ONCE UPON: Know the Novel Part 3!!

Hey guys! Remember when I said I only had one post planned for December? Well, this is it, because of course I had to do the final part of Christine's Know the Novel linkup. I'm sure you all know all about it, so I'll save the details. (And if you don't know, you can hop on over to Christine's post, where she'll explain it much better than me.)

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, NaNoWriMo 2019 has ended. And honestly? It already feels like FOREVER since I won. I finished on the 21st, and didn't write anything else in my story for the rest of the month. So at the beginning of December, it was really strange to think that some people had finished NaNo only a few days ago.

NaNo feels like a dream. I wrote so hard for those 21 days, and then just stopped cold turkey. Now I can't believe it actually happened. Is that weird? xD

Well, anyway, I'm excited to be answering these questions! Onto the linkup! (wow, Emily. seamless transition as usual.) Also, I'm going to sprinkle some aesthetics throughout for your viewing pleasure! (photos are from Pinterest!)

1. Firstly, how did writing this novel go all around? 

PRETTY WELL. There was minimal I-don't-even-know-what-to-write (although it was still there, BELIEVE me). The pantsing was real, though, and we had our struggles. HOWEVER, it all worked out! (So far. The thing's not done yet, so I can't say too much. xD) The writing went pretty smoothly, even if I did make everything up as I went.

2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome? 

Well, I wasn't expecting anything, because like I said, I made it up as I went along. xD But as far as the atmosphere, the feel of it, I think it was pretty close to how I expected it. And I'm loving what I have so far.

3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.) 

I think I keep saying this over and over... But I loved the characters and the setting. I've already
flailed a good deal enough about Trentley and Jynnia and how I love them so much, so I'll spare you that today. But I love the setting because of the simple magic, the fairy tale-ness of it, and the
FAIRIES, guys.

4. How about your least favorite part?

Umm... none of it? Except maybe the fact that I'm not a hundred percent sure how everything's going to wrap up, so writing certain scenes was kind of like unlocking a black hole.

5. What do you feel like needs the most work? 

What I just mentioned. A lot of this story is still a big mystery to me, so that planning I probably should have done before I started is going to turn into lots of rewriting and rethinking.

6. How do you feel about your characters now that the novel is done? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!

Well, like I said, it's not quite done yet. But it's mostly done (hopefully). And I love everyone!! Of course you know I feel about Trentley and Jynnia. But then there are the fairy sisters, who have attitudes bigger than they are, so they've been kind of a blast to write.

My favorite is for sure my precious Trentley. He's so sweet and adorable and I would like to marry him, please.

Least favorite? Probably one of the aforementioned fairy sisters. Not that I don't like her, but she's super bitter about something that happened involving one of her sisters, and she really just needs to get over it because said sister is a sweetheart and doesn't deserve this treatment.

Who surprised me? HOW ABOUT EVERY ONE OF THESE SEVEN FAIRY SISTERS I KEEP TALKING ABOUT. (the ones I've introduced so far, anyway) I didn't even know they were going to exist until I wrote their first scene, and I DEFINITELY didn't expect their personalities to be what they are.

7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel?

FINISH IT. I don't really know how much I have left, but I think I'll be able to finish it pretty quickly if I really crack down on it when I start writing again. I'm not sure when that will be... either the week between Christmas and New Year's, or in January. I'll probably try to finish it the last week of the year, because I really wanted to finish it this year, and there's another project I really want to work on the new year. BUT we'll see how it goes. xD

8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be? 

Of course, step one would be to have it published. (And, y'know, a bestseller would be great.) It will be the first book of a series (although I don't know how many books there will be), and eventually, of course, it will be made into a movie. Or maybe a series? I don't know, since it's the first book of a series it might be better as a Once Upon A Time-esque TV show. One season per book. ;)

9. Share some of your favorite snippets! 

THIS IS SO HARD GUYS. Partly because I feel like I've already shared so many, and partly because most of this draft is so bad that I don't WANT to share most of it. xD But I'll try. (And yes, there will probably be some snippets I've already posted. Shh.)

