NaNoWriMo Update: 20,000 Words!

Well, this is promising!

We're rolling!

I hit the 20,000-word mark earlier today and I still feel like I'm getting warmed up! This is the fastest I've ever worked on anything, possibly ever.

It's got me thinking about a couple of things. First of all, I started wondering about why I've been able to work this quickly. I have some ideas, but the short version is that I'm off from work, helping my wife recover from foot surgery. Not having the job be a thing that takes time away from writing has just allowed me to go nuts with output. The other thing is that I've somehow managed to shut my inner editor up. I wish I could say how, not just so that I could offer advice, but so I can repeat it when life gets back to normal.

Secondly, I've been thinking about whether this is sustainable. Can I churn out 2000 words a day on average once I return to work? Is that expectation even reasonable? I can't answer that for you, but I feel like for me, the question bears examining. I'm fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to write while at work, so long as it doesn't interfere with the duties that they're paying me to perform. But I've never done this well.

My previous record for NaNoWriMo 25,823 (2020 was a weird year), and I'm cautiously optimistic I can beat that. There's even an outside chance I can make 50K. Here's hoping, anyway.