Hi everyone!

This month I’ll be sharing weekly updates on my NaNoWriMo progress. These posts will be a bit different than what I usually share here, so if you’re not interested in how many words I’m writing on a weekly basis, don’t fret. Things will get back to normal soon and I’ll be sharing other content during November as well.

I’m changing up the format of these weekly updates. Trying to recap the week all at once took too much time last week, so I’m going to add an update to the post each day.

Monday, Day 7: I was able to get a couple of sprints in this morning after my workout. I had to take some time to work on an issue with Bank of America. I mentioned in my last post that I was the executor of my late uncle’s estate. I’ve been waiting for the bank to transfer my uncle’s accounts and it’s been months. They finally got it done and I called in to order checks only to learn that the representative who I’ve been working with misspelled my name on the account. One would think this would be an easy fix, but no. After two hours of trying to get through multiple automated systems and lengthy hold times, I learned that I would have to go to a branch location and fix the employee’s error. Let’s ignore the fact that the nearest branch is 45 minutes away and focus on the absurdity that no one at BofA take one minute to add one letter to my last name, especially since it was their error. Now I have to take half day to deal with this after wasting two hours on it. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m more than a little annoyed. I would be a lot less annoyed if Bank of America had not made this entire process a nightmare. After dealing with this, I was so stressed out that I couldn’t focus on anything and instead sat in front of the tv while I knitted.

Day 7 Word Count: 882

Tuesday, Day 8: I had a productive morning and was able to make a good dent in Act One. I had to stop to deal with some things for my uncle’s estate and get some other work done. I may try to get in some more sprints later today, but I am exhausted. Brody woke me up before 4 AM and insisted on going out. After that, there was no going back to sleep so I took a shower and headed to Starbucks. I seem to get so many words down when I write in coffee shops early in the morning. I might try to repeat that tomorrow, depending on my schedule.

Day 8 Word Count: 2,876

Wednesday, Day 9: I finally finished watching The Stand… yeah, like I said in last week’s post, it really did not hold up to the test of time. I mean… I don’t even know what to say about it after watching the whole thing. Still re-reading the book though. All that careful meal planning I did pre-NaNo has gone right out the window. We’ve been eating lots of sandwiches and there may or may not have been multiple nights where we ordered pizza. I may be losing the meal planning war, but I am doing a good job keeping to my writing schedule and had a productive day of writing thanks to sprints at Starbucks and and an afternoon writing session that went uninterrupted by both dog and husband. I’m calling this day a win. 🙌🏻

Day 9 Word Count: 2,221

Thursday, Day 10: Today was a good writing day. I went back to Starbucks for a couple of hours and it was so loud. I didn’t hack my AirPods with me so I couldn’t tune out and listen to music. So I updated my outline based on what I’ve written so far. I do this so I have an easier time during revisions and edits. It takes more time during drafting but it saves me so much time during revisions and edits. I wish I could remember where I heard that bit of advice, but I can’t. I want to say it was Sarra Cannon, but it may have been Bethany Atazedah, Abbie Emma’s, or KM Weiland. When I finally got around to writing sprints, I was able to get bust out over 4,000 words and blow right past 25,000 words. I actually ended the day with a total word count over 28,000 words. It was a good day.

Day 10 Word Count: 4,448

Friday, Day 11: I had a lot going on today with work and my uncle’s estate so I did not get as many words down as I wanted, but still managed to get in two sprinting sessions, albeit one was abbreviated – only 45 minutes instead of my usual 2 hours. While I didn’t get in nearly as many words as I had scheduled for, I am ahead of the curve and managed to squeak past 30,000 today.

Day 11 Word Count: 1,604

Saturday, Day 12: Not a lot of writing got done today. College football is a big deal in my house and we have traditions. Early morning coffee followed by a quick workout then breakfast while we watch College Game Day as I (or we) prep the day’s food. Today I cooked a pork shoulder and we had Carnitas during the Alabama – Ole Miss game. The main event for us was the Georgia – Mississippi State game. Very happy my Dawgs won and will hopefully maintain their #1 status. GO DAWGS! ♥️🖤 I did manage to get a few words in early, but no where near the 2000+ I needed to stay on track since we’ll be out of town next week.

Day 12 Word Count: 1,742

Sunday, Day 13: I do most of my writing in the mornings, but Sunday mornings are for planning. I use the Heart Breathings HB90 Method by Sarra Cannon. It’s been a game changer for me. Highly recommend. I usually do my planning during Melissa Power’s 3-hour Sunday Morning Sprints, but I have a pretty bad pulled muscle and was instructed to take it easy for a few days meaning no 5 mile power walks while I watch writing videos on YouTube. So after I did some light stretching, I plopped down in front of my laptop and started working on next weeks planning around 5 AM. I used Melissa’s sprints for drafting instead. The rest of my day will consist of football, The Walking Dead, and Yellowstone (tonight’s season premiere night!). Since I’ve had some pretty heavy writing days, I went back and recalculated how many words I need per day for the twelve writing days I am assuming I have left. We will be traveling over Thanksgiving and I don’t know if I’ll get to write every day we’re in Virginia. I had also planned not to write during Indie Writer Fest but I checked and saw that there are Writing Sprints on the schedule which makes me very happy!

Day 13 Word Count: 1,733

Weekly Word Count: 15,506

Total Words Written: 33,549/50,0000

How I’m keeping the well filled: Working out sparks creativity and gets my brain going, so I’m up and on the treadmill or the Peloton by 5 AM. That’s normal though. If I don’t get it done first thing, I won’t get it done at all. I’ve stopped watching news in the morning. I now use that time to watch videos on the craft of writing while I get my desk organized and go over my plans for the day. I’m also taking time every day to watch a show or listen to a book while I knit and I’m shutting off my devices so I have uninterrupted reading time each night. Lastly, play time or a walk with my chocolate lab Brody always centers me and helps me keep the stress and anxiety away.

What I’m watching: The Stand miniseries from 1994 (I think)… wow. this has not aged well. I was shocked because I loved this miniseries for years. Granted it’s been at least 15 years since I last watched it, but wow. I mean it’s the middle of a plague apocalypse and the women are made up, wearing skirts and heels and flats. Who the heck does this while traveling across a plague infested continent to find Mother Abigail in Nebraska and then build the Boulder Free Zone? The cinematography is the cliched Noir-inspired stuff of the early 90s and the background music is amusing to say the least. The performances are all over the top. It was total cringe, but I still watched every single minute of it and loved doing so.

What I’m reading: Still reading The Stand by Stephen King. I finished the most recent Mercy Thompson book and have moved on to the Alpha and Omega series, also by Patricia Briggs. If I had been thinking, I would have read the both series in chronological order based on when they take place in the Mercyverse, but that didn’t even occur to me until I was halfway through Soul Taken.

What I’m listening to: besides audiobooks, not much. Well, wait, actually, I’ve been cueing up instrumental videos on YouTube. I switch between ones created for focusing, ones specific to writing genres, and ones that give you coffee shop vibes. I think I’ll put together a YouTube playlist while I’m in VA over Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, next week’s updates might be in video format. Maybe.. I’m still thinking about this…

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this month? If so, let me know how it’s going in the comments, or join the conversation on Instagram.