Covered up a mild spoiler xD

So, I realized as I was collecting these that there are some typos. Whoops. Sorry. And also that I have no idea why their bodies don't get tired but their wings can?? That makes literally no sense and is a perfect example of my first drafts. xD But I hope you enjoyed Trentley and Jynnia's adorableness and the fairy sisters' sassiness. Basically the whole book.

10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?
One-- I can write 50k in a month!! Which I already learned last year, but this year I learned that I can do it AGAIN.

I also learned that I can indeed make time to sit down and write even when I might not think I can. November was no less busy (or more organized xD) than any other month, but with the pressure (in a good way) of NaNo, I made time for my story. I hope to take those responsible writerly habits into the new year. ;)

And that's it for Know the Novel this year! It's weird to think that NaNo was so long ago now. xD I haven't touched my story since November 21st, even though I'd kind of hoped to finish it this year.
But I'm kind of glad I decided to just take a break this month. I've mentioned not a few times that this NaNo left me pretty exhausted. So I'm thoroughly enjoying this rest!

BUT I'm also looking forward to next month (next YEAR!!), because I'm hoping to really get back into writing and accomplish big things in 2020! (Like finishing at least one first draft. Because I'm tired of being stuck in the first draft stage of so many projects.) I'll definitely have a post up sometime soon with my 2020 goals, so stay tuned for that if you're interested!

I hope you guys are having a lovely December!

Soo how's everyone's December going? Can you believe Christmas is NEXT WEEK?? And there are only less than two weeks left of 2019?? EXCUSE ME WHILE I PANIC. Also, are you guys doing any writing this month? Or maybe taking a break? Let's just chat all the things!!

NOVEMBER 2019

And just like that, November is over and December is here. CRAZY, right?!

Yes, it is crazy, because I've apparently lost control of everything and am just now getting this November wrapup up four days into December. Ignore this. :D

This November went by in a weird whirl of writing, coffee, and not nearly enough sleep. (Wait... did I just describe my life?) One big plus of the month was the weather! In the past few years our falls have been really warm, so I've gotten accustomed to not expecting cold weather in November. But this year there was quite a bit of chilly weather, rainy days... even a little snow! Perfect writing weather. Which is maybe why I had such a good NaNo. But I digress.

Anyway... onto the monthly wrapup!

Reading? What's reading?

So, funny story. Every year around this time I read the Christmas books from each set (that I or my sister has) of the old American Girl books. They're so nostalgic and I never get tired of them. And every year I tell myself I'm going to read all the books from all the sets, because I haven't done that in forever.

And every year I don't do it because it takes too long. This year was no exception.

So, all I read this month was the Kaya American Girl series. Could I have read every one of the series this month? Yes. Did I? Not even close, because writing was taking over my life. And on that subject...

Do I even have to say it? No, but I will: This month was NaNoWriMo!! And it was a good one.

If you somehow didn't know by now (even though I've been yelling about it since October), I was writing my fairy tale story Once Upon this month. And I just had a really, really good feeling about this NaNo. Last year, while not my first NaNo, was my first win. So I went into this NaNo knowing for certain that I had the ability to win. Even though I had absolutely no idea whatsoever how my story was going to progress, I just knew I was going to make it.

And yes, you read that right. I MADE THIS STORY UP AS I WENT ALONG. ALL MONTH. And it went pretty well. I don't know, I might go back and read it and realize that it's absolute trash and needs completely rewritten. But for now, I got it written down, and I'm excited about my story. That's
all I can ask for.

