NaNoWriMo Update: Days 25-30 -- An End

Daily Stats

Days 25-30 Word Quota: 15,100
Days 25-30 Words Written: 15,167
Cumulative Word Count: 50,067

Reaching an end

At midnight on Monday night, NaNoWriMo 2009 came to an end. I have been woefully lax in blogging about my progress for the past week. I'll end the suspense early: I achieved the 50,000 word goal, and I am a winner (I have the PDF certificate to prove it).

I hvae perfectly good reasons for not providing an account of my doings over the past seven days, and although Thanksgiving is over, I'd like to share with you my recipe for How to Make The Last Week of NaNoWriMo Really, Really Difficult.

1. Start from behind

If you want to make the last week of NaNoWriMo as difficult as possible, you want to be behind schedule. Take my experience. After renewing my excitement about the story on Day 24 and writing a quite impressive 3,300 words, I found I was still far behind where I needed to be. To that point I was somewhere just under 35K words total; which meant I would need to knock out some serious word count over the next six days. Difficult, yes, but hardly impossible. I needed to add some more challenge.

2. Throw in a Holiday mix

I found that challenge in the approaching holiday weekend. I love Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays; there is something about family and food and the cool weather that touches me. It does not, however, make for good writing. Nor does an incredibly busy day at work the day before. Add in the Iron Bowl on the Friday following the annual gorge-fest, and you can make things really hard in that last week.

I knew both Wednesday and Thursday would be busy days, so I scheduled accordingly. I set small goals of 500 words on each day -- not where I needed to be, but I would make some kind of progress on the story. It was part of the plan.

Of course, on Wednesday, I completely blew off writing, thanks to work. The day before Thanksgiving is a big day at the Pork Palace for carry-out business. We sell a lot of smoked turkey breasts and side items, as is to be expected, but also a surprising amount of ribs (I imagine I could eat ribs on Thanksgiving, but it just seems very, very wrong to me. I'm a turkey man). As such, I ended up working a double shift of Wednesday, both to help out with the increased business, but also to make up for the shift I would miss when the restaurant was closed on Thursday. By the time I got home on Wednesday night, I was exhausted and had to call it a night without even looking at the computer.

I made up for it on Thursday, mostly writing in the morning. We had great dinner that afternoon with Jean, Caroline, Katie and Juliana, and after one of the best Thanksgiving Days in recent memory, I had ended up writing almost 1,100 words. Good for a holiday, but not good for my cumulative total. I was still just under 36,000 words with only four days to go.

I expected to gain some ground on Friday, or at least that's what I told myself. I scheduled a 3,300-word day, and I was eager to get some good writing done.

Yeah, right. It was Iron Bowl day.

I did some writing that morning, but most of the time I spent on the computer was taken by checking on pre-game information and reading articles about both Auburn and Alabama. Once game time arrived, any more writing I had hoped to do simply wasn't going to happen. I went to work during the third quarter of the game, came home after the Pork Palace closed early, and went to bed. I had written 1,500 words for the day.

3. Mix in new projects

At this point, I had three days left to write and more than 13,000 words to go.
The task before me was daunting. Scary, even. That's a lot of words-- a whole lot of words -- to knock out in three days. And not to just type them into a computer; I needed them to make sense and advance my story. Ah, yes; the story. I was rapidly running out of ideas for the story as well. By then I had only one phase outline completed for one of the chapters, and another phase outline sketched out in a raw form. The rest of the story was wandering around aimlessly in my head, making itself incredibly difficult to find.

But that just wasn't enough difficulty for me. Something else needed to be thrown in to make things really, really hard. Namely, a newsletter and a website.

Not only would I be typing like a madman over the weekend, but Jean would need a significant amount of computer time herself. Magic City Blues News, the newsletter Jean and I lay out each month, was behind schedule and needed a lot of work. Jean is also building a website for a client of hers, a gentleman who hand-builds guitars from cypress knots (more about that later).

Instead of panicking (to be honest, there was a little panic. What do you mean we have to do all this by Monday?), we planned. We plotted. We scheduled. And by early Saturday morning, we had a strategy that might -- just might -- let us get most everything done, if we stuck to it.

4. Hit your stride

Time was slipping away and there was too much to do. If I was going to hit that magical 50,000-word goal, something would have to happen -- and soon.

I guess I was exactly where I needed to be.

Maybe it was the deadline pressure, or perhaps the structure; it might have been the synergy I felt from working with Jean, but I hung in there and Saturday was the day when I hit my stride. We swapped time at the computer, each of us working in shifts that lasted between 45 minutes and an hour, and we each made the most of our time. And during my shifts, the words just started flowing. I was hammering out a lot of material, completely focused on the task at hand. If I got stuck with something, I just moved on to the next idea. Quantity was the important thing here, not quality.

