NaNoWriMo ends but Whirlpool continues

It's late and the time is ticking. The NaNoWriMo contest will end in a matter of minutes but the novel will continue. I have to say that despite my inability to get to the required wordcount of 50,000 words, the effort has definitely not been in vain. Had I not entered, I would not have picked up the story and I would not have taken it out to Donald Maass's workshop earlier this month in Albequerque. And had I not done that, I would not have developed the idea into the bigger, bolder story that it has become.

I find most writing efforts are rewarded one way or the other. This one has resulted in 26,727 words. Not too bad.

And had I not entered the contest I would not have been interviewed for the article.

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Back again but the wordcount eludes me

My dad is out of the hospital and I've returned home but the words elude me. I confess I'm way too tired, too exhuasted to even try to tap out a sentence or two on the keyboard. So it looks as though my early hopes of completeing a novel this year have dwindled. But good things have occurred so making the effort has been a good thing.

More later.

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Just a quick note--Life interrupts

Unfortunately I received a call early this morning requiring me to take my dad to the emergency room. He's been admitted to ICU and it looks like I'll be there and with my parents until he's able to return home. I doubt I'll be able to make any posts until then and plans to work on the novel will probably be derailed.

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Tomorrow the holiday begins and the writing gets serious

I'm really glad the holidays begin tomorrow. Most of the day so far has been getting ready for four days off at work. But in the background, I can feel WHIRLPOOL churning.

I did manage to do another 567 words today.

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And then the fire starts

Have you ever been writing a scene and end it on a sudden high note with an incident that you had not planned? That happened to me before during the writing of my teen novel, Divided Loyalties. I was cruising along, the plot humming, and suddenly I had a full-fledged fire on my hands and the end of the chapter. I had absolutely no idea what to do next. So, true to form, I decided to sleep on it. The next day I had a character call the fire department and quickly put the incindiery incident out and went on with my story--allowing for a few new twists and turns along the way.

Something similar happened today. I've ended with an abrupt insight into one of the characters that is totally new. The plot thickens; the word count climbs.

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News to report

Here's a little tidbit of news. I've been interviewed by a local reporter for a story she's doing on the NaNoWriMo contest.

Time to get back to story.

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Missed opportunity

I've just realized I missed the local signing and an opportunity to meet a lot of other NaNoWriMo writers. Chris Baty had come to down the other day and I had planned to attend his signing. Somehow in all the rush to get the latest newsletter off to the printer I completely forgot about the event.

I wish I could say it was because I was plugging diligently away on my novel. True, I did write but still not at the level I'd need to in order to make the count. I'm just shy of 20,000 words.

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Distractions

While I've managed to get another 500 words done today, I've been distracted by some issues relating to the recent release of my teen novel, DIVIDED LOYALTIES. I've spent most of the day researching inventory questions and the bookstore chains. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better writing day.

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Thanksgiving is on the way

I've suddenly realized that the Thanksgiving holiday is coming up next week. That's great news and really offers me a chance to do some heavy-duty writing and play catch up with myself for the contest. Imagine, four days to simply write.

Time to continue the story.

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Word count growing

The word count is growing but not at the pace I'd hoped when I first began this blog. I've also realized I haven't been going to the NaNoWriMo website and posting any of the updates. Right now I'm at 15,328 words, far from where I want to be but further than I'd first thought after my return from the Maass workshop earlier this month.

Finally a beginning is in sight

I'm pleased to report that I've finally caught a glimpse of a possible new opening. It definitely means the pages I wrote early on will go the way of fodder, but they've served a purpose if only in that they've gotten me to this point.

I've had to revisit the story and take a good look at how it's changed and redefined its core. It's the same story but it's not. So now I need open the action earlier and allow the reader a chance to get to know the characters more. That sympathetic link needs to be forged between the reader and the protagonist.

This feels good. I'm back on track now.

Although I doubt I'll finish the required wordcount for the NaNoWriMo, I've definitely done the right thing in rethinking the process and going the way of writing out-of-sequence scenes and details for they've helped sharpen my image of the story. I'll press on.

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Backending into story

Usually I begin a story and it tends to go chronologically from the first page to the end. Usually. But there are times when the front door refuses to open. Those are the times when I have to go in search of open windows and unlatched back doors.

I find I'm at one of those places now with WHIRLPOOL. Since I couldn't get purchase on the new opening, I spent the last day or two writing up notes and allowing them to trigger scenes and snippets of scenes. A rash of dialogue here; a break-neck speed scene there. It's not a neat and clean, tidy way to write but it works.

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Rule number two: watch out for the universe

I believe it's Joseph Campbell who talks about the danger of announcing your intentions to the universe. It's a bit like waving a red flag in front of a bull: within seconds the bull charges.