It's not finished, and to be honest I don't really know how much longer the story's going to go on. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to finish it in December, or one of my other WIPs I really want finished. Or maybe I'll just totally bomb and not write anything because of Christmas and everything. Either way, it's fine. xD

Also in the writing department, I had a story on Havok this month! I forgot to post anything about it because it went up on Thanksgiving and I was busy. But it's still there for you Havok members, so if you missed it, go hit up the Havok website and search for Careful What You Hunt For. ;)

The first week of the month contained a very exciting day for my nerdy bookish little soul: November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day! Which means absolutely nothing to me except pertaining to Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. xD This was my first November 5th since reading the book. And I'm really only mentioning this at all so I can share this super dorky story with you: I was hanging out with my brother and sisters a day or two after the 5th, and my brother the history buff asked my sisters if they knew what Guy Fawkes Day was. When they said no, this little voice inside me said, "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" (Parker Rooney voice) and jumped up from my seat and very, very dramatically recited the "Remember, Remember" poem. My siblings looked on in disbelief that this was happening. I took a bow and sat back down, very proud of myself.

Thank you, Nadine Brandes, for introducing me to this poem and therefore allowing me this amazing
moment of my life. xD

Of course, later in the month was Thanksgiving. Which I kind of can't believe has already passed now? But that's the story of my life, so. No surprises here. Anyway, I had a lovely Thanksgiving. It rained, but that was okay. I had a lot to be thankful for, starting with the fact that I had a flat tire earlier in the week, but I was able to get it fixed and it didn't cost much. Also, we had a bad storm a couple nights before Thanksgiving, but no real damage.

The happenins':

There was also my Q&A vlog: click here!

And there it is! I can't believe it's December now and the Christmas season is officially here. I want to say that I'm hoping to be more productive and organized this month now that NaNo's over, but in reality I'm 97% sure that the season is going to completely override that. So I'll try to do my best, but also not get too discouraged when I'm not as productive as I'd like. The new year is almost here (!!!!!) and I can make up for lost time then. (Which miiight actually be a terrible idea?? Don't take advice from me, please.) The end of the year is just so chaotic and I can already tell you that I'll be more than happy to have that fresh new slate.

Also, did I mention: THERE'S ONLY A MONTH LEFT OF 2019???!! What is this?? How is it almost 2020??? What's happen-- how do I-- where's the--

Ahem. Well, anyway. Hopefully sometime in the next few weeks I'll also get back in a good blogging schedule, because that's been pretty rough the past few months. By January I hope to be back in the swing of things and not scrambling to finish up every single thing in existence that I do because I procrastinated. But y'know. We'll see.

Aaand on the subject of time management and craziness and all that jazz: I'm taking sort of a little blogging break. Not a hiatus, exactly. But in December I only have one post planned (plus my end of year wrapup), and I have no idea when I'm going to put that up. So, no schedule this month and maybe not more than a couple posts, either. We'll see. I'm going to try to use this month to write some blog posts without the stress of needing to get them up on time, so I'll have a headstart on posts in the new year.

Basically, November ate me and I need a month to recover. xD

I hope everyone's having a lovely December so far! Happy Christmas season!

(and yes I used this gif last year for my November wrapup but I'll use it again because I want to and
White Christmas is a classic)

How was your Thanksgiving? And did we survive NaNo? (No, seriously. I need you to tell me if I'm still alive.) Are you still writing in December? Editing? Taking a break? Just lying around in complete shock? 

ONCE UPON: Know the Novel Part 2!

HELLO EVERYONE. I come to you on this very random day like I said I would, because NaNoWriMo has kept me Very Distracted and I didn't get this post up earlier. BUT I wanted to make sure to do it, because today I bring youuuu: part 2 of Know the Novel!!

I just love this linkup by Christine, and I loved answering these questions for Once Upon! I love this story so much, even though it's a mess and has made my life a mess this month. xD I do want to say that while the book's not finished, I'm not writing at the moment. (I decided to take a break after winning NaNo to relax and focus on Thanksgiving and other things.) So these questions are in present tense, but I answered them while I was still writing. Mmkay. Probably not necessary to point that out, but there you go. xD

I'll spare you any more rambling, and lead you right into: Know the Novel: Part 2!

1. How’s the writing going overall?

So much better than I expected! I went into this with NO PLANS, guys. And at 20k I still hadn't gotten stuck. That's amazing for me. It's pathetic but it's true. xD

2. What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far? 

Trentley and Jynnia's relationship!! I keep bringing this up, and it's probably starting to get really old, but SERIOUSLY. I just LOVE them. Also just all the fairy tale aspects. It's seriously so much fun playing around with all that.

3. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I absolutely love Trentley and Jynnia. They're the sweetest little babies. Jynnia gets on my nerves a teensy bit at times (I mean, girl. Don't break the law. You've been warned. Stop it.), but I still love her. And my side characters are SO MUCH FUN too. I didn't think this story was going to be sassy but there's sass. Lots of sass. In the form of fairy sisters. A whole slew of them.

4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?
Um, yeah, only every time I sit down to write. XD When you don't do any planning whatsoever, your story basically tells you what to do. My writing is pretty much the equivalent of when you're running too quickly down a hill and your feet start going too fast for you to keep up with. Things are happening and you're not sure how they're going to end but there's no going back now!!

5. Have you come across any problem areas?
Not really. :o The only "problem" I would say (besides the awful writing lololol) is just that I'm hardcore pantsing (like, more than EVER before) and I don't know if I'm going to keep ANYTHING I'm writing. But I'm okay with that, because I've adopted the term "discovery writer" for myself, and I think it describes me really well. The first draft is just like an experimentation, if you will. A meet-and-greet where I get to know my characters and the setting.

6. What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?
In story terms, being able to keep writing without stopping, and pushing through to the next scene even when I don't know what's really going on! In NaNo terms, staying ahead of my word count and breaking my records from previous years.

(For the record, I just want to clarify that crushing a ridiculous word count and breaking records does
NOT determine whether you're having a good NaNo. It's just my goal for this year.)

7. If you were transported into your novel and became any one of the characters, which one do you think you’d be? Would you take any different actions than they have?
Well, HOPEFULLY I'd be Jynnia, so that I could have Trentley all to myself. *pathetic fangirl giggling* *over my own story* *wow what a mess I am*

But in reality, I'd probably be Trentley. He's awkward and unsure and doesn't talk a lot when he's around people he's not comfortable with.

I think I'd pretty much take the same actions he has... he's quiet until he has something to say, then he gets out of his comfort zone and says what he has to say when it matters. (Except let's be honest, I don't say everything I should. So, I guess Trentley's doing better than me. xD)

8. Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets! 

The first paragraph/lines!

I'm not going to lie, I adore sharing snippets that make absolutely no sense out of context and hopefully confusing you guys. xD

9. Share an interesting tidbit about the writing process so far! (For example: Have you made any hilarious typos? Derailed from your outline? Killed off a character? Changed projects entirely? Anything you want to share!) 
Lol.

Typos.

I think I already mentioned this in one of my NaNo updates, but if you somehow missed it: I was writing late one night, on I think the second day of NaNo. (lol didn't take me long did it?) And apparently I was a lot more tired than I thought. I didn't THINK I'd done anything out of the ordinary.

But then the next day when I went back to my story to write... I saw this sentence.

"She continued to mutter indecipherable words as she smoothed her napkin in her lapkin and went about her dinner."

Her napkin.

In her lapkin.

I just... I can't. There's no hope for me.

Anyway. Enough about that. I suppose an interesting tidbit would be that I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING. I don't know why I do this to myself. "Derailed from my outline"? LOL WHAT'S AN OUTLINE. I literally started this story knowing the main characters and the inciting event. THAT'S IT. I have pantsed literally EVERY scene since then.

But you know the weird thing? I've gotten farther in my NaNos since I've started doing that. When I try to outline and plan (which I never do that much of, anyway) I've tended to drop off around 30-35k words. But this pantsing thing seems to be working out pretty good for me. *shrugs*

10. Take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks like. Where do you write? What time of day? Alone or with others? Is a lot of coffee (or some other drink) consumed? Do you light candles? Play music? Get distracted by social media (*cough, cough*)? Tell all!

