It might be a good thing that I’m not aiming to write 50,000 words this month, because I wouldn’t be off to a very good start! Between preparing for a friend’s wedding and my usual pre-trip stress, I haven’t accomplished much of anything in the first full week of November.
Here’s a quick rundown of the work I HAVE managed to do so far:
1. Research
I actually came to a pretty important conclusion about my research on Sunday night, when I was lying awake at one a.m. stressed out to the max, and that conclusion is this. Nobody is forcing me to plow through six dense, depressing nonfiction books in the next month except for me. There’s no reason for me to break my own back trying to set deadlines on researching, especially when I’m already super busy.
I jotted down the titles and authors of all the books I’d checked out that I still needed to read, and returned them all to the library after work yesterday. Once I finish the book I’m currently working through, I’ll check out the next one on my list and start in on that. With any luck, I’ll finish Current Book in the next couple of weeks.
2. Continue brainstorming for my mystery
Let’s just say that I’ve done a lot more brainstorming than I expected to do and leave it at that. I don’t want to give too much away until I know whether or not my brainstorming is going to come to anything.
3. Finish critiquing a friend’s MS
I’ve made decent progress, but most of that progress happened over a week ago. This is my number one priority once the wedding is behind me, and I have actual time to sit down and read again.
4. Potentially write or start writing another short story
No dice so far, I’m afraid. Maybe in the coming weeks.
If you’re doing National Novel Writing Month, drop me a line and let me know what you’re writing. And if you’re not, tell me what you’ll be doing–or not doing–instead.