Thursday, 15th November 2018
10:20 pm
I thought Aria would never go to sleep but, finally, she did. I am super keen to make sure that week 3 goes better than week 2. To stay on track for 25k I needed to write 955 words… I managed to write 973 word! *phew*
I did get a little distracted today looking up a name for my word cutter/huntsman character. Then, I didn’t even use it!
Friday, 16th November 2018
11:00 pm
Tonight, I have been blogging and researching content for my blog.
This week I have also been meeting with companies to discuss at home business opportunities as I am looking into ways to bring in a little income without compromising my commitment to my children. I’ve got some serious thinking to do and it has been quite distracting.
Saturday, 17th November 2018
11:00 pm
I didn’t feel motivated to write this evening as I feel stuck in my story and I’m still beating myself up about how poorly I did last week and that I didn’t write last night.
I’m so glad that I put my butt in the seat because I managed to write 1,352 words tonight and once I got into the chapter, I really enjoyed writing it. I wrote in third person tonight which isn’t my usual style (I’m a die hard first person POV write) but I was writing from another characters perspective and I think using a different style helped me get past the point I am stuck.
I’ve no idea where the story will take me tomorrow. I didn’t have much time to plan an outline for this one and I have no idea where the story is going just an idea of what I want it to achieve. The vagueness is now causing me problems. I used to be a pantser but with my limited writing time available, these days I really do need a plan.
My 25k goal is still doable but there is no chance I will achieve 50k. I’m glad I set a more realistic goal for myself.
Sunday, 18th November 2018
10:30 pm
Do you ever feel like everything is working against you? I thought today might be tricky to write as it was also my son’s joint birthday party.
Unfortunately, my son woke up and was sick. As it was a joint party it still went ahead but without him. I ran around town making sure that my contribution (money, food, etc) was still made available to the other mums. The whole point of a joint party was to share the costs.
Once I got both little ones to bed I went to my PC, only to find that my cat had made herself comfortable on my chair. She had that look on her face that told me she would not be moving. After, coaxing her off the chair I logged onto the PC. By then, my husband and his friend were watching a new TV series on Netflix – it looked pretty good and kept distracting me.
However, I am pleased to say I did manage to write, even if it was only 607 words.
Monday, 19th November 2018
9:00 pm
Noah had to be kept off school due to the 48h rule to prevent him passing on his tummy bug, however, he has been absolutely fine all day which meant he wanted entertaining. There was no opportunity to sneak in a few extra words for my manuscript. I made him do homework every time he said “I’m hungry,” before giving him a snack. Which if you know any 4 year olds, that is a lot of homework.
Now, both the little ones are in bed it it my time. But, I am struggling to focus on my project when I can feel Christmas fast approaching and all the Black Friday sales have started early! I’m always looking for ways to save money so I’m finding it hard to resist temptation to shop.
10:30 pm
I managed to write 1,022 words before being called away mid sentence by a hungry baby. I just felt like I was getting back into it too. It is too late to go back downstairs and I’m tired, so, sweet dreams all. Tomorrow, I’m going to try and double my daily word count.
Tuesday, 20th November 2018
10:10 pm
Noah was well enough to go to school today. Today was Stay and Play at school so I was there for the afternoon.
Tonight, neither of the little ones wanted to go to sleep. The oldest one kept claiming to need the loo and needs reminding about hand washing. And, the little one seemed to know when I left the room, despite my expert ginger ninga skills and would start crying.
So, despite challenging conditions, I have managed to write 927 words. To get back on track, I currently need to be doing 1,029 words per day. I am behind target but I’m no quitter!
Wednesday, 21st November 2018
3:15pm
I’m so pleased that this afternoon I got to write. Noah is at school and Aria is asleep. But, now it’s time to go and pick him up so I’m going to end there with my 359 words and hope I get a chance to add some more this evening.
10:15pm
I’m glad I got to write earlier as Aria has been difficult to settle tonight. She is teething and experiencing her first cold, bless her, so really struggled to fall asleep – it could be a long night.
I am not going to write tonight, however, I did chat with a friend about my project which helped generate some fresh ideas to work on. I also drew a picture earlier today of one of the villains in the story.
Reflecting on week 3
Obviously, I hadn’t anticipated a sick boy or a restless baby but despite these challenges, I feel week 3 has gone better than week 2. But, I still want to do better!
Not writing an outline for my novel or doing any preparation is really taking its toll now. I’m struggling to know what direction to take the story in and every time a new character is introduced I have to come up with a name and think about what makes them who they are.
Plus, ‘Black Friday’ sales are cropping up everywhere and reminding me that it is Christmas next month and although we don’t go overboard… I haven’t done anything.
My motto for this week’s NaNoWriMo is “If you take time to plan, you save time in the long run.” Are you doing NaNoWriMo? How are you getting on?
If you like this post, then you may enjoy my week two diary for NaNoWriMo November 2018 or Week Four. If you want to know what I have been working on then check out my NaNoWriMo Project post.
