I'm so disappointed in myself. I got sick--3 days of misery followed by 1 day of exhaustion--and stopped writing my novel completely. Writing seemed impossible; all I wanted to do was sleep. I feel better today, but now I'm overwhelmed by how far behind I am. I should be around 14000 words. Instead, I'm under 6000.

I don't want to quit. I'm not a quitter, and I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I love my idea and my character. Val has developed so much life! I love her voice and the way she tries to be strong but so often feels vulnerable. The story is plotted. Scene after scene is waiting to be written. It would be a waste to abandon it.

Okay, I won't give up. My chances of reaching 50k in November aren't as good as they were a week ago, but I still have hope. Sheesh, I need to remember that my ultimate goal was 100,000 to 125,000 words anyway. When I hit December 1, I plan to just keep writing.