NaNoWriMo 2017

Good Morning 3rd December 2017

Peter Germany Writing , ,

It’s been a hectic few weeks as I’ve had some family concerns, which has resulted in me having to back away a lot from writing until things return to normal. I have been writing, although NaNoWriMo was a disaster if you look at word counts. In the end I got 21,343 words written. That averaged out to 711 words a day. But in all I wrote 27,146 words for the month as I had a short story I needed to write and I did work on a few other projects early on in the month.

The story I’ve written for NaNo hasn’t worked out how I was hoping it too, and I did almost give up on NaNo at one point. I wanted to get some words added on it every day though. I wanted to get that consistency for the month.

Now I’m working on a rewrite from a story I wrote for NaNo a couple of years ago. I think this is probably the third draft of this one now, but I feel like I’ve got a decent handle on the setting, characters and the story I want to tell now. I had started that one before November so I’ve got over 10k words already and I’m just getting into some of the fun stuff with it. This story is the first one where I really let myself go a bit and dug very deep into that dark side of myself to get the story I want.

I have got a short story I want to get stuck into that’ll be for submission early next year as well. I’ve got another short that I’ve edited and will hopefully get off to my Beta readers next week before submitting that one.

Although I’ve had to slow down a little, I’m still trying to keep moving forward.

The State Of My NaNoWriMo 2017

Peter Germany Writing , , , , , , ,

Well, I’m not going to hit the 50k for NaNoWriMo this year. I’m at 18,583 words at the moment.

The reason why I’ve got to this point is I had a family member admitted to hospital about ten days ago. This meant I had to change my priorities, which when it comes to my family is a no brainer.

I am in somewhat of a rut with this story as well though. This is technically a second draft and it’s just not doing it for me. I am going to plough on a little with it, mainly because I don’t want to give up on NaNo altogether this year, but I am going to move over to other projects and get on with those. I’ve got two short story submission dates coming up so I’ve got to get those done. I also want to get some more progress with a story that I’m working on what is technically the third draft of. I’m about 10k into it and I’m liking what I’ve got with it.

So, NaNoWriMo is all but done for me for this year. I’m not disappointed I’m not going to hit the 50k (okay maybe a little disappointed) but my goal for NaNo this year wasn’t to just write the 50k. I wanted to get a cohesive story written, and although it’s not going how I want it to go right now, it is a lot more cohesive than some of my other NaNo attempts over the last couple of years.

I am going to take a little break from it tomorrow, I’ll add in a few words but nothing huge. I’ll focus tomorrow on a short story edit and then the other two active projects I’ve got going on. I think a change in what I’m focussing my attention on will help loosen up the fog around the NaNo project.

Good Morning Sunday, November 12th 2017

Peter Germany Writing , , , , , , ,

I am 10500 words behind target on NaNoWriMo, yeah 10500 words. I’m not stressing out though. I feel a little like I can call myself a NaNo veteran now. This is my seventh year, I’ve won the last three years and I’m pretty confident I can hit the 50k.

I would have got a few more words done towards the end of the week but I got wind of an anthology that I wanted to write a story for and have only had a few days to get it written as the deadline is a close one. That story is all but done, I’ve just got to make a few edits and then get it sent off. Once I’ve done that today I’m going to focus on NaNo and another story I’ve been working on for another anthology. I’d like to get that one done by the end of the month, and I think I’m close to having it wrapped up.

This coming week I’m off from work, so I’m going to try and get caught up with NaNo by the end of the week. I’m not going to go mad with it though, I’m going to go at a pace I’m happy with. I’ll repeat what I’ve said previously; I know I can do the 50k, my primary goal this NaNo is to have at least the start of a cohesive story. The 50k is a secondary target for me this year.

NaNoWriMo 2017: Day Nine

Peter Germany Writing , , , , ,

I’ve missed a couple of days here. I’m still not over this damn cold, although I think I’m past the worst of it.

Word count wise I am at 9001 words for the month. I managed a solid 1600 words on it yesterday, but I’ve kind of screwed my NaNoWriMo today. I’ve had the chance to submit a story for an anthology, but the deadline is the end of the month. So I’m throwing 90% of my writing time into that. I’m over 1200 words into that one. I’ve got a plan for getting this one done, which I think I’ll be able to do.

With NaNo, I am still going to be adding words, but it’s on the back burner till this short story is done. I am off work next week, and if all goes to plan I’m going to try and get back on track with NaNo then.

NaNoWriMo 2017: Day’s Five And Six

Peter Germany Writing , , , , , , ,

Yesterday I wrote about 800 or so words. Today it’s been about the 1200 mark. I’m on 6515 words for NaNo, which I think leaves me about 4000 words off target. The head cold of the weekend has really set me back. I know I can catch up, but I’m trying not to over do it until I know I’m over this cold. Also, this NaNo isn’t just about hitting the 50k for me. It’s about getting a cohesive story written. Already I feel like I’ve got a deeper story than I did in the first draft. (Hopefully) When people start dying the readers will either care for them and be gutted, or hate them and be happy.

