Nanowrimo: Week Three Update

It’s the twenty-first day of Nanowrimo, and I’m ashamed to say that it took me until week three to discover coffee.

Coffee is mentioned on pretty much every single page of my WIP so far, but I have never really been much of a coffee drinker, so I had been avoiding this key Nanowrimo staple until finally, last week, I found some that I liked. I now credit all my writing for the past seven days to that coffee. Otherwise, I don’t know if I would have made it through.

This week was probably the best so far in my journey, and it almost feels natural to sit down and write those two thousand words at the point. I would love to keep this habit going even after the month ends, but I know eventually life will get in the way. As of yesterday, my word count stands at 40,390 words, and I’m on schedule to reach my 50,000 by Saturday, which is pretty exciting stuff.

At the beginning of the month, I honestly didn’t think I’d make it this far, and even wrote a whole post about why I wasn’t sure I should participate in the first place. But now that I’m twenty-one days into the month and still meeting my daily goals, I’m pleased with my decision to join. Had I avoided participating because of my worries that I wouldn’t finish, I wouldn’t be here today with 40,390 more words than I had at the beginning of the month.

I’m starting to dread writing less every day, and even though I stress about how horrible my story is about every other minute, I’m starting to enjoy the process of getting it onto the page. My words are starting to feel less forced, and my plot is finally moving along. I’m not sure how long my first draft will be once I’m finished, but I expect it will be between 55,000 and 60,000 words. Even though I plan to finish a few days early, I am still going to try to stay consistent in writing those last few thousand words before the end of November.

My overall feeling for the week is proud. I’m proud that I’ve kept going this far, and I’m excited to see the final outcome when all is said and done. It’s an amazing feeling to watch that blue bar get closer and closer to turning green, and I’m happy that I’m to the point where I’m fully confident in my ability to finish out the month, because the first week I wasn’t so sure I’d make it this far.

If it weren’t for this blog, I probably would have quit the second day, so thank you to anyone who read my previous posts and therefore kept me accountable to finish out the month. Without the pressure of an audience and the support from a community of fellow writers, I never would have made it this far. I hope your story is going well, and I hope you’re excited and prepared for the final stretch. No matter where you are in your story, stay positive, you can do this!

Time to go write those 2,000 words, let me know how your project is going and if you haven’t already, add me as a Nanowrimo buddy!

Happy writing!