NaNoWrimo Week 4- The Home Stretch

Wow, NaNoWrimo went fast this year! I can't believe it is the last weekend of November. I hope all of our US readers had a safe and fabulous Thanksgiving yesterday. I know I did. :)

Week 4 is a breeze, regardless of where you are in your word count. You know where you stand and you know what is ahead of you. Your word count is staring you in the face, challenging you to find a way to get to the end with 50,000 words. It's all about buckling down, opening up Write or Die and cranking the rest out. I know that's what I have to do this weekend.

Speaking of my story, I've come to realize I have just that, a story. It may not be written great and there might be slow moving points that need to see the chopping block before they make it into another draft, but it's nice to have something. So far, I have 42,180 words and probably only a few thousand are worth anything. That's okay, it's not like I thought I would have a beautifully crafted novel after 30 days of writing like a madwoman. Instead, I have learned so much about my plot and characters. It was nice to have a synopsis to fall back on, but I let my characters lead the way, regardless if it was in my original plot breakdown. It's freeing, yet nice to have that crutch.

I must now buckle down with the rest of you and write my heart out. I have a little less than 8,000 words to write in the remaining 4 days. Easy, right?

Good luck to everyone out there! I know you can all do it. For those of you who won't be hitting 50,000 no matter how hard you try, don't worry. If NaNoWrimo got you to put you butt in the seat and write even a few words, it was worth it!

Next week, I'll wrap up November with NaNoWrimo. Can't wait to hear all of your journeys this month.

Don't forget, we give a YA book to a random follower once we hit 30 followers to the blog. Just click the follow button in the side bar for your chance to win!

1k-a day- Day 31

Wow, the last day of 1k-a-day! Unreal. The time went by so quickly, and unfortunately, I didn't write as much as I wanted to due to my vacation in the middle of the month. I hope you all hit goals you wanted to achieve and had fun doing it! We enjoyed having you all here enjoying the month with us.

Please don't forget to post your week 4 word count, as well as your overall July word count by the end of Sunday, August 2nd. We will be giving books away to the winners for each. The books available are posted here!

Tami's day 30 word count: 1,016
Tami's day 31 word count: Will post later today

Tami's July word count: 18,612
Overall word count: 8,133 (Worst Days)
Cups of coffee drank: 2
Music: nothing actually
Mindset: I'm sad to see 1k-a-day go. I hope to take a little time off and do research for August, but then I have two stories that I'm stoked to continue. I used to be against working heavily on two projects at the same time, but through this month I've found that it gives me a nice balance. The stories are so different from each other (one is a fantasy based YA, the other a contemporary YA), I'm able to keep them straight. It seems because of their differences, I find that if I'm not in the mood to work on one, I am the other. Even though I only wrote 18,612 words, I feel like I've gained so much from 1k-a-day this time! I can't wait to do it again in November. I hope you all join us to win more free books! In the meantime, Tracy and I will be continuing our regular posts on Monday and Friday, with occasional book club posts on Wednesday. Please stick around and comment when you want to! We love hearing/reading feedback!

So Tracy, we're at the end. How did you feel regarding your overall 1k-a-day experience?
_____

Whoot! Tami, we made it!! ;)

Tracy's day 30 word count: WS: 1003, Losing It: nadda
Tracy's day 31 word count: 0 -sister's coming to visit tonight and we're finishing up our bathroom reno - it's safe to say I won't be writing today.
Tracy's July word count: 33 585
Overall word count: LI now: 45 082, WS now: 25 556
Cups of coffee drank: Man, over the past month I had WAYYYY too much coffee.
Music: I love that I discovered new tunes during 1k!
Mindset: Accomplished. I'm pretty stoked about our summer 1k challenge. While it was easier for me to get the word counts in (as I'm off work for July), I still struggled with writing time vs. projects around the house, the wonderful weather, afternoon naps, etc. I learned that having all the time in the world can nix your motivation and spawn a seriously evil procrastination habit. If we do this again next summer, we might want to limit it to 2 weeks instead of the full month, as participants started to drop off about then - it is summer after all. ;)

Thanks for hanging with us! Keep writing!

1k-a-day Day 30

Tami's day 29 word count: 853

Tami's July word count: 17,596
Overall word count: 7,110 (Parlor)
Cups of coffee drank: 2
Music: random songs from my ipod
Mindset: Today was a crazy/hectic day at work. The kind that frazzles you to no end. ::sigh:: I barely got words in and didn't hit 1k.My creativity is waning on Parlor and I think I need to take August to sit back and research. I feel like I'm explaining it, not telling it. Does that make any sense?

I think I caught your struggles, Tracy! Hope you had a better day. I know you can work out Losing It and it will ROCK!

