So, I said I’d update every 5 days but was so busy I didn’t!  So this is a 10 day diary on how NaPoWriMo is going, covering day 6 to 15.

Setting the goal

My goal is to write 25k to finish my novel titled Glide. I’ve called the project Diamond In The Sky as this is what I am considering renaming the novel.  You can click here to see my post about setting the goal.

Day 1 to 5

If you want to read how the first 5 days went, please click here to view the post.

Day 6 to 15

We are now half way through the challenge and it is challenging…  Here is how day 6 to 15 have gone:

Day 6

I wrote 0 words.  I started the day trying to get some laundry done in the morning.  The afternoon was my son’s graduation ceremony at nursery which was an amazing day.  When I got home, I told my husband all about how proud I was and just didn’t do any writing.

Day 7

I wrote 1,289.  I decided to skip a chapter that I was struggling to get motivated to write and instead wrote the next chapter.  Now, I feel clearer about the chapter I skipped and ready to go back and write it.

Day 8

I wrote 1,493.  I feel clearer about where my story is going now and was able to write the next chapter. It wasn’t the most exciting chapter but it was necessary and setting the path for what is to come.

Day 9

I got a refer on one of my CIPD assignments – I had hoped the course was finish so I could concentrate on other projects like NaPoWriMo.  The time after work that I would have spent writing had to be put on hold as I needed respond to my lecturers feedback and resubmit ASAP.  I want to finish before I have my baby and my due date feels like a ticking bomb!

Day 10

Today, was my Hypnobirthing class.  I love Hyponbirthing.  It is so relaxing.  The only problem is that I am so chilled out afterwards that I can’t do anything.  Word count was zero.

Day 11

I was determined when I got home from work to catch up with my word count but I got as far as about 426 words before my son started being sick.  I then spent an uncomfortable night with him, comforting him as it came out of both ends.  He was amazingly tough though.

Day 12

Hubby took the day off to look after my son as it would be very difficult for me to rearrange my appointments at work, especially with only 6 days of work left before maternity leave starts.  On next to no sleep, I did a full days work (let’s call it newborn training).  When I arrived home I was too tired to write.

Day 13

Yay, my son is better.  Just as well as we had a busy day planned.  I cancelled visiting a friend with a newborn as a precaution – my son could be contagious – instead, we did jobs in town (pay library fines, allergy test for my pampering next weekend, etc).  Then we went home for lunch. In the afternoon, we visited the school he will be starting in September to take part in a preparing for school activity.  Then my husband’s best friend came over and we chatted until I had to go to bed.

Day 14

Our house is a mess!  We spent most the morning doing chores at home and popped out to buy paint for the nursery.  I then played with my son in the garden in this glorious sunshine.  It’s so good to see him happy and well.

Then once he was in bed, I got ready for a night on the sea front with one of my best friends – something we want to enjoy before life gets complicated with a new born.  Word count was zero though.

Day 15

Today, my hubby has been great keeping my son busy so I could get in front of the PC during the day because I’m often too tired in the evening. I manged to achieve 2.5k!  That is my personal best this month and it is only midday so there is chance I could add to that later on.

I also really like what I have written. There was a bit of adding to earlier chapters as well as adding a new chapter.  I got to write about her casting and developing her powers and confronting Mariah and I loved it.  The boys are back now but I will be looking for any chance to sneak off and write some more.

Reflection

I’m so pleased with my achievement today.  If only I could have more days like that. I have seen what I can achieve if I can get the time to be able to write.  I still love that feeling of creating my story, the world, characters and the magic.  It is what I love and even when I felt like quitting, I couldn’t.  This is me.

I am still behind target though, however, I have had some unexpected challenges that halted my progress. I thought I had finished my CIPD course and I had not anticipated my son being ill.

I have still managed to keep my blog posts regular and sent an article to a publication (fingers crossed they like it).  I’d like to get ahead of my blog schedule as I’m sure I’ll be distracted once the baby is here and I don’t want to fall silent.

When I think about all I am juggling, I am achieving an awful lot – even if I do say so myself.

Let me know if you are doing the challenge and how you are getting on?

I’m not going to post an update every day as I think that will be too much, but I thought every 5 days would be a nice spacing. Here is how it is going…

Setting the goal

I only discovered that NaNoWriMo can be done in July (not just November) the night before it was due to start.  I quickly created my account and set my goal.  You can click here to see my post about this.

My goal is to write 25k to finish my novel titled Glide. I’ve called the project Diamond In The Sky as this is what I am considering renaming the novel as. Here’s how I am getting on towards the challenge.

Day 1

To achieve 25k, Camp NaNo suggested my daily goal be 807 words.  I was very pleased when I kicked off with 806 words.

It was a fun chapter to start with involving the battle where Kiara loses her soul and becomes a crow.

Day 2

I achieved 442 words which wasn’t as great as I hoped but it was the first day back at work and I was shattered when I got home.

It’s not so much the word count I was disappointed with but with what I wrote. This chapter was the first time Kiara got to fly. For something so exciting I think the chapter needs more to it. When I come to edit, I think I’ll spend a bit of time improving this part.

Day 3

Today, I went to my first hypnobirth class and returned home so chilled out, I could barely move.  I couldn’t write, I couldn’t do anything but be relaxed.  I think everyone should do the course (pregnant or not). We live in a busy world and learning to find your zen is crucial.

Sadly, the result was a terrible word count of zero.  On a plus note, I wrote some notes on what needs to happen in the story to give myself some focus.

Day 4

I wanted to make up for skipping yesterday so despite a hard day at work I got in front of the keyboard and added a further 1,973 (the best word count so far!).  My focus notes really helped me get started which saved time and got me writing. Perhaps, day 3 was more productive than I realised.

Day 5

There is no denying that I’m tired now. I went to work wearing odd shoes (one navy, one black). In my defence, my bump is so big now, I can’t see my feet when I am slipping on my shoes. At least they were the same style. I would show you a pic but my feet look awful, so swollen, like trolls feet.

When I got home, I tried to put my feet up but my little boy wasn’t himself. He had this foul eggy burps and I thought he was going to be up all night being sick. I decided it best to conserve my energy and go to bed early. In the end, he was only up twice to use the loo but no sickness – phew.

Reflection

The first 5 days has gone okay. I would like to have done better but I am fighting against my body and juggling my responsibilities. Now is the weekend, I’m hoping to get in front of the keyboard, get ahead and set a new best. I’ll let you know how I get on by day 10.

Personally, I would like to achieve the challenge early incase my baby comes early.

Are you doing the challenge? How are you getting on?