First week of NaNoWriMo, and I’m doing great.

Granted, my goal is modest. I have slated to finish four short stories this month, which is a significant step up from my normal writing pace, but still quite a bit less than the normal 50,000 words. That said, things have gone swimmingly so far.

Week 1’s project was The Heresy Trial of Friar Travolo, which is now complete at 4,000 words. There is another scene of about 500 words that I’ve omitted because to finish it requires some research that I haven’t finished yet. However, it looks like I may have time to do this at the end of the month, since I’m a little ahead of schedule.

Week 2’s story is Mr. Yamaguchi’s Late-Night Janitorial and Demon-Hunting Service, which is about 2/3 complete, at about 2,000 words. I expect to finish it in a day or two, which means by the end of the week I should be started on Week 3’s story There Is No Such Place As Canada. This puts me well ahead of schedule for the month, and makes me feel confident for actually getting all four done on time.

Also! I’m told there is some sort of election today. And since I’ve been saying it all day to anyone who will listen, you really should vote for no one.

1. I already have a change of NaNoWriMo plans. The story for week #3 will not be Whalesong, as previously written into the schedule, but rather There Is No Such Place As Canada. It’s a story about oppression, specifically the oppression of Canadians. It should be a riot. Week four, then, is a wildcard, in which I write any story whose plot comes to me in time, but the current candidates are either Whalesong or The Blasphemous, the Cruel, and the Weak.

2. So evidently there’s some kind of election coming up? Based on the coverage, it appears that the candidates are a notorious international anarcho-terrorist and a rapacious, black-hearted banker who wears funny underwear. Plus there are third-party candidates, who are hilarious. So I’m encouraging everyone to do their part for democracy and not vote.

3. Jim Hines has a good NaNo pep talk. So do lots of other people, for that matter. See, NaNoWriMo would be a good thing you could do instead of voting next Tuesday. I have your best interests in mind.