anyone wants to buddy up with me for NaNo, I'm Kristin_Daniels over there!