What helped, what went sideways, and what I learned that I can use every day.
1 - What helped.
1) Warm-up
– I had written four hours a day for the six weeks prior to November 1.
Although it was non-fiction I was writing, the habit of sitting down in the
morning and again after lunch served me well during NaNo.
2) I
do not have an out-of-the-house job – a major bonus.
3) As
I stated in my thoughts after day 1, I had characters and a rough plan when I
started page 1.
4) I
have finally killed off my Miss Purdy (critic) and was able to write fluently
without worry about it was good, bad, or even useful. I simply focused and
wrote.
5) Being
a fast typist probably helped as well. Plus, this is my sixth book. I’ve been
here before.
6) Knowing
my buddies were rooting for me gave me courage.
2 - What went sideways.
1) My
title was Uncle Lem Fakes a Wife. First
off, Sam Logan butted in and took over the narrative.
2) Secondly
Uncle Lem did not cooperate. He kept hiding from me. He does appear as a
secondary character in the first four books in the series. Apparently, he
doesn’t want his own book.
3) In the end, Mary Morrison (who was to be the fake wife) stepped into the lead
role. After that, things went more smoothly.
4) My
killer didn’t like her character sketch and operated in ways that didn’t fit
it.
5) If
my crooked fingers type wrong, the program underlines and I can fix. Don’t look. Just type.
3 - My take-way from all this.
1) Habits
are essential for high production. Write every day to keep in ‘writing shape’.
2) Be
brave and if needed shift protagonists (or anything else) mid-stream BUT KEEP GOING.
3) Writing
without a resident critic is so much more fun. Need to keep her locked up.
4) If
not sure what to type in the beginning each day, read the previous two or three
paragraphs, type AND THEN and write
down whatever comes to mind.
5) Let
the characters act how they want and change the character sketches later to back
up their behavior.
6) Planning
is good, (I always plan) but sometimes pants-tering is just as good and occasionally
more enlightening. DO BOTH.
7) Once
I have my Draft Zero written, my boys in
the basement start to feed me what I need to alter, add, and delete to make
a decent next Draft.
Will I do NaNoWriMo again?
I’ll see.
But I know that I can write a useable draft in
fifteen days if I want to.
That
knowledge alone was worth the effort.
My
question in Week 2: Can I keep the pace?
Damn
right I can.
My
advice to you if you want to give it a try.