I'm at 33,000 words and after 7 years and 4 attempts, I think NaNo has finally helped me figure out a pace that works for me. That's what this year is all about. It isn't about getting to 50,000 by writing any old thing that comes into my head. It's about writing well (enough for a fist draft anyway) and getting a story straight - not just ploughing ahead because: oh my god! word count. It's about using the motivation to come up with a steady routine that I can follow all year round. And I've figured it out. And this figuring out brings me to the understanding that I won't be finishing NaNo with 50,000 words this year, but a very respectable 40,000. And that's what I'll be aiming for every month for three months until I have draft one of this novel finished.**
And if anyone's curious, the routine is 2,250 words Monday to Thursday, 1,000 on Friday and the weekend off. The 1,000 on Friday and the weekend off is the most important part. No matter what I do to try to motivate myself to work more than a half day on Friday, I can't do it. My brain goes, "Lunchtime Friday. Playtime. Woooooo!" It's probably because there's a lifetime of programming in there telling me this (from arts and crafts after lunch on Friday in primary school, to Liam getting of work early on Friday afternoons) and I'm okay with that. As long as I'm aware of it, I can work with it and do that 250 words more on the main weekdays.
Right so. It's lashing here. Our roof is leaking. And I'm going playing in a closed beta all weekend (so excited :) ).
*which, coincidentally, is today.
** I do kind of wish NaNo wasn't in November, because keeping the momentum going through December, when my brain says I should be on holidays, is even harder than writing on a Friday afternoon (keep reading, it'll make sense in a minute).
It's great that you have figured the best way to do it.
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