Well, since I work most days, my writing doesn't usually start happening until around 5-6 in the evening. I sit at my desk, light my candle (I got the idea from Nadine Brandes to choose a special candle for my story, and I'm loving it!), and usually have a cup of coffee with me. Sometimes I play music, sometimes I don't. Earlier in the month I listened to my playlist for this story quite a lot, but as the month went on I just abandoned that and started listening to Christmas music. xD I actually searched "fairy tale christmas music" on YouTube and found some festive yet fitting music to listen to while I write this story.

I actually haven't been getting all that distracted when I'm writing! Usually the distractions happen BEFORE I start writing. Which is why it often takes me so long to sit and start. xD

And that's it! I'm having fun writing Once Upon, even if it is being totally annoying and sassy and not wanting to tell me where to go next until we're RIGHT there on it. I think this is one of my favorite stories of mine just for the classic fairy tale-ness of it. I am LOVING writing fairies and magic and all that jazz.

Thanks again, Christine, for the linkup, and I hope you all are having a fantastic NaNo! (It's almost over. :o)

CAN YOU BELIEVE NANO'S SO CLOSE TO BEING OVER?? And have you done this linkup? Because if not, you totally should. 

NaNoWriMo Weekly Update #3 (I WON?!!)

Aaand thus commences the third week of NaNoWriMo. WHAT. HOW IS NANO ALREADY

ALMOST OVER. I literally feel like it JUST started, yet... here we are, more than halfway through November.

And that means Thanksgiving is soo close, too!! WHAT IS TIME. HOW DOES ONE HARNESS IT AND BEND IT TO ONE'S WILL.

Alas, I haven't figured that out yet. But this week of NaNo was still a very, very good week. Maybe even my best ever. ;D Aaand onto the weekly update!

(no snippets this week because they're all terrible and I don't feel like trying to find something worth reading xD)

I didn't start writing until 11:00 at night. Hehe.

BUT when I did start, it was flowing pretty good. I was really hoping to hit 30k before midnight, but, well, that didn't happen. My little fingers were flying over the keyboard as fast as I could make them go, but I was about 300 words too short.

I did some exciting writing, though; magical things are starting to happen!! Trentley and Jynnia are kinda sorta hanging out with a fairy (who definitely didn't ask permission to be put into the story... she just kinda showed up and stayed there), and I'm having a blast. I'm still getting a bit stuck here and there, but eventually I unstick myself and get through.

That's what I think I've learned to do better since last NaNo. I try not to jump all around in the book anymore when I'm writing the first draft-- especially for something like NaNo. It's so easy for me to get lost in all the out-of-order scenes and forget what's supposed to be going on when I write that way. But when I start on page one and resolve to write straight-through until the last page, even when it's messy, I think it's really beneficial. Maybe I'll do a post on how that's helped me in the future.
(We'll wait and see how this NaNo turns out. xD)

Word count: 1639

I started writing literally THE first second of the day! Because, well... as you know, I was up at midnight trying to hit 30k. xD

And I did! A few minutes past midnight, but I was still so happy I got there!

I had hoped to have a high word count this day, especially with the little headstart I got before the day even technically began... but it didn't turn out that way. *sigh*

Word count: 707

This day was GREAT. Even though I didn't start writing until early evening, I wrote and wrote and actually avoided distractions and got into a flow. I did multiple word sprints (seriously the only way I got through NaNoWriMo last year). And I'm getting to know a new character and it's HILARIOUS. xD I'm writing fairy sisters, who happen to be sassy and really salty. I'm not sure why? But that's how it's going. xD

Anyway! So this day I not only hit 35k (my goal for the day), but I also wrote 5k-- making this my wordiest day so far! Whooo! :D

(also, lowkey freaking out that there are only thirteen days left of NaNo. WHAT. :o :o)

Word count: 5028

Another great day! I got started writing in the evening and wrote for a cumulative total of about 40-50 minutes. (All word sprints. Seriously, guys. They the bomb.)

