NaNoWriMo update: End of Week 1/Start of Week 2; Also, More General Updates

   

So, the first week of National Novel Writing month is complete, and we are beginning week 2. I am pleased with my initial effort. Week one I finished at 10,631 words, with a little more than that as a possible add-in, should I decide to follow that particular plot thread. Either way, I am excited, the challenge to write the 50,000 word minimum has kept me motivated to keep going.
     My usual when writing is to write a few pages, then obsess over them, rewriting and revising unitl I am pleased enough to move on. Knowing that there is a deadline to reach the required word count has left me no choice but to soldier on. But, is this truly a good thing? or does the push to hit a word count goal lead to a substandard end product?
     For me, the answer is no, it isn’t going to be substandard. I have a very clear vision in my head for the story that I am working on. I know where the story ends up, I know who my characters are, and I know what they wish to accomplish within the confines of my story. The goal is forcing me to shift my focus from perfecting each and every line to actually writing the story. The editing and proofreading phase will be where I can rewrite and perfect the sentences and paragraphs that I find troublesome. For now, I am content to simply highlight those sections I feel need more work, and will return to them once the first draft is complete. Is anyone else participating? If so, how is your month going?
     In other writing news, I am trying to keep up with writing my sequel to Mademoiselle Durand and the Pirates. The progress has been going slightly better, although I keep reverting to my old ways for this story, editing and rewriting sections until I’m happy with them. Depending on how my NaNoWriMo project goes, I may try to stick to a similar format with all my stories. We’ll have to see about that though. I am not the best at sticking to deadlines.
     I’ve seen a few more sales of Mademoiselle Durand and the Pirates, which was a nice surprise. It has been pretty quiet, except for a couplle of free days I set up recently. It is nice to see that there are people at least downloading my 2 year old story. Hopefully they enjoy it, and I promise that I am getting ever closer to completing book 2.
     As I get closer to completing both projects, I will keep this page up to date, as well as my author page on facebook. For now, I am going to focus on finishing first drafts, and starting to edit. Apparently, this deadline thing is making me a little more productive. At this rate, I may even have another book ready by the end of 2020.