Tuesday, November 22, 2011

NaNoWriMo Update


As of last night I was sitting at 35,122 words, which for the first time was actually slightly ahead of pace. I need to power through the weekend. I can't believe that I only have until next Wednesday to get to 50,000. That's panic inducing.

How's it going?

It's a holy mess is what it is. It's all out of order; the style and tone are wildly inconsistent; it has gaping plot holes and loose ends that I'll need to find someway to tie up later; my wrists ache from typing, and I should probably be working on it right now rather than writing this.

On the other hand, I've learned a few things.

I've learned the value of the label "first draft". It doesn't need to be perfect. In fact, it can't be perfect. I just need to spew out everything I can and later, once I know what the story actually is, I can go back and get rid of the stuff that shouldn't be there; add in the stuff that's missing; shape the tone and style; and do all that stuff that makes it a novel. Right now I'm just pooping out a pile of clay. Later I can shape it into something.

I've also learned, or really remembered from the last time I wrote a novel, that writing a novel is a lot like reading one. I want to keep working on it because I want to know what happens next. Sure, as the author, I have some idea where it's going, but that's not any different than reading a novel. You always have some idea where the book your reading is going. The interesting part is how it gets there.

Ok, I need to get back to writing or I'm going to let all that hard work to get caught up slip away.

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In 1789, the governor of Australia granted land and some animals to James Ruse in an experiment to see how long it would take him to support himself. Within 15 months he had become self sufficient. The area is still known as Experiment Farm. This is my Experiment Farm to see how long it will take me to support myself by writing.