Year-long NaNo discussion

I would set a word count goal for March, but this story keeps twisting and changing on me and I'm a mostly-pantser so I don't know what it'll take to get me to "The End". :P But I'd like to get probably at least double the regular NaNo word count a day, so I can hopefully finish this book up by April. :) So far I think I've written about 2k a day this month, which isn't bad, haha, but I think I'm going to shoot for a little more than that. :) I know I got 4k today, though, which was really fun! :D

I'd like to post snippets when I can, too, but right now it's still quite rough, especially in certain places, so I'd have to polish them up so they make sense, lol, and aren't peppered with my little self-editor notes. ;)

Enough rambling, though, psh. I feel like I should give you a snippet for writing all that. ;) LOL. Maybe I will, too, if I can find a good one. :)

(Oh, and the book is about dragons, [obviously ;P], but also how power can corrupt even the greatest people if you're not careful. I'm really excited to finish and publish it!! :D)

Thanks! :D I know it's a lot, haha, but I've sort of been procrastinating too long that I really have to kick myself into gear now to meet my goal, oops. :P And I wrote about 2.5k today, which I'm pretty happy about. :)

I only got 1075 words yesterday, which isn't even half of what I got yesterday. D: But it was a bit of an off day, and I have the whole day today to make up for it, haha. So I guess I'm just going to write like the wind today and hope I write enough to stay on track. :P

Well, I've got 1652 words so far in just a couple hours! If I keep this up, I should be able to get back on track. :)

I got 1452 words yesterday, which isn't too bad. :) Still would like to get more than that, but I did end up rewriting a scene a few times because it was a really crucial one that I was trying hard to get right, so that's partially why. :P

I made it to 2226 words yesterday! :D

Between the last two days, I got 3126 words. :) Most of that was on the 13th but still, that's pretty good.

I only got 781 yesterday. D: That's not very good at all. Hopefully I can make up for it today though, haha.

I'm still trying to find a good excerpt to post, too. Most of it is just so rough, though, that it's tricky. Hmm. :P

