NaNoWriMo - The Journey

Wasn’t sure I was going to use this blog this year - and, ideally, I’d like to use it year round - but I have a lot of NaNo feels and have to have somewhere to put them.

I’m not ready. Like I’m the least ready I’ve ever been for a NaNo and that is saying something. And, also, this year I wanted to put pressure on myself to write all original work, or at least a majority of it, but I just don’t think that’s possible with how damn unprepared I am. 

I do have like two and a half novels planned out, I just have to start them and then go from there - not overly planned, though the first one is pretty damn planned I just DONT FEEL PREPARED. 

A week ago I was in California at LeakyCon and I’ve been home for a week - and the plan was the clean and prep and try and finish The Way of Kings reread. But I just... I couldn’t, I was so exhausted from just going and going during Leaky and then ahhh chronic fatigue. 

I hope to write up more thoughts about this month but I’m so physically exhausted I can’t - which shows that I haven’t been keeping up with these very good. at all.

So I kind of realized on the 25th that - holy shit the end is nigh - and that I was, and am, too close to 300k to not hit it. Why do I hate myself? Well, I’m also planning, in December, to try for 30 books in 30 days - so, you know, I don’t know either but it doesn’t stop

Once again went a few days without posting anything, but for two of these days (20th + 21st) I wasn’t writing a whole lot. However, yesterday I did write a surprising amount, which I’ve very pleased with. 

So I missed posting here a few days, and one of those days was a day I accidentally hit 200k (I saw someone post about hitting it and was just like - I’m only 3k away, fuck it).

Anyway - the stats and then hopefully tomorrow back to normal (if i feel okay, I am like 10 minutes back from chiro appt #3 and feeling like I might get a headache, so we’ll see).

So I didn’t get a lot done, really almost nothing. I did have my chiropractor appointment, though, and my legs are even now. Which is, honestly, astounding to me since they’ve been uneven for almost a year. I’m heading back on Wednesday to make sure everything is good, and I should of put this update up yesterday but I didn’t. 

Basically - ow, ow ow. I’m not going to get much writing done today.

Another day, another barely a handful of words written. 3k day. Not awful, but I just really wasn’t up to it today, I’m honestly exhausted right now and I feel like I accomplished nothing.

Tomorrow - probably same, because I have a chiropractor appointment!! Huzzah! For the back pain (obviously). Hopefully, it helps.

Anyway - 3k, didn’t get much done, tired, back hurts. Pretty normal for the last few days. Too tired to read, once again, but I’m hoping to read tomorrow, maybe a few single issues before falling into a hole I cannot get caught back up on

Another day. 5k down, another low (ha) word count day. I think I’m just exhausted at this point - from everything I’ve written so far, from back pain, from stress (so much stress). I was worn down before November started. I finally slept past 7am today, though, that was exciting (to 8, whoaa).

Tomorrow I want to read - I’m so behind on single issues and I haven’t ready any of the things I had on preorder that came out the last few months, hell really the last year, and I haven’t finished anything so far in November (well, now I finished listening to The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but haven’t really read anything).

Friday the 13th! Yay!

Besides that, though, it wasn’t really what I’d call a good day. Though, I got to pet and snuggle a dog so it really couldn’t be called a bad day either. I didn’t get a lot of writing done, but it was more because of back pain then wanting to get anything done (I have appointment on Monday, maybe it’ll all be better - i’m 100% not expecting that, by the way, so if it’s even a little better I’ll be surprised/impressed).

Wrote 4.8k which is my lowest day this whole month, by probably like 5k? (have i had any below 10k days? who knows? And I’m okay with that, I’ll definitely be writing something every month but I think I need some time not writing. It’s been a rough two weeks 

(and now, instead of passing out like I’d like to even though it’s only 8:30 - icing my back. Does it help? Don’t know, man, don’t know, but it isn’t making it worse)

Also forgot to post this one, I’m getting bad at this. So day twelve was good, I think, i got a good amount done but am definitely kind of hitting a wall. I’m not writing what I wanted to be, not drafting the first draft for this thing I wanted to be working on because I didn’t have enough time to research/plan.

Which is fine, I’m honestly glad to be getting anything done. And I’m still going to write every day - but I’m like to get some reading done, as well, and crochet and not fall behind on everything (ha, yeah right, already behind on everything)

So the end of day 11 of NaNoWriMo and I not have over 160k written. No idea what I’m doing or what I’ll do with anything I’m writing, but at the moment I’m really enjoying just the act of writing. 

I’ve been so damn stressed, and I still am, and I also haven’t been feeling well the past week for reasons, but also a bit of a cold and just not right. I was doing so much better, and then this week... I wasn’t. But I will be again! .... theroretically. 

Currently considering laying down even though it’s only 8, but that’s wayyyy too early, unacceptably early. I’m going to watch some RT stuff, probably.

Oh and I accidentally wrote 22k today. Yup, that is a thing I do now. 

TOTALLY FORGOT TO POST THIS, meant to do it this morning but I completely forgot I hadn’t the night before. And you might be wondering why I didn’t do it the night before. Well... i kind of went to sleep so ridiculously early it’s painful, I laid down at 8:30. Yup.

Anyway - wrote 10k. Good day. Well, it was like pulling teeth still at first and then it started to ease a little, but it’ll get worse again beginning of week three I’m sure.

Did I miss a day...? I’m going to have to look, it’s getting to that point

Today, was not a fun or good one and currently the muscles in my neck are so tight I know that they’ll turn into a tension headache if I don’t get the heating pad on them soon so this is going to be quick.

Week two. Today was like pulling teeth trying to write. And I think I’ve realized after the year before last my “normal” daily word count goal is 10k. Which is how, thinking on last year I didn’t think I did very well - except I actually wrote 300k soooo....??

Anyway - I’m thinking that’s why I kind of compulsively write stuff when I have the time. And I currently have the time. Also think I have a cold, but who knows. WHO KNOWS

End of day eight total - 10k. I’m too tired to do more. I think the last two years have just wired me to feel like a NaNo day is 10k because the last two i’ve been aiming for 300k or higher. And even though I didn’t mean to this year, I just can’t stop?

So Saturday, day seven of NaNo, was spent pretty much primarily watching extralife and writing randomly when there were lulls (aka: whenever the played the video and i didn’t have to do something else fot he whole time)

And now it’s sunday morning and i slept in there for a few hours, and extralife is over. and i don’t really have a goal today but to write, and also get some reading done at some point hopefully (mostly to give my eyes a break)

I didn’t write much today compared to the last almost week, but I was exhausted, just all day. And I hit 100k, so I deserved a kind of break. And tomorrow is Extra Life (I will be watching RoosterTeeth’s stream), writing some but probably also not a high word count day.

I have no idea what my goal is for the month, now, but I know it’s not anything insane. With the recent stress, current stress, and not getting enough sleep - I am so fucking exhausted.