NaNoWriMo Postmortem

I reached the 50,000 word goal set by the folks at NaNoWriMo. It was a long month, one where I felt like I was working overtime, with my day job (conclusion on that question: don't quit it) and with waking up early to write, as well as writing immediately after work. It was exhausting, but I hit the mark.

I did this not by spending full days writing, not by pouring thousands of words on the page over a weekend, but by steadily making the daily goal set by the challenge itself. This actually worked very well for me. In the end, I only had a few days where I missed this goal.

Now the problem is maintaining momentum.

NaNoWriMo 2010

I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month this year, and am actually keeping myself relatively on target. You can follow my progress here, or with the little widget on the side bar.

As for what I'm writing about? It's a science fiction novel about a moment of change in the unchanging history of a generation ship, with centuries of travel between the nearest star. It is about how the seemingly simple act of changing course has vast consequences for a people whose concerns cover not just their own generation but of all the rest to come.

Wish me luck.

Digging

Poor William spent his day sifting through the heap of disks piled at his feet. He crouched down and, holding each disk carefully, turning them around in his hands, separated the good from the bad. Some had eroded connectors, some had rust on the casing, other cracked - each a sure sign of moisture damage. These he tossed with a clatter into the corner. Those that passed inspection were carefully wrapped in old, anti-static bags and put into his satchel. His hope was to find some useful information on at least one of them.

The dank walls of this old data center had kept away most scavengers. The low ceilings - or, rather, high floors - kept the air heavy and wet. That same raised floor also was certain to be hiding pools of water, which had probably come in through the main entrance, and trickled down the deep tunnel into the main chamber. Most would think that the data in a place like this had rotted away like so much wood, but Poor William was sure a digital diamond might be found among the moldy rough.

A Quick Update

I missed last weeks deadline, which, if you've been paying attention, is roughly Sunday-writing, Tuesday-publish, at the latest. I had a bit of a rough weekend. Turns out Berlin beers are not that good for me.

I had one. Honest. That's how bad they are for my system.

I am working on a story at the moment - I did still get a good start on Sunday - that I hope to have finished up for this weekend. It's a bit of a post-apocalyptic number, so that's new for me. I will be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, as well, so I'm not sure if I will get something published over that time. I will make sure I can get a story written while I'm gone.