Friday, November 25, 2010

I awoke this morning at 6:00a thinking I'd jump out of bed and whip out 5,000 words.  I walked downstairs and was greeted by a horribly disgusting smell.  I'll spare you the details but one of my dogs had gotten sick all over the floor.  I had to clean up the icky goop.  This, my friends, is why I became a teacher and not a nurse.  It's also why I prefer the cockatiel because her poops are much smaller than those produced by golden retrievers.

So, now after the pleasantries, I'm sitting on the sofa with a cup of hot tea, trying to forget the traumatic beginning to my morning, and I'm blogging to you as a warm-up before I dive into NaNoWriMo.  (I call them my mental yoga stretches.)

I'll blog later today. 

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Ok, I wrote 1,100 words and finally reached 40,000!  Yippee!  The doggy stink has finally dissipated so I'm going to take a quick break, eat some breakfast and return to the land of NaNo.  

BTW - our club has written 523,000 words but that number does not include my word count (40,000) plus the students who have not posted yet.  Excellent work, everyone!  Don't stop now!  Five days left!
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Ok, I wrote another 1,100 words and my count is 41,172.  I'm so glad I have the day off from work!  Woohoo!  I'm going to take a quick break and then I'll blog again.


BTW - Our TGIO (Thank Goodness It's Over!) party will be held on Tuesday, December 7th, from 3:45p - 5:00p in my classroom.  Originally, the date was Wednesday, December 1st, but I have to reschedule it due to an important meeting that has come up.


Bring one or two paragraphs from your NaNoWriMo book and be prepared to share with the group.  Pizza will be served, of course, as we celebrate our successes!  Please pass the word to everyone in our group.


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I'm ending tonight with 43,268.  That's 4,000 words for today.  I'll try to write another 3,000 tomorrow and 3,000 on Sunday.  


It's okay to get tired of writing your story.  It's very normal.  Just remember that you're accomplishing what many people only dream of doing.  You're a novelist.  Think about that word and what it implies.  No short stories here.  Just lots of chapters and plotting and sub-plotting and conflict and resolution, and...and...and.  Get the picture?


So, here are my words of advice:  
Don't analyze.  
Don't stress.  


Just write and write and reach your word count goal.  Then put the manuscript away and don't look at again until January.  You need time and a mental break from your story so you can get a perspective.


Mrs. P.