Let’s Have a Looksee, eh?

I should have known better than to try and push myself further while I was on a roll. In the six days since I made the bold declaration that I would cross the halfway mark by the end of the weekend and finish my book by the end of November as part of National Novel Writing Month, I have written the astonishing sum of 3000 words. Sure, that’s not a bad haul considering I was averaging a mere 113 words a day a month ago, but compared to where I was at and where I was going it’s just pain crap. The good news is I have finally crossed the halfway point–at least I think I have with 40,000 words–and there is still plenty of time left in the month to get back on a hot streak and finish. But for right now, I think I’m going to focus more on consistent productivity than bombastic numbers, though I will certainly push myself to go beyond my standard 1000 word daily goal when I can.

I’m not the only one getting a slow start though, Joe Konrath is looking at 3200 words so far, and in his most recent blog post he gives some nice tips for plotting a thriller. Sometimes it’s nice to get a refresher on the simple basics of plot and his tips are a perfect example.