NaNoWriMo Day 5

Wordcount: 14040
Words Written Today: 1836
Words I Still Need to Write Today: Technically 0. In actuality, five more word wars' worth.
Writing Music Obsession: Said the Sky Dubstep Mix

So. I was a bit concerned about how my first week of NaNoWriMo would go this year, since it started on a Sunday and those are my absolute worst writing days. Turns out I probably didn't need to worry, as you can see. I'd say that's mostly due to two things:

1. Daylight Savings Time ended on Sunday. And, unsurprisingly, I forgot to reset my clocks . . . and also left my alarm set for 6:30 so I'd have time to write. The result was that I woke up at 5:30, didn't realize it until I was up and alert- and then decided that since I was up, I might as well just stay up and get some writing done. After all, I got up that early to start off my first NaNo- why shouldn't I do it again?
2. Dice Quest Wordcount Crawl. I discovered this on Monday, which I'd taken off from most of my schoolwork so I'd have more time to write. It's made by the creator of my favorite crawl from last year, the Dice Bag Crawl. Every day, the crawl-maker posts a new set of challenges, following the storyline of an adventure or quest.

So far, this NaNo has been a lot more exhausting than previous NaNos have been, mostly because of that Dice Quest crawl. The first day, I had to do two days' worth of quests in one . . . and then I had to do the sidequests as well, and played catch-up again yesterday because I finished reading Shadows of Self on Tuesday. (Which, I will note, was as amazing as expected, though it had a bit less of a mystery element.) Also, although I've probably set a new personal record for fastest-original-10K, I've also set a new personal record for fastest-catching-of-a-cold-during NaNo. (I knew it would happen eventually. It always does. Just usually not this soon.)

On the upside, 14K. Also, my novel as a whole is going better than I expected. It's called Binding Destiny, at the moment at least, and was based on an idea given to me by the lovely Deborah O'Carroll. Synopsis, for those interested:

Mikkel is the Hero of Rushire- or will be, once he finishes his training. Chosen by Destiny herself, he serves under the city's last remaining Hero, Sir Leod, and awaits the day when he can prove himself.

Taika is the ward of Martius Coradin, latest in a long line of sworn foes of Rushire. For generations they have fought the city in various ways- but in recent years their power has waned with the changing times.

Yet Martius has made a new plan- a plan which, he says, will reawaken the old ways and make people fear the Coradin name once more. But when his plan spirals out of control, it's up to Mikkel and Taika to work together to save their world.

It's not turning out entirely like I planned- for one thing, Martius is rather less evil than I'd intended him to be. But another villain may or may not be appearing soon who'll change that . . . Also, it's set in a related world to that of last year's NaNo novel, Between Two Worlds. And, because what's the point in writing a novel set in a connected world if you don't let favorite characters from previous novels show up, Katelyn and Aedon are secondary characters in this story. (I think Jarek snuck in with them too, despite my specifically telling him to stay in Aralan . . . and now he's trying to act like he doesn't know what I'm talking about. As if that's going to work.) So far, they haven't done much except provide opportunities for worldbuilding and exposition and squealing over griffins (that last one is mostly Katelyn- but can you blame her?), but they are eventually going to play a role in moving the plot forward. And in the meantime, it's a lot easier to write when I'm not working entirely with new characters.

How's NaNoWriMo going for you? What's your novel about? If you're not doing NaNoWriMo, how's life?
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

P.S. Does anyone know where this year's NaNo graphics are? Are there new NaNo graphics this year? I can't find them- help, please and thank you very much!