Journaling: Day 15 of NaNo

Total Word Count: 23,835
I'm currently behind schedule, but the plot begins to thicken... and that isn't necessarily a good thing. When Day 1 began, I really didn't have that much of a plot, so I'm grateful to have one(23k of plotless words would begin to get very tiresome) but now the storyline is growing more complex--and I didn't think Tor's story would revolve so much around his journey to faith--and I had no idea that Marcus got captured by the enemy--and I didn't realize that one enemy was actually trying to double-cross another enemy... yeah, you all get the idea.
Basically, I'm charging ahead at full steam with no headlights and absolutely no idea where I'm going. So come December 1, the novel that is now waiting impatiently beneath my internet page may be a totally different story than the one that I started out with--or thought I started out with--on November 1. But, such is NaNo, I suppose.
Now I'm off to get back at it. There's a cream soda screaming my name from the refrigerator, but I've told myself that I can't have it until I'm caught up on the weekend's word count... no matter how late I have to stay up to do it.

Journaling: Day 10 of NaNo

Total Word Count: 15,932
I got to introduce my favorite character yesterday! Of course, I didn't know that he was going to be my favorite character, probably because he wasn't at all the type of character I expected him to be (that seems to be a recurring theme for me in this story) but he made the whole day of writing a treat! He's one of those characters whose personality and mannerisms are so distinct and clear that you don't have to figure out anything they say or do for yourself; they just do their thing, and you write it down.
My main character now has a trusty sidekick, and I'm off to do the breakfast dishes and get back to writing!

A Tribute to Writers' Companions...

...always eager to help in any way they can.

...willing to 'burn the midnight oil' with you when you're writing at 3 in the morning.

...and even when they can't take any more, they're still willing to encourage you!

As we all buckle down and plow into Week 2 of NaNo, don't forget to appreciate all the ever-loyal writer's companions (be they cats, dogs, goldfish, or family members) who make our month of madness possible!

Journaling: Day 6 of NaNo

Total Word Count: 8623
I took a bit of a break from writing yesterday, although I was able to have a good little 'writers' conference' with a couple of my NaNo writing buddies. We exchanged stories of writing woes and gave each other pep talks... though all of us were still in one degree or another of panic when we finally parted ways. Ah, well, what would NaNo be without panic?
I wrapped up the evening by attending an absolutely fabulous Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert with my parents and siblings--our family Christmas gift a bit early. If you guys have never seen them in concert, check their website for their 2010 performance schedule and find out when they're coming to your area. Trust me: it's worth the high ticket price!
With that over, though, I'm ready to get back to writing... and start playing TSO Christmas music.

Journaling: Day 2 of NaNo

Total Word Count: 4,150
No, I don't plan on journaling every day of NaNo, necessarily, but we're still in the very beginning stages so there are a lot of important things going on to journal about. First of all, congrats to all my writing buddies--your word counts are looking great! I know some of you haven't been able to update your counts yet due to problems with the site, but I've talked to most of you via email so I know that your novels are coming along beautifully! Keep up the good work!
As for me:
I'm developing the horrible feeling that by December 1 the Narnia soundtrack will start making me break out in hives. So far I've listened to "The Blitz, 1940" 9 times today--it's a great invasion/naval battle track.
After lying awake listening to a grandfather clock 'bong' all night I did some quick calculations and discovered that a standard grandfather clock actually 'bongs' 1038 times in a 24-hour period. (So the next time someone asks you how many times a grandfather clock 'bongs' every day, you'll know what to tell them.)
My main character isn't shaping up to be quite the handsome, intrepid hero I had hoped for pre-November. Handsome, I suppose so; a good fighter, sure; a good military leader, absolutely. Shy, awkward, and terrified of public speaking? Unfortunately, yes.
Oh, Torsten, what am I going to do with you?

Journaling: Day 1 of NaNo

Total Word Count: 2257
Well, I made my word count quota for today--only 29 days to go! Ugh... yeah. 29 days to go.
Well, anyway, I'm happy. I've made my quota for today and a little extra for tomorrow. Maybe that'll make up for the time it'll take to go and vote in the morning. (Make sure none of you forget, by the way!)
I've got to admit, though, that even though it's only the first day of my first NaNo, things aren't exactly as I thought they would be. First of all, my plan to go to bed early last night and get a good early start to writing this morning didn't exactly work as well in practice as it did in theory. Oh, I got to bed early, all right, but I laid awake half the night,wondering if it was time to get up and if that noise in the kitchen was really just the wind or some freaky intruder.
I finally gave up trying to sleep and got up at 5:30 this morning, got dressed, made myself a cup of tea, sat down in front of my laptop, opened a new blank Word Document, and typed: The Pirate Shrine, Chapter One. Then I hit "Enter"... and panicked.
There was that cursed cursor, blinking away at me, and I hadn't the faintest clue what to write! So, I took a deep breath, told myself "Quantity over quality," and then wanted to slap myself for uttering such sacrilege. But I did it anyway--closed my eyes, pictured the opening scene in my head, put my hands on the keyboard... and started writing!
The day went pretty smoothly for the most part (if you don't count a minor disaster involving paraffin wax and a hapless little sister) and right now I really think that I can do this! With that being said, though, it's 9:30 pm and I still have dishes to do, so I'll quit journaling and get to it. Maybe I'll get a little more writing in before I go to bed, too. Good night, NaNo-ers, and hope you all got in a great first day!

