Saturday, November 15, 2008

Halfway There

Today is November 15th, the middle of the month. By NaNo standards I should hit 25k today BUT, overachiever that I am, I hit 30k last night. Yay! I feel a little silly being excited when I have friends who are already finished, but this is a huge accomplishment for me.

This has also been a learning experience for me because it's the first story I've written that has interactions between parents and their children. Not being a parent myself, I can only hope that I'm expressing things in a truthful manner. I'm relying on how I've seen friends and family behave with their offspring, little things they say, small touches that show they love them. I don't spend much time around eight and ten-year olds, so pinpointing their mannerisms is also challenging, but I'm enjoying it.

I still need to pick a title. As of now I have ZERO ideas, but, honestly, I haven't really thought much about it. I'm sure it'll come to me, some turn of phrase that leaps off the page and screams,"This is it!"

I started reading Atonement by Ian McEwan and so far I'm loving it. I've been reading chapters during my writing breaks. I debated which to read because I didn't want my reading material to influence my writing, and this was definitely a good choice. McEwan's style is very different from my and has little danger of influencing me.

And that's about it. Have a great weekend!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to go! Yay Mel! (Does a little cheerleader maneuver, pulls a muscle in her back and tries to act like she is fine as she hobbles out of the blog.)

Spy Scribbler said...

Melanie, you're doing awesome! Whew, I am way behind, aren't I? I'm in one of those periods where I keep thinking I'm going to catch up tomorrow. Must. Write. Faster!

I tried reading a bit of Saturday, and while I love the way it works, love the messages and themes and how he presented them, the reading of it is just plain boring.

It's always a bad sign when the critique of a novel is far more interesting than the novel itself. :-)

I'm told that novel was different from his others, so I'm looking forward to trying Atonement; I loved the movie.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Turkey, please be careful with yourself. :)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Spy, I'm at Chapter 8 and so far the big "thing" that shapes the story hasn't happened yet. It has multiple POVs which is good since I'm writing that, but I am enjoying the story. And the MC is a writer.

You'll catch up, I have no doubt.

WendyCinNYC said...

Good for you, Melanie! Woo hoo!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Thanks Wendy. :) I just reached Wednesday's goal of 31,673 so that makes me happy. I need to stay several days ahead if I want to reach 60k!

Lucia said...

Congrats. You're nearly there! I don't have a title either...hoping it will just 'come to me.'

Jen said...

YAY, Mel! 30k+ is a big deal! I didn't get that far last year. You're way ahead of the curve right now, too.

Congrats, and keep on going!

Janna Leadbetter said...

Whoo hoo! :)

Robin said...

Yay, Melanie! You're awesome!

Spy Scribbler said...

32,400 words!!!!!

Look at you! You're over the hump! Yay! You going to blow 50K out of the water!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Thanks everyone!

Nadine said...

Way to go for being halfway there! I am impressed!!

Jewel Allen said...

I know what you mean about being careful reading something that might influence my WIP right now. I am still debating whether or not to read a certain book coz I might be in danger of copying...

...so I will wait to read it.

YOu are an overachiever. 30k! :-)

Amy Sue Nathan said...

I don't even attempt Nanowrimo - I'm impressed. Life gets in the way of my specific goals when it comes to writing and word counts. So now I'm on my continued quest of writing 1000 words per day and I always go over. It seems like such a reasonable goal that it never stresses me -- and even when I have nothing to give, I have 1000 words.

You're an inspiration!!!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Thanks Nadine & Pink!

Amy, I'm realizing that this is a realistic goal for myself with or without NaNo.