I made a decision to work with the story in sections; trying to tell the story from start to finish wouldn't work. There was just too much story left to write; I figure that telling all of Snakebit will take 80,000 words or more. I took a hint from the NaNoWriMo website and worked on pulling together a decent beginning, middle and end, with highlights in between and the details to be filled in during the editing process.

And it worked. By the end of the day on Saturday, I had written more than 5,000 words. My cumulative total was over 42,500 and I could not only see light at the end of the tunnel, I could also make out the exit and what lay beyond. After Saturday, hitting the 50,000 word mark was practically a foregone conclusion.

Sunday was another very busy and super productive day, following the same pattern as Saturday. I knocked out more than 4,000 words on Sunday, working mainly on the ending of the story.

5. Bask in the glow of success

Monday was more difficult than the other two days, mainly because I almost ran out of things to write. I was happy to type out the words "The End," but when I checked my word counter afterward, I was still 800 or so words short. I ended up adding two more sequences to the middle of the story, and sometime around 3 o'clock that afternoon, I became an official NaNoWriMo winner.

That's 50,000 words in the month of November. For me, that ended up being twenty writing days. And there there is still much work to be done on Snakebit. There are plot holes to be filled, characters and descriptions to be fleshed out, and probably two months of editing work to do. It is a book that is far from complete, and I know it. Yet I also know this: I have a foundation. A good one. My first one.

I am eager to see what happens next.

Tomorrow: What NaNoWriMo taught me

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 24 -- Renewed efforts

Daily Stats

Day 24 Word Quota: 4,000
Day 24 Words Written: 3,300
Cumulative Word Count: 34,861

Renewed efforts

After Monday's realizations, I decided to take a long, hard look at at Snakebit and where it stood with regards to the remainder of NaNoWriMo. I knew I was behind, but I didn't know exactly what I would have to do to finish 50,000 words by midnight on the 30th.

I know now.

The first thing I did on Tuesday was to review what I needed to do to reach my word goal on time. It wasn't pretty. It looks like I'll need somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 words per day to reach my goal (not counting two days mostly-off for Thanksgiving). I'll also need more phase outlines, because I'm running out of things to write. So I made a plan, and I'm working it.

I also became un-bored with the story. That happened when I figured out that it was entirely up to me to make the story fun. Throwing in a redneck wedding to a Mississippi stripper upped the fun quotient to be sure.

So even though I'm behind, I feel good. I have a plan, and although it will be difficult to attain, it is far from impossible. I guess the most important thing is that I want this. I really, really want it. I not only want to hit that magic 50,000 word mark, but I also want a first draft finished by the end of the month. Can I get a draft finished by then? I don't know. But I will at the very least finish 50,000 words by the time the clock strikes 11:59 on the night of the 30th.

You can take that to the bank.

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 16 -- Midterm review

Daily Stats

Day 16 Word Quota: 2,500
Days 16 Words Written: 3,696
Cumulative Word Count: 25,087

Midterm Review

Monday was a big day for a couple of reasons. For one, I had my second-highest daily output since I began NaNoWriMo. Second, I hit the word-count midpoint for the month; a big deal in and of itself, but I think it's more significant for me that I hit it on schedule.

I feel good about this, and I think I should feel good about it. I put a lot of work and planning into this project/challenge/bit of madness. Seeing that magical halfway mark appear when I planned for it to do so is a nice bit of affirmation for the work I'm doing.

I expected these past two weeks to be filled with agony. I anticipated writing into the wee hours of the night, every night, connected to a straight caffeine I.V. and pulling my hair out while I wrestled with character and plot.

Hasn't happened. It's been -- I can't say easy, because it's not -- but enjoyable. And as November has progressed, my writing is coming easier and I'm having fun. I suppose it is much like undertaking a new exercise regimen; the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you enjoy it.

Problem issues

There have been problems, to be sure. Disposing of my inner editor was the biggest one, but I shipped him off to parts unknown in a small, cramped crate. Which is actually fairly humane and better treatment than he deserved. My inner editor is a jerk, but I will start listening to him when he returns in January.

Procrastination is another issue, but I think I've finally, truly realized that Snakebit isn't going to write itself. The greatest ideas in my head don't mean squat if I don't make the time to sit at the keyboard and actually get them out of my head.

I also had to get used to the idea that the first draft wasn't going to be perfect. I am certain that the eventual Snakebit manuscript will be something quite different from what I'm putting out this month. I really started moving along when I could tell myself that I'm laying a foundation.

Imperfect is okay (for now)

Knowing that I didn't have to be perfect also affected me in another positive manner: I started cranking out material. I have been surprised at how many words I can get out in a day. The episodes for my other writing project, Committed, also run about 2,500 words each. I would sweat and strain and fuss over those episodes for a week, and often longer. I considered a 1,000 word day as an exceptional output. Not any more. I like that a lot, and I plan for this new productivity to carry over to other projects once NaNoWriMo is done.