_____


Tracy's day 29 word count: LI: 355, WS: nadda
Tracy's July word count: 32 582
Overall word count: LI now:45 082
Cups of coffee drank: Lots and lots and it didn't help that we were renovating and the water was shut off for a few hours - nuking cold coffee just isn't right.
Music: 80's tunes
Mindset: Very Debbie Travis. I managed to write a wee bit in the morning before we started in on a bathroom reno. We replaced the vanity, toilet, sink and floor. Whew. Today we spackle, sand, and paint for a brilliant 2 day finish on a major john update. Will I write? Hmm....hard to say...lol....but I hope to fit in an hour at least. Did I mention we still have to paint the freaking fence?! Ugh.

Alright people, time to reno your writing: gut it, sandblast those cliches, spackle-fill those plot holes, and find new ways to make your reader say....man, I wanna have a prolonged bathroom reading adventure with this book! Okay, maybe not....but you know what I'm going for.

Free Books Available for Week 4 and 1k-a-day!

Below is the list of available books for week 4 as well as the overall word count for 1k-a-day! Good luck everyone, and don't forget to post those week ending word counts, as well as your final word count by Sunday, August 2nd! We will announce the winners on Tuesday, August 4th

Week 4 word counts should be the words written between Wednesday, July 23 and Friday, July 31. Overall word counts should be words written between Wednesday, July 1 and July 31.

• A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
• Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
• Undone by Brooke Taylor (hardback)
• Eighth Grade Bites (Vlad Todd, Book 1) by Heather Brewer
• I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
• Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
• Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
  

1k-a-day Day 29

Tami's day 28 word count: 1,014

Tami's July word count: 16,743
Overall word count: 6,257
Cups of coffee drank: 1 Wasn't too into coffee today, but did have a new kind of double flavor Skittles! YUM!
Music: nothing
Mindset: Yesterday was the kind of day I just typed the words to hit the goal. I'm dreading reading it tomorrow, but sometimes you just have to work through days like this. I'm hoping to finish off the last few days of 1k-a-day strong!

How's the Losing It fight going, Tracy?
_____

HA! The Losing It fight...well I won a round yesterday, managed to get in a few paragraphs. Funny how I thought LI would be the easy finish and I'd spend most of this month working on WS.

Tracy's day 28 word count: LI: 422, WS: 651
Tracy's July word count: 32 227
Overall word count: LI now: 44 727, WS now: 24 553
Cups of coffee drank: Earl Grey tea and chocolate milk - a totally weird sipping day, I must admit.
Music: Colbie Caillat's first CD, Coco. (Is it just me, or does she look like Jennifer Aniston?)
Mindset: Panicked. Well, the last few days of 1k-a-day are upon us and I'm freaking out! I still have so much to write. Ugh! The return to work is looming in the distance and I'm scrambling to get'er done.

Okay, guys - unless you want to come over and help us paint our fence (and it goes on FOREVER!), I suggest you write till you drop!

1k-a-day Day 28

Hope everyone got over the fact that yesterday was Monday! Remember, any amount of words is great! Even if it's in the low 100s.

Tami's day 27 word count: 1,036
Tami's July word count: 15,729
Overall word count: 5,243 (Parlor)
Cups of coffee drank: 2
Music: I had my iPod on random. It can be fun and also annoying! LOL
Mindset: Yesterday was hard to get into the swing of things again. I stared at pics of my new puppy (which I'll share when I bring him home), read all about Corgi's, watched Youtube videos...as you can see, the new puppy is already ruling my life and I don't even own him yet! After I got over that, I forced myself to sit down and work on Parlor. I'm still struggling with 3rd person. It feels flat and lifeless, but at this point I just want to make sure I have something down on paper. I can fix it later!

How'd it go for you today, Tracy? When do you go back to work?

_____

Awww...you're going to be such a great fur mommy. ;) I wish more dog owners would read up on their buddies and puppy training before they brought them home. WORK?! Let's not think about it, okay? lol.....I go back on August 17th. So I'll be continuing the 1k-a-day goal until then.

Tracy's day 27 word count: WS: 1550
Tracy's July word count: 31 154
Overall word count: WS now: 23 902
Cups of coffee drank: A few and one really gross lime lager in the evening. Ick. I'm a dark ale person, I don't even know why I tried it.
Music: AOL radio - the movie soundtrack station
Mindset: In denial. I can't believe how stalled I am on Losing It. I tried to write though a scene yesterday and got a whole lot of nowhere with it. Thankfully, a cool idea for Witch's Shadow saved the day. It helps that I'm watching season 2 of Supernatural on DVD. I've got paranormal on the brain. ;) While I'm happy I broke the 30k mark, really I'm no where near my original goal. I wanted to do 2k per day, 1k for each WIP. Sigh. Maybe next year.

