Don’t know what the NaNo 2.0 challenge is? Check out NaNo 2.0: Let’s write a novel in a month!

Welcome to Nano 2.0: Week 2! I’ll be updating this post throughout the week to keep you posted on my novel progress.

November 14th

It’s Friday, November 14, 2025, nearing the end of Week 2 of Nano 2.0. I bet you’re wondering why I haven’t posted any updates lately, since my first day participating in this challenge. Well, a few things. The day after that first day of writing, I visited the bookstore I used to work at. I was looking at new releases, Tuesdays are big book release days, and I was shocked to find that one of them uses the same experimental structure I was planning on using for my novel. It really messed with my head for a few days. I was just thinking, “Great, now I have to rethink my whole plan.” I even got in my head a little bit that maybe it’s a sign that I shouldn’t write this book. That feeling didn’t last long. I’ve been thinking about writing this book for a few years now. And that disappointed feeling has now turned into fuel. If my idea was “taken”, shouldn’t this be more of a reason to work my hardest to get my book written? I mean the longer I push this project back, the more chances another large element of my story gets snatched up and published by someone else. And, you know what, nothing is purely original, especially these days. That’s what I’ve been telling myself. So, I should run with my book. I’ll write what comes to me and leave it there. I’ve been thinking of ditching that structure anyway. Anyway, morale was down last week, and before I knew it, I was busy during the weekend spending time with family. Week 1 over.

So, why haven’t you heard from me most of Week 2? Unfortunately, I’ve been sick all week. I’m still getting over being sick, except luckily today, I don’t have a pounding headache. I had an allergic reaction that almost had me in the hospital, but we are all good now! Gotta keep pushing ahead. Today, I wrote 2,930 words to stay on track for my 60,000 words this month. According to Scrivener, I needed 2,814 words today to stay on track, and seeing my blue progress bar go from empty, to blue, to full and green was super satisfying. I was at the same café as last time, writing from 11:30 AM to 2 PM. Not too bad!

I will be dedicating at least 2 hours a day getting this word count in. I’m thinking of increasing this to 3-4 hours on weekdays depending on how busy my weekends are (they get pretty busy). I’ll be making this work, and I’m committed to completing this challenge. This 2 week setback only increased my daily count by roughly 1,000 words, which is still doable. I’m sure some days I’ll write significantly more. When I’m in my zone, it’s a wonderful feeling. I think this café is where I’ll put in most of my time. I’ve also learned that I cannot write as much in my apartment. Being out and about helps get the creative juices flowing. It’s also nice to be in a public space with other people being productive.