It's coming down to the wire for NaNoWriMo 2011. Even though I hit the 50K-word count mark a few days ago, I'm still trying to treat this as a hit-quota-per-day adventure as I move into the second arc of the story. There's a bit of catch-up characterization for the main protagonists, here, since I'm jumping forward some in time, both for them and their romance.
Right now, LibreOffice says I'm at 53,834 words, while the NaNo word count validator says I'm at 52,357; there's a discrepancy there because of the way that LibreOffice sees curly-cue quotes (and I have a lot of sympathy for writers with more dialogue than I do, who were confused by that discrepancy!), but I'm pleased with where things are headed, now.
I'm taking a little bit of time to let my protagonists have some happiness before I drop them into the next big conflict...but that is coming, and soon. I think I'll keep this 'blog through my progress, even if it's not daily updates, because it's interesting to look back and see how far I've come with this story.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
[NaNo 2011] Day 29
Starting the second arc of the story has been more difficult than I was expecting it to be. I could just jump right into the main conflict...but I want to do some happy stuff. I know that it's not conducive to keeping a story moving, but this is a romance story, and I feel like if I'm just speeding my characters along from one conflict to the next, the reader will feel like they're on an emotional rollercoaster.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Monday, November 28, 2011
[NaNo 2011] Day 28.2
Not only did I finish Chapter 6 (and Arc I) at lunch today, but I also completed my NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words written in November!
It feels a little bit anti-climactic, since I know there is more of the story to write, but that will definitely not stop me from enjoying this feeling until I get the chance to write again. :)
[NaNo 2011] Day 28
Apparently, the NaNo novel validator does not like the way that LibreOffice does its word count, so while LO tells me I'm above the 50K mark, NaNo is telling me that I've still got about 500 words to go. That's fine, though; I'm not quite at the end of Chapter 6 as of this writing (though I'm really, really close).
This first arc has been a real joy of an experience for me to write. I feel like I've come to know Ross, Amber, Neville and the rest in the last twenty-eight days just as well as I got to know Chie and her friends over the course of nearly three years. Their voices - however conflicted they might sometimes be - are so clear in my head (and on my page) that I shouldn't be surprised at how easily they often flow from my brain to my fingertips.
I really want to see this one through to the end, which is one reason why I'm seriously considering making December Finish Novel Writing Month, or - perhaps more directly accurate - Finishing Fearless Writing Month. (FiNoWriMo? FiFeWriMo? I'll have to work on that!) I feel like I owe it to these sweethearts, though. And I want to keep building their world around them, if that includes the original outline or not. They just feel that special to me.
Here's to another successful day of writing...and, just maybe, validation!
This first arc has been a real joy of an experience for me to write. I feel like I've come to know Ross, Amber, Neville and the rest in the last twenty-eight days just as well as I got to know Chie and her friends over the course of nearly three years. Their voices - however conflicted they might sometimes be - are so clear in my head (and on my page) that I shouldn't be surprised at how easily they often flow from my brain to my fingertips.
I really want to see this one through to the end, which is one reason why I'm seriously considering making December Finish Novel Writing Month, or - perhaps more directly accurate - Finishing Fearless Writing Month. (FiNoWriMo? FiFeWriMo? I'll have to work on that!) I feel like I owe it to these sweethearts, though. And I want to keep building their world around them, if that includes the original outline or not. They just feel that special to me.
Here's to another successful day of writing...and, just maybe, validation!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
[NaNo 2011] Day 26
While I'm almost at the 50K mark as I write this, what is even more important to me is that I am absolutely coming up to the end of the first arc of the story, now...! Just a bit of arc-ish denouement, and I can start work on... dun dun dun! ...Arc II! (That just happens to be the main thrust of the story. Of course.)
I'm really happy with what I've accomplished so far, though. I haven't felt such love for characters in a long, long time, and I feel like anyone who reads this will read it because they enjoy my writing and the way I shape relationships within my worlds, rather than because they want to see how I do or don't screw up a pre-existing universe of characters.
One of the things of which I am often accused is being too descriptive. I can't really help it; that's just the way that I write. And I personally like description, especially if it helps relate aspects of the characters - and the way they interact - without using a lot of dialogue. (Not that there's anything wrong with telling a story through dialogue. Except that it often ends up being just that: telling.)
With this paragraph, by the way, I hit 49445 words, just a bit over 500 shy of the NaNo goal of 50K. Four days early, even!
49445 / 50000 words. 99% done!
Of course, it's still all about the story.
I'm really happy with what I've accomplished so far, though. I haven't felt such love for characters in a long, long time, and I feel like anyone who reads this will read it because they enjoy my writing and the way I shape relationships within my worlds, rather than because they want to see how I do or don't screw up a pre-existing universe of characters.
