Day Two: Word count on track!

Bonjour again, all you novice novelists and novelistas!

I hope your writing is going well and your snack supply holding out. I'm just over 4000 words and happy to be there. Tomorrow evening my husband is going to a concert, leaving me home alone for multiple hours of blissfully noveling... or painting my toe nails. We'll have to see. I'm loving NaNo even more this year than I did in previous years - I feel like my brain is ticking along well and I adore my villains. My main character, so far, is being a bit bland, but I have a feeling she'll perk up soon. She just moved to a new place and is having a hard time coming out of her shell (sound familiar?) A minor character has also come stumbling out of the woodwork, being way more interesting than I had planned, so who knows what will happen next. I'm still light on plot but if the characters are left alone long enough, much like high school girls, someone is bound to cause some drama.

To finish your novel the least painful way possible, you should be aiming for right at 1700 words a day. Here's a brief breakdown of where you should be for the next few days:

• Day 3: 5001
• Day 4: 6668
• Day 5: 8335
• Day 6: 10002
• Day 7: 11669

Which means by Day 7 you should have a nice sized little chunk of prose on your hands. Feel free to gloat and brag about your word count - it's expected! Week Two is a little harder than Week One, so this is a great time to try to get a little further ahead - that way when you get sick or bored or stressed out or arrested next week, you have some padding to fall back on. Two years ago I got behind on my word count and was nervous about finishing but managed to knock out 10000 plus words in my last 3 or 4 days, so anything is possible. Week Three is awesome and Week Four is a breeze, so if you make it through the first two, chances are good you'll finish!

The NaNo forums offer a couple great places to go if you have a sudden attack of writer's block or if your characters start boring you. For sheer silliness, nothing beats the NaNo Dares. Basically, its a list of random things you can include in your novel. Most are just plain goofy, but every once in a while, much like shopping thrift stores, you find something that is just perfect for your needs.

I currently have three weapons for fighting off writer's block and a low word count: I inflict a meal, hobby, or collection on one or more characters. My main villain collects birds. Birds. Thanks to Wikipedia, I can now ramble about his fine feathered friends when my brain isn't working so well. His maid has a penchant for cooking his birds. Thanks, epicurious.com.

Enough NaNoNews for a second: I'm sure my mom would like a brief Swiss update. We just got back from an incredible meal at a lovely restaurant called, I think, La Croix Blanche. Our friend who took us to this restaurant explained that the menu was focussed on offering meals of "la chasse" - the hunt. I started with a salad of greens with warm butter-sauteed wild mushrooms. Mr K had a terrine of foie gras, pistachios, and chestnuts. Neither of us had tried foie gras before due to the sad story of its creation, but on this move we're determined to try and taste nearly everything, so we gave it a go. It was wonderful but I still don't know that I could order it again. Our friend explained the two entree choices - two kinds of deer which we boiled down into "big bambi" and "small bambi." I had small and Mr K had big. Both came served roasted chestnuts, a roasted pear, red cabbage, Spätzle, brussel sprouts and a warm brown gravy. Dessert for me was a panna cotta with blackberries.

This was easily one of the best meals I have ever eaten in a restaurant in my life. The place was gorgeous and the service was wonderful. We had amazing food and great company and more importantly : we didn't have to dress up for the experience! We definitely plan on taking the assorted parents when they come to visit, so Mama H, Papa H, Mama C, and Papa C - get ready!