Writing in Public, Too: NaNoWriMo Day 1

It occurs to me that I probably should have mentioned what this whole \”writing in public\” thing is about, for newer readers. It\’s inspired by the work of another writer, named Dean Wesley Smith. If you haven\’t checked out www.deanwesleysmith.com, then you probably ought to, whether you\’re a reader, a writer, or both.
Dean set out about fourteen months ago to blog about his writing. Every day. He wanted to give people a view into the life of a real professional writer – someone who does this as his whole living, who writes stories every day. In all that time, he hasn\’t missed a day of his blog. He\’s also been writing about eighty thousand words a month over that time frame – truly awesome and inspiring work.

I love Dean\’s blog. He reminds us that writing is play, and is one of the best jobs imaginable. I think, for me at least, that astronaut might come close… But creating worlds and then sharing them with you is one of the best things I can think of doing. Dean helps remind me how awesome it is, and how much fun writing ought to be.

So about a year ago, I did some \”writing in public\”, too. And then after a bit I let it go. My idea was to show how a person who is writing while also helping take care of three kids and working a full time \”day job\” can still get things done. It didn\’t last that long: I had attacks of life which got in the way, and I let the blog go.

So I\’m approaching it from a little different angle this time. This one is JUST about NaNoWriMo – I\’m blogging daily about progress, about triumphs, and about the messes along the way. I hope you find it fun and interesting to read!

This was the first day of NaNo. I worked until 11:30pm, and then drove home, arriving just after midnight. NaNoWriMo starts at midnight, and I like to get cracking right out of the gate. I was exhausted, but plowed in on getting a little bit down on paper. After a single twenty minute writing burst, I had 325 words down, and called it good for the night.

I got up about 8:30 this morning, checked email, got some assorted chores done, and then started in – finally – on some writing. Not too far in, life intruded. Family stuff popping up, and I dealt with it. Tried to write. More stuff. Dealt with it. By now, it\’s after 1pm, and I have only added another couple hundred words. I stop, breathe, realize that I\’m simply not going to be able to get any significant progress done before I have to leave the apartment for work, and grab something to eat. Garlic parmesan chicken with fries, leftovers but still delicious.

Left at 1:30pm, so I could pay a couple of bills on the way, and got to work in plenty of time for 3pm. Work was 3-11:30 tonight, and went pretty smoothly. I\’m an RN (nurse) in the day job, and weekends are usually pretty good. I managed to get in another 500 words on a break, bringing my grand total for the day to 970 words.

It\’s not the 1666 you need to average every day to reach 50k words in November, but…that\’s OK. It\’s a start, and not every day is going to be a rockstar writing day. The important thing is to make the writing a big focus EVERY day, even if it\’s only for a while. Even a thousand words a day adds up to a lot of words, in the long run.

Fiction words today: 970

Fiction words for November: 970

Blog words for today: 618

Blog words for November: 618