Two Days, NaNo-ers!

Time to tidy up your writing space, stock the cupboard with your favorite writing snacks, dig out your background CDs and soundtracks, charge up the laptop batteries, and get lots of sleep.
In addition to updating my word count on the NaNo website, I'll do my best to post an update once a week or so here at the Lair. Any of you Lair Dwellers who are doing NaNo too, feel free to leave comments updating us on your own word count!
Good luck, everyone, and write well!

My first NaNoWriMo - the countdown begins!

I'm sure some of you will probably be surprised to learn that, in spite of all my years of writing, I've never taken part in NaNoWriMo before. It's true. I thought about it last year, but somehow just couldn't quite talk myself into it. I was deeply involved in finishing Draft 1 of Son of The Shield at the time, and couldn't afford the distraction. So, I kept plugging away at SoTS and watched as my friends slowly lost their marbles throughout the month of November. By December 1, when said friends had collapsed into heaps of hysterical white-haired gnomes, I thought "And they wonder why I don't do this?"
But then I had the privilege of actually reading the results. For being written in only a month's time, the stories were remarkably good!
And, after another year of listening to "Mary, you really should do NaNo, you really should. Even if just to say you've done it, come on, just do it, you really should," I finally came to the conclusion that I might as well. What could it hurt? Er--ahem--besides adding me to the aforementioned pile of hysterical gnomes, that is.
I am officially signed up for NaNo now, waiting very nervously for November 1 to dawn, so that I too can begin my journey to white-haired gnome-hood!
So, Lair Dwellers, how many of you are undertaking NaNo this year? I'm MaryRuth (one word) on the website, so look me up and I'll be happy to add you as a writing buddy! After all, if you've got to be a hysterical gnome, you may as well have company doing it, no?

Editing Progress

Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time has no doubt had to listen to a few of my rants about my dislike for the editing process. Dear friends like Heather and the Traveler get to listen to it even more in phone calls and emails. It's no secret: I hate editing and I wish novels could just be perfect the first time around.
But, alas, it doesn't work that way, and so I am left with the humongously overwhelming task of editing Draft 1 of my novel, Son of The Shield--all 108,642 words of it (as of last count at 1:00 this afternoon). Yes, it is a huge novel.
These days, editors seem to want stories that top out at 100k max, and with that in mind I'm trying desperately to reduce my word count. Unfortunately, I keep finding and being informed by friends of all these scenes I need to add to clarify and develop things. So far I've only come across two scenes in the entire novel that need to be cut.
However, aside from those little problems, I have actually started making great progress with editing, for the first time since finishing Draft 1 at the end of December!
Since there's a lot of clarifying and explaining to be done throughout the novel, I'm focusing on streamlining as a way of reducing word count right now. It can get frustrating, taking down the word count 1 and 2 words at a time, but it makes for better quality, so I'm glad to do it.
And, the big thing that has (finally) kick-started my editing: I have finally managed to nail down my main character in my head! I know it sounds crazy, to have been working on a novel for three-and-a-half years and to just now be able to really grasp a character's (especially the main one) essence, but it's the truth.
I've had trouble with this character from the beginning--everything from understanding his thought processes and feelings, to simple things like being able to picture his face clearly in my head. I've had recurring dreams of being in the world where SOTS takes place, running in circles trying to get a look at this character's face, and he keeps turning away from me. No joke. Needless to say, this created a major problem when it came time to develop his character and write the dialogues, thought sequences, and scenes that he starred in. I managed to bungle my way through a blurry and disheveled Draft 1 in spite of it all, and since I was my only critic at the time I could let myself get away with it. But then came the critiques from my cohorts, Heather, LoriAnn, and Katrina. And they weren't letting me get away with anything. They dragged me, kicking and screaming, to face the awful truth: my main character needed to be more solid, more developed. But no matter how I tried, he just wouldn't seem to come to life like the other characters.
Until last week, that is!
I am absolutely ecstatic that Sorek has finally come to life in my mind! Now I can picture his physical appearance perfectly, and I understand his personality at a very deep level. And to make matters even better--he's really cool!
I'm really not sure what triggered the change and made him finally come to life for me, but I can tell you that it is making editing SOOO much easier! Instead of feeling like I'm dragging my main character around and forcing him to act out scenes like a marionette, I'm watching him take charge of his own scenes and live out the story like he's supposed to. Draft 2 is finally underway and rolling... and I'm beginning to think that this might actually shape up to be a pretty good story!

September

By Helen Hunt Jackson
(Sometimes the best way to get inspired to write is to sit down and read some really great writing!)

The golden-rod is yellow;

The corn is turning brown;

The trees in apple orchards

With fruit are bending down.

The gentian's bluest fringes

Are curling in the sun;

In dusty pods the milkweed

Its hidden silk has spun.

The sedges flaunt their harvest,

In every meadow nook;

And asters by the brook-side

Make asters in the brook,

From dewy lanes at morning
The grapes' sweet odors rise;

At noon the roads all flutter

With yellow butterflies.

By all these lovely tokens

September days are here,

With summer's best of weather,

And autumn's best of cheer.

But none of all this beauty

Which floods the earth and air

Is unto me the secret

Which makes September fair.

'T is a thing which I remember;

To name it thrills me yet:

One day of one September
I never can forget.