First Secrets As Unofficial As Can Be!

When you write crappy sentences and lame scenes, never fear…
NaNoWriMo must be here.

Did you think I was going to tell you my secrets? Sorry if you felt click baited, but read on.

I am again writing unofficially with the NaNoWriMo. I don't remember my word count last year exactly, but I think it was between 20,000-30,000 words by the 30th day. As of the writing of this post, I’ve written 17,139 words. As you read this, I am writing on day eleven so there is more.

I am excited.  

In the past, I did not followed the 1700 word per day goal to get to the 50,000 word prize. I didn’t think I could do it and therefore I didn’t write that much each day. This year, I REALLY wanted to do it and so far I have met my daily goals. My normal window to write is between 5-7 a.m. on weekdays. I can do more on the weekends, but sadly I rarely do. I don’t write the entire two hours, but normally 1 to 1 ½ hours. In the evening, I’m not so brain worthy for writing so for this goal, I need to have my words written in the morning.

Here are some interesting facts:

• In October, I outlined what I knew about the story and wrote scene (topic) pages for most of the book. This prep has been huge for productivity.
• I wavered between three book ideas to write and lost prep time in October arguing with myself. I am so exhausting! Ultimately, I chose not the book idea that I liked the most but the book idea that I knew the most about. 
• Writing hard and fast is not my style, but I can do it as long as I just write and not edit. Speaking of editing...
• When I’m like that’s a terrible sentence or the description seems lame, I normally will halt the world to redo it. I can't afford that time right now. This is draft month where weak scenes, terrible sentences and plot holes are the norm. 
• My characters are stick figures, but their personalities are stepping up, front and center, which helps me know them better.
• If I don’t finish this challenge in November, I'm okay with that, but I'm giving it a hard try. If I finish, I might actually end up with 50,000 words towards a thriller (thriller must be amped up to thrill, though). This will be amazing, for me a short story writer, but in my family we don't count chickens until they hatch or cross the road...well you know.  

Last week, the working title was Smoke and Mirrors (there are too many book titles like that) so I changed it to Family Secrets. Saturday, I changed it again to First Secrets, but I don't like that either. Why am I focusing on the stupid title? I am exhausting!

Goals like this are hefty, but putting thirty maddening days into one project is golden.

T.