One more thing: I'm finding that finishing 50,000 words will only get me about three-quarters of the way through the novel. While the 50,000 word goal is a good one -- and one that I think is definitely in sight -- I want to finish the book. Looks like I'll be upping my word quotas. Can I do 3,500 a day? Every day? I want to give it a shot.

So I am eager to get going with the rest of the month. I'm caught up, I'm working my plan, and I'm going to end up with something I've wanted for a long, long time.

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 13 -- A Milestone

Daily Stats

Day 13 Word Quota: 2,500
Days 13 Words Written: 2,504
Cumulative Word Count: 17,519

My personal milestone

Friday marked a milestone for me: It was the first day I achieved my NaNoWriMo word count goal during the day before I had to go in for my shift at the Pork Palace.

In short, that meant that when I got home from work around 10:30 I was able to chill out, talk with my lovely wife, and indulge in some mindless relaxation (which in this case meant checking out some old "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episodes on WB.com). It also meant, almost as importantly, that I wouldn't be sitting down in front of the computer, tired and brain-dead, trying to reach my word goal before I could get into bed.

Before I wrote word one for NaNoWriMo, I made a schedule for November that determined how many words I would need to write each day. I also included daily guidelines for achieving my word goal. Ideally, I would get up each writing day, spend 30 minutes to an hour surfing the web, checking mail, updating facebook, and so forth. Then there would be some general housework, with the rest of the non-workday committed to NaNoWriMo before I would get ready for my shift at the Pork Palace.

Ah, the best laid plans.

I've been trying to follow my my schedule, I really have. But I didn't count on my procrastinatory tendencies. I've been pretty bad about doing anything and everything around the house for hours before finally noticing that half the day was gone, and if I was going to get anywhere near my word count for the day, I would have to light a large, hot fire under my ass. By doing this, I put a lot of pressure on myself, and up until yesterday I was having to come in after work and write, staying up much later than normal just so I could reach my quota.

Thursday was such a day, and before I went to work I had somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,700 words done, with another 800 to do when I got home. I was tired and the writing didn't come easy, but I stuck with it and reached my quota sometime around 1:30 on Friday morning (about three hours later than when I normally like to hit the sheets).

The stage was set for Friday to be an underachieving day. I slept in, and got a later start on my writing than usual. But I was determined. I made myself sit at the computer, and by the time I started to get ready for work at three o'clock, I was excited to find that I had done 2,504 words. My quota was met! Done for the day! No late-night Friday writing!

So another day, another word goal met, another step closer to a first draft of what's turning into a fairly interesting novel. I'm working my plan, I'm having fun, and I'm learning about myself as I go.

It's hard to argue against that!

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 12 -- Overcoming procrastination

Daily Stats

Day 12 Word Quota: 2,500
Days 12 Words Written: 2,678
Cumulative Word Count: 15,015

Overcoming Procrastination

Thursday was a roller-caster ride. I began the day with the best of intentions, tried to make a mountain out of a molehill of a plot situation during the morning, almost procrastinated myself into trouble in the afternoon, and finally ended up beating my word quota late Thursday night.

Just another NaNoWriMo day at the Kirby homestead.

However, I am very pleased with the day's end result. I overcame some self-sabotaging tendencies, and because I sat down and did the writing, I am now back on track concerning my schedule. That's a good thing.

Now if I can just keep myself off facebook (with the fiendishly addictive Bejeweled Blitz), avoid Twitter, and stop finding months-old honey-do projects I've been successfully ignoring for time without end, I might just get this Snakebit written!

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 11 - Regaining momentum

Daily Stats

Day 11 Word Quota: 2,500
Days 11 Words Written: 3,171 (!)
Cumulative Word Count: 12,337

Letting it flow

Wednesday was an inspired day. I'm not quite sure why, but I'm happy about it. In that most rare of happenstances, the words simply flowed, without threats of violence to myself, coercion, or deals made with the devil at the crossroads.

To quote Ice Cube, "I didn't even have to use my A.K.; I got to say it was a good day."

And so it was. Even though it took me a while to get rolling on Snakebit, once I finally did get going I found it difficult to stop. I wrote right up until the time I had to get ready for my shift at work (getting close to the 1,900-word mark by then), and once I got home afterward, I sat back down at the computer with the goal of knocking out the last 600 words for the day. I ended up doubling that amount, and I was even able to get into bed at a decent hour.

Of course, yersterday's output is of dubious quality, as is a lot of what I've done so far. I'm not worried about it for now. Editing is for December (or possibly even January; I'm thinking I want to let the story cool for a month before I start working on the submission-ready manuscript). November and NaNoWriMo is all about quantity, and I'm gaining momentum. Watching my word count climb is a thrill; if I keep going like I have for the past few days, I'm beginning to think that I will easily surpass the 50,000-word goal by the end of the month. Heck, I might even try for 75,000. Why not?

