NaNoWriMo week 1

Let’s just say this is not how I planned to start this challenge.  I started feeling sick Halloween night and by morning had a sore throat.  I spent Sunday curled up, either vegging in front of the tv, or asleep.  I have managed to write a little every day for the rest of the week, but it’s not the output I had been hoping for.  At least I am writing every day.  I’m figuring out the characters and now some of where I’m going.  Which isn’t bad. 

One thing I’ve come to wonder, as I do this challenge, is how do people write completely on the computer?  I need hard copies to sort through and fidget with.  Of course I am writing on my netbook, which makes referring back a little harder but still.  I guess I’m just old school enough that I need to feel the paper.  I love making notes on the page.  I love when I remember my editing notes.  Now if I could just remember my shorthand.  I wish I had put 2 and 2 together and recognized how shorthand would have helped my writing.  Oh and just for the clarification, I do mean shorthand, Gregg Shorthand.  Not that speedwriting crap they were just introducing my senior year of high school. 

Where was I?  Don’t remember.  I’ve been pulled a little out of story because I wanted to try on some new music, but I don’t think it’s going to work.  It’s beautiful music and I thought because the band was Native American and my heroine is Native American that it might work.  Nope.  it was a thought.  Maybe if was something more traditional?  Yeah, like I need more music on this story’s playlist.  It’s already 4+ hours long.

On the verge

Yup, that’s me, on the verge.  Of NaNoWriMo that is. 

I’ve spent this week doing little, if any writing.  I did get the bare bones outline of the story down, but the manuscript I wanted to get to 120/150 pages is stalled at 104.  Not happy with that.  I’ve got 2 more days to get some work done and I’m planning just that.  I’m currently grooving to some wonderful music (Thievery Corporation) and once I’m finally done playing on the internet I’ll switch over to my story’s playlist and write.  Yup, it can be that simple if I’d just let it happen.

Fall has returned, after that quick visit by Winter.  I’m very happy about this.  I usually enjoy Fall more, but I just wasn’t prepared for the snow.  Not that I ever am.  All the more reason for me to move onward and southward, just a little.   But those are plans for another time.

Listening to the girls or self sabotage?

I’m sitting here on day . . . 2, maybe 3 of little motivation to write.  Well that’s not true.  I want to write, on the NaNo story I have scheduled for November instead of the manuscript I have spread out here next to me.  It’s not that I don’t like this story because I do it’s just the “new shiny” is calling.  Again.  I worry about this as it’s not the first time I’ve done this.  It’s far from the first time I’ve walked this road. 

I putter way the day and the evenings, well let’s just say Winter has arrived and it’s hard to push  beyond the urge to curl up and veg in front of the television.  It certainly doesn’t help when the placeholder for the NaNo story is on tv for large chunks of the evening.  I’m distracted and coming up with excuses.  I know that.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do either.  I don’t want this story, or any story, to become drudgery.  I don’t want to resent a project either. 

So guys, what do I do?

Page count

So, I sat down with an 83 page manuscript and worked with good old fashioned pen and paper and I now have a 101 page manuscript.  All fresh and pristine from the printer just waiting to be marked up and flagged.  Okay so maybe I didn’t actually work all 83 pages.  I got antsy around page 72 so I decided to just update what I had.  It was really good to break that 100 page threshold.  The word count is 2600 and some change. 

The one thing I’m trying very hard not to get hung up on here is that my word count and page count don’t jive.  Yeah, I know, I’ve blogged about this before and I know why . . . which is why I’m trying not to let it bug me too much.  The fact that four hours after printing I’m still grinning about this says it’s working.  The other thing keeping me grinning over here is that I’m well on my way to meeting my month end goal of 150 pages.  One goal down, two more to go.

As for one of the remaining goals I’ve been thinking a little about last year’s NaNo book.  I think I need to go back to the nearly original placeholder for the hero.  It worked better in my head.  Hell, I did NaNo with “him” as the hero so it’s not like I’ve done much work I have to undo.  Most of what I have to tackle with my first read through, in December, is to take out all the flags I put in when I was going to do a major re-write (I was going to change the heroine’s career). 

Now I just have to settle on this year’s NaNo project.  I’m thinking numbers in a hat may not be such a bad idea.

Oh and I just impressed myself, with no spelling errors.  That rarely happens.

Contemplating NaNo

I’ve been thinking some about what my NaNoWriMo project is going to be this year.  I’ve been saying, mostly to myself because well I’m the only person I talk to some days, that it’s going to be my fluffy romance.  No, don’t get mad at the term, it is fluffy and I really like the idea and the fact that it’s the first story I’ve had . . . probably ever that didn’t have a tortured heroine or hero.  So fluffy is a good term.  Now I have a problem.  I’ve been thinking about an idea that was either a previous NaNo story (2 years ago) or it was when I participated in “Sweating with Sven” don’t remember.  It’s not fluffy.  I really wanted to do fluffy.  I’m hoping by the end of the month the girls in the basement will have gotten back on track (oh crap I don’t think challenging the younger Miss Bennetts is such a good idea).

So other than this, it’s been a week.  I’ve gotten a little more writing done, not as much as I’d like but life has gotten in the way a little and left me exhausted or distracted, or both.  Neither of which, is really the proper mindset for writing.  I did get a Writer’s Market book (the one with the online subscription included) on Friday.  I got post-it flags and plenty of highlighters, so I’m ready to start that research. 

I’m taking baby steps, but at least I’m moving forward.

Thank you

I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who stopped by here yesterday.   I had more page views yesterday than ever before, including the day the Michael Ruhlman linked to my blog and I really never thought I’d be able to do that just by posting a link on my Facebook account.

Okay, back to the writing.  It’s been slow today but I’m plugged in now and getting some words on paper.

