Finally reached the end of the month and came out a winner
With my winning certificate, the third in three years.
And the chart with the number of words written for the 30 days.
There will be more when the novel is finished in the next day or so.
Category: NaNoWriMo
NANOWRIMO Day Thirty
It’s the end.
The last day, but not the last of the story.
Yes, I have almost managed to complete novel in 30 days, but with a few side trips, and changes to the plan on the run, it is mostly written.
The good news?
I’m going to stick with it until I’ve finished, so there will be a few more journal entries to cover the last chapters.
Had it been the length I had originally planned, it would be finished.
I managed to get through the back chapters last night after some distractions, and now its just two, possibly three more, and then one or two for the epilogue, which will be epic.
At the moment the story is about 73,000 words long and will finish closer to 80,000,
It’s been at times a trial, a lot of hard work, but it has been worthwhile. Without the push that NaNoWriMo gives us, it might never have happened.
It’s now three from three, books that will eventually be published.
NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Nine
I’m in the middle of writing a new chapter, one that goes back a little in time, but helps set up events that occur later towards the end.
And true to form, it’s going a little off track.
There is scope for it to be a pivotal point in the story but it’s not quite working out that way.
I’m doing this while I’m waiting for my usual Friday grandchild collection from school. Here I have to get here a half hour before puck up time to get a favourable position in the queue.
So it’s a good time to do some writing.
And it’s where I work on one of my stories matched to a photo as inspiration.
Not today.
There are pressures in getting the NaNoWriMo project finished and it’s getting away from me.
This part is not as easy as I hoped, so back to the job. Hopefully there will be better news tomorrow
NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Eight
I never thought I would get to this point, where there’s almost a complete novel.
It is quite remarkable that it is possible if you decide to focus, to get a novel out in a month.
What it does tell you is that proper planning is really a necessity if you want to succeed.
But…
It’s not the be-all to end all.
I’m not going to stop flying by the seat of my pants, but it’s given me another insight into the writing process.
I’m up to the business end of the story, and it requires concentration, and, it will not be the first time I have written a page or two, gone back to reread it and make an adjustment.
I have to be careful not to be overly critical. After all, it is only the first draft and I’m not looking for, nor should I be expecting perfection.
It won’t be, but I can always hope.
NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Seven
It’s interesting that no matter how much you outline and plan a chapter, when it comes to actually putting words on paper it doesn’t quite run the way it should.
Last night I toiled over the chapter that has the first of the plot twists.
It’s been writing itself in my head, and I’ve been making notes to supplement the plan and take those notes into consideration.
But…
When I wrote it, the first time around, it didn’t seem right. You know what that’s like. It’s not the second guessing thing, it’s not the being over critical thing, you write it, walk away, get a coffee, or in my case a large Scotch and soda water, and go back.
You either tell yourself it’s utterly brilliant, or at the other end of the scale, complete rubbish.
I was somewhere in between, and the cat, who was skulking nearby suddenly found himself a captive critic.
I read it out loud, he made weird faces, and, yes, I could see what was bothering me.
Three hours later, past two in the morning, it was in better shape than I was.
NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Six
Today went well, the book is now almost writing itself, such is the benefit of outlining.
I’m almost sold on the planning idea, but that will sort itself out next time.
It gave me time to go back into the NaNoWriMo website and see how it works now after so-called improvements.
Apparently there are post 50,000 word goodies, and l finally figure out where they are.
Interesting…
I’ve already got Scrivener, actually when I completed the task last year I took up the offer. There’s others, like Novlr, and Babble, and another for those into fantasy writing.
Seeing it makes me think it might help with a TA story I’m three quarters of the way through.
Enough revelling in printing out my certificate to go with the other two.
It’s time to get back to the current project and finish it.
NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Five
Having reached the milestone of writing 50,000 words plus, it’s not the time to hang up the pen and think the job’s done.
It isn’t.
I still have a few more chapters to write, to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.
That I’m still not quite sure about, but I have one conclusion I’ll write and then later if I think of something better I’ll substitute it.
That isn’t to say the end won’t change when it’s time to make a second pass at the manuscript.
Other than that things are going according to plan. This means, I guess, that writing to a plan can work even for someone who doesn’t usually use that method
I will be considering this to plan the sequels for the two series I’m writing at the moment.
But, not to get ahead of myself, I have this project to finish.
NANOWRIMO – The target is reached
That’s right, 50,000 words, well, 50,496 to be precise.
And the novel isn’t finished yet, so I’ll continuing, and updating the word count until the end of the month.
And, that, of course then shows the certificate which I will have to downland and fill out.
NANOWRIMO Day Twenty Four
I was writing Chapter 29 and suddenly I had a bad feeling. You know the sort of feeling you get, you’ve forgotten something, or there wasn’t a lead into an event which will feel like it came from nowhere…
I’m having one of those moments.
Damn.
I’ve forgotten something.
So, I stop writing and bring up the last eight chapters and start reading.
No, nothing I’ve forgotten. But there is something.
No point going on. This has to run around in my mind for a bit while doing something completely different, like painting a ceiling.
True, I’m in the middle of painting the dining room ceiling and put it off to get on with the project. The project has hit a speed hump, so it’s back to the painting.
Halfway through the roof, it comes to me.
A basic error, of not making sure all of the points are covered in the story otherwise the reader will say, ok, you said that back in Chapter 18 and now, why haven’t you realised that something’s going to happen because of your negligence.
I know what it is.
And it will require another chapter.
But first, I have to finish the painting.
NANOWRIMO Day Twenty Three
The story continues.
Chapters 23 through 28 are done and we are on the home stretch.
There are seven days and hopefully seven more chapters.
I have finally decided on how it’s going to end, and he’s not going to finish up with the one he thought he would.
And another twist that no one will see coming, even though there are hints.
I have in mind how this will play out in one of the last three chapters, and there is a devastating truth that comes with it, one that is going to be hard to understand for one of the two main protagonists.
Such is as it should be.
And then, there’s the James Bond type ending.
