Day 15: NaNoWriMo 2012

And on the 15th day of writing, I discovered a new twist...

The stinkin' butler did it after all!

Okay, that's a joke. I don't have a butler in my story. I have a man-servant.

As I was writing a scene, I knew that I was getting to an important part in the plot -- the darkest point in the story, where it seems like everything is lost (called the Dark Night of the Soul in the Save the Cat! framework). So as any self-respecting writer would do, I ran away from my desk.

Sometimes, I have to get myself worked up for a scene. I need to bring as much emotional depth as I can muster. So as any self-respecting writer would do, I got a spoon and ate Nutella out of the jar.

Right then, I realized why one of my characters exhibited some physical characteristics. She had done something twice in the body of the story that just came out naturally. I didn't question it, I let it go on. But now, as I allowed the Nutella to coat my soul, it came to me why. What it really implied.

I got the energy boost I needed (not from the Nutella per se) to tie out little details that would lead to a twist in Act III. It's fantastic when the author doesn't even suspect the twist coming.

Not a marathon stretch last night, but a respectable day.

Day 15's total: 1,384
Overall: 41,705

Fight the good fight! (and get some Nutella)

Day 14: NaNoWriMo 2012

And then I got lost...

Here's the thing about mysteries: the connections, the lies, the misinformation, and misdirections can really get confusing.

As you'll recall from Day 1, I didn't really plan this project out. It was a high level plan. But maybe I should have done a bit more work on the puzzles, the mysteries and interrelations between the characters.

So I took a bit of time yesterday and drew a relationship diagram. Basic idea is that you list all the characters as bubbles. Then you connect them (one to many, many to many) and in the connection explain how they are related or what motivates their connection.

What that did for me was clarify why my silly characters were doing weird things. It turns out, my subconscious was onto something with some of the decisions it made. So I cleaned up the relations and suddenly a whole slew of opportunities presented themselves.

I violated my law of "don't revise." I went back to a couple of the chapters that had been off-course and I revised them. And I got to tell you, I love what I'm seeing. I took a step back to help move the flow, and in the process I added more words.

Day 14's total: 1,862
Overall: 40,321

Not too shabby given that this was all revision based. More importantly, I am 14 days into the 30 day event, and I have just passed the 40,000 word mark (where's my chocolate?). I'm starting to feel confident. But I won't count my bacon, until the eggs are scrambled... or something like that.

Fight the good fight!

Day 13: NaNoWriMo 2012

Lucky 13? Maybe...

Yesterday should have been one of those days that if I got in a thousand words, I would have been happy.

My wife was to come home late, so I had to deal with my little monkeys. Homework, get them to bathe, prepare dinner, and assure that they don't dismember each other in the span of the night.

With the potential outcome of the future already pre-determined, I had given up on real productivity. But something happened.

The kids were on the ball with their homework. They bathed and changed at the speed of light. Dinner was a hit. We were done by just past 6 PM. They were fed, clean, and in their PJs.

I popped in a DVD in the home office (Shorts, a Robert Rodriguez movie). So as they watched, I wrote. And wrote. Took a couple of small breaks to make pop corn, but I kept on writing and the words kept rolling out.

 By 11 PM, my head spinning, I posted this on Facebook...

Day 13's total: 7,944
Overall: 38,459

So maybe I was off on my math, but as you can see, not a bad night given that I had assumed the day would be a total loss.

You never know when you'll have these types of days. I could have written it off. But I chose to try. I chose to write.

Fight the good fight!

Day 12: NaNoWriMo 2012

After a day off on Sunday, on Monday, I was back into the manuscript...

A good, solid day of writing. But I'm a bit worried now. As I've mentioned, I'm writing a mystery novel -- my first dive into that genre. I read a lot of mystery novels and know that this genre should be no less than 60,000 words. NaNoWriMo's goal is 50,000 in thirty days.

I'm past the mid-way point in the novel and have realized that I may not have enough meat in my plot to get me past much more than 50,000 -- great for NaNoWriMo, bad for a mystery novel.

I started to panic a little, questioning why I didn't think it out further before I jumped in.

But worrying is a wasted emotion.

I got it out of my system and decided to move forward. If by the time I'm done I have 40,000 words, so be it. That's the story that was produced. However, I have confidence in my characters. I have a feeling that they'll throw a couple of curve balls soon, extending the word count in a natural organic and meaningful way.

But one thing is for sure, I will not add empty scenes, empty words, or empty subplots. A good story with escalating conflicts and deep characters generate words. Words do not create a good story.

Day 12's total: 3,880
Overall: 30,515

Fight the good fight!

Day 10: NaNoWriMo 2012

*slap to the forehead* Doh! I nearly forgot to post yesterday's update.

Some of you are my Facebook peeps and saw this post:

Yes, she did it again. My wife gave me a few hours of uninterrupted writing time. I don't care who you and what you do, without real support from those who surround you, living your dream in the face of life, becomes a challenge of Herculean proportions.

And the results?


Day 10's total: 4,255
Overall: 26,635

Remember to thank those that help you and support you. And in honor of my supportive family, I took today, the eleventh day off. I will be back on Day 12.

Hope you're doing well. Keep writing and, as alway, Fight the good fight!

Day 9: NaNoWriMo 2012

The voice emerges...

I am at the mid-point in the story and I received another great surprise. I wasn't very productive on day 8 (in terms of word count). I wrote one scene, but a real good scene. Possibly my favorite.

The surprise was the voice of my protagonist and antagonist. They've evolved and have built a unique speech pattern. Even the selection of words and sentence structure seems to be true to who they should be.

Clearly, it's always best to have this up front, but my experience is that it rarely happens that way. It'll mean that when I revise the draft, I will have to rewrite the scenes with the evolved voice. But that's okay. I actually love revising and adding new scenes. It becomes a game. I look forward to how my characters respond to the original scenes or to new ones.


Day 9's total: 1,369
Overall: 22,380


Okay, back to the manuscript. I will officially start Day 10 of NaNoWriMo as soon as I've pressed "Publish" on the blog. Ready? Laters


Fight the good fight!

Day 8: NaNoWriMo 2012

And then he did what he wasn't supposed to...

It happens all the time. My characters say and do things that were not planned. What happened this time is that it threw a monkey-wrench in the plot line. My high level plan is now out the window.

"So what," you may say. "Just delete the unplanned stuff and keep at it."

Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions in store for me. I have learned to trust my characters. I have honored their request to change my story. And between you and me... I like where it went.

Now, I have to think on the fly as to how this new plot-line will reveal itself. Or, I may just let the characters take over. Allow the inmates to take over the sanitarium. Does that make me the medium?

The good news is that it sparked new energy in the manuscript. It could have derailed the progress. And it may still derail it in the coming days if I don't come up with the rest of the path. But for now, the word count is solid.


Day 8's total: 2,307
Overall: 21,011

Fight the good fight!