NaNoWriMo - 52,064 words - Done!

I finished NaNoWriMo on November 25. When I uploaded the file and they validated the word count, they gave me some handy-dandy little badges, suitable for posting, as they say.

And am I glad I'm done. 50,000 words in one month is a lot, even when the words aren't prime and mine aren't. A lot of editing awaits me, as well as finishing the end of the story. I outlined to the end because 52,064 words is enough for now.

Now it's back to the salt mines. Finishing the Pumpkinnapper edits and the never-ending round of promotion. I hope everyone in the States had a good Thanksgiving.

Thank you all,
Linda

NaNoWriMo at 48,104 words, December RWR, and Pumpkinnapper cover

Several things today.

First, my NaNoWriMo count is 48,104, according to Microsoft Word. I'm going to push it to 50,000 tomorrow and then leave it. I planned the story to be 90,000 to 100,000 words, so I'm about half done. I've outlined the rest and I'll flesh it out later.

Second, I was supposed to guest blog today at the Simply Romance Reviews blog, but their last post is for November 17, and I have no idea what's going on. More info when I find out.

Third, for those of you who belong to the RWA, check the inside front cover of the December issue of RWR for The Wild Rose Press ad. My cover for Lady of the Stars is on the bottom row. I received my copy yesterday, so yours should arrive soon. The ad looked great on the computer proof they sent us, but on glossy paper, it's beautiful.

And, last but not least, I just received my cover for Pumpkinnapper. Another gorgeous cover from Nicola Martinez, who also did the Lady of the Stars cover. Pumpkinnapper's expanded blurb and excerpt are on my website on my Books page.

Happy Thanksgiving. And now for my Thanksgiving joke (Don't groan too loudly). Thanksgiving: The one day in the year we give thanks for turkeys.

Thank you all,
Linda

NaNoWriMo - 36,005 words so far

I've written quite a bit less this week. According to the NaNoWriMo site, week two is the traditional time for writers to slow down or drop out.

The edits for Pumpkinnapper came in, and I have to work on them. I also had to finish my November 23 guest blog post, titled I Write Regency for the Simply Romance Reviews blog.

Excuses, excuses. Yes, I know. But, life does have a way of intruding on the best-laid plans.

This week the writing was much harder than last week. I checked the MS Word word counter a lot. Did I make xxxxx yet? Last week the words flowed fairly easily. Now I grit my teeth and force myself to write something. For all the talk about "writing every day", you must do some prep work before you write. This past week I've reached quite a few of those gray areas.

The good news: I have 14,000 words to write. Not counting today, when I'll work on Pumpkinnapper, I have fourteen days left. I can make the time to write 1000 words a day. Update next week.

After I'd written this post, I read this week's NaNoWriMo motivational email from Chris Baty. I planned to write in sequence until I hit 50,000 words. He says to write the whole story, then in December go back and flesh it out. I have at least three major scenes before "The End", since I expect this novel's final version to contain 90,000 to 100,000 words. I doubt these three scenes will total 14,000 words, but by writing them, maybe I can spare some tooth enamel.

Now for the week's shameless promotion. On Friday I guest blogged at Lynda Coker's Between The Lines blog on Where to Find Romance--in a Book, That is. Lynda told me my post received 207 hits on Friday. I'm a little below her weekly average of 2200 (314 per day), but I'm probably not doing too badly for a newbie. The post is still up, and I'll continue to check for comments over the next few days.

Thank you all,
Linda

NaNoWriMo - 27,115 words so far

In the first eight days of NaNoWriMo, I've written 27,115 words.

As I reread some of the words I've written, I wince. One scene written two ways. Another scene that needs better motivation. Bulk words, I say to myself, words cranked out, not final words. First draft.

Did my other stuff start out this bad?

Probably worse. Even as I reread my NaNoWriMo entry, I do have POV correct, and I no longer write sentences that start with "This is" or "That is". Progress of a sort, I suppose.

Last year I took Shannon Donnelly's Show and Tell course offered by the Published Authors' Special Interest Chapter of the RWA (PASIC). She said most of writing is rewriting. You write down what you can, messy as it is, then go back and layer in emotion, showing, descriptions, etc.

And fix the spelling. Probably half my words have typos.

But now for the good news: I'm more than halfway through. This week I have other things to work on, so I had to get ahead. Next time I won't report a really high word count.

I'll end with some shameless promotion. On Friday, November 14, I'll be blogging at Between the Lines on "Where To Find Romance--In a Book, That Is".

Thank you all,
Linda

My Second Contract!

Pumpkin thieves, a youthful love rekindled, and a jealous goose. Oh my.

While receiving a contract is always good, the timing does put a crimp into my plans for NaNoWriMo. I'll have to do edits whenever they ask, and I have no idea when they will.

But until then I work on my story for NaNoWriMo. However far I get, I'll be farther than if I hadn't started at all. Yesterday, on Day One, I wrote 3500 words. I didn't say they were good words, or that I will keep them all, but they are words.

Progress reports to follow.

Thank you all,

Linda