Here's the problem: when November rolled around I was 40,462 words into a WIP (Work in Progress). My goal for the WIP was about 60,000 words. That meant for NaNoWriMo I could only write about 20,000 word and you're supposed to write 50,000.
So, I made a nefarious plan. Instead of just counting the words in my WIP, I'd count everything I wrote, including blog posts, freelance assignments, and short stories (yes, this blog post will be counted). I know this isn't what you're supposed to do for NaNoWriMo. But if I only wrote 20,000 words left on my WIP, I would disappoint the local NaNoWriMo group who is counting on my word count to add to their total word count (which is right now at an amazing 527,799 words).
Oh, and I finished the first draft of the novel on November 3rd, not quite at 60,000 words (after the first edits, it was 59,985 words).
Now, it might have been a bit of a stretch to include the glossary I wrote for proofreaders and editors for my WIP and blurb I wrote (and rewrote and rewrote over and over) in my total word count. But they were things I wrote. Not counting this blog post, I am at 32,934 words with 1,800 of them written today (in a short story I'm writing).
So, yes, I'm cheating. Maybe next year I'll be able to start a novel on November 1st and do NaNoWriMo the right way. My local writers' group is big on it and I want to support the group. But I also write on my own schedule. If I have an idea for a novel I'm going to start writing it no matter when it is.
I just hope they don't mind I'm cheating a bit this year.
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