What is Failure?

So I have fallen behind in my NaNoWriMo count.  I didn’t get to work on it yesterday, and today I was frantic because of other commitments and only did 400 words or so today.  Now I can consider this a failure, or I can look at the positive that I was able to outline the middle portion of my novel, or act two in script speak.  Actually it is the later half of act two.  I knew where my protagonist needed to go, but I was having troubles getting him there.  I worked on it for a good couple of hours and solved most of the major plot points to get him from where he is now to where he needs to go to get to acts three.  So I ask again, was it a failure to not meet the word quota, or was it a success that I have a good direction to head out tomorrow?  I claim it is unknown until I start writing more this week.  If I can chip away at the word count I am behind, then it is worth it.  If not, then it was a failure.  Failure is always an option, but I am hoping with this stutter step and some better outlining I can build on it into a triumph, but that is for future me to decide.

 

ps Can you tell I’m writing this after 1 am local time?  Yeah, I am tired.  🙂

NaNoWriMo Day 3

So entering day three I have committed 5,208 words to my novel, bringing the grand total for Fallen From Mercy to 57,940 words.  It has been work, but I know a lot of the pain is me learning to write more long form again.  I feel a bit like I am wandering through the weeds at times, but since my goal is a finished first draft of a novel and not something that is perfect I am making good progress.  According to the website my total word count per day is down to 1600 words a day to finish on time.  I hope to keep knowing that per day count down just in case one day ends up being a bad one.  So, overall good progress, but this is the beginning to the marathon.  Here’s to getting closer steadily to the finish line.

NaNoWriMo 2014

So I have decided to try the NaNoWriMo challenge this year.  I have a half written novel which I have been posting chapters on here (Never Short on Words), and I really want to finish it.  I have roughly 52,000 words as of starting the challenge, so I figure if I can complete NaNoWriMo (to be successful you need to write at least 50,000 more), then the novel would be done, or close enough it would be easy to cross the finish line.

I want to be able to say I have written a novel.  I remember when I was writing screenplays.  I thought the first screenplay or two were difficult to finish, but the more I wrote, the easier it became.  Just like running , once you know you can go the distance then the next time it should get a bit easier.

This means I will be publishing more on my progress here over the next month and less new stuff.  I feel sort of melancholy about that.  I enjoy publishing here six days a week.  My posting of word counts will not feel the same.  I don’t know how this will all shake out as the challenge goes on, but I hope you will be understanding with where this blog goes for the next 30 days.

When I finally finish it, what will I do next?  I hope to put it away for three months and then begin editing it.  I know the first novel most people write never gets published, so chances are mine will never see its way into a bookstore.  That said, you never know.  What I will be able to do is know I did it, and then maybe over the next three months I can write my second.  I love to write.  I love to create.  The biggest thing is finishing.  I do know I will go back to posting my fiction here, while starting that next novel.  :>)

I did 1,719 words today.  I am on track.  Now time to go to bed and recharge.  Tomorrow is another 1,666 words to go.  🙂  Good luck to all of you who are taking up the challenge!