Nanowrimo 2020 Update

When I started thinking about doing Nanowrimo this year, I hesitated. My calendar was already so full and busy, adding one more thing seemed like a bad idea. That being said, I pushed on and decided to go ahead and at least attempt it. After all, even if I didn't "win" this year like I had so many times before, at least I'd have more words typed up than I started with.
Little did I know that my fingers would fly over the keyboard, pounding out several thousand words a day and putting me almost a week ahead. Yet, that's what happened. I am squeezing in writing time in the afternoons I'm home and the evenings when the afternoons are full. Some days I'm doing both. And I'm averaging over 2000 words an hours, guys. I'm shocking myself.
​At the time of my writing this post, I'm sitting at 39,090 words, 14,085 ahead of where a typical Nanowrimo author should be right now. That's basically over a week ahead of schedule.

Want to know more about what I'm working on?
This book is the second in a three-book series and I'm going to have to categorize it as Chick-Lit or something instead of my typical romance because the couple is already married. That's right. This is their honeymoon. But nothing is going right. Want a sneak peek? Keep reading. Here's the opening scene.

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     “Is this real?”
     Bree Hart looked up from where she’d been admiring her shiny new wedding ring and over at her husband—her husband!—and grinned. “It must be real. I’m too tired to be sleeping.”
     “Sorry our flights were so early. They were the cheapest.” Nathan wove his fingers through hers. Even after neither of them getting much sleep the night before, he looked as handsome to her as he had the day before in his tux. “I bet we have time to nap awhile this afternoon.”
     “Nap! Who can nap when there’s so many exciting things to do?” She craned her neck around to check how long before their departure. “It still confuses me that we’d have to travel through DFW to get to New York. I’ll never understand airlines.”
     Nathan shifted in his seat, running a hand through his brown curls. “So, here’s the thing ...”
     Uh oh.
     “I know you really had your heart set on spending our honeymoon in New York City.”
     Bree straightened, beginning to worry about what he’d say next. “Nathan, where are we going?”
     “Now, hear me out.” He patted the air as if to lay out the facts. “I did look at New York City as an option.”
     “Why am I hearing a ‘but’ in that statement?”
     “As I was doing the math, adding up all the things you’d mentioned wanting to do ...”
     The downside to being married to an accountant was beginning to show.
     “And it was getting pretty expensive.” Nathan shot her a guilt glance. “And then, because I’d been doing all that travel research, of course I started getting all sorts of ads for various vacations. Really good deals.”
     Bree squeezed her eyes shut, as if it would help block the dreadful image forming in her mind.
     “And I thought, we could do New York anytime, but how often would I find such a good price on a Caribbean cruise?”
     “Wait, wait, wait.” Bree cocked her head to the side. “You’re telling me you found a cruise cheaper than five days in New York?”
     “Yes.” His grin took over his whole face, like a little boy waiting for praise for a job well done.
     She desperately wanted to give him the adulation he was expecting, but she was still swallowing her disappointment over not getting to kiss him on top of the Empire State Building. Besides, a cruise required a completely different packing list. She’d packed for June in the northeast, not the Caribbean. She’d still included a swimsuit, but ...
     “I didn’t pack a fancy dress.”
     He blinked twice. “Do you need one?”
     “Every cruise has a night where you’re supposed to dress up for dinner.”
     “Really?”
     She had a momentary pinch of guilt at his crestfallen expression, but shouldn’t he know these things? Hadn’t his cruise sent him an itinerary or a list of suggested items to bring?
     “I guess we’ll have to figure something else out that night.” She offered a tiny nugget of hope. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go on a cruise—it just wasn’t what she’d dreamed of for almost a year.
     “Maybe there’ll be a store on the ship.” Nathan perked back up.
     “So much for this being cheaper than a trip to NYC.” She shook her head.
     Nathan looked confused but didn’t have the chance to ask what she meant.
     “Flight 453 to Houston has been cancelled due to weather.”
     “Cancelled!” Nathan jumped up, knocking over his carry-on. “I’ve got to see if we can find another flight. We’re supposed to meet the ship this afternoon.”
     Bree’s eyes wandered to a nearby television, something she’d paid no attention to earlier. She tugged on her husband’s sleeve. If that said what she thought it did, there wasn’t going to be another flight. And probably not a cruise, either.
     “Bree, I have to go talk to the lady at the counter.”
     “Look.” She pointed to the screen.
     A huge red blob swirled off the coast of Texas, orange and green spinning off it and covering most of the state. How had she missed hearing about a hurricane? Not to mention not noticing the rain lashing at the windows around them.
     Maybe because for the last week her sole focus had been on the wedding yesterday. She hadn’t checked the weather except to make sure it wasn’t raining in Nashville this weekend or New York City next. Nathan slumped into the seat beside her.
     “Oh no.” His voice was flat, deflated.
     ​“Something tells me our cruise probably isn’t leaving Houston this afternoon.”