Knee Deep in the Word Count

NanoWriMo Day 9, or as I might choose to start calling it because I don't care much for the cutesiness of that name, "Nanoblahblahblah," with credit to Mr. Bomani for riffing up that handle.

Anyway. Call it what you want, Day 9 is now a memory. I'm sitting right at 18,500 words which puts me at a much slower pace than I was last year with Infinity, but still ahead of the recommended pace so I'm fine with that. With this word count, I should be just over one-third of the way finished. But it surely does not feel that way. I'm planning on taking this one at least to 60,000 words just to give myself some edit room, and who knows? It might even go on longer than that. It's impossible to say since I've just had to face up to the fact that when I write a manuscript, as confounding as it might be for some people to think about, I am seemingly unable to write it in chronological order. I have chunks of ideas that I'll explore, and then find ways to link them together as the story develops. Without exception, every manuscript I've finished that doesn't suck has been done this way. I do not discount the idea that because I'm writing like this, I'll possibly reach the end of November and this thing still won't be finished.

But I'm honestly looking forward to it being done. Not to get it over with so much; the work hasn't been hard. I've had the discipline to wake up an hour earlier than usual and knock off 1,000 words before my day really starts, which only leaves another 1,000 in the evening, and seriously? That's nothing. A thousand words is three pages, give or take a paragraph. Not that tough to do once you set your mind to it. But I want this done so I can see what it turns out like. The idea I have, the overarching concept or theme or story or conflict or whatever you want to tag it as, I think it has the potential to be something very original, and -- though I loathe the word from the abuse it receives in staff development sessions -- powerful. But will it be? I honestly don't know. I think some people will read this and instead of being moved or touched or reached in the manner I hope they would be, I think it's possible they'll just dismiss it as kind of interesting but won't admit how it didn't really capture their imagination. Which in the case of this one, would actually be more harsh than having someone say they really disliked it.

I could take dislike. I could take any reaction that had the force of opinion behind it. Vague ambivalence would be harder to take. And I kind of feel like I might be setting myself up for that in a lot of cases. I think either people just aren't going to get it, or, more likely, I'm not going to get it across the way I want to.

Time will tell. But if I manage to pull this off, I'm going to be pretty friggin' happy.