NaNoWriMo Week 1

Hi everyone!

NaNoWriMo week 1 is over! I hope all the writers reading this were able to write what they intended on.

In this post I’m going to share with you my stats so far for NaNoWriMo and some things I learned after writing non-stop for one week.

My goal per day was to write 1,000 words. I didn’t really think I’d be able to reach the 50,000-word goal for the whole month, so instead I changed it to 25,000. That seems a little bit more attainable for me because I’m a slow writer.

As you can see from this chart, I was able to reach my goal of 1,000 words per day for six out of the seven days!

Questions About My Progress

Beautiful Books was created by Paper Fury and Further Up Further In. It is a three-month writing event that helps you focus on your novel. Check out the links for more information.

1. Overall, how is your mental state, and how is your novel going?

My mental state is going pretty well. I handed in my last uni assignment on 30 October and between 30 October and 6 November I was worried about what I was going to do once I graduated. But that problem has been solved now (see below).

My novel is going okay! I do have a problem with it, and that is the plot. My plot seems a little vague and I don’t know what to do about it. I did think of something, but I’m not sure if that idea will really work very well.

2. What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?

Oh, we’re asking that question, are we? The first sentence is supposed to draw you into the book, so that is kind of a big thing you are asking me to include! Well okay, here it is…

“It was Harley’s first day of university and there was a party going on around her.”

I’ll probably change it to be honest.

3. Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?

My favourite character so far is probably Max, the protagonist’s friend. He is the comedic character. I really love comedy and I wasn’t intending on including humour into the story, but sometimes I just can’t help it!

4. What do you love about your novel so far?

I love the main character and some of the things that happens in the novel. Actually it’s pretty difficult for me to love my WIP (it’s more of a love-hate relationship).

5. Have you made any hilarious typos or other mistakes?

I’ve made some non-hilarious mistakes. I can’t really think of anything interesting!

6. What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?

Definitely the middle! The beginning is the most difficult to write because it’s usually the most boring. The middle has all of the fun stuff.

7. What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!

My writing habits are pretty bad. I’ll try to write, but then I’ll get distracted by my phone. I always have to write in silence, so I cannot even listen to the radio, which is pretty much constantly on when I’m in my room.

There is not a specific snack that I eat! The time of the day that I write best is around 6:30pm-10:30pm.

Here’s my writing space (although I also write on my bed tbh):

8. How private are you about your novel while you’re writing? Do you need a cheer squad or do you work alone (like, ahem, Batman)?

This is the first time I’ve ever been vocal about what I’ve been writing. Everyone knows on my blog and Twitter (obviously). I’ve also told my mum and brother. I said to them, “I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year!” and they said, “NaNo – what – Mo?”. I think only writers really get what it is! Also Twitter has been great! I like it when I reply to people’s tweets or they reply to mine. I think writing is a very solitary thing to do, but having a cheer squad online definitely helps!

9. What keeps you writing even when it’s hard?

Hmmm…good question! I usually stop when writing gets too hard. But I think doing NaNoWriMo helps with writing even though it’s too hard because you feel bad if you don’t achieve your goal. So that goal in front of you keeps you going.

10. What are your top 3 pieces of writing advice?

1. Do not edit as you’re trying to build up the word count in NaNoWriMo. This will likely make you want to stop because you will realise how bad your writing is. You want to prevent yourself from thinking that.
2. Don’t compare yourself to how far other people doing NaNoWriMo are going. The word count isn’t that important, as long as you are writing every day (or not even every day!).
3. Your first draft will probably be bad! So just get the first draft finished and you can make it better when you start the second one.

• How is NaNoWriMo going for you?