I'm still hanging out with those fairy sisters, and honestly, I'm still not exactly sure why they're so sarcastic and salty to each other. It's pretty hilarious, though. (Also, their names... Winlie. Verie. Quinnie. Parcie. SUCH FAIRY NAMES AND I AM LOVING IT. XD)

Also... I'm realizing that I often write stories about people who are running from the law. And by often, I mean... I can really only think of one of my books that doesn't involve someone running from the law. It's... kind of ridiculous. (I promise I'm not writing these from experience!!)

Word count: 2562

Something very exciting happened on this day: I hit 40k!

Which is SUPER exciting, because that's farther than I've gotten in most of my NaNos, and also because I'M SOO CLOSE TO 50K!! I still really can't believe I've come this far. I'm on track to not only win NaNo, but win it EARLY! Considering last year was the first year I won it at all and I won it at pretty much the last minute, I'm ecstatic and pretty much in disbelief about this.

Word count: 2596 (I originally stopped at around 2550, but I wrote a few more sentences so I could say I'd written more than I did yesterday xD)

I didn't start writing until late at night. Which was dumb, because I was hoping to cover like 10k between this day and the next... but anyway. xD

Word count: 943

So.

When I started writing these updates, I thought there would be four. You know, one for each week of NaNoWriMo?

BUT BEHOLD: I WON NANOWRIMO ON DAY TWENTY-ONE.

*screaming*

*angelic choir*

YOU GUYS, I WON NANOWRIMO TODAY! On day 21! It only took me three weeks!! AHHH!! *feels like a superhuman*

I wrote SO much today. In fact, it became my wordiest day.

I was just so determined to hit 50k today, on my last Thursday off before Thanksgiving. And I did it. I still can't believe it. Please excuse me while I go scream some more.

I was sitting down, getting ready to write, and I opened up a Dove dark chocolate (my literal FUEL this November), and know the little sayings they have on the inside? Today the first one I opened said, "Today is your day." Yes. Yes, it was. ;)

Also, I just want to say that it RAINED today. As in, it was raining the night I won NaNo. WHICH IT WAS DOING LAST YEAR. I love that so much. xD

Word count: 8601

Total word count for the week: 22076

Total word count for NaNo: 50192

WAIT WHAT. I wrote 22k in one week?? :o I didn't even realize that until I was adding this up. But wow. That's a lot for me. You guys, my goal for this week was to hit 43k. That was it. And then I go and hit 50k before the week's even over.

I'm not trying to make myself sound awesome... and if you still think I am, lololol you should see this first draft I call a winner. It's HIDEOUS. As first drafts are. But I love it and I love you, Trentley and Jynnia, my dear children. *bursts into tears and hugs the babies*

So! That's it! My final week of NaNoWriMo! Well, sort of. I do hope to keep writing for the rest of the month. Originally I hoped to finish this book in November because I kind of saw it being pretty short... but now here we are and I honestly don't know how much longer this thing's going to go. I think my pacing is horrible and I'm probably drawing things out way longer than they need to be. Buuut we'll deal with that later.

(can't wait gif)

I hope you guys have enjoyed these NaNo updates! I personally love reading these kinds of posts. It's so fun following along with someone's progress and struggles with sanity. As always, thanks so much for reading, and KEEP WRITING!

Also, a couple more things: You're probably going to get a post like every day for the next days, because there were some posts I was wanting to do and I'm running out of time, so in order to do them I'm going to have to just throw them up whenever I can. xD Also, just a teensy-weensy reminder that this Thursday (Thanksgiving), my next Havok story will be published!! So stay tuned for that. And don't get yourself too crazy with all the Thanksgiving prep. ;D

So, how is your NaNo going? Are you feeling good about your story, or thinking you might have to do a looot of editing later? Tell me all your victories and struggles! :D

NaNoWriMo: Weekly Update #2!

WEEK TWO OF NANO IS OVER. Which means that NaNo is halfway over. o.o WHAT. (it also means that this post goes up late. Hehehe. Hehe. Heh. *hides*)

This week of NaNo was a fun one! It didn't go quite as smoothly as last week did, I'd say, but I still enjoyed what I was writing. Although I know less and less what I want to be happening as the story goes on, what I do know (and the stuff I'm making up as I go along XD) is a lot of fun! Magic is starting to happen, and Trentley and Jynnia are still my favorite little darlings in the whole wide world.