Going public

I’ve been thinking a lot about my future plans, the immediate future and after having an email chat with Kim (hi Kim!) I decided I would go public with my plans here as well.  I figure the more people who know about my latest bit of madness the better, because I need all the support/encouragement/nudging I can get.

So here’s the deal.  I plan, by year’s end to have 3 manuscripts of at least 50,000 words.  The first is nearly there and well, just needs some attention (the manuscript previously known as my NaNo book).  The second is going to be my NaNoWriMo challenge for this year - I’m pretty sure I know what story it is going to be but we’ll see how I feel at the end of this month when I make the final decision.  The third manuscript is the one I’m currently working on, “Redemption”.  It’s at 11,000 and some change without my latest additions and I’m about half way through my latest “draft.”  It’s 83 pages and I’m working old school (pen and paper) to fill it out.

That is half of my future plan.  The other half is to start researching agents and start the query process early next year.    Yup, I’ve said it out loud.   Or at least the internet version of saying it out loud. 

I’ve reached this point in my life where it’s do or die.  I’ve sabotaged myself enough and I just need to dive head first into this thing called writing for publication.  I’ve been writing for myself since I was 12 and I’m not afraid to admit that was . . . 27 years ago.   Now it’s time to start writing for the world.

Yikes that was scary to put down someplace where I *know* people are going to read it.  I’m not going to spill how many other blogs I’ve had over the years that no one else ever saw.  I will admit I’m thrilled they a) don’t exist anymore and b) no one read them.  I’ve been prone to melodrama in blogs/journals in the past.

So that’s the state of things here more or less.  I also promise to get back to this blog more often.  I know, I know, I’ve said that before but I mean it this time.  I promise.

Story playlist/soundtrack

I promised I’d do this on another blog (waves in Kim’s direction) after reading another blog about soundtracks (waves at Pam).

One quick clarification.  I call the music I write to playlists because that’s what iTunes calls them.  I know others call them soundtracks but hey, this is my blog and I call them playlists.

So, the story I’ve been working on is called “Redemption.”  Started it about 5 years ago.  The playlist has changed a bit as the hero has changed but here’s the current working playlist.  Well, with one exception.  The entire album “Working Class Dog” by Rick Springfield is also a story album.   The list reads as follows:

Breathe (2 am) – Anna Nalick

Gold – Spandau Ballet

The Stairs – INXS

If I Should Fall Behind – Dion

If I Should Fall Behind – Bruce Springsteen

Secret Garden – Bruce Springsteen

She’s Always A Woman To Me – Billy Joel (this one is on the list twice, don’t know why but not changing it)

All About Soul – Billy Joel

Baba O’Riley – The Who

Into the Mystic – Van Morrison

Don’t Walk Away – Rick Springfield

Wonderland – Paul Young

I’d Die for You – Bon Jovi

Who Knew – Pink

A Thousand Miles – Vanessa Carlton

No One After You – Anjani Thomas (I’ll admit to skipping this one a lot, I think it’s out of place but won’t remove it)

Maggie May – Rod Stewart

Easier to Run – Linkin Park

Afterglow – INXS

She’s Not There – The Zombies

Let Her Cry – Hootie & The Blowfish

All I Wanted – Kansas

Manhattan Skyline – Julia Fordham

That’s it.  My working playlist, all 24 songs.  I am thrilled I’m working on this story and not, say my Vegas story or my Nano book.  The Vegas story has a 61 song playlist that clocks in at 4.2 hours.  On The Way Down (the nano book) has 68 songs and is 4.6 hours long.

Now it’s time to say to Kim *tag you’re it*

A quick post

Okay, I don’t have much to say today other than I can’t believe I let all of August go by without a single blog post.  Bad blogger no biscuit.

I had my summer swallowed up with everything else but writing, but that’s starting to shift.  I’ve had my story come back to me over the past couple days and I am about to settle in with a fresh Word document and start writing.  Or a fresh tablet and a new pen and do it old school.  Either way, writing will happen in this space today.

So, how was summer for everyone else?

Getting the hint

One of the many things (okay not so many) I’ve been doing instead of writing is watching tv and listening to neglected corners of my iPod.  My favorite show lately has been “NCIS.”  Not sure why I didn’t jump on this show when it started, it’s right up my alley.  I love military stories, I devour thrillers, I should have been on this but wasn’t.  Hey, don’t look at my like that, I can’t account for where my head is most days. 

Anyway. 

As I have done in the past with shows I watch too much of too often, I developed a character and a plot line.  Did I ever mention I considered being a screenwriter in my teens and twenties?  Yeah, I still have part of that brain at work most days.  I have partial plots for at least a dozen tv shows, did the first one when I was still in high school, for “Miami Vice” I believe.  Oh, no wait, maybe “AirWolf” was the first. 

Again, anyway. 

Somewhere along the way I developed this mindset that I can’t write certain stories.  In particular thrillers, or military stories.  So here I sit these past 2 or 3 weeks watching hours of “NCIS” daily and now I have a character in my head and a partial plot that I don’t know what to do with.  Well, didn’t until today.  I realized there is only one thing stopping me from writing the story in my head.  Me. 

Yup, I’ve had that lightbulb moment.  I’m standing in my own way. 

Now I know I can’t do anything with this story when I write it, but as an exercise it’s worth doing.  So, once I’ve written a first-full draft of “Redemption” I’ll work up an outline for this “NCIS” story and see where it takes me. 

Oh, that’s my other news, I have an outline for “Redemption.”  I’m really hoping this 47 step outline will be enough fodder for a manuscript that’s closer to 80,000 words than 30,000 like the last story.  I do not want to hit my head against that wall again.  

So that’s what I’ve been doing lately.  How’s everyone else’s summer going?