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Current word count: 15,917 Goal word count: 50,000 What's happening: The ~mysterious~ final contestant is revealed, and she and Maxine have...history. The judge also makes his first appearance, and smarms all over everything. Now onto the show! You know, at this point, if I manage to make it somehow, it'll be pretty danged impressive. If, as is significantly more likely, I don't make it, I'm still pretty happy with what I've got, and I'll want to finish the story up. Next month, however, will be the beginning of Crochet All the Baby Blankets (No Seriously, All Of Them). It'll be a nice break, I think.

Current word count: 12,016 Goal word count: 50,000 What's happening: Literary Fiction Dude gets a little whiny about the fact that no one really knows (or cares) who he is, as opposed to the genre fiction folks. People have made their way through the makeup and wardrobe machines, and a ~mysterious~ final contestant is about to be revealed. Then maybe we can finally, I don't know, DO something? I really wish I were able to write things out of order, because then I would skip things like all the introductions and go straight into people fighting each other with words and imaginary warriors. However, I don't enjoy outlining things down to the details, and I like discovering things as I write, which means I generally have to write them in order to learn what the devil happens next. Happy Friday, all! If you decided to brave the Black Friday stores, I hope you all managed to get what you needed without causing or receiving injury. Meanwhile, I'll be over here, shopping

Current word count: 10,442 Goal word count: 50,000 What's happening: The altercation between the literary critic and the romance novelist is broken up, much to Maxine and Oscar's disappointment. Our next contestant, Genre Fiction Perky Goth, is introduced, and we discover that Maxine really hates being called Max. Also we just barely meet our fifth contestant, Literary Fiction Dude (who's not nearly as intimidating or boring as he seems). I broke 10K, woo! We'll just have to see how things pan out, but everyone's interacting with each other (mostly) nicely, so I think the sandbox is going to be a lot of fun.

Current word count: 8,644 Goal word count: 50,000 What's happening: The second novelist (the first-ever fanfiction writer in the Wars) makes their appearance and confuses everyone, then is whisked away to wardrobe. The third novelist, a literary critic who's certain he can write better than all of the drivel he's seen win the show, is confronted by the first novelist, who is the reigning champion and best-selling romance novelist. Maxine and Oscar look for popcorn for this particular fireworks show. I don't really know why I'm so optimistic about this. Even though I'm only writing a few hundred words a day, I'm still writing every day, and I like where things are going. I'm refusing to throw in the towel on this, but I don't think I'll be too upset if/when I don't win Nano this year. I guess it's nice to be optimistic about something right now, given the current climate of gloom and doom surrounding the country. Stay safe, my friends.

Current word count: 6,541 Goal word count: 50,000 What's happening: The introduction to the format is explained, and Oscar gets to meet the first of the novelists, and fanboys all over her. The second novelist is about to make their entrance, and nobody really knows what to do with them yet. Behind or not, I've managed to write every day. Even with last week being scary and rough (in addition to the election, a couple of anniversaries also happened to be that week, so that was less than fun). I keep having parts of Sia's song "Alive" running through my head, and I think I'm going to put together a "Not Yet Dead, Dammit" playlist for when I need it. I've the feeling I may need it a lot in coming days (weeks, months...)

Current word count: 5,301 Goal word count: 50,000 What's happening: Finally, Maxine and Oscar get around to filming the introduction of Novel Wars, thus spelling out for the home audience (and readers) just what the devil is going on. Also, the director hates the producer, so that should be fun. Still behind, naturally, but I'm feeling a little better about where I'm going. This week has been rough for a number of reasons, but I need to stay on target and keep going. After all, now is the time to...

Current word count: 3,752 Goal word count: 50,000 What's happening: Our main character (and host), Maxine, meets the newest member of the on-screen cast, a kid named Oscar. We see the new set, and are getting ready to film the introduction of the show and the contestants. OK, so I'm behind, obviously. At the same time, I'm liking where things are going. My main character is a cross between Elle Woods and Megyn Kelly, with a bit of Effie Trinket for fun. The set is essentially a series of cells where the novelists will have to write to a specific challenge, and the warriors they create will fight in a separate stadium. That, I'm looking forward to.

Just a quick update that I'm not dead, and neither is my Nano. Currently I'm sitting at 1,347 words. According to the Nanowrimo website, I should be at 6,666 words for today. So, it's a bit of a slow start. I'm enjoying what I'm writing, though, so that helps. It's called Novel Wars, and it's sort of a cross between the Hunger Games and Cutthroat Kitchen. Thank heavens for my writers' group at work, as they helped me bounce ideas for the contestants and the sabotages they'll have to deal with. (I keep being reminded of a quote from WorldCon this year, that writers "create fictional people and then torture them," and I can't help but giggle maniacally.) Anywho, I'll be getting back to it shortly. I'm going to a write-in tomorrow, so with luck having several hours set aside to do nothing but write will help get the momentum going. After that, well, I'll probably be avoiding the internet entirely on November 8-9, because wh