Well, almost a week into NaNoWriMo and I'm up to a little over 5,000 words- about 5,000 words behind. I completely anticipated this happening, and I fully plan on making up for lost time over the long weekend coming up, as well as the week I have off over Thanksgiving. Here are some thoughts so far on the process:
- My decision to map out some of the main things I wanted to hit in each chapter has proven to be incredibly valuable. I am struggling, though, with trying to ignore how long the chapters are, at least at this point.
- Maintaining the mindset of "write now, edit later" has been going well, but I'm worried about the pile of shit that will be awaiting when I do go back to revise.
- I'm trying really hard to craft a main character that is mostly likeable, while still allowing her to do some shitty things. For example, she is contemplating telling her long-distance boyfriend that his dog Frieda, who lives with her, is dead so she can break up with him and not risk him taking Frieda back. But she does nice things too, like- well, I'll get back to you on that.
- I have to keep reminding myself that 50,000 words does not equal a novel; 50,000 is basically half a novel. This means I'm about 5% done.
Off to watch the election coverage. Maybe I'll write during commercials.
