Slow and steady

OK, I know the word count was a bit low today, but it was a big day. Lot's going on in the outside world (that is the world outside the novel) including Prop.8 rally in Seattle and ongoing delightful visit with friends.

It's alright though. 804 very good words today representing a headlong dive into the plot. I'm still on track and intend to spend heavy time at keyboard tomorrow while my friends bike.

I feel good, I feel strong, I feel curious about how this will all turn out :)

P.S. Thanks to all the notes of support. VERY MUCH appreciated!!!

Half way there!

Broke through the 25K barrier today. Yippee!

Hard to imagine how the second half is going to unfold but it sure is getting interesting in here. New characters are cutting in line after I'd gotten everyone all organized. Temper tantrums are happening (theirs not mine) in unexpected ways. The thing really does seem to have a little life of its own.

Of course, it could be that I'm just no longer able to keep track of everything neatly in my head and that "life" is randomness due to my imaginative limitations. But what the hell.

Take a deep breath, just 25K more to go!

Touching the Void

I'm in Seattle today, visiting friends. Does this mean my characters will be here too? Pretty darn likely some elements of the visit will end up in the story. That's how it do (to paraphrase The Wire, to which I'd recently developed a strange addiction resolved only by reaching the end of the series).

The main tension I feel right now is worrying about whether or not I have enough material. I worry that my plot is thin and so resist diving in fully. The No Plot? No Problem motivation card for Day 12 suggested we ponder the example of the fellow from Touching the Void. His motto: just keep making decisions, even if they're bad ones. I need to be less cautious with my characters, to trust that material will appear when needed, rather than worrying whether the tiny plot points in my head right now will suffice. They won't. But if I keep playing them out, keep making decisions, things will get much more interesting. And my biggest fear--boredom--will be avoided.

Dog Days

So how many dogs does it take to populate a murder mystery?

Apparently, lots. So far there is Skittles, GM (who you met 11/5 post), Molly, Rocco, Paco, Tim and Stubs, Sodom, Gamora, and Snowy. And that's not counting Mr.T, who only thinks he's a dog.

That's a lot of creatures to keep track of, and a lot to pick up after. Which reminds me, I don't think I've included a 'picking up the poop' scene yet. That's a word count padder if ever I saw one! These are desperate times, we must do what we must do, no matter how transparent the motive.

The good news is the knee bone and the "touchbase" have found their way in. Flummery and the big Samoan are still looking for a home.

Did I mention Week 2 was the hardest week?

Writing Like the Pros

Today, I caught an interview on the radio with John Updike. I was so pleased to hear that—despite our vastly different levels of talent and experience—our writing processes appear to be very much the same. 

Minor character details (like his how his character relishes the feel of the smooth inside edge of a walnut on his tongue) are stolen liberally from his own experiences. Plot is roughly imagined but not set in stone as he allows it to unfurl all on its own. His stories and characters are chosen because there is something he is curious about, something he might learn from trying to tell their as yet unimagined stories.

This comparison seems akin to a little kid flinging a basketball up toward the hoop, no greater hope than hitting the back-board, versus a Michael Jordon taking off from the foul shot line, floating through he air, and, at the very last second, rolling the ball gently off the very tips of his finger. Not the same shooter by any stretch of the imagination, but soul-mates in the joy, the dream, and the delight of the attempt.

Water Stops

NaNoWriMo is like running a marathon, complete with annoying hills, shin splints, and much needed water stops along the way. Today, I pulled into one of my very favorite 'water stops' and washed down some Gatorade-for-the-soul. It left me untethered and loose, spiritually limber. Refreshed, I regained my stride with goal of crawling inside my characters, feeling their embodied truth, and working (with reverence) from the inside out. Surely this will add to my word count. But knowing what a riot of energy and images live inside my own body, I expect I'll need a flashlight and some bread crumbs to find my way back out of theirs.

They say Week 2 is the hardest week of NaNoWriMo, the one during which most people falter. So leave comments to spur me on! Guilt, encouragement, accountability, public shaming . . . whatever it takes! My stride feels good right now. Heartbreak Hill is still weeks away. But a little cheering from the sidelines never hurts.

Where I'm spending my days and nights

This is the NaNoWriMo shrine/workspace.

Key elements include:

- progress calendar (upper right)

- laptop

- 'No Plot? No Problem' kit

- coffee

- strange wooden icon (left) giving me the strength to persevere.

Welcome to my world!