Pushing Through

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So... long time, no blog. What with working through, and spending the statutory holidays with family or spring-cleaning, there hasn't been much writing going on either. But those excuses aren't really true. What I am experiencing amounts to a serious case of...

WRITER'S BLOCK

There, I admitted it.

Generally I've had no problem filling a first draft with potential scenes. I get almost to the goal word count, then have to fill in some stuff, which gets me past the word count, and then I trim some stuff.

This time it's different. My muse left the building sometime around November 25th, and it hasn't come back, except for a few small spurts. I'm writing a historical romance. I have the romantic plot down, basically. But my characters don't exist in a vacuum, and their world needs serious fleshing out. This is not supposed to be a category romance. I already have one sub-plot which seriously impacts the main one, but I was hoping for another (which will mainly affect my hero's journey). I know what type of thing I want it to be, but I don't know what it is. I have spent many hours wracking my brain. I have expected solutions to start dropping in my head the way they usually do (i.e. when I'm not at my computer), but nothing.

My brain has also been crammed full of travel research and planning, as we are off on a big trip in just over six weeks. That's real life - it must take priority. The fantasy world seems to have fallen off the margins of my brain.

This is why I only have 46,000 words, when I had intended to have 60,000 by the end of 2011. I am still striving to finish the first draft before we leave for our trip at the end of February. That's 5,000/week, including this one.

And how do I plan to get there? Purely by writing something... anything. I finished NaNo with just over 40k, and I have inched my way up to 46k a few hundred words at a time - fleshing out existing scenes, adding bits and pieces and occasionally thinking of whole new scenes. There are a couple of scenes I have scant notes for that I can expand on, but beyond that, it's all unknown territory.

I have to have faith in the process. Even just by working through some early scenes where we meet key minor characters, I have learned more about these people and gained some inklings as to what role they could play. No major insights yet, but I just have to keep going, keep pushing, until I can literally not squeeze out any more words.

I could just give up, but that would be heart-breaking. I know I've only devoted a few months to writing this project, but it's been an idea in some form for years, and I just adore some of the scenes I've written. Plus I think the hero and heroine I've created are pretty special (my humble opinion!). I really really want someone else to get to know them and root for them as I do.

Even just writing this blog has made me feel a bit better. Onwards!

Happy New Year, by the way. I have a good feeling about this one.

Bits and Bobs: NaNo Numbers, My Scene Layout and a Kiwi Christmas

First, I forgot to comment last time on the NaNoWriMo wrap up stats. It was a boost to my confidence to find out that the average word count per writer was only 12,000, and only 14% of participants got to 50,000. Suddenly my 40,000 seems pretty good. So take heart, fellow NaNa-not-quite-winners, we still did well!

It's interesting looking at their map - it's mainly only English speaking countries, with basically no-one from Asia, Africa or South America. It would be cool to see NaNoWriMo grow into other languages in the future, don't you think?

***

After my last post about writing on my scenes on notecards, I laid them out on the floor to see how many scenes are in each act. And here's how it's playing out so far...

So Act 3 needs a little work! And Act 1 is only supposed to be 1/4 of the total, so that speaks my need to build in more plot complications in the middle. It will be interesting (for me anyway!) to see how this looks when I'm done.

***

And for my followers in the northern hemisphere, here's a fun little video which illustrates what it's like to enjoy Christmas in this part of the world.

Surf and sand by day... Christmas lights by night!



The only downside is that you have to be seen in your swimming attire after eating all the yummy seasonal food!

I will probably take a break from posting over this period, so Merry Christmas everyone! Remember the things that matter.

NaNoWriMo Follow Up: Taking Stock

Well, I should have written nearly 10,000 words this month if I'm to get to 20k... but I have written *cough* 1,100 *cough*. It's been a mix of recovering from sickness, catching up on housework and gardening, and booking some more things for a big trip we're taking next year. I have been thinking about the novel, just taking a break from writing like a mad woman.

What I have done, which I've never done before, is note down every scene on note cards. Well actually they're a mix of memo cube paper and little rectangles I tore up when I ran out. I've read on several writer blogs that this helps with plotting and structure.

I ended up with 52, which I found pleasing in a geeky sort of way, because that's the same as a deck of cards. It also means that if I write an average of about 1,000 words per scene, and I want to finish with about 80,000 words, that I am well over half-way. I still only have 41,000 words, but there are still quite a few scenes in note form.

