Sprinting to the Finish

In case you’re wondering about my NaNo project, I’m just about to hit 40,000 words, and the month is only halfway over. This is both a good and bad thing. Good, because it appears that I will definitely make it to that 50,000 word mark. Bad because even then, in order to get to the end, I’m afraid I’ll have to keep going at this pace until at least the end of the month.

That’s a lot of work. If you’re wondering how this has happened (the word count thing), two words:

Sprint writing.

Yeah. Sometimes in the form of a race, during which a whole bunch of authors take a designated time slot and write until our fingers practically catch fire. Other times it’s in the Twittersphere (see sidebar link to become a follower and join in) using the #1k1hr hashtag and involving anyone who wants to join in an attempt to write, well, 1,000 words in an hour.

However I do it, sprint writing works for me because it forces me to dive into the story, whether I want to or not. This creates situations in which my characters make discoveries and lead me on a journey I might otherwise have missed. And so far, I’m pretty happy with my story.

How are you doing with the project you’re working on? What works best for you and what keeps you going?

**PS. It’s not too late to join in the fun and get more entries to my I Heart Follower contest. Don’t forget to enter!