I did add a few word to a short story on Sunday. I think I’ve got an ending, and now I just have to connect some dots. Hopefully then I’ll be close to having a first draft done. This story is for a submission and I’m finding that It won’t be what the editors are looking for, but if it’s not it’s not the end of the world. I can only write what comes into my head.

Tomorrow I’m aiming to get up a little earlier than normal and try to get some words down before going off to work. 

NaNoWriMo 2017: Days Three and Four

Peter Germany Uncategorized , ,

I’ve barely written five hundred words these last two days. The cold I’ve had building for the last few days hit me hard yesterday around midday. I took medication and focused on getting my working day done. Then I went to the second launch part for Sparks An Electric Anthology. This secound launch was local to me, very local which meant I had family and close friends there. It really meant a lot to me having my loved ones there and, despite feeling like I was going to faint, reading an excerpt from my story. It was definitely a night I won’t be forgetting for a long time.

Tomorrow I was going to go to a Write-In, but I’m going to give it a miss and try and get this cold out of my system. I will be trying to add a few words to my NaNo count, but I’m not going to go crazy. I know I can catch up if I loose a few days.

Now it’s time for sleep. Have a good one, everyone!

NaNoWriMo 2017: Day Two

Peter Germany Writing , , , , ,

Today I’ve written 1794 words, for a total of 4046 words for NaNo. I’m pretty happy with how the story is going, but this damn head cold is kicking my arse. A tactic that’s served me well in the past has been to get a few words written before work, but I’m waking up feeling so groggy that I’m just not managing it at the moment. It’s only two days in though, and I’m over target so I’m not complaining.

Tomorrow I’m not expecting to hit word count. We’ve got the second launch party for Sparks so I’ll be there for the evening. If you’re in the area, please come along.

NaNoWriMo 2017: Day One

Peter Germany Writing , , ,

Well, despite a slow start I’ve have a good day with 2252 words on this years NaNoWriMo story. We had a Write-In tonight which helped a lot. There was a few new faces as well, which is always nice.

When I started this morning I did struggle. I was half asleep, and feeling the early affects of a head cold and quite honestly, not really in the mindset to be writing. At lunch time I did a little better and then evening I just knuckled down and got on with the writing at hand. I even managed to add a few words to a separate short story that I’ve got to have done soon.

So a good start to the month. I’ve got another Write-In tomorrow night so I’m hoping I can have another 2000 plus word day again.

 

NaNoWriMo 2017

Peter Germany Writing , , , , , , ,

NaNoWriMo is now just a couple of days off, am I ready? Yes and no, I’ve not done a lot of work in preparation, as it’s a rewrite I’ve got a good idea of what I need to do. This is a story that I wrote a few months ago but it came out a lot shorter than I was expecting. I’ve thought on it a fair bit, and I know where the weak areas are, and how I think I can strengthen them. I did a lot of prep for the story but didn’t put much of that into. It’s also a story that I’ve got a good idea for the basics of the sequel, so if this comes in shorter than the 50k I can move onto that.

I’m not too concerned about hitting the 50k (although I’ll be aiming for it hard), what I’m aiming to achieve is a draft that has a cohesive story in. The last few years I’ve felt like I’ve been all over the place when doing NaNoWriMo. This year I’m determined to have a good, strong draft come December 1st.

I’ve got two short story submissions to work on, one of which I’d like to have a first draft done of by this time next week. I feel like I’ve got the experience with NaNo now to be able to drift off onto other pieces and still be on target, although I’d like to be done with the first one before Wednesday.

What I’m planning on doing again for NaNoWriMo is a daily blog post with my days word count and overall total. As well as my thoughts and how I’m feeling as I’m progressing.

Bring it on!

Sunday 29th October 2017

Peter Germany Writing , , , , ,

This last week has felt like another slow one but I’ve written 7765 words this week. I’m kind of shocked by this. In no way does it feel like I’ve written that many words this week. I do wonder if it’s because I’ve working on three different projects this last week (technically I’m working on four but one hasn’t been touched this week).

I am honestly shocked at this word count, but pleased. I’ve got two short stories which have deadlines for submission. The other two are my own novellas which I’m working on. Those two won’t get much attention for the next month, NaNoWriMo is coming. I will keep working at the two stories which are for submissions, but the novellas will wait till December. I think I’m close to finishing one of the shorts, but the other is still in the earlier stages of the story. Thankfully the one that’s nearer done is the first that needs to be completed.

I’m going to try and get that one done tomorrow and Tuesday, but if I don’t I can make time over the next week or two to get it done.

Overall, a damn good week.