NaNoWriMo Days 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20

I was not able to write at all on Saturday (day 17) but I managed to get caught up for the most part on Sunday and Monday. (Maybe that day off was good for me?) I am currently only 200 words behind (supposing I write today's word count) which is hardly anything. Granted, I did use an old essay to help me out with one of those memories (which added quite a few words to the word count)... but all of those words are still originally mine!

Right now, my word count is 31,503 words. By the end of today I should be at 33,333 words (isn't that a pretty number?).



The fun thing about NaNoWriMo is you never know what is going to come next in your story. Well, that's one of the many fun things about NaNoWriMo. This year, I already know what is coming in my life's story. I already know that the main character lives, what happens when people get sick, what happens when a friend is lost or a love-interest is found, what happens when a bully messes with the main character, or what happens when there is a spiritual revelation. I already know because I'm writing about me and these things have already happened. But remembering these moments, days, or seasons brings smiles to my face and/or tears to my eyes. It just depends. I've had an exceptionally blessed life; but, my story has some rough patches too. Some of these patches were totally out of my control, while for others I must take full responsibility.

I'm writing through the smiles and the tears, though. And in about 20,000 words/10 days, I should be able to read through my auto-biography and praise God that I've made it this far, that I've grown through it all, and that I still have the Holy Spirit to guide me in the next season(s) in my life.



Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

NaNoWriMo Days 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, & 24

Don't look at me like that! I know I haven't blogged in 10 days. And the reason? Well, I've been behind almost every one of those days. I caught up back on Day 14 and kept on track for a day or two and then I fell behind again on Day 17. It's already 3pm today and I'm only at 29,000 words total and I should be at at least 38,300 words. I'm just a little behind (Ha!). I would really like to write at least two days worth of word quotas this afternoon (3,333 words). I'll blog tomorrow and let y'all know if I make that goal.

I only have seven and a half days to write 21,000 words.

Piece of cake. . .right?

Pray for me. My fingers are going to fall off this time.

NaNoWriMo- the Final Days

Well... the last 11 days I was behind every single day. No joke. I would catch up occasionally and then the next day I would get behind again. Sometime around days 20-25, I would sit at the dining room table instead of on our Lazy Boy. Wow, what a difference achair can make. It actually had to sit up straight *gasp*. Needless to say, it helped a lot. I also did some "Nuclear Weekend" (See No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty) type writing where I set the timer for forty minutes and wrote as long/fast as I could and then take a twenty minute break. I repeated this process until I made it to 1500 words. Then, take a long break (eat a meal, watch TV, read a book, talk to actual people, etc.) and do it again with another 1500 words. Then take a break. Then write again. So, I did this a few times (even though I usually only did it twice in a day rather than three times) and it helped a lot.

The last five days of NaNo ended up being pretty interesting. We were staying at a little house in New Braunfels where there was no internet access. That was sad for a couple of reasons: no e-mail, no blogging, no research for the book. But, it ended up helping a lot. On day 27 I had approximately 14,000 words left. I wrote about 3,500 on that day, 4,500 on day 28, 2,000 on day 29, and 4,000 words on day 30. It was a killer and I doubt the last 14,000 words of my book are all that great. But they are written and I am a winner with a grand total of 50,004 words.

As far as the story goes (I haven't really blogged about it) here's a synopsis:  It opens with the birth of a girl named Shiloh Ella Smith in a small town in Michigan. Her dad is a Baptist pastor there. Shiloh grew up without even leaving the state. In fact, she never even left her city unless it was for one of the families summer trips to Lake Superior. In high school, she meets a boy named JJ Wilburn. They are friends at first but by the end of high school they are sweethearts. JJ is a year older than Shiloh but as soon as she is old enough, Shiloh goes off to school with JJ that is only a couple of hours from their home (and still in the state). When he graduates college, he proposes to her. She leaves school early to marry him and JJ takes over the preaching at the Baptist church Shiloh's dad was the pastor at. They have four kids, all of them named after cities/countries that Shiloh had wanted to visit. Their names are Sydney Australia, Seoul Korea, Paris France, and Dublin Ireland (in that order). They go to the lake every summer just like Shiloh and her parents did. Shiloh's happiness does not last long enough, though, as she and Dublin both die that summer. JJ shuts down and the remaining three children have to raise themselves. Years later, the three siblings end up traveling the world together to the cities they were named after. On the trip, they find out a lot about each other, their thoughts on the past, and their faith in something bigger than themselves. 

Sorry this post is so late! Thanks for all the support from my family and friends. It was a crazy month but so much fun. This book is going to need a ton of editing but it may take me more than a month the second time around :P

120 pages!

NaNoWriMo Days 18, 19, 20, & 21

Well, this post is about multiple things. First, the writing. Well, I haven't posted at all these past few days because I have stayed on top of my word count. Today I passed the 35k mark!! However, the story is kind of, well, just ok. I am having trouble figuring out how to speed things up and get closer to the climax which should be happening in the next week.

What else is this post about? Well, today we are putting up Christmas decorations. Yes, I know, Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet. We normally put up decorations the day after Thanksgiving. This year we decided to do it a little early. Family is coming for Thanksgiving and they never get to see our Christmas stuff so that is another reason we are doing it now. I am taking a little break, though,to blog :D

Next, I am proud to announce that Collen (my little sister) sang the National Anthem with about 40 other kids tonight at the Spurs game!! :D

Lastly, who is actually looking at this blog? I am starting to wonder...