NaNoWriMo month feels a lot like a writing marathon. It is creating a daily frenzy, every day making 1,667 words at the least to stay on target. That is, embracing those moments when you stare at the cursor and beg for creative inspiration and it feels like no hope is coming, but then you type two words, then three, and then…whoosh, three thousand come at you. Relief floods you, you can log a decent word count into the NaNoWriMo graph, and then you go to sleep. Guess what, you wake up the next day and the same process starts again.

I’m on Day 24, and the good part of this process is that there is comfort to the writing routine. I have accumulated some 40,000 words so far. I would judge about 32,000 of them are decent enough to work with later. As I continue, I have a whole story that I did not have at the beginning of the month. So, that’s the good part, the big win!

The challenging part is getting past the daily life noise. I may have a daily writing goal but managing to keep up with it while faced with my life obligations is a feat and a half. You manage the job, chores in the house, family things, pets, procrastination, and the odd visits from unexpected crises…these are the few things that show up on the daily life map. Setting aside the time to get 1,667 words down can feel like a battle crisis. I need to work at getting the writing done, literary carve out time amid the unavoidable noise. Some days, it felt painful to find the writing time, but others have felt easy. I’m grateful for the easy days and proud of the painful ones when it felt like I might give up but kept at it anyway. Gotta celebrate these wins.

I have shared the good and the challenging. Here’s the funny and extra cheesy enjoyment.

Despite the griping to get these words done, I find it exciting to see the graph rise daily. Every day, I’ll do my best to get the words in even though it is like 11:30 pm at night, just to see the graph grow or to win the word count badge. It is so oddly satisfying! I’ll smile like a silly goose, happy that I got in that count before midnight. And who doesn’t enjoy winning fun little colorful badges!

So, that’s my NaNoWriMo progress so far. There are six days to go, and I have about 10,000 words to get done. I’ll let you know if I win that completed certificate!

To read a snippet of this nanowrimo story find it here: The Hidden Queen. It is a draft and may change in the future. For now, it is what it is. Enjoy!