I’ve been keeping a private personal writing journal this year. Back in school, did you ever read the children’s novel Dear Mr. Henshaw? In the story a second grader who’s trying to cope with life has a pen pal called Mr. Henshaw. If I recall correctly, his letters end up being more akin to psychiatric sessions than anything else.

The problem is, he’s not really being 100% honest in his letters. Mr. Henshaw picks up on this fact and decides the boy should start writing to ‘Pretend Mr. Henshaw’ instead. The nature of the boy’s letters transform at this point and he starts to see the changes he really needs to make in his life to truly grow.

Maybe I was in denial about how far I’d gotten in my novel revision. But writing to my version of ‘Pretend Mr. Henshaw’ before each writing session has allowed me to make more real progress in one month than I’ve made in the past year. I hope I’ll be able to look back at these journal entries one day with nostalgia. And then maybe I’ll be ready to share them with the world.

Here we are, my fellow human beings, in the last month before the beginning of 2012: The Last of Years!

Of course, I don’t really believe December 21st will be The Last Day. If it was, that would really suck, wouldn’t it? Because it lands on a Friday. If the world’s gonna end, why can’t it happen on a Monday or a Tuesday, you know, after the weekend? I mean, seriously.

So the race is on to complete my revisions before the end of the world. Merrilee’s running an event that fits the bill quite nicely.

http://notenoughwords.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/project-2012-from-first-draft-to-submission/

Her deadline’s the end of the year. Mine’s a mere 10 days earlier. Seems do-able.

P.S.: My good friend Brian kept submitting his works and has finally been accepted to a publication. Congratulations to you, sir!

Today, I feel stronger.

While I’m hammering out a story, everything’s good. I feel excited about life and the prospects it might bring and it’s impossible to be depressed. That’s what the craft gives back to me.

I don’t need to be accepted anywhere, by any peers. At the keyboard, I accept myself. I enjoy reading what I write, I like discovering what I didn’t know I had in me. My fingers fly, I relax, and everything’s okay. And it gives me the form of respect that should be most important to anyone in the world: Self-respect.

This is me saying no more obsessing over collectible card games. No more playing countless video game sequels for weeks at a time without ever touching my novel. This is me saying I’m going to choose the right path more often.

I keep telling myself that I’m still young, but I can’t say that forever. It’s time to commit more deeply to the craft of writing.

Boy! It’s been a busy month. (Don’t worry, I sent the Duke home.)  I’ve been writing, keeping track of the NPI tallies, training at work, reading books, doing the ‘Couch-to-5k’ program, and … I’ve been being a dad. I feel so productive!

But the trick is keeping it up. Can we continue to write each and every day? I know I fall off the writing wagon sometimes, but NPI always gets me hopping back on to try again.

I’d like to thank everyone who participated, with an extra-big congratulations to everyone who finished.

Together we cranked out an average of 5,341 words per day. This was in no small part thanks to Ryan and Brian, who both went above and beyond what the Novel Push Initiative requires each day.

In all, four people ended up passing which gives us a 50/50 pass ratio.

I’ve broken down everyone’s stats below. After the breakdown, there will be an awards section.

1. Ryan G. Sanders
https://twitter.com/RG_Sanders
http://www.ryangsanders.com/

Pledged to write 250 words per day.
Number of strikes left: 0
Highest Word Count in a Day: 7,577
Lowest: 250
Average: 1,611
And the Grand Total: 48,330

2. Brian Niemeier Read the rest of this entry »

Hey Pushers! Duke here. Listen up.

Last time I checked up on ya was September 5th.

…

What? I’ve been busy. You know, doin’ talk shows, re-explainin’ what DNF really stands for, stuff like that. (Hint: It ain’t ‘Did Not Finish’.)

I remember bein’ pretty impressed with you five days in (BTW — Did some of you miss that post?!), but let’s see where you stand at today. *checks the list* Hm. Not bad, not bad. We’re three people light, but on the whole, these are some good-lookin’ stats.

The goal of NPI is consistency over quantity, to make sure you plop your little butts in front of a keyboard and Write Every Day. As long as you understand that, I’m sure we’ll get along juust fine.

=========================

1. Ryan G. Sanders
250 words per day
https://twitter.com/RG_Sanders
http://www.ryangsanders.com/

Zero strikes left.

Total to date (as of day 20): 45,167 Read the rest of this entry »

*blows whistle*

All right. Listen up, Pushers. It’s been five days now. Let’s see how you’re doin’.

*eyes paper taped to a wall*

Yeah, you’ve been writin’ all right. All eight of ya. (How am I supposed ta kick your butts if ya keep writin’ every day?)

OK. Fine. So maybe you’re five, six days in and thinkin’, “Yeah, this is easy.”

*scoffs* Hell Yeah it’s easy for you. You’ve got your cushy leather couches and your custom lattes and your cute little portable notebooks. Peh. Let me tell ya somethin’: I write on jagged brick walls with nothin’ but my bare knuckles. I’m not even postin’ my wordcounts on here because it would Blow Your Mind. This post? Written in blood and knuckle-skin. (You wouldn’t catch me typin’ this; I’m havin’ Mr. Lawyer here type it out instead.) *cracks what’s left of his knuckles*

Or maybe you’re thinkin’,  *in a girly voice* “Jeez. It’s only five days in and I’m already gettin’ lazy. I don’t know if I can make it through.”

Well, Pusher, think of it this way: All those days, weeks, months, or years that you didn’t write, they’re gone. But this month is different. This month is gonna feel like it’s gonna take a long time. And that’s good. You’re gonna do me a favor and basque in that time. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Just take it one day at a time. Keep with it and I promise: Amazing Things will happen with your story.

(For details on each day, check out the Word Count Repository.)

Word totals so far:

1. Ryan G. Sanders – WC Total: 22,428
https://twitter.com/RG_Sanders

2. Brian Niemeier – WC Total: 6,881
http://www.facebook.com/people/Brian-Niemeier/100002462676719

3. Robin Ford – WC Total: 5,500
http://twitter.com/#!/rakford

4. KLC the Book Worm – WC Total: 4,544
http://disciplineunderfire.blogspot.com/

5. kakapo – WC Total: 4,221
http://twitter.com/#!/kakapo1

6. Ranee Dillon – WC Total: 2,779
http://twitter.com/#!/raneedillon

7. Julie – WC Total: 2,673
http://jflamingoreflections.blogspot.com/

8. Nick Enlowe – WC Total: 1,241
http://twitter.com/#!/NickEnlowe

ALL RIGHT! Good job so far, everybody. Nobody charley horses or swirlies today. Well, except for Nick Enlowe.

Nick Enlowe:
*dries off and rubs leg*

Jeez, how’d I get in last place!?

You should know that Ryan G. Sanders just released his very first eBook. It’s got a slick presentation and is written in bite-sized, easy-to-digest entries for on-the-go reading, so definitely check it out. You can see samples and purchase it online at Smashwords or Amazon.

He’s also hoping for more reviews ;D

Anyway, I concur. You’re all doing a wonderful job at kicking my butt.

Happy pushin’!

This is just a place to keep track of wordcounts. :)

(Will be frequently updated)

Read the rest of this entry »