National Novel Writing Month - Progress Report

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As we step into Day 11 of National Novel Writing Month, I must admit I'm very tired. Why? The post office has hit high gear for the holidays, which is good, but very tiring. Pile on writing every day, and you have a very tired writer. But, I push and push and remain in line with the goal of reaching 50,000 words by November 30th.

I hope all you writers out there are making progress in both your word count and your story. I understand for some these may be two different issues.

On Day 7, my characters decided my plan wasn't good enough for them. :) I had to take a moment and rethink my stories direction. With the help of my characters, the story evolved further. To allow this pause in production, my characters and I had a talk and resolved our issues in the form of a document, which goes into the word count of the month. I believe this to be legit and have moved forward with the story.

If you find yourself stuck and about to panic, give yourself a break. These characters tend to do what they want and sometimes we have to let them do it. In this race toward 50,000 words, brainstorming sessions are allowed. If you keep pushing forward through your novel and don't take a moment to reassess when needed, you are only gearing up for even more rewriting.

Don't fall apart. Don't give up. Talk to your characters. Explore possible plot changes. And, don't feel like your cheating by doing this as part of your word count. It's much better to be clear on your direction at word count 10,000 than waiting till you are half way to your goal and get so stuck you throw in the towel.

Best wishes to you all as we move forward in this writing journey.