Well, it’s finally that time of year again – the wind is blowing, the fire is on, and the hats are out! Today was the first time this season that I put a hat on to walk the Big Terror, and my god am I glad I did. The wind today was chilling – luckily we seemed to have a slight break in the weather, so although it was cold, it wasn’t pouring down (the one downside to living in the north of England? The rain. Oh the rain…). However, I did make the mistake of going out without a coat, so although my head was toasty warm, the rest of me wasn’t.

Anyway, enough about hats (for now. Anyone else love a good hat, or is it just me?). It’s now halfway through the ultimate writing challenge that is NaNoWriMo, so I also wanted to give an update about how it’s going.

In my previous post, I was worried about ‘not doing it right’, even though I knew it was just my anxiety talking, and wondering how I should tackle it given everything else that I have going on. I knew I wouldn’t be able to commit to 50,000 words this month, but I also knew I wanted to write something more than the 100 words a day I have been doing.

I finally settled the debate in my brain about whether to write my detailed synopsis or my first draft for NaNoWriMo, and went with finishing my detailed synopsis. There’s just no point in screwing up my writing process again, if I’m just gonna have to go back and write one later.

I’m so thrilled to announce that to date I’ve written over 5700 words of my detailed synopsis. This is a HUGE achievement for me, given it’s taken me months to start the damn thing, and then I’ve been chipping away at it slowly for the last god knows how long. Now, the overall word count is currently standing at 14,785 words!

I feel like it’s come on leaps and bounds this month. Initially I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to pick up the thread of the story from where I’d last left it, or that I wouldn’t be able to think of scenes between my important plot points, but the more I write it, the more I realise it’s true what Stephen King said – the more you write your story, the more it inhabits your mind, and the easier it becomes.

I wrote a good chunk of those 5000 words today, as today is the first time all month I’ve had a whole day to myself to write. And it felt sssooo good. You know how in Soul, they show Joe in a flow state where he lose track of time playing the piano? That’s me with writing. Once I get into the groove, hours can pass and I barely notice. I have to force myself to stop and eat or walk the dog or whatever else it is that needs doing. That’s exactly what happened to me today – and I was so hyped about what I’d written, I couldn’t switch off on my dog walk, I was still making notes on my phone to type up when I got back.

Honestly, when I opened my synopsis this morning and saw how many scenes I had left to outline, I was feeling so positive. I was FINALLY more than halfway through the book! Maybe even closer to three quarters! I actually even thought I would finish it today, but then I realised I only had the morning as dedicated writing time, due to y’know, adult things that needed done (the school run! The washing up! Paying bills!). But I’ve left it in a good place that I’m happy with.

So I’ve decided to set myself a stretch goal. I’m aiming to have my detailed synopsis finished by next Friday – the Husband is off next Friday so we’re going out for lunch, which I think will make a great celebration meal if I manage to finish it! So we’ll see – that’s my goal, but as always, I just need to be mindful of my own time and commitments, so I’m not gonna beat myself up if I don’t manage it. If I don’t, well, I’ll still have an extra 5 days to finish before December!

How’s your NaNoWriMo going? What are your stretch goals for this month? Do you have a favourite hat you like to wear this time of year?

Z xx