Daily check-in thread?

Solidarity and discussion for the NaNoWriMo 2020 Write-Through
JR Handley
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2020 7:11 pm

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by JR Handley »

Well done, Theresa!!! :D :D :D :D
Theresa Baumgartner
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 3:52 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by Theresa Baumgartner »

:D Thanks! The dogs were a lot more impressed by the walk than the words.
jdsawyer
Site Admin
Posts: 61
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 12:17 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by jdsawyer »

I've had to teach my dog to bring me the ball when I'm writing, or she gets very dejected at how much attention I'm paying to the keyboard instead of her. Even then, she's beside-herself happy when we go out. Dogs know their priorities :-) Congrats on being back in the groove, Theresa!

Ed, those novels where you have to keep cycling back to cut out unworkable elements are enough to drive one round the bend, but sometimes they wind up being very special indeed. DF10 and He Ain't Heavy were both that way for me, and they're two of my favorites. *solidarity*.

Keep going, JR! Restarting after a long absence is like restarting a 2-stroke engine after years of sitting out in the weather--a lot of sputtering and backfiring happens at the beginning. You may be off-pace for NaNo, but you're starting to hit the day rate you need.

My Day 20 was a little frustrating, as I was still trying to get back up to pace after pulling a 0 on day 17. I finished the day with 2227, for a grand total of 40728.

Day 21 was better, despite being more painful (writing through a migraine). Knocked out 3368, bringing my grand to 44096. Not sure I'm gonna finish this book by the end (dammit), but I should wind up north of 60k, so hopefully any completion work will only take a few days. On the other hand, if I can hit a groove (and avoid getting myself distracted by other people's emergencies, which is a persistent threat) and knock out a few 4k days, I could definitely finish before the end.

-Dan
Edryan
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:34 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by Edryan »

Thanks for the encouragement Dan!

with 10 days and ~ 28k to go I still have a shot at "winning" nano - would be a tough one considering my schedule, but a few 4k days like I had last week would certainly help....
Theresa Baumgartner
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 3:52 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by Theresa Baumgartner »

Last year I had a family emergency at the beginning of the month, and by the time I was back home I'd written nothing about 10 days of the first 15. And (as mentioned) I'm a plodder -- I just don't have days where I bang out 5k in two hours. I did manage to get to 50k last year, and here is what worked for me. It may or may not be applicable to anyone else. Use what makes sense, discard what doesn't work for you!

1) I gave myself permission to fail. (There were more important things happening, and stressing about NaNo wasn't going to help anything.)

2) I tried to do some writing in the morning so that I was facing a more manageable number in the evening (my normal writing time).

3) Sprints -- some people hate them, but I find them helpful for focus. I can ignore email if I know I'll be checking it in 20 minutes.

4) Relaxation timer -- I would set a 10 minute timer before I checked FB or twitter or whatever. It was amazing how much time I gained from this.

5) Write-ins -- there's a fairly active NaNo group in my area, so I went to write-ins. Being around other people with the same goal can be energizing. (Obviously this last one doesn't really work as well this year, but there are some virtual sessions.)
Theresa Baumgartner
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 3:52 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by Theresa Baumgartner »

Day 21: 1751 today for a total of 36,975.

Theoretically this should be the halfway point, but it feels more like I should be heading for the conclusion. So either something else needs to happen, or I need to beef up the first part of the book. This is about where I wish I could figure out how to plan a book instead of pantsing my way through it all and then going back and imposing some structure afterward. I've tried planning in the past, but every time I make an outline, I get two chapters in and then I'm off-piste and never look back. Maybe it will work out with the next book. (What's that definition of insanity again?)
JR Handley
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2020 7:11 pm

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by JR Handley »

Day 21:

I only wrote 100 words today, but I had to spend the whole day playing Nerf Gun wars with my nephews. Oh, to be 8 again... life was so easy! But the low word count was worth the 8 hours of screaming kids and 2 hours of travel (1 hour each way). Now I'm going to rack out!
Theresa Baumgartner
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 3:52 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by Theresa Baumgartner »

JR, that sounds like an amazing day!
Edryan
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:34 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by Edryan »

2528 today

made up a bit of ground!
Theresa Baumgartner
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 3:52 am

Re: Daily check-in thread?

Post by Theresa Baumgartner »

Go, Ed!

Day 22: 1748 today for a total of 38,723.

It's not quite 6pm, I've written my words, the dogs are walked... what am I supposed to be working on now?
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