Day 5: NaNoWriMo 2012

Yesterday was one of those days that should have ended poorly, but didn't.

It is natural for "reasons" to get in the way of your writing. We are reasonable people. And we will use our reasons to stop us, slow us down, or give us an out.

As I mentioned on Day 1, I made a from-the-hip decision to write a mystery novel. As I've said, I read mysteries all the time, but that's out of love, not because I write them. In other words, I don't read it like a writer, I read it like a fan. I am not trying to pick up techniques -- What worked about that interrogation scene? What was the procedure for evidence discovery? etc.. -- I'm just reading.

Well... my story has broken into Act II now. And it became very clear that I was hitting knowlege walls. I needed research to help me with my facts. And I allowed myself to get into a funk -- questioing the wisdom of writing this story, questioning my own sanity, questioning why the sky is blue...

Then I remembered something that Stephen King said in his masterpiece On Writing. Research is for backstory. The key word is "back." He says, keep it way back. He advises, make up what you don't know. You can clean it up later.

And so I did.

Remeber this, you can't edit what you haven't written. Let the story roll. Don't let the fact that you are a reasonable human get in the way of following through on an unreasonable venture -- writing.

Day 5's total: 4,350
Overall: 14,017

As for my overall progress, I'm still on track. But remember, this is Act II. The long middle where you will hate your story, your characters, your scenes, and your third grade teacher for good measure.

Let me know what resources you use. Share your pain with me. Remember: misery loves company.

Fight the good fight!