Okay peeps.....don't stop believing! You can make your mommas (and your fellow YAedgers) proud.....just keep writing for a few more days!

1k-a-day Day 27

Okay my friends, don't give up now. We are in the last stretch of 1k-a-day. We still need to give a few more books away. Since no one posted their week 3 (and please, if you did, remind me in the comments) we'll be giving away two books for week 4, as well as a book to the highest OVERALL monthly word count. This is the time to pad those numbers and put your head down and type. The end is near!

Tami's day 26 word count: 932

Tami's July word count: 14,693
Overall word count: worked more on the story ideas
Cups of coffee drank: 1 cup and then lots of iced tea and water. Man it's hot.
Music: Steve Goodman...his stuff is so fun
Mindset: I'm with Tracy. It is sooo hot. We don't have A/C either because it doesn't get too bad. Maybe a month of horrid heat, but it's not worth the cost. Anyway, I had trouble getting super creative so I went back to typing up the story ideas. It's writing I can just regurgitate and not have to worry about how pretty it is. Once I get the ideas down, then I fluff it up.

Hope it cooled down for you long enough to throw some words down on the page, Tracy! How'd you do?
_____

It did cool off a smidge yesterday! We opened all the windows and had a wonderful breeze flowing through the house.

Tracy's day 26 word count: LI: nadda, WS: 1399
Tracy's July word count: 29 604
Overall word count: WS now: 22 352
Cups of coffee drank: Plenty
Music: My iTunes playlist - the goth/emo one. ;)
Mindset: Focused. I plotted and researched for most of the day, and settled down to write in the afternoon. I worked on and off until Trueblood. Losing It has stalled for me again, so I wrote for Witch's Shadow. Can't wait to dig into the new story you're working on, Tami!

1k-a-day Day 26

Tami's day 25 word count: 1,021
Tami's July word count:
Overall word count: 1,021
Cups of coffee drank: 1 amazing good roasted coconut flavored coffee
Music: none
Mindset: I lost my internet Friday night through Saturday night, hence not posting on Saturday, or Twitting. Saturday was funny. Friends came into town unexpectedly and then we got the puppy bug. We found an amazing breeder of the kind of puppy we want close by and had to go check them out. Needless to say, we didn't leave with one, but we're picking him up next weekend. We couldn't resist! I'll share pictures when we get him. Anyway, writing. Saturday I wrote out a very rough synopsis for Worst Days and then spent a little time hand writing a few new ideas that came to me while on vacation.

Sorry about not being able to post yesterday Tracy! It's so frustrating when the modem decides to take a day off. How'd writing go for you!?
_____

No prob, Tami - I was just worried it would be me finishing the month...lol...glad you're back!

Tracy's day 25 word count: LI: 1099 WS: nadda
Tracy's July word count: 28 205
Overall word count: LI now: 44 305
Cups of coffee drank: zero - lots of water (we're in the middle of a heat wave - that's more than 3 days of 30C and it's HOT!)
Music: Songs with "wedding" in the title or lyrics at a bridal shower I went to.
Mindset: I was writing with a heat-fried brain yesterday, the house was stuffy and hot even with all our window open. We could get AC, but for the few weeks we actually need it, it's just not worth the money, ya know? Anyway, I managed to get my 1k in, although, looking over them this morning....I don't think heat is good for creativity. ;)

Let's keep pushing these babies out into the world! Only a few days left!

1k-a-day Day 25

Tami's day 24 word count:
Tami's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank:
Music:
Mindset:

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Well today was a lot better. After icing it, my digit is looking almost normal and I'm hopeful the ol'wedding ring can go back on soon. But the good news is - I could type after all....lol....so I got in my 1k!

Tracy's day 24 word count: LI: 1322, WS: nadda
Tracy's July word count: 27 106
Overall word count: LI now: 43 206
Cups of coffee drank: non-stop Chai tea
Music: I had High Fidelity playing in the background. I love that movie.
Mindset: While I spent a few hours lost in the Dictionary of Symbolism I took out from the library, I did manage to focus and write for Losing It. The dogs behaved and took their afternooon nap at my feet, even the boxer. ;)

I know this month has been tough. But I'm proud of us all for writing more than we would have without the challenge. Only a few days left to make a dent in those stories!

1k-a-day Day 24

Tami's day 23 word count: 0
Tami's July word count: 11,700
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank: 2 with Oreo cookies...mmmm. If you've never dunked a Oreo into a warm cup of coffee, it's a must.
Music: nothing
Mindset: Didn't get a chance to write today. I still have the night (it's 6:30) but am still exhausted from the trip. Busy day at work, but it didn't help the day go by quickly unfortunately!

How did your day go, Tracy? I envy your day yesterday. I love going to a coffee shop, enjoying a warm cup and cookies while writing. Can't get any better than that!

