National Novel Writing Month
For those of you who aren’t familiar, November is National Novel Writing Month. (Nanowrimo, if you’re part of the inner circle.) The goal is to write 50,000 words during the month. And I’m playing.
Mind you, 50,000 words does not really make a novel. At least, not in my chosen genre, mystery / suspense. In this world, you need somewhere in the neighborhood of 80,000 to 95,000. Give or take. To hit the 50,000-word mark, you need to average 1,667 words a day, which translates to 7-8 pages every day. A formidable task.
We’re almost through Day 5. I’m currently at 8,942 words for a 1,788-word average. A little ahead of pace. But not enough for comfort. Beginnings are easy. You enjoy an empty canvas, and you can fill it any way you like. Middles are tough. You’ve gotta figure out a way to keep your reader turning the pages through the thick set-up of all the events that occur in your story. Endings are hardest of all. You must sew up all your plotlines and make everything come out in a plausible manner to satisfy your reader.
Here’s a quick synopsis of my story, A Pretty Penny, keeping in mind that everything is subject to change. That’s a working title, which I loathe, so it’ll be the first thing to change.
Eight-year-old Penny Holloway cuts through the noise of The Furnace Room, a south St. Louis bar & restaurant, to interrupt Robbie Turner’s night. She’s there either to ruin Rob’s life or to give him a second chance at it.
Maybe I’ll report in periodically to update the status. I’m working on chapter 7 right now.
JD Frain 
Great work; happy writing through the home stretch.
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Thank you. I think getting TO the home stretch will prove more difficult than getting THROUGH it. But I’m in for the long haul.
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As a fellow mystery writer, I despair at my chances of getting pub’d if you aren’t j”m”f, so keep ahead of the word count, finish this book and get published so I get a chance to shine 😉
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Haha! You’re funny, AJ. The m (manuscript, for those not scoring at home) is still in my possession and undergoing some final modifications. It’ll be going back shortly, hopefully stronger than ever. Meantime, I love that I finally get to play with some new characters. Woo hoo!
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Keep poundin’ those keys, pal…we’re waiting!
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I’m a come up to Peoria to deliver your copy, Bruce!
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I’ll be a weekend marathoner. Full time job + new show at night = not much time during the week. But anything is better than nothing.
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For sure. That’s really the purpose of Nano–any reason to write. Use it however it works for you. It’s 12:52 a.m. as I type this, and I still need to draft my 1,667 words. Ugh. Not sure i’m gonna him my word count today. Good luck for the weekend, Cynthia!
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