It is official! Everywhere in the world, National Novel Writing Month, affectionately called NaNoWriMo, has begun. The next thirty days are going to feel like a sprint for all of those participating, including myself. I have not participated in NaNoWriMo in, apparently, five years. Even that was not a great attempt. Considering that I was starting a new story for which I had not my homework or any preparation whatsoever, it was probably doomed to failure from the start. I didn’t even know what I was writing about. For those of you who are able to write without a topic and stay motivated to write fifty thousand words on it, good on you. I am not that person.
This year, however, I have a plan. Having mapped out Book Two on paper (so to speak, it’s a spreadsheet), I can jump in at any point and write. I have written up to Chapter Five, but the problem there is that it was written fifteen months ago without an inkling of who the voicing character was. That combined with trying to keep a secret hidden sucked all the interest right out of the story. Nothing even really happens. All that has to change — and it isn’t going to do so during NaNoWriMo. What needs to happen in Chapter Five is an overhaul. There are a couple of other chapters that are already written, in part or full, between Five and Eleven that need some help too. So, to avoid all that mud and editing during a time that is supposed to be dedicated to writing only, I’m avoiding them altogether. The prose is there and it isn’t going to mystically, magically grow legs and walk away in the next month. So I am starting with Chapter Eleven and moving forward through the narrative.
I started last night and can tell that my mind was mostly just open and dropping information on the page. It is a bit fragmented as far as the storyline, but I think it might actually work. Eleven is told from Aron’s point of view and he is supposed to be easily distracted when he isn’t working with his hands. This writing supports that. Obviously, some editing is going to come into play down the line, but for now, the words are flying onto the page. I basically have to buy time until the “somethings” that will happen in Eleven ultimately do. It is going to be fun.
I will keep you all posted of my NaNoWriMo progress, but for now, I’m 1538/50000. With such a good jump on things for the moment, I’m going to take care of some of my other homework in finishing some critiques on Critters Workshop. Until later, Genesians.