I'm nearly OCD about the editing stuff, and it's kind of a problem – the idea of NaNoWriMo being “save the editing for December and beyond, right now just get out the raw word count.” It's a very different approach from the one I'm used to, and I think once this thing is over, I'm going to try for a more reasonable middle path, where I edit as I go along (but not excessively, since that's led me to lots of dead ends before), but I shoot for at least 1,000 words a day.

I'm kind of doubting I'll make it to the 50,000 word mark by November 30th at this point – which is okay, it's a marathon after all, and I'm a first-timer – a number of participants have said it took them a few years before they made the entire word count in 30 days. Of course, if it were only about my ability to generate words, I'd be near the finish line already, between email, blogging, etc. (this morning I wrote 1,000+ words for a blog post I'm not ready to publish yet) – but it's been hard to concentrate that capacity on the book, exclusively.

First, the material is really painful (albeit with enough absurdity and occasional outright hilarity that it's not – to whatever extent I can speak objectively about the matter – a bummer to read). Second, although I'm using fictional forms, nearly all of it is based on things that actually happened, which must be coherent within their historical context. I tend to go off on variously useful research tangents (examples: here, here and here), which does hold me up somewhat (but I still think that's better than realizing I have to re-write huge sections because a given event couldn't have happened when I first thought it did).

ETA: Now if only I could count the above comment toward my word count, which is about 25% of the NaNoWriMo recommended daily average

To wit:

Williamsburg, the neighborhood in Brooklyn? Or Williamsburg, Virginia? (People tend to assume one or the other, depending on where they live already.) Always minimize any possible confusion for a reader. (That doesn't mean I always do this, but then, I don't write fiction. )

Keep it up, and no slacking!

Williamsburg, the neighborhood in Brooklyn, or Williamsburg, Virginia? Be specific.

Write this down and stick it on a sticky note someplace: “The less work the reader must do, the better, and minimize any possible confusion.”