Nontoxic November - 500 words per day editing/writing - all genres

Because November is delicious, and good for you.

(Don't judge my adjectives, people.)

How was October? Productive? Awful? Relaxing? What worked for you? What didn't? Tell all!

What are your plans for November? What can we do to support you?

Go, Team November!

I don't actually remember much of what I did in October. Professionally - and in every way that doesn't involve illness or relationships or stuff that actually matters - it was hands down the single worst month of my life. Which means there's nowhere to go but up.

I'm doing NaNo, and I'm hoping to a) hit 50K before Thanksgiving (the 23rd, for you non-US people), and b) add 60K by the 30th (which will put me at about 75K for the draft, which is usually a wee bit more than half-finished for me). I've also got a bunch of short things whispering in my ear, but realistically they're distractions (although I do have a completed draft of one).

So my goals for November are:

1) 60,000 words on the WIP
2) Onward and upward

ETA: 2,329 words today. Not a bad first day of NaNo!

Here's to being busy, Saoirse.

Wrote 2,390 today, which puts me on target for NaNo two days in a row. It'll need some editing, though...I've got a 4,500-word chapter, which is long even for me!

+2,351. Still kind of talking my way into the next part of the plot, but at least it's fun.

May work on my short tonight. May just be a vegetable and watch a movie.

Started late today but still managed 2,441. A fight scene. It should probably bother me how much I enjoy writing about people beating each other up.

I also did some revisions to that short story last night. It needs a few more passes I think, mostly for worldbuilding - it's more of a vignette really than a story, so it needs some tangible texture for interest.

Go, team!

Sorry about the hand, Saoirse. Very frustrating. Hope it improves soon.

Another 2,428 today. It's all background stuff so far, and I know from experience I'll end up chucking a lot of it, but it's helping me work out some of the scaffolding. Tomorrow I'll get to Real Events.

2,330 today, and A Thing happened! (In the story, not in my life. )

Congratulations on getting the climax down, Saoirse! And you can add bits in revisions. It will be perfect.

Like pulling teeth tonight, but I did 2,379, and every word is awful, but they exist.

BLMN! Excellent work on the edits, and congratulations on finding your experts!

+2,348 today. Less awful. I need to be a bit less critical of my first drafts - for me, an awful lot of drafting is casting around and figuring out how I want the story to go. That there are days when I'm writing into the weeds should not be a surprise; it's part of the process.

My second book is a year old today. Structurally, I think it's the tightest thing I've ever written. Not what I want to be reminding myself of when I'm in rambly NaNo pantsing mode.

Saoirse said:

Fireborn is done! There's still some work to do, but I believe the story is complete.

Click to expand...

Congratulations!!!

+2,499 today. This is probably the most meandering mess I've ever written, and I have a POV character I may have to replace, but I'm getting into the meat of it now.

At least I've been through this enough at this point to recognize that this is just how it goes.