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Tracy's day 23 word count: Big goose egg
Tracy's July word count:
Overall word count:
Cups of coffee drank: Not enough!
Music: Dogs barking and snorting.
Mindset: Frazzled. Well, it was a zero day for writing. I'm puppysitting a boxer this week and now have three huge beasts wandering the house. The door bell rang and I was fielding the dogs and got my hand caught in Willow's collar. I kind of sprained a finger. There was pain. There was swelling. I managed to get my wedding ring off before it cut off my circulation. After that I just kind of hung out with the dogs and moped. lol...oh well, I still can't get my ring on (the knuckle is too puffy), but at least the aching throb has stopped. I'll try to write in my notebook today and not worry about typing too much.

Let's hope our 1k-a-dayers faired better than we did!

1k-a-day Day 23

Remember, this is week 4; almost the end of 1k-a-day. Time to buckle down and squeeze out what we have left in us!

Tami's day 22 word count: 1,112
Tami's July word count: 11,700 (or there about)
Overall word count: 7,105 (for Worst Days)
Cups of coffee drank: 2
Music: I had my iPod on random. Man, I haven't done that in a LONG time and I have some WEIRD stuff on my iPod. LOL
Mindset: I am so tired. The time difference and just getting back into the swing of things is killer. I had to use Write or Die to get my 1k for the day. Luckily, I was able to do it in a little less than 30 minutes. I hope it comes easier for me tomorrow. I'm floundering with both stories right now so it's not fun and easy times.

How did week 4 start for you, Tracy?

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Write or Die - so glad you introduced me to that little torture device. ;) I've used it a few times this month as well, although I'm always stressed without my BBF, spell check.

Tracy's day 22 word count: LI: about 1000 words (6.5 notebook pages)
Tracy's July word count: 25 784
Overall word count: LI: 41 884
Cups of coffee drank: several at home and 1 skinny chai latte at Beantrees, our local java joint.
Music: Nothing really. They had music at the cafe, but I didn't pay attention to it.
Mindset: I needed a change of scenery yesterday and went to a cafe for a ginger cookie and a chai. I was able to write a few transitional scenes in Losing It that I had been putting off. Nothing like getting away from the house, the Internet, etc. to force you to do the essential, but not as fun stuff. We're going to be puppy sitting a boxer for a few days. That makes 3 dogs and 1 cat to monitor. Finding time to write may be challenging.

How's everyone else doing?

1k-a-day Day 22

I hope everyone had a great week 3, but we are now on to week 4! We can see the home stretch and don't stop now! There are a few people still playing along and a ton of books left to win. Speaking of which, don't forget to post your week 3 word count in today's post by tomorrow (7/23) night. I will post the winner on the 24th!

Also, to karinlibrarian, don't forget to send us an email at YAedge @ yahoo.com (without the spaces) to let us know what book you'd like from your week 2 win!

Tami's day 21 word count: 541
Tami's July word count: I've lost count but will figure this out tomorrow hopefully!
Overall word count: 541 (Just a short story that I came up with at the airport)
Cups of coffee drank: 1 REALLY REALLY bad cup of plane coffee
Music: nothing actually. The sound of an airplane?
Mindset: I can't explain to you how much I needed that vacation...but I'm back and ready to jump back into this. I didn't get to write a lot, and unfortunately didn't have wifi/internet access on the trip except for my husband's iphone (when it was working). I learned many things about myself and writing on this trip and one of them is it's hard to write when on vacation visiting your in-laws.

It's great to be back, Tracy. Thanks for holding down the fort. How'd it go in your neck of the woods on the last day of week 3?

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I agree that it's liberating to unplug, but I can only do so if I'm forced to. The first few days are too tramatic...lol. But when life happens and I have to take a break, I feel like I did when I first quit smoking (15 years ago) and food began to taste and smell fantastic - when I'm unplugged, the sun seems brighter, the world more interesting, my mind gets clearer and then - wammo - I get an idea for a story and have to get to the nearest computer to share the plot with my crit partners. ;)

Tracy's day 21 word count: WS: 1424 LI: nadda
Tracy's July word count: 24 784
Overall word count: WS now: 20 953
Cups of coffee drank: 1 pot
Music: It was punk day at my place: The Ramones, The Clash, The Pixies, The Velvet Underground (I'm Sticking With You really, how can you not love that tune?)
Mindset: A little lost. Yesterday wasn't a great writing day. I plotted for both projects, debated on scraping them both and starting fresh. Then I went to see Harry Potter and came back all inspired. I decided to focus on WS, but I had no flow and wrote bits and pieces of scenes out of order and couldn't figure out the best spot to work them in. Ugh! Here's to a smoother day 23.

It's lovely to have Tami back with us!