50k! Whoopie...(not so enthused)

I finally reached 50,012 this afternoon and should be excited, but this year it feels like a very hollow win.

As I've said before, this was not my best NaNoWriMo. I was unprepared and far too busy (life, work and being sick just got in the way). Still I pulled it through eventually, but due to my sluggish progress all month I have left myself with a lot of work.

Rewriting Icarus has definitely been a test in what works and what doesn't. I made a lot of little changes from the first version to see how they would affect the story. Some have been surprising and successful, while others not so much. The negative of all this is that when it doesn't click, I get reminiscent and bitter. And I slow down.

Thankfully December is NaNoFiMo (but I'd be writing anyway even if it wasn't) and like last year, I'll write until the novel is finished. This time I hope it will be done before Christmas. Some of my tasks should lighten up in the coming month and even work should be manageable so that I can really dedicate myself to my writing.

So I will not look at the end of NaNo as the end (even though it sometimes feels that way)...it's just the beginning.

Nanowrimo draws nigh

So it's October, which means NaNoWriMo is less than a month away. I'm both excited and nervous, but that's usual I think.

I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing yet, which is partly why I'm nervous. I'm also nervous because my laptop's keyboard is still messed up and if I don't take it into service soon, writing during Nano will be a chore indeed [currently using an USB keyboard, balanced on my knees, just type this and it's rather silly].

So this pre-NaNo season starts with a dilemma: rewrite my old NaNo "Icarus" or start something new. I think this is definitely the first time I've ever considered doing a rewrite for NaNo. In the past I would think of it as cheating, but after all the adjustments and changes the plot has seen during the past year it's almost like a new novel.

However, I spent nearly a year thinking about that story and sometimes we need a little break. So that is where the other story comes in. It's me trying to runaway from "Icarus" a bit--adult, lighthearted [near verging on silly] and unscripted. It is a story that will most definitely fly by the seat of its pants.

So it should be a "no brainer" right? Well it isn't. In fact I'm torn. Part of me wants to use NaNo to finish "Icarus" and make it reader ready. Another part of me wants a break from the serious--some fluff to keep my writing skills strong.

And that brings me to the third option of writing both at the same time. It's quite an endeavor for sure. But I've seen people max out 200k during NaNo [one person did 50k in a day], and I managed to knock out 80k last year. So I think with a good solid start I could probably aim for 100k as a goal [so about 50k+ each story].

Is it possible? Have others written more than one novel during Nano?
Hrm...I've got some thinking to do.

Til next time.

The state of things

So you'd think I'd have more done, but somehow when I'm less busy I find myself getting less done. Not to say that I haven't been thinking about the novel--actually I think I've been thinking about it a little too much.

I've dissected, come up with alternate options, gone down bizarre paths, which has basically taken me further away from a finished outline/layout and back into the realm of theories and ideas.

But as November draws closer, I hope that will change. I have been buckling down quite a bit and should have an idea of where the story is heading before NaNoWrimo rears it's ugly head.

As for Nano itself, I will definitely be taking a hiatus or at least putting this novel on the backburner so I can work on something else. Something less serious, a bit more adult (as far as the MCs are concerned) and far more by the seat of my pants. In short, I plan to come up with characters, motivations, the main conflict and a basic idea of the world they live in--nothing more. No set plots or outlines. I will use dares to hopefully lead the way.

All in all, it should be a very eventful November.

Don't call it a comeback...I've been here for years!

So things are moving along in my little noveldom. I've finally broken 60k and intend to reach 75k before Billy's arrival on Wednesday night. There are so many things left to write it isn't even funny. Olivia is on the brink of running off and starting the major climax of the story. So as the days of NaNo draw to a close, I wonder to myself why oh why did it take so long to get to this point?

For one, my inner critic is really hard to shut up. Sometimes she's helpful and creates some great paragraphs and narrative. Then I have to remind myself that this is Nano. My critical friend can shine after this is all over when I'm editing. But sometimes, I just can't force myself forward.

Secondly, self-doubt is always looking over my shoulder. And I begin to worry. Is my story interesting? Would someone want to read it? Are the characters flat? Are they realistic? I haven't a clue because I spend nearly all my waking [and sometimes sleeping] moments with them. My dear boyfriend has been unfortunately subjected to temporary beta as I've been writing--just so my ego can get enough boost to continue writing.

Of the two, doubt is far more dangerous than my critic. Because doubt may be silent, but it acts like a poison and it slows you down. So I need to say goodbye to my poisonous friend and realize that half of what is being written by myself and others will be complete drivel until it gets the editing it deserves. The point is to get it out. And I will.

Always be prepared

I started this journal so I could document my progress as I try to write a 50,000 word novel during Nanowrimo. I attempted last year but was badly prepared. I failed at 2k, mostly because I wasn't entirely sure where my novel was going.

This year will be different. I've spent that last 2 months brainstorming plot ideas and during October I'll be compiling a book of character profiles, world building info [it may be an original world] and fleshed out plot points. I figure that if I think about all of this now I'll be immersed enough in the story and characters that I can BS my way out of any writer's block.

Hopefully this year I'll finish.

We'll see.