Updates

I will keep coming back to update this post with my current word count. Doing updates here is the best way I know of keeping myself on track and getting those 13,413 words written.

Nov. 28, 4:14 pm:

Current total word count: 38,203 words. Required to complete NaNoWriMo:  11,797 words.

Nov. 29, 3:08 pm:

Current total word count: 39,971 words. Required to complete NaNoWriMo: 10,029 words.

Nov. 29, 6:05 pm:

Current total word count: 41,602 words. Required to complete NaNoWriMo: 8,398 words.

Nov. 29, 8:26 pm:

Current total word count: 42,877 words. Required to complete NaNoWriMo: 7,123 words.

Nov. 29, 10:02 pm:

Current total word count: 44,030 words. Required to complete NaNoWriMo: 5,970 words.

Nov 30, 12:47 am:

Current total word count: 47,110 words. Required to complete NaNoWriMo: 2,890 words.

I’m debating whether to stay up and finish, or go to bed and write more when I get up …

November 30 Final Update: I did it!

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I woke up today and realized there’s only three more days before the end of November – three more days to reach 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo.

After a glorious start, I find myself woefully behind. Right now I’m at 36,587 words. If I want to complete NaNoWriMo this year, I will need to write 13,413 words between now and the end of the day on Monday.

I’ve decided I’m going to do it. Things are so much clearer in my mind now that I’ve had my moment of bathtub inspiration. I just have to find the time to sit down and write.

With that in mind, I thought I’d go through the obstacles standing in my way and how I will master them:

Dojo Holiday Party

Tonight my husband’s dojo is holding it’s yearly holiday party. Because our house is too small, it’s usually held at one of my husband’s student’s houses, and this year is no exception.

So all I have to do is get myself ready for it. No need to clean up the house! It’s a potluck but Ward’s handling that end of things – he’s in the kitchen right now cooking up a storm. We’ll be bringing chicken pot pie and homemade lasagna (homemade, right down to the sheets of pasta – yes, he’s a brave man, my husband).

I, of course, won’t have to worry about any of that. I have three hours before we have to leave, and I’ve decided I’ll spend some of that time writing. So that’s one obstacle down.

By the way, you can see Ward in action in the dojo here. If you’re wondering which one he is, he’s the one wearing the black belt who’s ordering everyone else around. The video features the three martial arts he teaches (karate, aikido and jodo) and when you get to the aikido portion of the video, he’s the one wearing the long black skirt-like thing (a hakima – it’s actually a skort, not a skirt but it’s hard to tell) and throwing people around.

The Shoe Issue

I was worried I’d have to run out to the shoe store this afternoon and pick up some dressy sandals or pumps to go with the dress I’m wearing tonight. I don’t have much opportunity for wearing dressy shoes, and I was hunting through the front hall closet but couldn’t find anything appropriate.

Ward said something about how I’d only be wearing it to the house, where I’d be taking my shoes off at the door anyway, but as I told him, that’s not the point. One has to have decent shoes, regardless of whether anyone actually sees one in them or not.

Luckily, though, it occurred to me that this summer when I went to my cousin’s wedding reception in New York City, I wore a black dress and when I thought hard about it, I remembered I’d worn these gorgeous, strappy black sandals to go with them. Another moment’s thought, a rummage through my own closet, and I found them!

Another writing obstacle down.

The Deadline

I have an index due on Monday and at first this kind of threw me for a loop.

But then I had a thought. I have to face facts: until the day I become an NYT bestselling author, I will be dealing with non-writing, work-related deadlines. There’s really no way around it. That’s just the way it is.

So obviously, I will always be writing around my work deadlines. Why should NaNoWriMo be any different?

Tomorrow and Monday, I will write. And then I’ll work. And then I’ll write. And then I’ll work. And in that way, I’ll meet both my NaNoWriMo deadline and my work deadline.

Another obstacle down.

The Sunday International Book Giveaways List

I will, unfortunately, have to postpone this list until next Sunday. The good news is that next week’s list will be a nice long one. See? There’s always a silver lining.

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