For the last two years I’ve skipped NaNoWriMo. It’s not because I’m opposed to having a National November Writing Month, and certainly I don’t disdain writing fifty thousand words in thirty days. It’s just a matter that I write at my own pace, and if I happen to be editing in November, or if I already have a working novel that I started in October, I’m not going to drop everything so I can join a party on November 1st.

It happened again this year. I was finishing editing a novel, and that work took me all the way through the middle of November. Done with that, on the 15th I started writing Wounded Honor, the seventh episode in my Tracking Jane series. Long story short, three days later, I had fifteen thousand words.

The thought crossed my mind: could I hit the 50K mark by month’s end? Well, I’m happy to report that as of last night, I am five thousand words away!

Of course, as I’ve written before, I don’t believe in counting words, but rather on making my words count. Still, the feeling of getting this much done is exhilarating. I love it when stories gush out, and this one also moves at quite the pace. Of course, one always feels great about a first draft until a couple of weeks pass and that second read reveals the glitches.

All the same, I am hoping to complete this novel by the end of November. Given the progress I’ve made thus far, it’s looking rather promising.