Category: NaNoWriMo

NANOWRIMO Day Nine

I’d like to say I have a cunning plan, but I don’t.

I’m happily working on the final part of part two, and have just completed two of the three chapters. It was going to be two only but I’ve found that I need one more. The section is still on plan, though a little longer from fleshing out the plotline.

It reads well, but by the time it’s finished, it will change the start of the third section of which I was outlining, and going back to it, the pages now have lots of scribbles on scribbles and crossings out.

Writing the first and second sections as separate parts had crystallised how the start of the third will be written, and I find myself going over the outline for later chapters and discovering holes that can now be filled.

And surprisingly I have a very clear idea of what will be in the last section, and, in fact, I’ve almost written in my head. I think one night I’ll probably sit up and write them before it all disappears. I’m sure you all know that feeling, when the words are there in your head, and you can almost see it.

Until you wake up and it’s all gone.

NANOWRIMO Day Eight

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Ideas are muddying the plan.

As the story progresses through part two, the anticipated conclusion to this part has changed a little.

This then makes the lead into part three a lot more cohesive in terms of teasing out the storyline in the direction I was hoping to take it.

The problem is that I had made a start on the first chapter of part three but it wasn’t quite running as smoothly as it should.  You know the feeling, the words are there, but you’re not very satisfied with them.

Now I am.

This means that chapters two and three will follow without any apprehension.

However, I am getting a little ahead of myself because I still have to finish of the last two chapters of part two.

So, it’s back to work.

Do you ever feel like you’re teetering on the edge of a precipice?

I am teetering on the edge of a precipice.

Of course, literally, that might mean I’m standing at the top of a craggy cliff looking down at a bed of rocks.

One that would hurt a lot if I landed there.

But there are many ideas of what that precipice might be, metaphorically.

It might mean, in an argument, you’re about to say something you’ll regret or can’t take back.

It might mean you are one action away from turning your parent. or someone else, into a green-eyed monster, and do something you thought you’d never do.

Pushing them to the precipice.

It might mean you are one thought or idea away from solving a problem.

Like the title of your next book.

Or the formula to create a warp drive.

Or perhaps a simpler problem like where the money is coming from to pay next weeks bills.

My precipice?

The next plotline for my current NaNoWriMo project.

And, no, I’m not usually one of these writers who plan the whole novel before writing it.

But ideas like this, they just happen.

I usually write my stories in the same manner it would be for the reader, not knowing what will happen next, but it’s hard not to.

It’s cold and wet at the top of the cliff …

Damn!  Just had an idea.  Got to go.

NANOWRIMO Day Seven

Part two is proceeding.

What can be a bother is that when you’re writing, even to a plan, that ideas come out of left field, and can leave you scratching your head.

So, I’ll be honest, I’m not used to writing to a plan, more that i write by the seat of my pants. But I’m determined to stick to the plan and see how it goes.

On the ‘we’ll look at it later’ pad i write down the latest curve ball, then push it to the side of the desk again. It might get a look in during the first rewrite.

I’m still looking at part three, and while it’s the part where we bring the two together for the first time, that might happen sooner. I was scribbling down a loose outline that was leaning towards a meeting briefly after she was released.

It’s a difficult point and I think I will let the writing go where the storyline leads.

More on this tomorrow

NANOWRIMO Day Six

The first section or part is done. I think.

I had intended it to be longer, but as it pans out what follows belongs to the second part, and I have begun working on this.

There are 8 chapters so far in Part One.

This may change depending on what happens in the second part.

Of course, there are moments while I’m working on this part, and checking the plan, I can see a fork in the road coming up. It feels quirky, but then I just dropped a huge plot twist and will play this out and see what happens.

At the same time, after completing my day’s quota, I have to resist the urge to write more, but that’s just a fear in the back of my mind that I might run out of words and be staring at a blank page tomorrow.

So, looking at the plan, the third section looks like it might need a rework, and I’m playing around with several angles that might be pursued.

I think it’s time to stop overthinking it.

NANOWRIMO Day Five

Remember a few days ago I was looking at a separate first part, and that will be the case. It was not what I originally planned, but it is a work in progress.

Now, having worked on the next part, this is now developing into a section of its own too, and will serve as an introduction to the second main character. I had planned it differently, but this is better.

This section is starting to all but write itself too, which is a good sign, because I’m at over 2,000 words for the day, and the story isn’t done yet.

But, I’m taking a step back, just in case I jinx myself.

Later…

Sitting staring at the ceiling and looking ahead, a few notes for what’s coming vs what I planned, and the work so far will form part 2.

Part three is going to be the main story, where the two main characters come together, more through the circumstances of their first meeting that something that was consciously planned

NANOWRIMO Day Four

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I’m still working on the start and it’s writing itself, so the time I spent on preparation is paying off.

I have a spare hour or two after writing the chapter and start thinking about the start of the next section.   I had some hastily scribbled notes on how I think I wanted it to run, but it’s a bit wordy and needs to follow the start.

I’m going to throw the second main character in the deep end, and break his story slowly, in a series of memories.  Nothing better than to be dodging bullets in the first sentence.  Maybe.  I’m having second thoughts about the bullets.

Maybe not, but there will be something or someone to contend with.

But, back to the start.  It’s not going to be the usual interaction between the two characters, and I’m still a little unsure if the fate of either will be as I originally planned.  There’s a chance something will change, but, as we all know, that might make something else planned for later, change.

Let me sleep on it, and see what I think in the morning.

NANOWRIMO Day Three

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Overnight I had a brainstorm.  You know how it is when you start writing, you get to the end of a chapter, and thoughts turn to the next chapter, or, quite possibly the overall structure of the book.

This part I’m working on now seems to lend itself to a separate section, and I’m tentatively calling this Part One, and it will deal with a specific set of events that will lead into the start of the main story, which, at the moment will seem like we’re in a different world.

But that’s the inevitable situation when you are charting the two major characters, one who comes from the very sort of background the other aspires to get into.  When we pick up his character, it’s in a place he never expected to be and has to try and move on from there.

However, I’m not even ready to write that part of the story, and I have to get my mind back in the current game and come back to that later.

The trouble is my mind is not going to stop fretting about it, and I hope it doesn’t affect what I’m trying to write now.

Ok, Chapter five …

NANOWRIMO Day Two

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Finally, the ship got clear of the wharf, avoided a collision with a barge the strayed a little too close, and had me as captain of the Titanic, worried about people drawing parallels with the barge becoming an iceberg.

But…

I got the first two chapters done, more or less as I wanted them, but, as you would expect, once you start writing, there are minor shifts in the way it plays out.

It’s fine, however, and I’m not going change it.

The story is running according to the script, and it worries me.  You know how it goes, everything’s great until the engines break down.

Perhaps I should be more optimistic rather than pessimistic.

But, sadly, not so much written today as I’d hoped.

Smoother seas tomorrow one hopes!

NANOWRIMO Day One

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I took a deep breath and could feel the tug pulling hard on the tow line, as the ship eased away from the dock.

In other words, we’re underway!

It’s going to run like this, read the outline that refers to the section or chapter I’m about to write, let it mull in my mind and then, after several hours, sit down and write.

The start is always the hardest because you have to keep in mind that it will serve as an introduction, with some explanation, about the character, and a situation, and still hold interest.  It’s a fine balancing act and I’m not sure if I have got it exactly right.

As for the next chapter, the story is improving, and perhaps, if I’m not happy later on, I will go back and fix it, if, of course,  it needs fixing.

Just the same, we have a long way to go.