The second week of NaNoWriMo 2023
Writing slumps are a part of the game, and I am trying to train myself not to focus on the growing distance between my performance every day, and the target.
→ Over here to read how the first week of NaNoWriMo 2023 went.
Monday, 6th of November 2023 — 6 626 / 10 000 words
Another not very productive day. I wasn't home for a big part of the day so I had less time than I wanted to work on the novel. I was not happy about it.
On top of that, I spent over two hours rereading what was already there, because my editor-brain tricked me into thinking I would be able to add phrases here and there before going on. This is ALWAYS a trap. Even though I did add a fair bit, I took so much away that my total word count barely budged.
(My editor brain is a big mean bully!!!)
I did, however, start to seriously think about what the story is going to look like beyond the immediately following scene. It feels in some ways like the story could branch off in several different directions. I'm not sure where to go, and I'm sure that this is partly to blame for my sudden plateau in word count. A bit of faffing about, before commitment.
Tuesday, 7th of November 2023 — 8 789 / 11 667 words
Listening to Vivaldi and drinking gyokuro is the magic combination today! The thought hits me again that in the modern age we are beyond lucky to be able to listen to symphonies on the computer while we write. I wonder if any obscenely rich ancient writers commissioned musicians to play while they write. Or I guess that's why well-off families always made the daughters learn to play musical instruments. Being left alone with just one's thoughts is terrible!
Wednesday, 8th of November 2023 — 8 965 / 13 333 words
I had the choice to either commit to more writing or go to ballet. I went to ballet. No regrets! (And I got lucky too, because there was a big power outage in our neighbourhood that night, while I was safe and warm at the studio!)
Thursday, 9th of November 2023 — 10 011 / 15 000 words
A gorgeous snowy morning, perfect for writing! I make a chaï latte full of cinnamon and I throw myself into it. Unfortunately, I repeat Monday's grave mistake: I can't stop rereading and deleting! I have too many interesting ideas that require me to tweak the existing text. I'm also starting to get a better sense of certain secondary characters' voices (something I really struggle with personally is character voice) and I start thinking I really need to start making an outline.
Friday, 10th of November 2023 — 11 040 / 16 667 words
My story is starting to linger in my thoughts away from the computer, even when I'm in the ballet studio! My back, my neck, and my shoulders are really starting to hurt again because of all the time in front of the screen. For the first time since Friday, I pull out my more ergonomic keyboard and start playing with the position of my screen, etc. I'm also taking a lot of breaks to stretch, and my physio gives me some great ideas (I'm still in physio for my impeccable radius), but I find what really helps is walking as much as possible outside, ideally for at least half an hour.
Towards 22h30, I take some time to carefully calculate all my words. I've actually written 2 500 words, but I've erased and changed so much that at the end the manuscript's only gained roughly a thousand words. The quality of what's on the page offsets my dissappointment about the word count total, but it's still frustrating. Writing slumps are a part of the game, and I am trying to train myself not to focus on the growing distance between my performance every day, and the target.
Saturday, 11th of November 2023 — 11 981 / 18 333 words
I manage to write about a thousand words before noon. After, I've got 2,5 hours of ballet, several hours of walking, meeting up with a friend, and when I finally drag myself home, I'm way too tired to write! I curl up in bed with a book instead.
Sunday, 12th of November 2023 — 12 286 / 20 000
Big, big day today... but not enough writing!
Among other things, I finally get started on that outline. (At 12 286 words, it was time!) I'm also trying to sketch the novel's destination, I'm not sure exactly how it's going to end, but I'm lucky (if indecisive) that there are a few different interesting options to choose from.
The small victory of the week is that I managed to write every day, for a full week. Even if my daily average is 900 words this week (a fair bit below the NaNoWriMo requirement of 1 667), I can't remember the last time I wrote seven days in a row, on a single project, with this much momentum. It's a really cool feeling.
With a bit of luck, the coming week will be good for my writing. I want to get back to not only consistently writing 1 667 words per day, but I also need to write 2095 words a day to end on time on November 30.
