Tag: NaNoWriMo2020

NaNoWriMo – Day 9

With the first three sections down, I’m now onto the fourth, the series of events that kicks off the quest.

I’m juggling a lot of characters at the moment, and it’s getting difficult to get the time line of each event, and character, in chronological order. I don’t want to have a character at two events when it is not possible.

So, slowing down the process, I have implemented a chart, much like a spreadsheet, detailing events, characters in it, and when. Overall, there is a timeline, so I can see when two events are happening at the same time.

And this is hard to put to words because only one scene can be written at a time, and sometimes this makes the story a little disjointed. I’m working on how to minimise it, and make sure everyone ends up where they’re supposed to be, before, during, and after.

So much for that.

Something else I had in the back of mind, one of those thoughts you have just before going to sleep, and thinking about the next part, I think I will make a slight change to one characters motivation, the one I had in mind for a while doesn’t fit the new narrative of the new chapters written.

I guess it happens, as you proceed, things change.

NaNoWriMo – Day 8

I have roughly written the first 3 sections of the story now, about 16 chapters of varying sizes, and I’m up to the cataclysmic event that sets the real story in motion.

I sometimes find that setting up the story can sometimes take longer than writing the part I really wanted to get to.

Equally, I sometimes find that I will write a chapter, or piece that is further on in the story, because inspiration for that seems to fill my head rather than for the part I’m trying to write.

Oddly, sometimes when I finally catch up, it fits right in, perfectly.

And sometimes it doesn’t.

But this usually only happens when I have roughly mapped the story out in outline form, which, because I want to get this finished, I have done.

Progress today was excellent, and I’m pleased with the parts I’ve done, or revised simply because when I was looking at it, it didn’t look right. Perhaps I’ll be less fussy as the time runs out and there’s much to be done.

For the statisticians, I wrote 1,782 words today, for a total of 17,439 so far.

NaNoWriMo – Day 7

I don’t feel like this book is getting anywhere fast, but I have managed to complete the first and second sections, after a fashion. Some editing is going to be needed.

That basically gets the introductions to the principal characters out of the way.

Now, it’s onto the a rather horrible few chapters where there’s fighting, death, mostly death (those who saw The Princess Bride will know what this means) and general mayhem where in the confusion a daring escape is made, and a mission of utmost importance is carried out.

And this before the real story gets underway.

The next day or so will tidy these chapters up, and then we can get onto the fun part.

For the statisticians, todays effort was 2,551 words for a total of 15,657.

NaNoWriMo – Day 6

I’ve turned my sights on the other side, what might be called the bad guys. Oddly what was going through my mind was the old Hollywood maxim that bad guys wear black, and as I was writing their introduction to the story, I had two if them definitely dressed in black.

It also speaks of dark times that are coming, and might easily be mistaken, at the beginning, of just another storm front that heralds the cold and bitter winter.

And it also sows the seeds of what causes a certain event that invokes a period of upheaval in the realm, and those that are major players at the outset, and some who find themselves thrust unwillingly into fray later on.

There will be other events before we get down to the main story.

As for the logistics, todays word total is 2,028, for a total so far of 13,106 words. Progress is being made, but today was a little difficult.

NaNoWriMo – Day 5

Progress is good, at least we’re heading in the right direction.

It’s curious what you think about when you’re creating characters, and then breathe life into them.

Like Marigold, who is loosely based around my eldest granddaughter, who likes to toss a bit of inspiration into the mix. She wants Marigold to be a vain, annoying, abrupt so and so, much like what she calls the rich kids who have too much time and money on their hands, and a deep contempt for the plebs as she calls them.

Royalty, much like movie stars, well some anyway, are demanding, greedy, and difficult. Well, that’s Marigold from the start. It doesn’t mean she won’t learn a few life lessons soon enough, but she will be the proverbial fish out of water.

Ophelia is a lot different, the explorer type, not exactly Dora the explorer, but my middle granddaughter liked the idea of her being a scientist, or in those days of yore, an alchemist, though back in those days people often though of those type of people as witches or worse.

Then there’s James, who had his story charted today, the Prince who would be king, one day, He has an enormous responsibility on his shoulders, an the burden of having to meet expectations that he believes are far beyond his capabilities. He’s 18, needs to become a knight, and a leader, and sooner rather than later.

His biggest enemy is his fear of failure.

Well, there it sits for the moment. We have more characters, but the real story is about to begin, and the children of the crown are about to be tested.

The boring stuff: A total of 2,794 words were written today, some joyfully others with difficulty, for a running total of 11,078.

NaNoWriMo – Day 4

With a head start last night which gave me the inspiration to write this section, I was able to finish it off and get it down.

Actually, I’m quite pleased with myself in that regard, but disappointed in the fact I didn’t get time to work on the next part before tomorrow.

Too many other distractions, like elections in other countries, though I’m still wondering why it had any interest for me.

One thing that has surprised me is the lengths some people will go to trash another candidate, and that, to me, is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Surely there’s another way to make a point, like point out all the problems that will happen with policy decisions, or the fact there are no policies.

