7 Days in Hell Cover Image

Will November NEVER end?

I feel I have suffered enough for this month. It must be the longest month of the year. I am really disappointed with my performance. I've done it again - peaked too early in the month and ruined my chances of writing for the rest of the month (and hopefully not the rest of the year). I wanted to get two books written this November and finish TTMF, but I didn't achieve my goals. I just want November to end now, get my certificate and move on to December.

I think I can, I think I can

I must take a leaf out of the little engine that could's book.

Have to finish 7 days before December so I can get it printed on lulu before Christmas.

Have to get TTMF before December. The fans are getting restless.

Shovelling some coal into my engine so I can make my way over this hill.

When you fall from the horse...

it is best to get right back up again.

I'm struggling to get back into the writing saddle. Last week I squeezed in another 10K on Tuesday, crashed on Wednesday, went shopping on Thursday and burned for the weekend. I was really tired at the NaNoWriMo meeting last night but I did get some writing done, which was good. I have been thinking about my books, my body is just rebelling from the thought of fitting in more 10K days.

The good news is I have a cover designed for 7 days and I have even more people interested in reading it.

I better get back writing, so. Not many days left in November.

Compare and Contrast NaNoWriMo 05 with NaNoWriMo 06

Last year I reached 50K on the 13th November.
This year I reached 50K on the 12th November.
Last year I reached 59K on the 16th November.
This year I reached 63K on the 14th November.

So far, I think this year is turning out better than last year, which was a good year and was already better than 04. If I continue at this rate, by 2018 I'll be writing 50K words in a day!

Last year I was competing against a friend to reach 50K and nearly killed myself writing (writing was my part time job last year, so it was a big effort to write so much so quickly). I wasn't competing with anyone this year and I wrote faster and easier (also, it is my full time job this year). Last year I pretty much burned out after the 16th and didn't write for the rest of the month (started making Christmas presents instead). I hope the same doesn't happen this year.

Next year I plan to write a road novel in New Zealand. I wonder will this improve or damage my record?

I don't feel like writing today

I don't know if it is the rain, or because I am tired, or maybe it is the fact I have other things I would like to do instead. Perhaps I have reached writing burn out. Could it be that I am reluctant to finish 7 days because I am having so much fun writing it? Or is it that I don't really know how to wrap up all the threads in a satisfactory conclusion?

I don't know. Maybe a little of everything.

I think it is the rain.

Eat writing, drink writing, sleep writing

I am so close to finishing 7 days, I can taste it. Had a publisher in mind for it who publish dark fantasy and horror, but when I looked up their website today they said they were closed to submissions. :( Ah well, I'm sure there are other places.

The word count break down for the write in weekend is as follows: -

Friday 10th - 3,086 words (a little above my average)
Saturday 11th - 10,071 words (a nice surprise)
Sunday 12th - 14,847 words (great, but a killer)

My trusty pink high lighter decided to run out of ink today, so my word tracker looks kind of faded. The early words are coloured in quite strong pink, but it fades as it reaches 50K. I must buy myself a new highlighter, although what I will use it for now, I don't know. (my last highlighter lasted at least 10 years, so it just shows how much I use them)

Feeling really tired this evening, so I'm finishing up here and going to bed (despite the fact that my bedroom is SCREAMING to be cleaned)

Words written today: 10,025
Total: 63,844

Writing is easy!

Writing 50K words in a month (or 12 days) is easy. You just keep on putting words down on paper. Any words - words that come into your head, words that don't even fit together, words. Writing a novel in a month, now that is HARD. I could easily write another 50K on 7 Days and still be no nearer the end than I am now. Drawing all the strings together and completing the book is another story.

I have two days (counting today) to do it.

