Day One...

So, today was the first of 30 in the grueling and exhausting NaNo event.  I struggled in the beginning--it's looking at that blank page, wondering where to start.  I changed my mind from the original start that I'd intended, and just as I was finding my new stride, the phone rings and it's Jan (BFF), who is in LA at the moment trying to deal with family issues.  What could I do?  She's my best friend, I know her mother, I understand the problems.  We talked for about an hour, then I needed to clear my head, but at last...I'm cooking.

And four hours later, 2,869 words, an Epilogue and a completed Chapter One, I am a very happy girl.  Course, after all my efforts leading up to this--the outlines, research, etc.,--what happens?  The story veers off into another dimension almost from the get-go.  Oh well.  I've still got the same basic premise, and I'm more than pleased with my word count on the first day...because speaking from experience?  There will be days ahead where I lose the plot, my mind, and the will to live.  It's just part of the process.

After stopping for the day, I spent about a half hour on my frigging word count meter (off to the right there...) and can't get the blasted thing to record my 2,869 words, let alone a percentage.  I'm too tired to care right now, but tomorrow I'm going to find another one.  I like the incentive of that little meter counting off the numbers.

Okay.  It's getting late, I'm hungry and want a celebratory glass of wine for exceeding my target for the day by 1,202 words.  Remind me about this euphoria when I fall on my face next week and want to tear the whole manuscript into confetti and move to the Outback.  Trust me, I'm not kidding...



NB:  Found a counter at the NaNo site.  Happy happy...