And they’re off!

How to enjoy a successful NaNoWriMo (Photo credit: nuanc)

That crazy, wild, frenetic dash to finish 50,000 words in one month has begun.  I didn’t get up early like I’d planned to this morning.  Heck, I did well to roll out of bed when the alarm went off at 5:30.  I had to be at work at 7 and had so much to do.  I managed to accomplish most of what was on my list today and I didn’t feel like I was going to have to drag myself up the stairs when I got home, so that’s a good thing, right?

I stopped at Pet Smart and had a nice conversation with a complete stranger in the cat food aisle, caught myself pulling some of their merchandise forward on the shelves (hey, those retail habits are hard to break), then decided to stop at Kroger to pick up a frozen pizza.  Well, I tell you, when I pulled into that completely full parking lot, I decided I didn’t really want pizza enough to fight my way through the hordes of shoppers.  So pulled back onto the road and headed toward home.

Clara had to come over before she went out to trick or treat (it was postponed here because of the severe storms that were moving through the area last night…never heard of that before, but hey….).  I’m not sure what she was supposed to be…a Disney princess wearing Mickey Mouse ears maybe?  Of course, she was cute as a button.  And I was the first person to give her some treats.

Then I decided to sit down and get in my first writing stint.  Wrote just over 1000 words and decided to take a break.  Did dishes and checked out what all was happening with my friends.  Then sat down and wrote about 1700 more words to finish the day with 2713 words.  Now those of you who are familiar with NaNoWriMo might think that’s a pretty good start, but I decided to go all nuts this year and up my goal to 70,000 words instead of 50,000.  So, instead of 1667 words/day, I need 2333.  But I made it!

I have tomorrow off work and I’m aiming for at least 4000 words…whew!  I wish I could say the words just flowed from my fingertips, but it didn’t happen that way today.  Had to force myself to keep going up until just about where I quit.  I was going pretty good about then.  But I’ve figured out something that works for me, not sure if it would work for anyone else or not, but I stop writing in a good place, a place where I’ll be able to pick up the story and keep it moving at a good pace.  At least that’s the theory…I’ll let you know how it works tomorrow.

So how was your writing today?

Related articles

• Dear NaNoWriMo: Day 1 (lisenminetti.wordpress.com)
• I Was a NaNoWriMo Virgin (czwrighting.wordpress.com)

Post 700…or so

I completely missed it when I posted my 700th blog post the other day.  Today’s post is actually 703.  Wow!  Thanks so much to all of you who have accompanied me on this crazy trip.  It’s been such a pleasure to get to know you, to hear about your lives, to see the pictures you share with us, to have your support, and to share a few laughs along the way.  What a blast this has been.

No, no…don’t look at me like that.  This isn’t the end or anything close to it (I hope.  I guess we never know that for sure, do we?).  I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to let you know how much I appreciate your company.  I’m hoping we’ll be able to continue this journey together for many years to come.

Of course, those of you who are with me daily know I’m going to be a little busy for the month of November (a little thing called NaNoWriMo, in case you somehow missed the excitement), but I’m still going to be checking in every few days.  You know I have to let you know how my writing is progressing, right?  Wish me luck.  Spook and Scout want you to remind me every once in a while to go buy them some more treats.  A kitty’s got to have her treats.

Spook and Scout on their perch…together…

Related articles

• How I Prepared for NaNoWriMo (thesisterseternal.wordpress.com)
• Axe-Wielding Space Weasels! A Few NaNoWriMo Tips (audwriting.wordpress.com)