Nanowrimo meeting

We were down two members at tonight's meeting, so we wrote a note of encouragement to our absent members and sent them some idea cards. I hope this week will prove fruitful. Meeting went well. Both Valerie and I are over 50K (well done Valpot!) and Geri is doing pretty well too (and she is hand writing!) and we both got over a thousand words written at the meeting. I didn't do much writing today, only about 3000 words, but I am pleased that I did any writing at all after the write in weekend. I want to get 7 days written by Wednesday, but I'll have to write another book to keep my word count up for the regional word wars for the rest of the week! I don't know if I can take it. I must fill in the rest of my word tracker tomorrow. Somehow, colouring in the rest of the squares won't be so much fun now that I am doing them in one go. It is nicer to see them fill up slowly. I guess I shouldn't complain though.

I DID IT!

I reached 50K today. That was a marathon of writing, doing 15k alone today and 25k over the whole weekend. I only have about another 15k to go on the book (it has run a little over budget, so to speak) and I plan to finish by Wednesday.

That is, if I ever write again.

I am so tired I think I could explode.

That's more like it!

Thought I did a normal writing day today (although I usually only write Saturday morning) and that I might have got 4/5 thousand words written. Imagine my surprise when I did a word count at 6pm and saw that I had written 8k! I had to write for another hour to get the 10k in. I guess this writing weekend is boosting my creativity!

Things have made a turn for the worse in Ardanbhas for Vicky and Irene. I am finding it hard to detach myself from the emotion, leave their world and come back into this one. The scene where I left them has left me a little depressed (plus the fact that, despite my good writing today, Valpot is STILL over 5K ahead of me!)

Words written today: 10,074
Total: 35,222

Weekend long write-in!

I've gone up to Dublin to try and boost my word count (although I am quite happy with it) and to help Mungo boost his (he is not happy with it) and to do lots of word wars with Valerie. It was Valerie's idea, so I hope she has lots of plans for ways to boost our word counts (I'm imaging doubling and tripling my average at least!) Today didn't turn out too badly, with a little above my average. However, I lost the morning to traveling and I was quite tired in the afternoon, so I didn't get quite as much writing done as I would have liked.

It's Janna's first time in Dublin, so I hope she enjoys it! So far, she doesn't seem to mind sleeping on the wooden floors too much!

Words written today: 3,086
Total: 25,149 (Whoot! Over half way!)

Look what arrived in the post today...

Thanks to Farfalla for sending these groovy tattoos on to me and to Chris and the gang in NaNoWriMo HQ for sending them out in the first place. Don't they rock!

4 more days to go

Another day bites the dust and things are getting more exciting in the tiny village of Ardanbhas. Vicky, one of the twins, had an exciting evening chatting up the cute barman in the local pub and Irene had a disappointment when her car broke down.

Now, that's enough information.

Words written today: 5588
Total: 22163

5 more days in hell to go!

Finally finished writing about Sunday (in my book) and I am now on to Monday. Writing is going well, if a little slow today. Didn't have any word wars, which slowed my word count down. Also, I spent the morning doing research for an article (research is an important side of writing), so I had to do a lot of writing this afternoon.

My buddies on Nanowrimo are already zooming into the twenty thousands, while I have another two days of the teens to go, but I am happy with my steady - if slow - progress. The horses that lead the race never finish first! Or am I thinking of the tortoise and the hare? I don't know.

Monday 6th - first meet up and write in!

Last night I held the first meet up and write in for the Nanowrimoers in my region. Four people turned up. The two who made it to the kick off party and two new people this week. The meeting was held in one of the rooms in the library in the DKIT. It was a brilliant space, perfect for writing in, with comfy chairs, tables and lots of electrical sockets. The only problem with it was that it was a bit cold. It is also completely free! Thanks DKIT for such a wonderful resource.

The meeting went very well. One of the people had a fantastic word count of 20,000 words. We wrote over 2000 words in two ten minute sessions during the meeting, as well as filling out flash cards to help us if we got stuck and drawing our inner editors and sealing them away in an envelope until the end of November. Goodie bags were given out to the new members, and extra goodies were given out to the returning members, which included a badge, a sticker and an envelope containing instant inspiration (thanks to Farfalla, my co-ML for sending me those goodies).