What I can do now is lay them out and try to see how they fit into the three act (four part) structure, and see where the main gaps are. I've noted whose POV each scene is in, so I can see if one of the characters is getting too much air time. And when I'm trying to figure out the order of things, I can physically move them around as I ponder without having to cut and paste the actual words.

It also meant finally reading through everything I've done, which I didn't have time to do during NaNo. And I like most of it, which is good :-) My hope is that one day someone else likes it too.

I still have a few key plot elements to uncover (Stephen Kings "fossils") which should help to make up at least half the remaining scenes. I had three new scenes burst into mind (which made up the 1,100) after I'd turned the light out the other night, so I know the spark is still there. It would be so easy to keep resting from it, now that I'm probably past the most 'fun' parts of crafting the book. But I'll persevere and drive myself forward, because I know I can. The fear is that I won't do justice to my idea, that the scenes I've written that I love, and I'm pretty sure are good, will be balanced with mediocrity or worse. Time will tell I suppose... onward!

Do you use any techniques to help plan or chart your novels? What works for you? Will you finish your NaNo novel?

The End of NaNoWriMo: No Cigar This Time Around

Well, it's over. No more feeling that niggling constant pressure to keep up with the 1,667 words. No more mounting inadequacy as I watched the gap between the goal and my progress yawn wider apart. And now, more time to ponder my story rather than having to frantically plow forward.

Shortly after I posted my week 3 update, I decided I would try to reach 40,000 rather than 50, and even so it was a bit of a stretch for me given my illness. This was still a great personal achievement, given that I thought 30,000 was what I'd probably get to at the start of the month. I'm also proud of the fact that I didn't just keep writing drivel for the sake of it. I want to keep most of what I've done. I worked seriously on scenes that move my characters and the plot forward.

I worried that I'd run out of steam because of not getting ideas fast enough, but that didn't happen. It might have happened if I had managed the time to get nearer 50,000, but as it was I always had something to write every time I sat in front of my laptop. Necessity forced me to think of more 'what ifs' and 'when thens', at a faster pace than I normally would. And there's still a lot of thinking, planning and writing to do. I'm only half way through the word count for the book, and I didn't succeed in writing chronologically either, so it's a case of filling in the blanks and discovering more about my minor characters and plots. I already have lots of questions and plot problems I need to solve. I'd like to think I can manage another 40,000 in December to have a finished draft by the end of the year, but I think 20,000 is a more realistic goal. The second half is always the hardest for me.

While I registered with the official site, I didn't use many of the tools. I didn't use the forums, but I did read the pep talk emails and watch some of the videos in order to feel some solidarity. Many bloggers I follow cheered me on (whether they knew it or not) and I was heartened when some revealed they weren't keeping up, either. The best part of the official site for me was updating my word count and seeing the graph inch closer to the goal. I smiled last night when it told me I had to write an average of 9,600 words to finish on time.

My actual average was 1,344, but if you take out the days when I didn't write at all, it was 1,493. Not too shabby, especially prior to this last week.

If you NaNo'd, how'd you do?

Week 4 summary:

Day 25: 0
Day 26: 2707
Day 27: 626
Day 28: 850
Day 29: 177

Day 30: 964

Total word count (MS Word): 40,157

Total word count (NaNoWriMo verified): 40,331

And here's the official stats:

NaNoWriMo: Week 3 - The Dreaded Lurgy

It's kind of ironic that Lindsey's week 3 pep talk inferred sickness might slow us WriMos down. As I sit here, I frequently pause to cough my guts out and soak several tissues. I haven't slept properly in over a week, wheezing through the night, and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open at work.

So how is NaNo going? Well I haven't caught up, as you might expect. I'm toiling on, accepting the fact that I won't 'win' but I will have made significant progress. 40k, which I'm confident I'll get to, is half the length my novel should be.

There are still big plot and character gaps, but I have made quite good progress on new scenes for the main romantic plot arc. I still have parts I can flesh out before I have to do more real thinking ;-) I was hoping to do said thinking on the weekend but I'm not getting any better, so long naps and trashy TV might be the order of the day around other commitments.

Last night I got several good ideas/phrases in my head just as I was dropping off the sleep, and of course my foggy head couldn't remember them today (just mediocre remnants of them). I had a notebook next to my bed and everything, but I just couldn't summon the will to move or turn a light on. If I ever am a full-time writer, I think I'll be quite productive just after lights-out, when I don't have to worry about getting up for work. That and early evening, when I've told my brain it has to focus on making dinner and other chores... so it bursts into creative life.

