NaNoWriMo par: 1,667 words/day
NaNoWriMo total: 13,336 words
Personal par: 2,000 words/day
Personal total: 17,856 words

Breakthrough!  While I didn’t really get a chance to do much of the planning I had written about yesterday, I did scribble down a list of related scenes that I feel need to be part of the story.  I decided to proceed by tackling those scenes and of the 6 I scribble down, I wrote two of them this morning.

The first scene was just under a thousand words, and definitely helped to get me warmed up.  I felt as if I had direction once again.  The second scene ended up as the longest single scene in my story, topping the 1,500 word mark.  I also think it is the single best piece of writing I have done in a long time.  In a way, the scene is, itself, a self-contained story.  But for first draft material, it is well-written and I think has a strong emotional impact.  As I wrote the end of the scene, I could feel tears coming to my eyes.  After I finished it, I read back through it and was almost breathless.  I actually printed out the scene and asked Kelly to read it.  She gives me direct, no-nonsense feedback and if she likes it, I can be sure I have something good.  If I can write like that consistently, I may end up with something really special.

I think giving myself a reorientation, a sense of direction, really helped today.  I got a late start because we were up late with friends last night, and I slept somewhat restlessly.  I started off a bit slowly this morning, but time disappeared once I started on that second scene.  I had a vague idea of what the resolution would be, but I was surprised by how potent it seemed.  And pleased.

All told, I wrote 2,532 words today between 8-10:30 am.  It’s only 40 words shy of my best session so far.  My total after 8 days stands at 17,856 words.  I’ve still got a couple of scenes to write off my list, and if I can maintain the kind of writing and pace I had today, I just might hit 20,000 words tomorrow.