Aaand here's the report!

I wrote four words. And I don't think I need to elaborate on that. xD

Word count: 4

This day was excellent! Sadly I wasn't able to take part in Double-Up Day, thanks to work. *sigh* Someday I'll be able to do that.

Anyway, I didn't get started writing until around nine or ten that night. I got to a little over 16k at 10:10 or so, and then I was like... I'm going to make it to 20k tonight. It was a completely ridiculous goal and I didn't really expect to hit it.

But I did!! I passed up 20k with ten minutes to spare. xD And this was my wordiest day so far. Also, I've begun torturing one of my characters, so it's getting fun.

I'm still kind of in awe that I've already come this far, actually, and with so much of the story to tell. (Usually I rush the story and run out of things to write long before 50k.) Like I said last week, I'm
moving faster than I ever have before; AND I haven't gotten stuck yet. Which is a milestone for me. :D

Word count: 4112

This was a Sunday, which really means that I should have gotten more writing done. But it actually meant that I spent very little time writing and didn't make my word count.

I was still ahead of my overall word count, though, so it's all good.

Word count: 958

This isn't my best week, all right? xD

This day I was feeling a little discouraged about some things and I just didn't feel like writing. Plus
I'd hit a bit of a snag in the story. I knew it was coming, so I was prepared. It wasn't even a big issue, just that slow part of the story where I get a little bit at a loss for what to write next.

Word count: 87

I was pretty determined to get to 25k on this day. So I wrote and wrote and worked through a slow part.

I came out over 25k. Yay! I'm still in a weird transitional part in the story, but I'm powering through. I'm learning that that's possible. What I'm writing right now might not make sense later, but I feel like this stage still helps me get a feel for the story, and even if I end up dumping literally everything I write later... it's still helping me grow myself and my story.

I made it past my goal for the day (25k, like I already mentioned)... then realized that if I wrote only 100 or so more words, this would be my wordiest day so far. So you can bet I did just that. xD
Also, I introduced a new character! She's kind of weird and totally unplanned, but I'm pretty excited.

Word count: 4132

Not my proudest moment.

Word count: 9

Okay, guys, NaNo is sucking my life force away. I WANTED to write this day. I had all day to pound out thousands of words if I wanted to.

But I was SO TIRED. I haven't been sleeping much lately, because I'm ridiculously irresponsible and have been staying up late to write when I have to be up at like 6 the next morning. Not smart. But, well, it's a thing that's happening.

Also... something very weird and extremely annoying happened today. I checked my total word count after writing 696 words and it only said I had written like 50 something words. ???? What ????

Apparently somehow I updated my word count wrong over one of the past couple days??? I have NO idea what happened but I'm going to blame it on my word counter. So, the last few days' word count may or not be correct. I don't know. But that's fine. xD (Except for yesterday. Yesterday I DEFINITELY only wrote 9 words.)

Anyway, although I didn't spend as much time writing this day as I could have (and should have), I did get a couple thousand words in.

Word count: 2261

Total word count for the week: 12220

Total word count for NaNo: 28116

Not as much as last week, but I still feel pretty good. I had a couple days where I barely wrote anything, but then there were other days that I went above and beyond my word count goal. What I'm the most proud of is how I've been pushing through and writing even when the scene is hard to write. And I don't just quit before I make my word count. Pretty much every time I haven't made it, it's been because I didn't write all day and I just didn't have time to write more than a few hundred words. But I never just gave up. Does that make sense? xD

Probably not. But anyway, I hope NaNo is going great for all you fellow psychos! Keep writing and even if you're not writing 1667 words a day or planning to hit 50k, you're still amazing!

All right, guys, so how did week 2 go for you? Have you written any exciting developments in your story (new characters, plot twists, anything)? Started torturing any characters yet? Lost your own mind? Let's talk about how insane we all are!