One of the principles of NaNoWriMo is that every word you write during the month (on your novel) is counted. That means, if you stop and start over, your original words still count in the total. While some people may question this (but only anyone who has never tried to write a novel), I believe the idea is to foster the habit of writing. Not all the words you write will be keepers, but they're all a part of the process.
That's why I'm counting the words I wrote yesterday. They aren't technically part of the story, but they
are about critical backstory that I need to flesh out in order to make my protaganists' goals and motivations stronger and clearer. I plan to write more backstory today and I'm going to count every single word.
What I'm loving about participating in NaNo is the rediscovery of my confidence. When I'm on the right path, words flow quickly and easily. I get in the groove and don't even realize when hours have passed. It's the joy in writing I've been struggling to recapture over the last few months that's returned in the last ten days. And when I'm not on the right path, I'm learning to listen to myself and not get frustrated and just stop.
It's only been ten days, but this has already been the best writing experience I've had in a v-e-r-y long time.
NaNo Day Ten Words: 862
Total NaNo Words: 8678
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2 comments:
Wow! I didn't know that. Not sure it helps my word count any. Today has been slow. Too many interruptions. My dh is at work alone so he calls every hour because he's bored.
Well, that's what I was always told by the South Bay MLs. One benefit of being in the Bay Area if you do NaNo (or it used to be) was that you got to go the pan-Bay parties and meet Chris Baty. NaNo's gotten big since those earlier days, but I think that's still true. Anyway--NaNo is what you make it and part of the idea is coming to understand your creative process. And that includes understanding that not every word you write is a word you'll want to keep, but that it all counts as part of the journey.
Don't you just love it when our significant others are bored? That's one of the hazards of working from home that I've had to learn to cope with over the last few years! LOL
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