NaNoWriMo, November 2019, DAY 20 – 1861 words

Dear Diary,

I had a long day today, and got home in the mid-evening. I was going to do writing sprints, but no one was on Discord, and Brent went to bed early. So I just wrote on my own.

It went well, for the most part. I’m liking using Scrivener, rather than a Word document, because my scene notes (such as they are) and character info are all in one place, so it’s easy to jump around.

This book takes place on a cruise ship, and since I’ve never been on one myself, I keep googling for different aspects of what happens on a cruise. Now I’m getting ads for cruises! Not that I wouldn’t go on one – a writer’s cruise would be awesome – but right now it’s just for the book.

BlackLion said I should run a writer’s retreat on a cruise ship. That sounds fun, too…

DAY  21 –  1822 words

Dear Diary,

Today was another slow sort of day for me. I actually don’t have any client work right now – though I wish I did. I still have plenty to do to grow my book midwife business. But today I prioritized my novel, and got my writing done during the afternoon.

I also got to see a lovely longtime friend who I don’t get to spend time with very often. We had a wonderful dinner together, and already made plans to hang out again soon. She bought me dinner as a belated birthday gift, as she wasn’t able to come to my party back in September. I’m so grateful for her!

Oh, and today I received a check from a local shop for sales of my books, which always feels lovely and validating.

DAY 22 –  1919 words

Dear Diary,

I got up early to go to a women’s biz networking breakfast, which takes place monthly. It was a lot of fun. There were eight of us, and I reveled in hearing the women’s celebrations when we did check-ins. It made me feel like I’d soon have some biz wins of my own.

But then I had the second prospective client this week decline to work with me, and I was just so upset. I had a bit of a meltdown. I know I need to be patient as I grow my business. I have external steps to take, I’m doing the inner work, and I’m constantly learning – but it’s hard. Especially at (nearly) the dark of the moon, during the darkest time of year. Again, probably TMI, but there may also be hormones involved.

My win turned out to be that I still did my writing. It’s much easier now than at the beginning of the month. This new book is flowing smoothly so far.

DAY 23 –  2522 words

Dear Diary,

Today is better. I received some good business news, which helped improve my spirits. I also took the time and space to nurture myself.

BlackLion and I did our writing together this afternoon. I wrote a scene that followed my main character through a performance with her Vaudeville troupe. It was super fun to write! I drew on my own experiences with being in such a troupe, a few years ago.

The scene was long, as you can tell from today’s word count. I’m now ahead of the game, at 42K-plus words total! The NaNoWriMo site says that if I keep up my pace, I’ll finish my 50K early. I’m all for that!

I want to keep writing this novel even after the month is done. We’ll see how it goes. In the past I’ve needed a break come December, but this time around is so different that all bets are off.