NaNoWriMo Day 30 – And this sucker is DONE!
Going berserk, literary-style
I know it’s been a while, but to be honest with you, I haven’t had much of a life these last few weeks. Tonight, after much toiling, many hissy-fits and many very late nights, I past 50,000 words with barely three hours to spare until pens down. NaNoWriMo 08 is over. I can have my life back again . . . well, almost, anyway. I spent the morning sewing costumes and had dress rehearsal all afternoon and I really didn’t know if I’d get that last 1,000 words in but I did, they’re there and I have the nice little winner image to look at like it means something.
As far as the work itself goes, well, it sucks. The story got incredibly stodgy after so much major drama happened in the beginning before petering off into an extended anti-climax of main character angst. It sounds silly, I know, but I found losing Rubi really hard and that really brought me down creatively. Once past that, the story picked up but still it wasn’t right: despite some good gains in word count, I still couldn’t get entirely in the flow and lose myself in it like I had in previous years. Tonight I had an epiphany around 7pm (thanks for that, brain) on how to fix the plot without starting from the ground up again, but it would involving too much rejigging to start now. Despite the suckiness of it, I think with second drafting this one could really go somewhere, especially if I leave the angst at the door, work in the revenge plot and just add a whole lot more sass to it that only started to evolve in the last week.
What else did I learn this year? NaNoWriMo and social life don’t really mix. It’s a harsh reality but a true one – I tried to be a bit more balanced life-wise this year and keep in touch with people but after a fortnight it was clear that it just wasn’t going to work. My brain can’t handle switching off from novel-mode and switching onto friend-mode. To tap into that deep subconscious flow where the words just flow out and the plot all comes together, I really have to go it alone.
And discipline. I guess that goes hand-in-hand with the above, but I definitely know I pissed around a lot more this year and my writing definitely suffered. It started to get to the point where I just loathed what I was writing, so instead of writing it back to being good again I just avoided it, making it worse. So next year, the hypothetical whip is out again and I’m working hard for my writing.
So what now? Getting through my concert is the next thing on the list (costumes, rehearsals, so many little things still to organise . . .), and after Christmas I’m going to try to get across to Adelaide to see my grandparents and maybe take some time out for myself on the way home, then I’m going to get my flat ready for another bunny. I miss Rubi so much, and I thought about getting a pair of rats as they’re easier to look after but there are so many bunnies in the shelters I can’t justify getting rats from a breeder when there are rabbits out there in dire need of a home.
Oh yeah, and my NaNo reward – my next tattoo! Stay tuned for details . . .
NaNoWriMo – Day 2
Counting, counting, counting . . .
Day two and I’m doing ok. Not as brilliantly as I expected, but yesterday was a little crazy. I got a good 1,000 in just after midnight, and another 1,300 in the morning before heading off to Bollywood class. I had a sewing day at one of my Bellydance teacher’s place afterwards, and figured I’d be home by six to get a lot more done. Guess that shows how little I know about sewing . . . Got home around nine-ish, was in bed within two hours and no extra words written.
After a monumental sleep-in this morning and a bit of bumming around I’ve got a bit more down but I was hoping to already be past 5,000 by now. Food, I’ve come to realise, is a big issue: since I don’t really have any at the moment, I’ve noticed writing when hungry just doesn’t work – it turns into playing flash games while thinking about food. I think I’ll go for a quick walk then consider going grocery shopping. Or maybe just go down to Lentil as Anything and go shopping tomorrow . . . I don’t know, it’s all too difficult . . . Either way, I want to get myself some decent, properly-nutritious food so I don’t get that brain-drain thing happening again. It’s no good for anyone when that happens.
NaNoWriMo – T-60mins
So, we’re nearly there and I’m not that much further along than I was last time I posted. It’s been a crazy few weeks – applied for a job, got an interview for a job, didn’t get a job, work’s been stressful, bellydancing full-on, tried to catch up with people before a novel eats my November and I’ve had a few Worth contests to boot. So I’ve pretty much spent *no* time on my NaNo prep, although I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Last year I went crazy with preparation beforehand . . . well, not as crazy as others who virtually write another 50,000 in notes, but crazier than what I normally would and by the time I was a quarter of the way through writing I had disregarded most of my notes anyway. This year, I’ve been stewing on the idea for the best part of twelve months so I’m confident my subconscious is in control. I’ll get myself a notebook for this novel tomorrow, but otherwise not a single pre-novel note, plot, plan or scheme has been written. And it feels good.
I’m in my last hour now before I can start, I’ve got a cuppa brewing and I’m bumming around on line – I can’t wait . . .
NaNoWriMo – Day T -25 (Counting Down)
25! Ah ah ah! 25 days to go!!
Twenty-five days to go ’til NaNoWriMo and I’m already starting to think seriously about what I’m doing. Tonight I sacrificed doing the dishes for such thinking.
Sticking points so far:
- Title – if only Dark Water wasn’t already a Jap horror . . . Provisional title: Disintegration. Pros? It’s fitting, given that I’m going for a dystopic bend on the speculative fiction thing. Cons? Don’t want people to think I’ve gone to The Cure for inspiration.
- Character Names – Main character is currently Abigail. Was going to be Eleonore, until I relised that’s what I named a fairly crucial secondary character last year. I like Abigail, and I like those old fashioned names, but it’s also the name of the chick from Playing Beatie Bow and a friend just told me her new niece is named that. Oh, and is it too much of a stereotype to name a hooligan/shitbag character Jaiden? I hope not, ’cause the name really fits.
- Ending – um . . . I don’t have one. I’ve got a kick-arse opening, though!
I’m not too stressed at this point. I know from past experience that a lot of this stuff smoothes itself out once I get writing, and often while I’m in the thick of it new paths and connections make themselves be known. Last year I started the month feeling really under-prepared yet came away really impressed with what I came up with (especially some really tight sub-plots I hadn’t even thought of before I started writing). With two solid weeks off work to start the month off, I’m hoping to settle into the pace and the world of the novel much quicker than last year.
All up, I’m really looking forward to it 
By the way – Day light saving in early October?! Who’s bright idea was that?! I’m jetlagged already.
