Tuesday, November 11

NaNo Status Update, Day 11

Hit 19k words tonight. I think I've lost my plot. Has anyone seen it? It's about yea high, not particularly bright, a bit clumsy, with a few half-hearted twists.

If seen, please call the number on its collar (1-800-MYPLOTSUX). I'd offer a reward, but...eh.

Seriously, though, I'm at that point. YOU know. That point. Where you kinda maybe sorta know what's happening next, but it's all vague and nebulous in your mind? And you think that maybe it's stupid? And you wonder why you're even doing it? Oh yes, and you start thinking that your narrator's voice is a little (read: a lot) uneven? And you kind of wish she'd just stop complaining? Yes, yes. You know. Well, I'm there, baby.

But the beauty of NaNo is that, instead of letting your Avoidance Troll guide you, you just have to step right on him (squish) and take the lead. No, no--don't listen to his muffled pleas as he squirms under your boot--he has no control over you. We are not operating under normal circumstances here, people. We've gone...NaNo.

I've also reached another milestone in this (insane, inane, ill-advised) endeavor. I dreamed about my book. Never done that before, until last night. That's right, after no less than four novels, one of them invaded my subconscious and made things very interesting while I slept. Probably, I assume, because I spend so much time thinking about it during the daylight hours. So now I don't even get a break when I'm sleeping. Dammit.

And this was one of those dreams that woke me up in a cold sweat. My character--I have new sympathy for her. I haven't really been very nice to her, but it's for her own good. And as I promised on twitter last night, I will bake cookies for her when this is all over.

Oh, speaking of cookies...I can't stop eating. Pretty much ever since NaNo started. If I see it, I eat it. So, even if I don't finish my book, I'll have twenty new pounds to show off, come December 1. Um...yay?

Speaking of which, I think I have some Doritos upstairs...better get on that.

Keep writing, everybody!

P.S. Came up with a nice idea for a post-NaNo celebration post today, which I will be working on throughout the month. Keep an eye on this space come early December.

2 comments:

  1. Your twitter feed is asking me for a password when I load this page. I just hit cancel, but still.

    When I'm stuck, I think to myself, what would be totally unexpected? And then I do it. Have the villain show up, bring the ex-husband on the scene, have the character do something slightly crazy--those sorts of things are wonderful cures for being stuck. You can sort it all out in the second draft.

    Of course, I'm still sorting all this stuff in my own novel, but it helped get that first draft done in just a few months.

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  2. Hm. I made my twitter feed private, that might have something to do with it. Might have to change that back.

    I actually had a stroke of luck--or reversal of stupidity, if you want to look at it that way--and found some old notes I made for the story. I'd completely forgotten them, and there was actually some good stuff in there. So...I found my plot, or at least the next several scenes!

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If you don't feel that you are possibly on the edge of humiliating yourself, of losing control of the whole thing, then possibly what you are doing isn't very vital. If you don't feel like you are writing somewhat over your head, why do it? If you don't have some doubt of your authority to tell this story, then you are not trying to tell enough. --John Irving