I have to admit at this point that I’m beginning to flag a bit. I’ve made a good amount of progress so far – over 12,000 words in total – but both yesterday and today were days where I had to struggle to think of what to put down next.

This does not mean I didn’t get a lot of writing done. I got a ton of writing done – over 8,000 words, in fact. However, at least 3,000 of those words don’t count towards the 50k mark because they’re part of the backstory that I realized I needed to create for myself. I am proud to say that I’ve got a majority of my novel’s plotting out of the way.

However, I’m chagrined to say that even though I’ve now set up an “official” plotline for myself, it feels that the characters and circumstances aren’t conforming to it as easily as I thought. Things just don’t seem to make as much sense in the world of the story if they adhere to the plot I’ve ginned up, so I’m still playing things fast and loose.

On top of that, I wrote a guest blog post for someone else and sent it off, and here I am writing again. I guess it’s true that the more you write, the easier it is for the dam inside you to burst.

One last note: A few nights ago I tinkered with saying my story out loud, recording the spontaneous dialogue that resulted, and then transcribing the recording. It was an interesting experiment,  but one that I’m unsure of repeating. I got some great dialogue at first, but once it ran out I stopped the recording due to dead air. Once I transcribed the result I still wasn’t sure where to continue, but in the midst of typing I came up with an excellent incident to illustrate the main characters’ abilities, advance the plot, and highlight the incipient insanity of one of the story’s antagonists. I still consider that my best piece of NaNo writing so far. So yes. while the method had good results, it requires real improvisation and momentum.