Enough rambling from me - shower and to bed! I hope all the fellow WriMos out there are in a healthier state!

Week 3 Summary:

Day 16: 1778
Day 17: 1723
Day 18: 860
Day 19: 0
Day 20: 2541
Day 21: 1401
Day 22: 2030
Day 23: 1006
Day 24: 792

Total: 34,833
Target: 40,000

NaNoWriMo: Week 2 - The Plot Thickens...

... but not as much as I'd like. After one day of having zero time to write, and another of limited time, I'm a little behind! And I'm not sure if I can keep up the pace without further time to contemplate the plot and characters. I'm excited about some of the scenes that have dropped into my head, but I need a lot more. We shall see how much further behind I fall. I did always think 50,000 words was a trifle optimistic. It does feel like the half way mark of a marathon.

And that's all for now!

Day 8 - 1461 words
Day 9 - 1851 words
Day 10 - 1554 words
Day 11 - 0 words
Day 12 - 2075 words
Day 13 - 1895 words
Day 14 - 844 words
Day 15 - 1832 words

Total - 22,702 words
Target - 25,000

NaNoWriMo: Week 1

*comes up for air*

Yeah, that's what it feels like! How is everyone else doing in the trenches? I have to admit I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed, but still trying to keep up. Whether I keep up for the month is still a huge question mark. Even if I finish with the 30,000 I originally talked about, I'll have achieved a lot more than I would have otherwise.

My NaNo effort started poorly. On day 1, something else came up that I had to attend to with my husband, so not a word was written. I tried to catch up on day 2, but I just fell short of one daily word count. By day 5, the mounting shortfall had me quite uncomfortable, so over the weekend I sort of cheated by pulling in some scenes (or scene ideas, which I then wrote) that I thought of prior to November. Even that didn't catch me up. Today I wrote 2,500 words, so I'm just 500 shy of the target. Another 2,000 tomorrow and I'll be there - but today I already had quite strong ideas about what I wanted to write in an important scene. I have probably five other scenes like that in my head... and then what will I do? *wrings hands*

The problem is that scenes generally occur to me organically, and not in order. And trying to rush the process like this might be counter-intuitive. If I run out of ideas, I won't be able to keep going. As I predicted, writing consecutively (chronologically) is also a struggle. I banged out chapter 1, because I already had a pretty good idea of what that needed to be, but then chapter 2 descended into scrappy notes and character brainstorms. I know I need to keep working on developing the story including minor storylines, but for now I need to write the scenes I know exist and hope the intervening chapters come to me (or that I get time to think through them properly).

All the advice I'm reading says, "Don't try to make it good, don't edit, don't research, don't try to form a proper book - go back later and fix it". I'm realising this flies in the face of my instincts... I want to make my sentences or word choice correct from the beginning, and I hate leaving paragraphs that I know won't make the cut later. For now they have to stay, so that they can lead into the next thing. I also can't really "free-write" as such... I do have to have some idea of what a scene will achieve before I start. Perhaps that will come as I get more desperate towards the end!

So, another three weeks. This seems like madness, but it's a madness I very badly want to abide by so that I can achieve something special. I already have those nagging doubts (maybe this isn't special at all, and it only has 20,000 words in it), but I need to persevere just in case there's a real book in this idea. This whole writing thing does seem incongruous sometimes.

Week 1 Summary:

Day 1 - 0 words
Day 2 - 2407 words
Day 3 - 1454 words
Day 4 - 1384 words
Day 5 - 1019 words
Day 6 - 2411 words
Day 7 - 2515 words

Total = 11,190
Target = 11,669

It's The Final Countdown

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How is everybody doing this NaNoWriMo Eve? What sort of tricks are you planning so you can treat yourself later? ;-)

As for me, I had a lovely relaxing weekend away, during which I did some research and a little bit of plotting, but mainly just let my brain rest to prepare for the onslaught. I feel excited, listless, a little overwhelmed.

Today I need to assemble my thousands of words of notes and scene snippets into some kind of order, and finalise a structure to work to based on what I've learnt about plotting. I'm looking forward to further fleshing out the characters' families, motivations and conflicts as I write. Here's hoping the muse keeps up with the pace, filling in the plot holes with fantastic ideas as I go... wishful thinking? We shall see.

So the NaNo regime will require some discipline during my evening/weekend hours...

