NaNoWriMo 2018 | Week 3 Update

Some quick thoughts about Week 3 of November coming to an end:

YIKES! Am I dreaming? Am I having a nightmare? When was the last time I washed my hair? Is that REALLY my word count? Fuck!

Keep reading if you’d like to know my more complete and formulated thoughts about November (and NaNoWriMo) being almost over.

Continue reading this update, or skip to:

• Introduction 
• Week 1 Update 
• Week 2 Update 
• Conclusion

The slump I talked about in last week’s update was enhanced this week. With Turkey Day prep, lots of work tasks to get done before my five days off, and even a snowstorm thrown in the mix, most of my energy was devoted to other things and I didn’t have the motivation or concentration to sit down and write my story. I feel like my creativity has lessened and lessened, and at this point I’m not feeling stuck as much as I am feeling lost in my story. I’m starting to feel more concerned about post-November progress, and how I’m going to string along all of the scenes and timelines I’ve created.

As you can probably imagine, this puts a damper on my writing sessions, although I must admit I’m writing this on a break from an exciting part of my story. If you have chatted with me or read my first NaNoWriMo update, you’ll know that I’m writing a fantasy [loosely] based on the fairy tale Maid Maleen. And I’ve written a lot of build up to the events in that fairy tale, and tonight I started writing the history of that build up. I know this explanation is not that exciting, but what I’m getting at here is that I think spending a couple of days away from my writing, working on my blog, socializing (I had almost forgotten what that was like), and just hanging out/relaxing has breathed new life into my imagination and thought process. Sure, I’m not thrilled that spending a couple of days away also means my word count is not where I want it to be, but I’m still in a really good place.

Speaking of which, my current word count is 31,578. I may not be 100% happy about it not being higher, but I am still in such awe over that number. I’ve written over 31,000 words in 24 days. And most of those words make sense. They work together, they’ve created something I’m already proud of. <– And that’s why, even with doubts and feeling lost along the way, it’s never crossed my mind to stop completely. 

I think that’s it for this week’s update. Next Saturday – spoiler alert – is December 1st, so I will be doing a NaNoWriMo wrap-up type update then. I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to format it, and I may decide to do a “What’s Next” type of section, but no matter what, I will be doing a concluding post about my NaNoWriMo 2018 experience. In the meantime, you can follow my daily progress here, and share your own update and/or thoughts in a comment, on Twitter, or link below a relevant post of yours talking about National Novel Writing Month. 

Here’s to the final week of this crazy and inspiring challenge!

-Kelsey