Hijacked! Well, all right, not exactly….…. I love journeys
that takes me directly from point A to point B. My NaNoWriMo journey was simple. Start Nov 1st (point A) and end
Nov 30th (point B) with 50,000 words of a novel draft. THAT is not happening.
My journey got hijacked, sidetracked, and just plain ransacked. And I not only accept full responsibility for
it, but am thrilled about it. Most of it
happened due to not preparing as extensively in October as I’d planned, and
then consequently losing myself in self-education and research.
Here’s a few of the places I veered off course:
- Crafting Unforgettable Characters: A Hands-On Introduction to Bringing Your Characters to Life. This free e-book from K.M. Weiland is full of tips on character crafting and so much more. I have four well developed characters for my NaNoWriMo novel all due to this guide.
- Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success E-book, by K.M. Weiland. I spent $4.99 for the Kindle format. I’d never outlined a novel before and now have one in the works – this got paired with…
- Novel Writing Help.com – I visited this site for days. Found it through a small reference on the NaNoWriMo forum…what a GEM!
- The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. Never again will I struggle to SHOW a character’s feelings. Seventy five emotions are covered and through body language, internal sensations, actions and more. Again, a $4.99 purchase and it was a surprisingly addictive read!
- I left my laptop, novel notes, research and outlines behind on Nov. 12th and traveled to SUNY Geneseo to listen to Erika Dreifus read from her novel, Quiet Americans. I’ve been a follower since the early 90’s and she didn’t disappoint – it was an engaging read and a rare opportunity to share in the process of her writing and her connection to her stories. A day well spent!
- Reading the daily list of blogs I follow, one of my favorites, Lisa Romeo Writes offered I Should Be Writing Boot Camp – winter 2013. After emailing with Lisa, I decided to invest in myself and kick off 2013 with this commitment to my writing life.
- The Buffalo News Short Story Contest 2012 submission is due December 3rd. After numerous false starts, I woke up a couple nights ago in the middle of the night with the plot in my head. This is a RARE occurrence for me, but I LOVE when it happens…..
Amidst the detours, I’ve sketched a rough list of my writing
goals for 2013, come up with some draft changes for my website and blog, researched
a few markets to enter and done a good deal of background research for my
NaNoWriMo novel, which I officially now refer to as a “work in progress”.
Hijacked? Sidetracked? Ransacked? Absolutely ~ but what a ride!!!!!!!
And the journey continues…
Wandering is just another path we walk. Enjoy the view!
ReplyDeleteWandering is just another path we walk. Enjoy the view!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely doing just that - thanks!
Deleteinteresting. To be honest, I never really thought out my novels in such detail; except my third one which my editor rejected. It was lacking in dimension and I tihnk he meant emotioinally. I didn't let the characters guide me. I may have outlined too much. Live and learn.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a job for The Emotion Thesaurus! Seriously, the tools have been a real help. The first NaNo I did in 2008 is 50,000 plus words with really no structure at all. These tools are even making me think of going back and working on that piece with them. It's certainly been an interesting month and it's only half over! :)
DeleteGetting to the planned destination isn't always as important as the route we take to get there. Sounds to me like all of those detours you took were routes well chosen to help you get to that final destination in much better shape than when you started the journey.
ReplyDeleteI agree Susan. Sometimes you we need to be willing to make unscheduled stops and find a terasure we never knew existed. Thanks for stopping by to read and comment.
DeleteGreat list!!! I will enjoy working through your distractions and making them mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks Julia - hope you enjoy yourself and feel free to share your favorites!
DeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff here. I mus confess I am a pantser, but when it comes to NaNo I force myself to do a written outline. Still, I veer off course. Sometimes I end up at a dead end but other times, I discover magical things that really strengthen my story. NaNo is such a great process for trying new stuff because you just have to keep going. Thanks for this post and good luck.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read. I panster my short stories but can't imagine doing so with a novel. Maybe with more practice I will stretch my creativity enough to do so. Hope to read your NaNo novel someday, from your posts it sounds fascinating.
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