• Very little or no reading blogs
• Hardly any tweeting unrelated to NaNo
• Blog posting probably only related to NaNo progress, unless something else spontaneously occurs to me
• No perusing silly videos, daily deals, surveys, competitions, and other random stuff on the internet
• No 'unscheduled' TV viewing
• Reading time limited to train commute

What are you sacrificing for NaNo time? Do you feel ready?

P.S. Can you read that subject line without getting this song stuck in your head for hours?

What's In A Name?

I'm continuing to shape the characters and their arcs for my historical romance, and I'm itching to get started on proper drafting on November 1. I still don't think I'll have a full outline by then, because I get a lot of my ideas as I write. I'm just going to have to take a leap of faith that I can generate enough ideas during the month to see me through.

One thing I do want to have sorted though, are the main characters names (at the very least). With some stories, the characters come to me with their names. Not so with this one. When I first started sketching out scenes, I did have a tentative name for the heroine, but her character has morphed so much since then the name no longer fits. I have toyed briefly with a couple of names for the hero, but nothing has stuck. So in my notes they are mainly just "hero" and "heroine"... which is, frankly, lame. I want the names to reflect who they are (to me, anyway), and for minor characters I'd love to be clever with symbolic names or sounds which illustrate their personalities.

I'd like to believe I'll know the protagonists' names when I see them, so the plan is to expose myself to as many period-appropriate names as possible, in the hope a first name-last name combo with magically stick. There are some helpful resources for first names and last names, and this site is a bit of fun. I've started to make lists, but I think it'll be a few more days before I have time to evaluate my favourites. I can't see myself plunging into the draft without them, so fingers crossed I work it out soon!

How far could you get through a MS without names for principal characters? At what point does the name become part of the character? What are some of your favourite names in literature?

Planning Progress

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Planning for NaNoWriMo is progressing, somewhat. I have figured out a lot about the personalities of my two main characters, and I have a pretty good idea of how their relationship grows and changes throughout the story. My hero's motivations, stumbling blocks and growth are clear in my mind, my heroine's less so. I have a fair idea of the setting, though I've only just started researching beautiful English tourism websites and I'm going to enjoy finding out a lot more. I will also need to research a lot more around the little historical details that will add realism, and possibly spark plot ideas.

Speaking of plot, this is the main grey area at present. While I know where my characters need to get to, I'm a bit stuck in giving them things to do. I know this will come, but pushing it to come over 50,000 words in one month is a little daunting. I'm keen to have little (and a few large) secrets revealed, which surely do require some planning? The other main gaps right now are most of the minor characters. That, and names. But I think I'll write another post about that later.

However, I am pushing fear aside and gearing up mentally for NaNo. See the participant's logo in my sidebar? :-) I have the bare bones of several scenes written - those that just wouldn't leave me alone and I'm excited about. The challenge for me is the discipline to write all the scenes chronologically, without cheating and rushing through to the climactic scenes I love to write.

What will be the biggest challenge for you during NaNo? (apart from time constraints, obviously!)

Considering NaNoWriMo

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Everyone is talking about NaNaWriMo. For once I'm at a place with an MS (i.e. in the very early stages) where I might benefit from taking part. As you can see by the little counter on the right, I'm nearly 5,000 words into my new historical novel, with those words being a mix of scenes and outlined chapters from throughout the book (though mainly the first half). I could use some motivation and support to get into the nitty-gritty and get the thing really going.

I'm a little worried about having to be quite so consistent though, as I'm really more of a pantser. Sometimes I'll write like a crazy woman as scenes roll through my brain uninterrupted, but other times I'll need a few days or a week to mull over particular plot arcs or characters. The time away is required for the next bolt of inspiration to strike.

Before November 1 I'm going to attempt to do a more thorough outline, so that I have some kind of roadmap. The problem is that most of the time I get my ideas for future scenes as I'm writing, or in the mulling time afterwards. Plus sometimes when I'm outlining I can't resist writing scenes, and then I have to go back afterwards and fill in the gaps. Being able to say what happens throughout the whole book before I do any proper sequential writing is unlikely. It would be nice if my process could work that way, but I can't really see it working.

So I don't think I'll get near the 50k, but maybe 30k will be a good goal for me. 30k for 3 months and I'll have a finished draft. 

Apparently the next step is to register at the official site... but I'm not sure if that will be counter-productive, as the forums may just turn out to be a distraction? And I might feel like an under-achiever when I don't crack the 50k. If you've done it before, would you recommend registering? Have you "won"? Did you end up finishing and/or submitting the novel?