One of the things of which I am often accused is being too descriptive. I can't really help it; that's just the way that I write. And I personally like description, especially if it helps relate aspects of the characters - and the way they interact - without using a lot of dialogue. (Not that there's anything wrong with telling a story through dialogue. Except that it often ends up being just that: telling.)
They took once more to the bed soon after, caressing and cuddling rather than seething and grinding, because Amber hummed that she wasn't quite ready for sex again yet. Though it was still enjoyable even so, for it gave Ross reason and opportunity to concentrate on all of the tiny subtleties of her form: from the webby skin between her toes (that was very ticklish when he played his tongue there), to the shallow hollow of her navel (in which the smell of soap lingered wonderfully when he pressed his nose there), to the sensitive inner ridge of her ear (which made her belly cringe and her nipples harden when he blew a string of suggestive obscenities there).
With this paragraph, by the way, I hit 49445 words, just a bit over 500 shy of the NaNo goal of 50K. Four days early, even!
Of course, it's still all about the story.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
[NaNo 2011] Day 24
It is Thanksgiving Day here in the US, and I'm supremely thankful for many things (my family, my health, my loved ones here and overseas), but - at the moment - I'm most thankful for my husband and my girls, who allow me to get up early in the morning (and stay up late at night) just writing, without any expectations on my time or attention. When I want to write, they let me write, and I'm very thankful and grateful for that.
In NaNo news, yesterday saw the (fourth attempt) at the end of Chapter 5 (Of Princes or Devils). It's also the attempt that worked the very best to my satisfaction.
I know that NaNo is about "writing with abandon" ... but I can't allow myself to write just any old crap simply to get the word count up. I want to tell a good story, and so the end scene of Chapter 5 gave me a lot of trouble. I wrote it at least three times - never to my own expectations (or, seemingly, to Ross's and Amber's, since they kept demanding I go back and change things) - and struggled with flow of actions and motivations. I did finally get it to a wonderful point of completion, though (again, four drafts in). It's a lovely if painful moment for my would-be lovers, and it (hopefully) bridges nicely the end of the NaNo novella experience and the beginning of the second arc that will carry it through to full-fledged novel.
Working on Chapter 6 right now, which is feeling so much better with the latest write-through of the end of Chapter 5. This should put me over the 50K mark. Also, as I mentioned, it should finish up the first arc of the story.
I think I'll put these first six chapters out for proofreading once I'm done and working steadily on Arc II. So, if you're interested in a read-through, let me know.
In NaNo news, yesterday saw the (fourth attempt) at the end of Chapter 5 (Of Princes or Devils). It's also the attempt that worked the very best to my satisfaction.
I know that NaNo is about "writing with abandon" ... but I can't allow myself to write just any old crap simply to get the word count up. I want to tell a good story, and so the end scene of Chapter 5 gave me a lot of trouble. I wrote it at least three times - never to my own expectations (or, seemingly, to Ross's and Amber's, since they kept demanding I go back and change things) - and struggled with flow of actions and motivations. I did finally get it to a wonderful point of completion, though (again, four drafts in). It's a lovely if painful moment for my would-be lovers, and it (hopefully) bridges nicely the end of the NaNo novella experience and the beginning of the second arc that will carry it through to full-fledged novel.
Working on Chapter 6 right now, which is feeling so much better with the latest write-through of the end of Chapter 5. This should put me over the 50K mark. Also, as I mentioned, it should finish up the first arc of the story.
I think I'll put these first six chapters out for proofreading once I'm done and working steadily on Arc II. So, if you're interested in a read-through, let me know.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
[NaNo 2011] Day 22
Rather than writing some long post about not playing by the NaNoWriMo rules of writing with abandon, I'll let today's bonusparts_fic Twitter feed speak for me:
With pain, scrapped ~1800 words today. But Ross and Amber just didn't want to cooperate. Thankfully, they're being much more accepting, now.
and, two hours later:
This scene I #amwriting is so much better now than the last 4 times I wrote it. #nanowrimo #Fearless http://bit.ly/vyEEJa
Lost a bit of momentum with the wordcount...but the story is much more to my satisfaction.
With pain, scrapped ~1800 words today. But Ross and Amber just didn't want to cooperate. Thankfully, they're being much more accepting, now.
and, two hours later:
This scene I #amwriting is so much better now than the last 4 times I wrote it. #nanowrimo #Fearless http://bit.ly/vyEEJa
Lost a bit of momentum with the wordcount...but the story is much more to my satisfaction.
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