As of the twentieth, National Novel Writing Month is open for validation of our fifty thousand words. I had such great plans to be done by this time this year. I'm still in the running, but I'm lacking words. Big sigh here.
Once again, I've learned so much. I learn about discipline first, then about story structure, not theoretical story structure, but my story structure.
This year I boldly started a new project before finishing the last project, and, since this new WIP depends on the previous WIP, I am fast digging myself a huge hole. It's a great hole, but it's truly large and in charge.
Never mind all of that. I'm still laughing and gaily typing. It's not like cooking where once you've added you can't remove. Since I like to play and test various hypotheses, cooking isn't often one of my strengths unless I have time and ingredients to start over again, or tart over again, as the case may be. With NaNoWriMo, I'm not so fussed. I just leave the scene in, highlight it and head in a different direction. It helps me learn not to be such a perfectionist and to rely on my abilities in creating scene, character and plot and then re-creating all of them through editing after November.
There's the fabulously exciting first week. I started a novel. This is me typing on MY NOVEL. This is my word count growing. It's so cool and so odd. Voices in my head come out to play. All those imaginary friends I had when I was young, they live again, and I always want to hold that first week for a few extra days, to savor the breathtaking freedom of it. It's like getting a new little red wagon; like the shiny happy days filling it and carting stuff around, building worlds and carrying treasure, oh, and did I mention, playing, absolute tumbling, laughing, flying, rolling, playing.
The second week inevitably brings panic. I have a slim structure (not me, my story). I've enjoyed the first week. I've donated and purchased my t-shirt, but I need more scenes. The characters want more action. Questions set in. Is it good enough? Is there enough tension? Does the setting work? Is it a novel or a short story? Are the stakes high enough? I have to force myself to keep writing without editing.
The third week is resignation, but I keep chugging. This story will need so much work when I'm done. I won't even be able to finish the first draft before I fix a few things.
So how am I now? Glad you asked. Still learning and gearing up for camp NaNo. I never think I've done the thing correctly. Probably because I haven't.
This brings me to my point, yes my end point. 😟It's a silly thing, really. I pre-purchased a winner shirt this year and last year. I think I've always purchased one, but up until last year, the great NaNo folks didn't send a shirt until I validated my novel. I figured it was just expedience or a glitch last year. I won last year, but not really, because my fifty thousand words were on two separate projects. I wear the shirt anyway. I love NaNo. I simply can't resist.
This year, I had just decided I needed to suspend work on this project and spend some time planning and return to my original project, when, what to my wandering eyes did appear, my winner's t-shirt. Yikes. Do I wear it knowing I've gone rogue? Probably I will, because, I simply can't resit NaNoWriMo. Now, back to my fifty K, rogue or not.
Thanks for reading. Happy Thanksgiving. Bev
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