Yesterday evening we had one of our Barnes & Noble write-ins, which have proven to be one of the best write-ins for me getting stuff done. I was able to get 1,450 words last night for a running total of 30,401.
I found it a little tough to get started yesterday, because I had finished a particularly compelling scene the day before. I think it's always tough to get started when you're between scenes, partly because the end of the last scene feels so much like an ending, and also because sometimes you're not sure what's going to happen next. It was a little of both for me this time, because finishing that scene meant I needed to go back and refresh myself on what I originally had happening next, remind myself why I didn't like it or why that didn't fit with my reimagined plot line, create a new plan, and start writing.
But I did get all that done, so I have a plan for the new scene, which I was in the middle of writing when the write-in ended. I worked a little more on it on the way home in the car, but I have plenty more to write at tonight's write-in. More importantly, I have a plan for what is going to happen next, after this scene.
I miss my big writing days, like the phenomenal 8,000-word day at the beginning of the month, but I've had a lot I'm juggling this month. For instance, I'm still trying to keep up on my freelance work, and although I didn't have much to do at the beginning of the month, my main client sent out assignments early this week. So I've been juggling that, plus doll repairs for my doll business, plus taking care of my horse and occasionally riding, plus cleaning and organizing my house as I'm also in the middle of a big reorganization project.
Despite all that, I've been moving along on my novel, and I'm quite proud of that. Even if some days I only write a few hundred words, the point is that I'm writing. In past years, NaNoWriMo has burnt me out a little, usually due to scrambling to get the 50,000 all at the last minute. This year though I have a comfortable lead thanks to my early 8,000-word day, and with no feelings of burnout brewing, I'm reasonably confident I should be able to keep the habit up into December and beyond.
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