Often announced intentions bring sudden changes and unexpected events that may, no matter how hard you try, throw you off target. With the new unveiling of a Whirlpool-on-steroids concept, I found it hard to continue writing the story in the same vein as before the workshop. I also realized that the new version didn't need any of the material I had written so far. Now, it's true, I could have simply started over but I ran into a new problem because I couldn't find any ground to grab hold of in order to begin the new concept.

Maybe it's because I was so depleted from the trip to the workshop. Perhaps it's also because any little bit of creativity I do manage to generate I must use up on the job--a writing one--to get the current project finished on time. I guess I'll just have to see how the days go from here on out.

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Rule number one when doing the NaNoWriMo

Don't sign up for writing workshops during the month of November.

I went to the Donald Maass workshop and found it incredibly stimulating and helpful; however, I returned with an entirely new concept that is bigger, better, and bolder. I also returned emptied of any creative impulse. The workshop is excellent. It's also intense. Maass builds the workshop with exercise upon exercise and wrings every one of your little gray cells clean.

I have been recuperating all week.

There is nary a blip on the Whirlpool screen right now.

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Slogging through jello-day 3

Well, I definitely stayed up way too late last night. The two hours of sleep I did manage wasn't enough to keep me going through the entire day and night, so when I finally sat down to write it felt like I was slogging through jello. I kept nodding off as I typed, so I finally decided if I could somehow manage 500 words today it would be quite an accomplishment. Finished wiht 519 words today for a grand total of 4,588 words and 21 pages. I'm going to have to make up the lost thousand sometime in the next day or two if I want to maintain a decent 1500/day pace.

I tried to write the scene between the mother and son but it slipped and slid right out from under me. Not what I had planned but I did get some internal dialogue and had a phone call from the ex-husband. All in a day's work.

Time to get some sleep. G'night.

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In search of the unexpected-day 2

Ended the day at the stroke of midnight with a total of 4,069 words and 16 pages. that's another 1,231 words and three more pages.

I spent a lot of time rolling the storyline around and thinking about the characters, but in the actual writing I'm still concentrating on the opening scenes. Each time I open the file I reread what I've written and add a word here, subtract a phrase and expand and flesh out the characters and scenes. I definitely have two viewpoint characters, maybe a third, but one is the primary viewpoint character.

Maas talks a lot about reversals and surprises. He cautions against accepting the first one or two ideas you have for a scene and suggests you push for the unexpected, even a reversal. So I'm looking at that, trying to see if I can come up with a fresh slant, one that will jack up the originality factor. I spent a lot of time in the Homicide detective's viewpoint tonight. I let him weigh, consider, even imagine the murder.

Tomorrow I'm going to explore the dynamics of the main character, the mother, who's son is suspected of murder. I think there's a lot of subtext and inherent conflict going on between the two, so I plan to bring them together and squeeze.

G'night, folks.

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Of type and premise-day-2

Well, it's the start of a new day and I find I'm brimming with ideas to flesh out the characters and the premise of the story. I'm attending a Donald Maas workshop this weekend in Albequerque, so I've been rereading both his book and workbook on Writing the Breakout Novel. One of the ideas that is floating around is that of playing against type where the characters are concerned; another deals with the premise: what the book is really about. Which, in reality, is nothing more than discovering what it is that I have to say by writing this book.

More later...off to vote.

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The end of a good day's work-day 1

Returned to the novel this evening and shaped out the opening pages which added a few more words, then went on to write the next scene. I'm still feeling my way through the opening scenes and getting to know the characters. I don't feel as though I'm connecting with any kind of real voice yet but I do think there is a tone emerging. One of the good things about writing every day is that with each path the channel widens.

Ended the first day with 13 pages and 2,838 words.

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Creation of a novel-day 1

Today, thanks to Barbara Klaser, mystery novelist and regular reader of my blog Down the Writer's Path, I discovered Blogger.com's Na-No-Blog-Mo (National Novel Blogging Month) effort to pair up with the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) contest and encourage novel writing participants to begin a blog to record their efforts during the month. This is my entry into the race toward 175 pages/50,000 words.

After much trolling through storylines and old files, I settled on an idea for a crime novel about ten years ago. Originally I thought the book would be along the lines of an amateur sleuth mystery but time has passed, the years have rolled by, and I've decided the time to build a career in category is long gone and I should head for the finish line with more of a "break-out" book. The original title was Murder at the Whirlpool; today the title is simply WHIRLPOOL.

I'll be recording my adventures daily as I type my way to madness. At the stroke of midnight last night I tapped out 1,574 words of the new novel. The crime has been committed, the suspect is found, the die is cast.

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