Oh man, I knew writing was hard. But I didn't realize just how exhausting it was. This process has made me admire the hell out of every single author who not only publishes novels, but manages to get it right all the time. It even makes me feel bad for authors who don't necessarily get it right. It ain't easy!
My goal was to write at least 2000 words a day to make my goal. My husband and I were leaving for a long weekend on the 25th, so I HAD to be done by the 24th. Ack! Pressure!
So I am going to talk about my process during the month of November in Bob's Burgers GIFs because that show cracks me up all the time.
Day One - 2700 words down and I FINALLY finish my scene outline. I got this!!
Day Two - Procrastination makes things hard. I have written 4700 words and feel like when editing time comes, I will get rid of 3000 of those. New way to procrastinate: look at submission guidelines for different publishing companies. Getting ahead of myself, much?
Yeah, I am changing aspects of my plot AS I AM WRITING IT. Major editing will need to be done later.
Yes, I am now writing scenes out of order. Three chapters down and I decided I would have more fun working on the ending. Whatever. I'm a God to these characters. I can do what I want.
Day 11: I am at 25,000 words! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel . . . or some wavy lines that may or may not be light.
Day 13: I feel like I am running a marathon. I still have ten miles to go, but my energy is fading and I am lacking motivation. I need energy in the form of chocolate STAT!
Days 15 and 17: I had a horrible cold/migraine on Day 15 so I only wrote about 200 words. At 10:30pm, inspiration strikes and I end up writing 3800 words between 10:30pm and 1:00am. On day 17, I woke up at 3:30am, couldn't sleep and pounded out 2100 words. So exhausted!
Yeah, I have realized parts of my plot don't work WHILE WRITING IT! Major inconsistencies in my book. SO MANY CHANGES. Note to self: fix later.
Okay, my main character is getting on my nerves and pissing me off.
Day 23: Holy crap, I am DONE with my 50,000 words!!!
So that was my month in a nutshell.
Am I done with my book? Nope. Have my characters completely exhausted me? Yep. Now I will be taking a much needed break from my characters before finishing my book and doing some MUCH NEEDED EDITING!! OH MY GOD, THE EDITING WILL KILL ME!!
But the great news is that I made it!! I am exhausted and stressed about all the changes I need to make, but 85% of my book is done!!!
How was everyone else's NaNoWriMo? Can anyone relate to this at all?
Congrats on meeting your goal .That was really funny with the gifs! I can't imagine trying to write a book so good for you!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Grace! It is HARD WORK. I have such a new admiration for writers (even more than before).
DeleteCongratulations. I love reading stories of people completing NaNoWriMo. It never works for me, as November is simply too crazy. That said, I still give it a whirl every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cheryl! I do think that November was crazy for a lot of people. Maybe it's the holidays.
DeleteCongrats on getting to your goal!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Breana!
DeleteAMEN. I had NO IDEA that I would be so tired I could cry. Actually, so tired I DID cry hahah. This is like, exactly how it went down for me too! I started to really get pissed at my character by the end. And realized that I might want to change like, HUGE stuff. And seriously, HOW do authors do it? HOW? I basically feel bad for every negative review I have ever written.
ReplyDeleteAnd seriously, WHO picked November for this!? First, there are only 30 days! Give me a chance here, pick a 31 month! And then Thanksgiving, and I mean, Mockingjay... then Val came and my aunt died, and I tell you I don't know HOW I made it.
But wow... 85% is done!? THAT IS AMAZING! Like, I am so excited for you! I can't even imagine! I am probably half done, maybe a little more. And then I will probably have to cut crap. But I want to stomp on my character too so... she and I are parting ways until the new year ;) ALSO I want to change her name, but can you imagine what a pain that would be? Hahha.
CONGRATULATIONS! I am so, so happy for yoU!! <3
Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight
Thanks so much Shannon! I swear I came thisclose to crying, so I would understand if you did. It is SO HARD!! And of course, I was second guessing myself the whole time. It sounds like you had a lot going on during the month of November. And you have kids too. Believe me, it is a lot easier to find time to write when you don't have kids. I do have a dog, but she requires minimal supervision. So I admire the hell out of you for getting as much done as you did. Congratulations for surviving and for all the work you did get done!
DeleteCONGRATS on hitting 50.000 and in 23 days no less! I hope you had fun and feel sufficiently accomplished. I only made it to 20.000, but I love NaNoWriMo and it really helps with motivation.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Vlora! Congrats on getting 20,000! That is still quite the accomplishment. :)
DeleteWhen I first started NaNo, I was thinking that it would be a cakewalk. I now have so much more respect for authors who write awesome books, because the process can slaughter you. My migraines kept me away from my goal, but I was happy with what I did write, and I wrote my scenes out of order as well. I think it is important to get your words out before you lose them.
ReplyDeleteLyn, I feel the EXACT same way!! Not only do I have more respect for the amazing writers I read every day, but I have more sympathy for the ones who don't get it right. It's not easy AT ALL!!
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