Anyway, the next few days will be in the news, no doubt.

Thank heaven we don’t have any of that nonsense here. We just call both leaders and the politicians idiots, and vote for the one whose policy aligns with our views, and let them get on with their boozy lunches, affairs, and childlike spats in the parliamentary chambers, and hope, eventually, something gets done.

Just in case you were wondering, today’s word count is 2,480, for a total so far of 8,284 words.

NaNoWriMo – Day 3

I’m pleased because I managed to get the part of the story I wanted done, and make some headway into the next.

I have decided on a little more of an introduction to some of the characters, and just a little insight into the main character, Princess Marigold, a child really, even though she is deemed to be of age in their land, and how there are redeemable qualities, only she spends more time proving she has none.

That, of course, will only last for a very short time, because a calamity is coming, and she will be in the middle of it.

Next, will be an introduction to her younger sister Ophelia, who is anything but a Princess. She is the workaholic, pain in the neck kid who asked too many questions, and then questions the answers. She will have a role to play, but it will not be as straightforward as it might seem.

She, too, can be thought of as ‘strange’ as some kids are, but that is for a specific reason, and you will have to wait to find out what that is.

So, back to work, I have an hour, at least, before the day is up and a head start on the word count may come in handy further down the track.

NaNoWriMo – Day 2

Today, things go better.

I had to go to the hospital with my other half for an appointment with the doctor in the fracture clinic as she has a fracture in one of the tips of her fingers. Nasty and painful.

But….

As with any hospital when they say your appointment is a ten am, when you sit down the sign on the wall says that a wait of up to two hours is possible, just in case any emergencies turn up.

So, time on my hands, it’s a perfect opportunity to write. Especially after she is sent to X-Ray, and kind of disappears. A tenuous text connnection keeps me informed of the wait time, and apparently the loss of her ticket to get the X-Ray, but staff are tracking it down.

Meanwhile back in the fracture clinic…

The story is going well, far better than I thought it would, and by the time she returns from X-Ray, an hour and a half has passed and I’ve got 1,200 odd words written.

I should come down here every day and write!

When I get home I transfer the words to the main book file and then meld it into the text already there, make some alterations to accommodate the new plot line, and presto, 1,746 words are done for the day for a total of 3,928 words so far.

I’m on target, but, as everyone knows, targets are there to be shot down, and I’m just hoping mine won’t, for a while anyway.

NaNoWriMo – Day 1

Well, as expected, the day did not go well. I guess this might the price I pay for trying to be prepared, and have a plan.

For me, things rarely run to a plan, no matter how minutely I plan everything.

Because this is in part, some old writing that was loosely brought together to become a story, and because I took the week before this started to get all of those pieces in some sort of order, when I sat down to begin, I got the legend sorted out in my mind, and then found the next piece of writing was slightly different.

In plot, and the position.

I discovered, after an hour of toing and froing, that some more was going to need to be written in between, so with a sigh, and a little anguish, read forward some other pieces, and found that it might be easier than I forst thought.

Six hours later, the sun setting, and the heat going out of the day, I took a break.

The day culminated in 2,182 words written, read, and reread again, just to be sure. Of course, after I’ve finished and the editing starts in earnest, it’ll be quite possibly a different story.

But, for now, I’m happy with my progress.

This year’s NANOWRIMO

Once again, it’s into the fray come November 1.

This year, I will not be necessarily starting from scratch though it will feel like it.

Since my eldest grand daughter was about 5, now nearly twelve years ago, I’ve been promising a YA chapter book about a princess, based on her.

She seemed to like the idea of being a royal pain in the neck, which is what I said she would be in the book, but, by the end of her adventure, she will have transitioned from spoilt brat to a woman worthy of becoming a Queen.

A long time ago, when my wife was in hospital having an operation, my daughter who is also the editor and mother to said princess, and the princess herself were sitting around in the hospital room waiting for my wife to return from radiology, and decided to come up with the quest said princess had to go on.

Thus, over the next hour, we came up with a lot of different ways to make her ‘suffer’, ten in fact, because at the end of each ‘trial’ she had to collect a magic stone, ten altogether, which had to be arranged correctly to fulfil the prophesy.

And, of course, save the realm from destruction.

Yes, there’s always some sort of world threatening calamity behind every quest.

And since then, she had become unofficially Princess Marigold, and the title hovering between The Dark Horse and The Legend of The Dark Horse. Or maybe, when it’s finished, something else.

Over the twelve years I have been writing bits and pieces, and in the last month been putting it together in a single file, as well as a synopsis, and, God forbid, a plan, which I found quite by accident, and we must have put together on a forgettable day in 2015. That’s the date on the file.

So, come November, it’s back to it, and hopefully it will be done by her 18th birthday, in September next year.

At least now, she had grown so much, that she will be able to dress up as the princess, and feature on the front cover!

And, as each day passes, I will trying to keep everyone informed of my progress.