Days 39-40

It is at an end. Not the novel, just NaNoWriMo. No mo' NaNoWriMo.

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write an entire 50,000-word novel in 30 days. I, of course, started early and managed a whopping 2732 words total, or about 5% of the NaNoWriMo goal. And that's fine.

I did some good work, including a final 180 words today. (Nothing yesterday, unfortunately. I doubt I would have written 47,268 words, but something would have been nice.) Chapter 10 is not quite done, but it's getting there.

Here's some statistics: I ended up averaging about 68 words per day over the entire 40, and a whopping 124 when only the days I actually worked are counted. I wrote on 22 out the 40 days or 55% of the time. My current word total is 21,588.

At the rate I'm going, I would have a 50,000-word draft done in about a year-and-a-half. If I worked on it daily, that time would shrink to about nine months.

If I had to come up with a resolution from this, it would be that I would like to work on the manuscript more than 55% of the time. I don't mind the low daily average of words simply because I don't have much time to devote to it each day, so being able to do anything is helpful. However, I should really be adding those 124 words 70% or 80% of the time.

I'm trying, though.

I wonder what the next 40 days will bring?

Day 38

I added another 136 words today, bringing the total to 21,408. Chapter 10 is taking a quick turn for the surreal, which has been fun. And now for some more completely pointless statistics. (This is what happens to you once you start messing around with those evil spreadsheets.)

Over 38 days, I am averaging about 67 words per day. I've worked on the novel on 21 out of those 38 days and have added an average of about 122 on each of those days.

I could go on, but I need to save some materila for later.

Days 31-37

I have not been idle these past seven days. Oh, no, friends! Look at the chart. I wrote on three out of those seven days and accumulated a hefty 356 words. That brings the current total is 21,272. Chapter 10 is coming along. With a strong wind at my back, I just might be able to finish it before November is through.

Keep an eye on your windsock.

Day 28-30

17. That's all I managed today. 17 words. File this under "Something Is Better Than Nothing." The total so far is 20,916.

Nifty chart, though, huh?

Of course, I did spend some time trying to figure out why Ten Rod Road in North Kingstown, RI, is called Ten Rod Road, just in case I could work it into the narrative. It appears that the width originally was ten rods or about 165 feet. I don't think I'm going to be able to work that in.

Days 24-27

As you can see from the trusty chart, work has proceeded, even if somewhat fitfully. I accumulated 117 words on Day 25 and another 96 on Day 27, raising the total by some 213 to 20,899. 21,000 is just over that next rise.

One of the things that I'm having the spreadsheet calculate for me is an average of how many words I write per day over the total 40 days of this experiment. If I stopped today, I'd be averaging about 51 words per day. The average for 27 days is about 76.

Instead of working yesterday afternoon, I futzed around in Wikipedia and came across a link that brought me to an interview that S.J. Perelman did in the Paris Review in 1963. He says many great and funny things in them, including this: "I used to know several eminent writers who were given to boasting of the speed with which they created. It's not a lovable attribute, to put it mildly, and I'm afraid our acquaintanceship has languished."

He also said, when asked if he reread his old stuff, "[L]et me assure you I don't sit in the chimney corner cackling over what I've written."

And, "I don't know whether I approve of the picture you suggest of me, lounging about admiring myself in a hand mirror."

And, "In my more pompous moments I like to think of myself as a writer rather than a humorist, but I suppose that's merely the vanity of advancing age."

And, on writing for TV and movies, "[W]hile it's ignominious to be an anonymous gagman, perhaps, eleven hundred dollars a week can be very emollient to the ego."

And, after being told that Hervey Allen, the author of Anthony Adverse, channelled his ancestors to help him write, "I fully believe it, judging from my memory of his work."

And, when asked how many drafts he did, "Thirty-seven. I once tried doing thirty-three, but something was lacking, a certain--how shall I say?--je ne sais quoi. On another occasion, I tried forty-two versions, but the final effect was too lapidary--you know what I mean, Jack?"

This is why I love Perelman. That's music, Jack.

Here's an copy of a manuscript page from a story Perelman wrote, proving that it's never as easy as it looks on the printed page:

Days 21-23

The weekend, again, was a total bust, but I did get a whopping 24 words down today, raising the overall total to 20,686. They were a good 24 words, though, 24 that really moved things along.

Some interesting notes: The current chapter (10) and the previous chapter (9) are an expansion of a 71-word sequence at the end of what was Chapter 7 in the previous draft. I'm getting three chapters totalling, so far, over 5800 words from that one chapter from the previous version.

By the end of Chapter 7 in the previous draft, I had written 14,180 words. At not quite the same point in the story, I now have almost 21,000. Pretty good.

The next chapter is the one in the previous draft in which it all started to gel, so I have hopes that the pace will pick up significantly once I get past this chapter.

I think I had to stop where I did before and regroup. I've fixed so much this time around. Even my mistakes are closer to the mark than they were before. Now the challenge is to just stick with it and see the whole thing through.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Day 20

I'm actually rather pleased despite adding only a paltry two words to the total, bringing it to 20,662. You see, I've been reworking a single paragraph for the past three days, and I was actually expecting to wind up with a negative number today. Anything in the positive makes me smile.

This is the thing that isn't mentioned in the pamphlet, "So, You Want to Be a Writer"; you can spend days on a paragraph, a sentence, or even a word, although that is an extreme case and may involve spending too much time watching reruns of "The Match Game" on GSN. But still.

Days 18 & 19

Okay, so the last couple of days haven't been quite as productive as I would have liked, but at least yesterday I got a little bit done. I worked it and reworked it and came out at the end of the day with 59 new words. Today, I got bupkis. That leaves the total at 20,660.

I guess there's always tomorrow.

Day 17

A better day yesterday with 228 words added, bringing the grand total to 20,601. I'm hoping to do as well today, if I get the chance.

Day 16

Productivity picked up again today, and I added a whopping (by recent standards) 155 words to the manuscript, bringing the total to 20,373.

It was good work today, too. I enjoyed writing about the psychic meaning of the topography of East Greenwich and North Kingstown, Rhode Island. I did not manage, however, to mention the Del's Frozen Lemonade on Post road in North Kingstown, even though Drayton and Alan would have passed right by it and even though it is one of the great Del's stands. It just didn't fit.

I guess that's just the writing game.

Days 12-15

There hasn't unfortunately, been much to report. I've written only 29 more words, but that puny total comes with an explanation. I spent most of the week copyediting a newsletter and couldn't steal as much time away for writing as I had hoped. Also, I'm having to think about the new chapter, and I'm adhering to the notion that it's better to be good than quick. I know that flies in the face of the whole NaNoWriMo ethic, but that's who I am.

In the meantime, I'm thinking, and, as Dick van Dyke pointed out in the episode in which Rob tries to finish his novel, thinking is writing. And I printined some stuff out, only not for Drayton, so maybe that doesn't count. But I'm thinking, and therefore, writing. At least according to Dick van Dyke.

Day 11

Nothing today, except thinking. And the thinking is the hardest part. Other than the writing, which is no walk through the park. I've also been up to my knees in words at work lately, which seems to sap my ability to work on the novel while no one is watching.

But there's always tomorrow. Right?