The Lost and Glorious Cause

So, I lost NaNoWriMo 2011: my novel lacked the 23,691 words needed to turn that wordcount bar purple. Am I disappointed? Not really, because I met my goal: I'm still not convinced that I should stop writing. And like everyone at the website and blog are saying, those of us who didn't make it (losers, to say it outright) have a bunch of words we didn't have a month ago. After several months of unimpressive consecutive writing, I am satisfied with my 26,309 words from these last 30 days. 

I hope that that didn't sound too defiantly self-justifying.

The novel did take on that told-of life of its own, with characters switching roles and places of importance being the most surprising surprise. I stayed in third person narration, too, which maybe wasn't too wise: MC's internal monologues are abundant.

I plan to continue to write every day until this novel is done. Bonne chance to all as you finish, rewrite, or edit your literary masterpieces!

Mia

A song for this second day December:

Day 11

My relationship with my novel is comfortably dispassionate. It consists of a good balance of a lot of likes, a few loves, and one or two hates.

I've had a lovely week writing it. My word count is yet behind, but as far as the story is coming along, I like it. My problems are either rather small or quite large. Glossing over them or veiling them behind bids for extra words is working alright.

Problems I'm Encountering:

~Transitions between scenes. Page breaks when I feel finished/bored with a scene are as artful as they've been.
~Themes & philosophies: Exactly where should I draw lines on issues like power for the people or submission to authority? It's something I'll need to sort out pronto.
~Character arcs. I'm in the dark as to what they are shaping up to be, if they're even shaping up at all. 

Problems I'm Not Encountering:

~Progression of plot-shaping events. Writing these are exciting. They lead to most of the ungraceful tranistions, but writing them gives me a jolt. I love that.
~Worldbuilding. Aside from place names and the role of surnames, things are going swimmingly.
~My MC's personality. Yes, her arc is still being thought of, but on the day-to-day scale, I like her.

This lovely photo of Cate Blanchett comes very close to how I imagine her, if she was a couple of years older (my character Nym, not Cate):

via

I'm getting to close to the end of the chain of events that I had planned over the spring and summer. Hopefully, I'll have 25,000 words by then, and after that  . . . the great unknown. My excitement is mounting.

Current word count: 14,295. Only 4,000-some words behind.

Happy 11.11.11! I still need to decide what amazing thing I should do . . .

Day Four and Ideas That Weren't Supposed to be Used

via

Ever since last December, I planned to adhere to the No Outline Rule. No preconceived ideas about who or where or what the story would be about would be allowed into my mind. I thought it would be a big help and stress reliever. Inevitably, a couple weeks ago I started toying with ideas for characters and a theme. That would be okay, I thought; vagueness means flexibility.

Come Tuesday, I was hesitant to start. Almost afraid. It had to happen though, so I wrote the first lines and knew they were a mistake. For the first one hundred words, nothing felt right. Nothing. I didn't have the patience to let it pass, so . . .

 . . . I ended up throwing caution to the wind and used the idea that's been in my head since last March. The novel I was supposed to outline and write over the summer but never did. The one that I thought was so cutting edge, until I learned about Estonia's relationship with communism and read the Hunger Games. It took me while, but I have accepted that new ideas really don't exist and it's good to reinvent stuff. Now that I'm willing to be flexible, not main stream, and reinventful, it's a mixed bag of historic eras and radical themes.

I'm only on page 24. Things are bound to change. I think I like it.

On a more desperate note, I hopehopehope that it turns out!

Tuesday: 1298 words
Wednesday: 2042 words
Thursday: 1191 words

Total: 4531

Woefully behind, but determined to let this happen.
 
My to do list:
~Stop comparing this year to last year
~Stay caught up in math class
~Do some word sprints this weekend
~Keep being flexible. Even though it's a preconceived idea.
~Improve my handwriting. (Ha - probably won't happen just yet.)

It's Friday night. And I'm off to repair that wordcount.

How are the rest of you doing?

Writing Sisters and Loaded Arsenals

Is it . . . Friday already? These weeks go by so fast, I feel short of breath.

The other night, my sister and I got talking, and our conversation led to a plan to write a novel together.  The next day I got out the laptop and showed her the basics of Word. She is bound and determined to learn how to use that computer, and it's fun stuff to watch her. Right now, she's spending more time comparing fonts than actually writing, but I think we'll reach take off soon. The two of us will write this novel, but she'll be the principal contributor. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

The arsenal

On a NaNo note, I have my supplies for the month in order. I plan on writing the novel by hand, as the laptop in my possession is rather heavy and gangly, and I'll want to be able to write at school without having to camp out in the computer lab. And of course, the laptop will be otherwise employed by a precocious nine-year-old girl. :) So I have a handsome black notebook, new Sharpie pens and G2s, and a little calculator all lined up. I can't wait to use them, but . . .

. . . I'm also nervous; there are so many difficult assignments going on in school, I still haven't the foggiest about what I'm going to write about for 30 days, and my parents aren't overly pleased about my upcoming foray into a novel. The odds aren't in my favor, but I still have this ambiguous determination to do this thing! Thousands of Wrimos cope with way more than I have to cope with. I understand now why Ellyn included the Emerson quote a few posts back.

My motivation and excitement have fluctuated greatly over the past week.

My goals:
~Write every day.
~Write something I am proud of.
~Be happy that I'm writing! It'll be good to grow in the sport.


Next time I sign in here, I'll have an actual writing log + wordcount to show.

Oohh . . . there goes one of those stabs of excitement. *grin*

~ Mia

PS - Three days!

The Week

It's Day 2 of my mid-semester break, and I'm living it up - two days off of barrages of homework and assignments can do wonders for a person's morale.

But I must confess that even through this respite, I haven't committed myself to any writing. Ellyn, I cat-vacuumed. But here is some good news: I went to the library yesterday. Friends, it had been weeks since I indulged in a leisurely stroll through that hallowed hall. I picked up some books for research for the November novel, too. So far, my ideas have been pretty circular and dull, but reading up on illegal immigrants and mathematical curiosities has bolstered my inspiration. I'm conjuring up a rather eclectic cast of characters for the novel . . .

Also, a major news item: I finished The Hunger Games series. I liked all of the first book, the first half of the second book, and the last chapter and epilogue of the third book. They're an altogether harrowing ride; could you imagine actually living in them? Katniss Everdeen is one formidable person.

And for your Internet reading material pleasure, here's an article I came across on the merits of giving NaNoWriMo the college try. I definitely like this authors compassion for us Wrimos; we need every bit of it. *dramatically long-suffering sigh*


Enjoying October,
Mia