Q: Kerry, last year you wrote over 425,000 words. Did you misunderstand the winning word count, or are you just superhuman?
A: Wait! You mean the goal isn’t 500,000 words? You mean I WON last year?!?! Now I am embarrassed…
The first thing I would like to say is this: Save your work, back it up on a flash drive or CD, email it to yourself, and then, as a last resort, email it to someone you trust not to read it. I failed to do this and my computer had a horrible restart and all that work is gone. I guess I am glad the novels were not well written.
I want to share with you some ideas on how to do this monumental feat. Just in case there is someone out there wanting to write more than nine times the set goal of 50,000 words. I mean, of course, besides the obvious suggestion to forgo sleep for 30 days. First, I set my alarm a couple of hours early and wrote in the mornings. I found that the early mornings disoriented my cats, and they left me alone long enough for me to write before work. I would shoot for two thousand (notice I spelled it out? two words instead of one) words before work per day. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it did not (see there? no contractions, two words instead of one). Sometimes I was late for work because I lost track of time, which brings me to my second point. I have a very understanding boss who lets me get away with writing a little here a little there. Third, I consumed unbelievable amounts of caffeine. More than one human should ever consume. I have quit caffeine entirely since then, so this year's NaNovel should interesting...
Next, I went to every write in (notice I left the hyphen out, now it is two words instead of one) I could, I engaged in word wars, I was in a regional war. Oh, I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (or OCD, but then why settle for one word when you can use 3?). I focused on my novels and wrote. If I was having trouble with novel number 1, I skipped into another one and started to write that one. Finally, there is my insane competitiveness that forced me to try to be number one last year. I did not make it.
I have so many people to thank for last year's success. I need to thank my boss who kindly looked the other way when I stopped working to write something I just thought of and couldn't let go of. The usual thanks goes to my family and friends that went without seeing me for the month. Houston, Texas, my home region, my supportive and wonderful Municipal Liason, SweetMelissa, and all the fabulous write-ins. Finally, and most importantly, I need to thank Kateness and Caeraerie. They really pushed me much further than I could ever imagine. Kateness, I do not know if you knew I was competing against you, but I was. Caeraerie, you are a worthy adversary, and I bow to your greatness. He beat me but GOOD. They both did. Man am I a slacker…
Here's to another great year, I am shooting for a much more modest goal this year, 200 – 250k words. I want to sleep this year; I guess I am weird like that…