Nanowrimo tattoos are on their way and should be distributed at the next meeting.

I think I will introduce some challenges at the next meeting - for example, everyone has to mention a three legged dog in their novel. Any suggestions for challenges? Let me know.

I was in Dublin yesterday, so my only writing was the 800 or so words I got done at the meeting. My progress may be slow, but it is constant and I am already 3000 words ahead of my progress for this day last year.

Happy writing!

Words written on Monday: 869
Total: 14312

Sunday

I wanted to finish writing about Sunday today (on a Sunday), it being the second day of the seven days in hell, but I got my word goal for the day completed first and I am hungry and grumpy, so I think I will take the rest of the day off and finish Sunday some other day (I can always come back and write more if I feel like it, but I probably won't).

Words written today: 2657
Total: 13443

My writing buddies in Nanowrimo are getting higher word counts than me, notably Valpot and Catelfemma, but I don't care. They're aren't writing three books at the same time, so there! (correction, I am only writing two books and NO, I am not trying to steal Mungo's book).

Saturday blues

I was really tired today and I didn't have anyone to word war with me, so it was hard going to get my totals up. However, with the aid of David Hasselhoff (yay! I fitted him in), a dream sequence and lots of descriptive padding, I made my word count.

Words Written Today: 2215
Total: 10,786

I now have two lines of pink on my word tracker chart. Whoot!

Saturday morning

It is early (for me) on Saturday morning. I'm tired, I'm cold, I'm hungry, I'm coughing and my eyes are running. But I am in front of the pc. I am getting ready to write. I am dedicated.

One day down, six more days in hell to go

On my wall, beside my laptop, I have stuck a word tracker. It is an A4 sheet of card divided into boxes that help you to keep track of your words up to 50K. I like filling in the boxes with a pink highlighter pen when my writing day is over, to watch how my words are growing. 7 Days in Hell is filling out very nicely, thank you, with one and 1/2 lines of pink.

Neil Gaiman posted on his blog today about NaNoWriMo. It is nice to know that even the famous professionals know about NaNo.

Thanks to lots of word wars, wrote in excess of my target today.

DAY THREE
Words written: 3518
Total: 8323

I've got chills, they're multiplying...

but not any more! I moved a little oil heater into my writing room, and now my fingers are slowly beginning to thaw out. There was a heavy frost last night, and, while that makes for beautiful countryside outside, it makes for very cold writing conditions inside. I couldn't take another day of frozen writing (and I have tried the layers, but more jumpers don't make my fingers warm and it is very hard to type with gloves). It is so hard to write when you are shivering and the only thing you can think of is steaming bowls of soup and mugs of hot coffee. I hope my word count will suitably reflect my increased warmth.

An enormous black bird just flew by overhead. I think it was a rook, but it sure was a big un!

Day Two

Words Written Today: 1813
Total: 4805

Feeling really tired today so writing was a struggle, both on TTMF and 7DIH, but more so with TTMF. Read over what I wrote on 7 Days yesterday and I am pleased with it. I like the characters already and it is quite spooky (probably only me who will think so!). Hopefully I will sleep well tonight and be nice and refreshed for more writing tomorrow.

A word of advice to anyone with a memory stick - remember to back up your work, because memory sticks can be corrupted, like one belonging to a fellow writer I know. And I don't mean they go to the dark side!

Be seeing you!

First day word count

I started, dear reader!

I have entered into the first blissful day of a new book - new characters, new setting, new beginnings, so many possibilities. *sigh*

Starting a novel is always so good.

Thanks to lots of word wars (warred with 4 people!) I managed to exceed my word count for the day (2000). So, for day one, my word count is 2992

Da Day has arrived!

I put up my nanowrimo ML poster on the wall today to inspire me as I write, and I have stuck my word tracker beside the pc so I can colour off the squares as I write all those wonderful thousands of words (I took pictures to show you, but I can't up load them for some strange reason). I can't believe the day is finally here! Now, all that preparation and planning will have paid off (or so I tell myself).

It is time to start...