Okay, I think I found an excerpt. It's rather small and doesn't give a lot of information, but it showcases the characters really well and I like it. :P

~~~~

“This is supposed to be a secret mission, Blaze dear.”

“I know that.” He shoved aside a branch with a scowl. “What makes you think I don’t?”

Sari followed him calmly. “Well, the fact that you’re making quite a bit of noise would seem to point to it.”

He shoved another branch aside, albeit quieter this time, giving her a pointed look as he let it go. “There. Happy now?”

She smiled warmly. Always so warmly, as if nothing could ever change it. “Yes, dear. Though if you could add a smile to your handsome face it would make me even happier.”

“Yeah. Not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

He was about to reply when something stopped him. The air felt...different, and a quick glance back at Sari confirmed that she felt the same. He was about to make a comment when an unmistakable growl cut through the silence.

"Oh, look at that. It seems our little friend is even grumpier than you are. Who knew that was possible?" Sari flashed him a cheery, almost cheeky smile--if cheeky was even possible for Sari--and headed in the direction of the noise.

Thanks, Mary, and Astrid! :D Haha, I'm trying to finish up so I can get to that point, lol. Editing is such fun. ;P

Shoot, I don't remember what I got on the 16th. Something like 1.5-2k, I think.

And then I didn't have a chance to write on the 17th. However, yesterday I somehow got 6052 words, so I think I more than made up for the 17th, lol. :P I still have no idea how I got so much done yesterday. But I'm very happy about it. :D I'm reaching another huge plot point, about 3/4ths of the way through the book, give or take, I'd say, so I'm very excited!! Maybe I really can get to the end by April! :D

I wish I could calculate how much more I have, lol. Then I'd know how much I'd have to do a day to finish. Oh well. I've gotta just keep writin', just keep writin', and hopefully I'll make my goal. :)

Well, I'm getting terrible at keeping up with this. Oh dear. It's hard because the days I have a lot going on I don't get a lot of writing done, let alone updating about writing. :P But let's see....I have been updating it to a blank doc after I write it, so I should be able to figure out approximately what I got. :P

Saturday I got about 1k, I think. I know Sunday I got very little done because I had church, then just a little bit of time between church and work, so that was probably only like 500 words or less, unfortunately. Monday, though, I got like...2k, and about that on Tuesday too, I think. Yesterday I didn't get that much done, unfortunately, only like 400 words or so.

I'm very near the end of the story, though, so I'm pretty on track for meeting my goal! :D I think I ended up cutting out a few sections that would've taken me a while longer to write, so I think I actually WILL finish this by April, which is awesome, because it means I can start writing the second book for Camp, as well as edit this one. :D

Yeah, I actually have no school now, haha, since I've graduated, but work still keeps me pretty busy too. :P

*looks at calendar sheepishly* Maybe I should've tried doing weekly updates and keeping track of my word count each day in a notebook or something. :P Whoooops.

Let's see...last weekend I wasn't at home, so I didn't get like...any writing done, but I knew I wouldn't, haha, and had planned for that. And I didn't really get anything done on Easter, either. Monday, however, I got about...we'll call it 1k, lol, rather than trying to find the specific wordcount. :P And yesterday I got about the same, I'd guess. Today, however, I've gotten like 2k, so that's pretty good! :D I'm just filling in a few gaps in the story to finish it off for March, then I can work on writing the second book and editing this one for Camp. :D I've basically finished it, though. :)

I'm also glad that it seems I overestimated what my wordcount per day would need to be, because it made me push myself harder instead of going 'eh, I only need like 1k a day' and then getting to the last week of March realizing I have a lottttt left, lol.

I want to post another excerpt soon, too, as soon as I find one that's not utterly terrible. XD First drafts, man. ;) Lol.

Oh, awesome! :D And yeah, I do, actually. :) I'm on the NaNoWriMo site and part of this Christian Teens thread that's organized a few cabins for Camp. :)

Uhh, I think I set it to 50k? :P I'm not quite sure what I'm going to get done for Camp, lol, since I want to edit Dragons' Bane for it but also write some of the second book, so I don't know how much I'll get done. :P I highly doubt I could write all of the second book in April, with editing, and the editing is my higher priority anyway, haha. I just like having something to write while I edit, too. :)

Yeah, exactly. :P It makes it more bearable to have something edit-free to write at the same time. ;) Oh, that sounds cool! I actually have a sort of backstory novelette I'm going to write as a companion to this story, too. Maybe I'll work on that during Camp instead, or maybe even with everything else. :P LOL. I'm an overachiever, that's for sure. XD

I have 2224 words today so far!! :D And an interesting development to the middle of my story that I may have to work on during Camp, hmm. We'll see if I can't tie off the loose ends tonight before Camp first. :P

Well, my Camp goal is an average of about 2k a day. That gives me a little cushion for any days I don't or can't make that exact wordcount.
And I hit about...900 words for today. Not the best, but I have the entire day free tomorrow, so I should be able to easily make up for it and beyond. :)

Yep! And I'm already further with my wordcount today than I got yesterday, so I can totally make up for those missing words. :)

Nearly 3k words total today. Pretty good, I'd say, and gets me right back on track for Camp! :D

Great job!

Thanks! :D

I got 1914 words today, which is even above my daily Camp goal. :D

Well...the last few days I haven't done so well. :P Oops. Only about...200 words between two days. Erp. They were just off days, unfortunately.

And today I'm at 611 so far. I have a lot to catch up on, hehe. I'm writing a really fun scene, though. :P My FMC is being all sassy and arguing with everyone.

Thanks! :)

Well, I got to 2091 so far today, so that's not bad! :) If I do a little more than my Camp goal for a few days, I should be able to catch up again.

Ah, geez, Camp is not a great time to get sick!! D: I'm so far behind now it's not even funny. :/ Silly sickness!! I'm really going to have to push myself to try to get this done by the end of Camp now.

Well, I'm to the point that I'm doing a mix of editing and rewriting little bits, so I can't really keep track of word count. :P But I'm satisfied with what I got done for Camp, so I'm happy about that. :) My goals now are just more like "Finish the back cover." "Edit/proofread." "Promote the book on social media." etc. :P

But I'm really excited!! :D I plan to publish Dragons' Bane in less than two months!! Which is kind of scary, too, but also really exciting. :D

That's awesome! You've been working on Dragons' Bane for quite a while, haven't you? It must feel so satisfying to be near the end! :)

Yeah, I've been working on it since November-ish of 2014, haha, so yep. :P And it is!! :D Scary, but especially once it's actually published, definitely satisfying. :)

And then I just get to go through the exact same thing all over again with the next one. ;)

Goal for May? Have the book finished down to the point of just needing tiny line edits.

So far, so good! :) Also, I'm opening it up to beta-readers, so if you'd like to beta-read Dragons' Bane, just let me know and I'll send you a link to the doc. :)

And here's a link to the first chapter, finished and polished! :D

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o...