Well, I DNF’d last night. Not exactly impressed with myself. Didn’t even make the JulNo wordcount. However, it was out of necessity. Was only wasting time on internet, not actually working. Dad caught me. Told me to cut my losses and go to bed. He was probably right, actually. First time I’ve ever been grateful to him for that.
Okay, he’s stopped looking over my shoulder. Moralising over. I’m tackling this in 400-word chunks today. Got a good plan for it. Unfortunately, it began at 8:30 this morning. It is now 8:56 (thankyou, computer clock).
Had one of mum’s good coffee sachets this morning. (Forgot to ask. Hope she won’t mind.) Decaf, but I thought it would fool me into a) waking up properly and b) feeling like a ‘writer’. Writers drink coffee, don’t they?
9:20. Stupid ImpishIdea. Kept me on some sims re-enactment because everyone was waiting for me to go. They of all people should respect JulNoWriMo!
Think the non-existent caffeine is wearing off. At least I think I can write today. Yesterday was handy. I had a whole lot of unfinished sentence strings that I can build on now.
To keep up with my word goal, I need 5400 words. JulNo needs me to have at least 4839.
9:36 3300 words! I’m ecstatic! Just a hundred more and then I can either keep going or do something else for half an hour! Bliss…
9:37 Have caught myself not sitting up straight. Must correct that starting from now.
9:38 In an amazing display of go-getting and positive, instant action, just grabbed a gigantic cushion. I’m being pushed almost off my computer chair (yes, I finally graduated from piano stool), but it’s worth it. I feel like the granny in that Monty Python Spanish Inquisition sketch.
9:40 20 minutes to go. Have a sneaking suspicion that this log is taking up a lot of my time.
9:49 What is wrong with me today? I’ve almost knocked over 400 words already! Just 43 more to go and I’ll’ve done my first 400 for the day—in less than an hour! (It’s probably that I’m under no pressure to do it word-perfect, but I’m going to ignore that and have a quiet triumph. Still, it was hard last night. Might actually have something to do with the fact that I actually prayed before doing this this time around.)
9:54 Must… resist… temptation…to…check…email…
17 words to go.
9:55 Am actually dreaming of finishing this. Is this a dangerous dream? Will I just be disillusioned again tomorrow? Whatever! Have signed in to hotmail, but valiantly minimised it before I could get a look at my inbox. Must resist temptation to restore the window. It starts small. Soon, the next thing you know, you’ll be robbing banks… Must… resist…
Heh heh. For 17 more words at least.
9:57. Aurgh!!! I only have 3 minutes left and I’ve spent so long on writing THIS—I’m going to shut up and write.
9:59 YES!!!!!
11:01 Should’ve started half an hour ago. Got distracted replying to fictionpress reviews. Stupidity itself.
11:03 I’m not even going to worry about my spelling, grammar (although they’re usually okay), word choice, or writing flaws. I’m just going to write.
11:04 Must. Write. Grr.
11:16 Am getting very distracted by my email…
11:29 Out of necessity, have swapped computers. Mum wanted to watch TV and I needed to type. Moved to Dad’s office, which he said I could use. He does not, however, like me using the net on his computer, so I literally can’t get distracted here.
11:30 Unless I can hear the TV.
11:31 And also unless my face is tightening up because I had a shower during my break and forgot to moisturise. Very uncomfortable.
11:40 3727 words. 63 more to go, and twenty minutes to do it in. One thing I’m not going to do is to celebrate before I’m finished, and I’m not going to be overly optimisitic–after all, this could be just a fluke, and not the normal pattern, and it could cut out at any time, but you know what? I’m going to increase my goal for 12:00 to 263 more words instead of just 63. May as well get a few more in…
11:45 Wow. Reflecting on this is a lot more fun that actually writing. Although I’m enjoying writing again, and I think it shows in the quality of my work (although still not very high, that’s something!). I really think I can do this! Now to actually get back to work…
11:49 My face is now itching.
