Well it’s day two of NaNoWrimo and I still seem to be surviving; however, I have to admit today seemed to go a little slower than yesterday.
It’s not that I didn’t have anything to write about it was more like finding it hard to get my word count rolling. So I opened up my packet of NaNoWrimo Merit Badges for inspiration and read all the pins I could earn throughout the month. I found one I wanted to earn today and it’s the WORD-COUNT PADDING Badge. I could either 1) Quote a song lyric or another book in my novel, 2) create a stuttering or triple-named character in my novel, 3) write all my contractions out or 4) introduce an unneeded dream scene or hallucination into my novel.
Which one did I choose? The winner is: Number three! I thought how fun would my day of writing be if I tried to spell out all the contractions. I had no idea how difficult that task can be. I found myself constantly back tracking and having to retype, “I did not (didn’t) want to hear how you have not (haven’t) had any sleep in 24 hours,” or “I am (I’m) sure you were not (weren’t) going to tell him I would (I’d) punch him in the nose if he called me that one more time.”
You may be thinking to yourself, is that not cheating? Actually it is not. For how can writing proper English be cheating? We have just become accustomed over the years to reading contractions that we sometimes do not even realize what we are reading. Did it help? You bet, I exceeded my 1,667 daily word goal again and wrote 3,059 words for a total of: 8,069 and it is only day two! (For those of you who follow my Facebook I gladly pinned my WORD-COUNT PADDING pin onto Efi Loo’s writing scarf!)
Are you a NaNoWrimo? Have you found something that helps you keep striving and achieving, or exceeding, your daily word goal? If so, please share.
Until next time,
Keep on striving, keep on thriving and keep on writing!
T.K. Millin
The Unknown Author
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