NaNo Week #1 // writing retreat, I now like tea(???), + general rambles about the insanity of nano

Happy NaNoWriMo, everyone! I hope the words are flowing, at least some sleep is happening, and you've eaten lots of chocolate and pizza. Because priorities. 

If you're anything like me, NaNoWriMo kind of takes over the month of November, making it hard to keep track of anything else. I will be "journaling" my NaNo progress throughout the month like I did last year on the blog. That way you can read if you have time and want to (I actually had lots of fun writing these up in 2015), but then you're not missing my normal posts if you take an internet break for NaNo.

Here we go!

DAY ONE: 5,050

Ahh, there's nothing like the first day of NaNoWriMo. Nothing like staying up until midnight to greet the insanity of the month and wonder if you've gone crazy. (spoiler alert: you probably are crazy. all writers are a good sort of crazy. I mean, we kill and torture fictional people in our free time for fun. definitely crazy. (and definitely kind of morbid when I put it like that. :P)

Even though I have a high word count for day one, I didn't feel like I was doing that well. The first day of NaNo is always hard, since I have to figure out the feel and flow of the story. But the beginning sorted itself out, so I am pumped and ready to keep writing! :D

Also... I have been absolutely and incredibly blessed by getting to spend a five day NaNo retreat with the lovely Nadine Brandes. My mind hasn't stopped screaming and asking if this is actually real life. It's been so fun seeing how our writing styles differ and adopting new writing practices. LIKE TEA.

I dislike tea. Or, used to. Now Nadine has hooked on chai and tea so between that and coffee I will be sipping away on caffeine for the rest of my days. Mwahaha.

DAY TWO: 5,209

Today was a FANTASTIC writing day, which makes me allll sorts of happy. I wrote by candlelight for the first time -- EEP. It created such a nice atmosphere for getting into the writing zone. I really like writing in the dark, so having a little light other than my computer screen was nice to have. :D

I reached the incident in my novel where everything starts to go wrong, like a snowball rolling down a hill, collecting more snow and problems until it's too huge to ignore. :P (Alas, but I've never been able to get a snowball to do this in real life. Someday, someday. I can dream!)

DAY THREE: 5,299

(FIIIREEEE. there's something incredibly pleasing about burnt matches. the aesthetic is strong.*happy sigh*)

Today started off as a zombie morning and an, "I'm trying to write but the words are coming so slooowwlyyyy and it seems way easier to just lay down and take a nap." But then there were brownies, and brownies make everything better.

So with brownies and tea and candles, the writing madness began, and didn't stop until midnight. MWAHAH. xD 

On a side note, I've been taking more time with NaNoWriMo this year compared to previous years -- averaging around two hundred words every ten minutes compared to the four or five hundred I can normally do. I think I'm more than capable of still doing it, but it's been good to slow myself down and choose my words carefully, so maybe editing won't be looking at a bunch of NaNo word vomit in disgust. :P It's definitely been weird, but I think it will be so good in the long run. Hopefully. *crosses fingers*

DAY FOUR: 5,003

Ready for me to scream about my day? Because DOCTOR STRAAANGEEE. *excited flailing* Dude. Doctor Strange was epic. It was hard for me to wrap my thoughts about it right away, because it was so different than the other Marvel movies, but I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I love the more mind-bendy and mystical kind of movies, instead of the, "explosion! shoot! die! fire! noise! noise! noise!"

Doctor Strange had lots of twisting realities, epic costumes, and stunning visual effects. (like. seriously. whoah. it reminded me of inception but even more intense. asdjkfl;.)

The movie took up most of the day, but after tea and photos the writing began! After hitting 5,000 for all the previous days, I became a stupid, foolish overachiever with absolutely no sensible brain and stayed up until two just to finish my word count. I think it's going to be worth it. We'll see -- I still have to finish up this post. (ahh, procrastinating and the nano life)

Once the words started to flow, I ended up being very happy with them. Tomorrow is my crash back into reality, so we'll see how my streak keeps up.

WRAP-UP

*throws snippets into the air*

- - -

  TOTAL WORD COUNT: 20,511

MUSIC:

Nadine introduced me to this song this week, and I'm in love. It fits with my story, and it's just SO PRETTY.

general thoughts?

This week was filled with writerly wonder, and I'M SO THRILLED WITH HOW THINGS ARE GOING. My story is mostly flowing, I've hit 20k, I have a good streak going, and it was so refreshing to get away from work and school for a week.

But... Sunday is when it'll all start again. Early Church service, seven hour shift, and then the next day school and work and on and on. I'm not looking forward to it, but I have to remind myself that everyone else is dealing with the same thing. I'll just make it a challenge to see how many cups of coffee I can drink and how little sleep I can operate on while still acting a teensy bit sane. Ha.

I hope NaNo is going well for you! Remember that this is only the first week -- and technically it's not even done yet. Take some time to breathe. Also take advantage of the weekend, 'cause your future self will thank you later. ;)

*cheers* Go write the words, you crazy NaNoers! I believe in you, and you can conquer the thing. <3

// katie grace

how are you doing with NaNo? ARE YOU ALIVE?!

and what's your first line? 

(cause I'm curious and snoopy and want to know)