11:55 4055 words!!! I broke the 4000 mark! (Now comes the writer’s squee.) I actually managed to do this! only 750 more to make the JulNo standard, and I can definitely knock that over! I’m just a little worried that I’ve spent too much time on the introductions to everything. However, I have begun to skip parts and write some ahead, so that’s okay. My diary is really coming in handy, now. It’s very easy to forget what a year nine writes like. I’m so glad I kept keeping the diary, even though it seemed pointless at the time. Actually, my year eleven experiences will come in handy, too. But I’m going to have to wing it from year twelve onwards, relying on only my friends (I do have a couple in uni, thank goodness) to help me. If my character goes to uni.
…I keep forgetting this log is not JulNoWriMo and I don’t have to lengthen it as much as possible.
12:00 This seat is not comfortable at all. Might go steal the other one later.
12:46 Mum ruined the movie she’s watching for me. ( a movie I haven’t seen, and was very much looking forward TO seeing). Apparently the love interest dies. Way to go, Mum! I’m feeling so annoyed, I might just kill James off in a car accident. Which reminds me. I really should start writing.
12:49 Any minute now…
12:50 GO!
1:06 I’m starting to wonder if I shouldn’t pick up my game and aim for more words in less time. Then I’d actually be able to do stuff that’s non-writing-related. Like I have a sleepover on Monday.
1:09 I really should keep writing. Instead, I’m munching down my sisters’ school lunch bars like there’s no tomorrow! (How come they get all the good stuff?)
1:20 I am writing a character who is not very much like me, in a style I dislike. I thought it would be fun to narrate the way F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby (a novel I actually have homework on for this holidays. Must do it.). It is very hard, and I’m doing a terrible job.
(In hindsight, it’s probably not wise to take on the Great American Novelist for first novel.)
1:40 have done 220 words.Know I can do more. Goal was 4400, but now I’ll aim for 4600 words.
2:30 Everybody on ImpishIdea is posting in German for some reason. Am spending unfortunate amount of time on Google Translator (amount of known German is enough to ask for a coffee with milk and sugar, as well as ask if this is your luggage?). Want to kill Puppet for posting in Estonian.
Face is still itchy.
2:42 After complicated messing around with programs on the computer, typed up some more, and then lost almost 100 words. Must get them back. Am currently on 4200 words again. I have until 4:00 to get up to 4600. Have noticed I am slightly less motivated, and now have fixation with saving backups every ten seconds. This is not necessarily a good thing.
2:49 4222 words. I can do this. No, really, I can.
3:06 4257. I thought I’d done more, for some reason.
3:17 4478. Pleasant surprise! Will readjust goal for 4839 words– where I should be up to by now. Oddly enough, i haven’t gotten very far throught the main story. But that’s okay. It will come in time.
I am either thinking very rationally, or overly optimistically. I can’t tell which. (Query: where is the line of rational thought that divides optimism and pessimism? Is there one at all?)
3:41 4580. Shouldn’t have spent so much time on the other computer doing more admin on this blog, but that’s my distractibility for you. Speaking of which, I’ve got 220 more words to go, and then I’m back on track for the day!
3:50 138 words to go… Have noticed that I am developing compulsive habit of checking the word count every two minutes.
4:00 Will finish it later. Less than 113 words to go. I am so easily distracted…
5:06 Have just spent over an hour posting yesterday’s blog post on wordpress. Must find a way to do this quicker.
5:44 Just spent ten minutes being distracted by little brother’s friend Charlie, who can’t seem to stop talking about today’s sports day. Tried to give him a couple of hints, but it’s impossible to give hints to people who don’t seem to realise they need them.
Still nothing much to go. Have noticed so far that I can’t get anything done after about 4 or 5 o’clock, but this is a bit of a generalisation as it’s so early on.
5:53 YES! Everything from hereonin is clear profit! 600 more words if I want to keep up to what I’ve decided will be my standard: 1800 words per day. I think I can do this.