I'll be working hard to keep my momentum going, writing as much as possible and making it fun while I do it. Who knows -- I might even try one of the NaNoWriMo "dares". I'm particularly intrigued by one that suggests sending an important message to one of my characters in a bowl of alphabet soup. Sure, it's a crazy idea, but I think that's one of the things I like the most about this entire NaNoWriMo adventure and the story I'm writing. For now, the best question I can ask myself regarding my story is not "why?", but rather "why not?"

I'll be asking that a lot in the days to come.

Day 2 excerpt from Snakebit

In this excerpt, Chuck is revisiting an incident from his early childhood in which he used up the majority of his life's allotment of luck:

Grandma and the professor started running after me, but they were too late. I was on my own version of Mister Toad's Wild Ride, laughing and giggling as the stroller picked up speed.

This is where my luck kicked in, and I was too young to even know it.

My ride in the stroller that day quickly became the stuff of local legend. Verified eyewitness accounts, from students, instructors and staff who either attempted to corral me or watched helplessly as I careened past, detailed no fewer than seventeen separate instances in a twelve-minute span where I should have been killed. I went around corners on two wheels, the stroller straining to fall over but somehow remaining upright as it bounced up and down the sidewalk. I zipped in and out of traffic, narrowly missing not one, but two speeding Buick Rivieras being used by the television bigwigs in town for the game. I traveled through a construction zone, edging along the side of a newly-opened trench, then ducking under a pipe that was being lowered into the trench by a small crane. The construction workers fell all over each other trying to catch me, yet somehow I eluded their grasp, zipping on down the hill.

I continued bouncing down the sidewalk, sending pretty coeds sprawling onto the grass as I passed, their books and long hair flying haphazardly.

I was rapidly approaching an intersection, and at any other place in the United States at the time, I would have come to a curb, ending my ride and almost certainly causing me serious bodily harm. Yet luck intervened yet again. Mississippi Tech was at the forefront of the movement for easy public access for the disabled, owing mainly due the university's history in prosthetics engineering. In the early days of mechanized farming, thousands of farmers lost limbs as the result of gruesome harvesting accidents. Many of these men and women were sharecroppers in the east Mississippi farmlands, and it became a goal of the university to help these disabled farmers lead normal, productive lives. The work with false arms and legs eventually led to research and development for all disabilities, and the university was the first place in the United States where wheelchair-friendly sidewalk access ramps were installed.

So I didn't hit a curb and die. I zoomed across the intersection, narrowly dodging a carload of brothers from Kappa Sigma who were on their way to the county line to get a keg of beer. Down, down I went, weaving and laughing, until I reached the top of the steps in front of the coliseum and stopped.

The stroller's front wheels dangled menacingly at the edge of the stairs. It was a good fifty feet from the top of the stairs to the sidewalk below, fifty feet of cold, hard concrete, broken regularly by steel handrails.

More to come!

An excerpt from Day One of Snakebit

For your enjoyment: An excerpt from Day One of NaNoWriMo. In this passage, protagonist Charles Nelson Riley Sturgis is reminiscing in his cell at the Chocolocco County (MS) Detention Center:

I've got a cell to myself, with bunk beds against one wall, a toilet and sink against the opposite wall, and a small chair and desk against the back wall. Above the desk, near the top of the wall, is a small window that lets in light, but nothing else. If I stand on the chair, I can look out the window and see the lights of the Mississippi Tech football stadium a few miles away.

I'm at the desk now, writing all this because I need something to do to pass the time. There's not a whole lot to do in jail, especially if you're trying to go straight, and I am. There's even less to do if you are a near-cripple with one eye who can't go on work detail or even go out to exercise. So, instead of doing anything with my broken body, I'm trying to exercise my mind. Maybe writing all this down will help me figure out why I'm here, or maybe give me some of that "closure" the state psychiatrist has told me about. I could just lie on my bunk, and I often do, but time passes really slowly when you're looking at the metal frame of the bunk bed above you. I think writing down my story will help me pass the time.

I said I was a near-cripple, and I am. The state has determined that I am officially disabled, thanks to two screws in my thighbone that were put in from a surgery I had in high school as well as from complications related to a broken back I suffered three years ago. This means that most of the time, while I'm awake, I hurt like a sumbitch. Today, for example, the screws in my leg are burning deep inside my thigh, my empty eye socket is itching like hell, and my back is so stiff that I can barely do anything besides sit at this desk -- it just hurts too bad to even stand up. I had to take my morning piss today sitting on the crapper like a woman. I'm glad I don't have a cellmate, because if I had one I'm pretty sure he would have laughed at me about that, and I wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing about it.

More to come!