Nearly There

Word Count: 36,266

I might actually "win" NaNoWriMo this year. After three attempts, I might actually write a 50,000 novel in a month. OK, let's be more realistic for the situation. I might write 50,000 words of a novel that is going to stretch much further than that.

But here's something else that has bothered me for a while. Once November is over, and the rush done, and I have another however many words to go until this story is finished, am I going to stick with the momentum, or will I "take a break" and never get back to it?

Maybe tonight's not the time to be thinking about this. Tonight, I'll think about finishing before Thanksgiving.

Cultural/Racial Diversity in Characters

The gaps are closing, the characters materializing before my eyes, and I'm beginning to realize how flimsy some of them are. I've also realized how much my protag depends upon her male companion, which is NOT my intention, so that much change. And I've realized that my whole character list is white. I mean, I haven't written in anyone who isn't, well, white. And I need to change that. I did change that. One of my favorite characters is now Indian.

Deal is, I've written a world where the slave trade didn't materialize and cultures were encouraged to continue unhindered (except for human sacrifice), based roughly on the best parts of the Roman empire. People of color are there and in abundance, but I just haven't created that part of the narrative world yet. Granted, I'm just trying to get protag and company from one scene of action to the next, and I know that I can add details later, but what bothers me is that the crux of the novel is, once again, in the hands of white people (one of which is the one who causes all the snafu in the first place), and that's not really what I want. In a world where an empire crosses multiple cultural and racial boundaries through trade, etc., the purely European white majority wouldn't exist as heavily as it does in many of the books of this kind that I've read.

So, that's something to consider as I push toward that 50,000 word goal.

You know, I still don't know how this story is going to end.

Word Count: 31,111

Triple Espresso Shot Mocha

That's what I ordered this evening when my friends and I went to our favorite local coffee shop for some Bananagrams, Phase 10, and hot beverages. This was after a lovely sushi lunch.

WHY did I need that much caffeine? Because I had to catch up. It was Day 15, the official halfway point, and I hadn't hit the 25k word count yet. But I wasn't stressin' because I knew I needed girl time as much as I needed typing time. And because I've been nearly faithful to my NaNoWriMo Manifesto, I'm not bashing my head against the computer screen. I'm having FUN! I'm regularly reapplying duct tape to the mouth of my inner editor and just plain enjoying the process of getting my little story out of my head and onto the screen.

I've even stopped stressing about potential plot changes. This time a week ago I was doing plot diagrams in my head while wondering why sleep eluded me. I think I've changed a few minor plot elements because they just felt right.

I've jumped over major plot points because I'm not "there" yet. I've written scenes based entirely on the music playing on Pandora at the moment. I've toyed with the idea of adding a dragon to the mix.

And a few minutes ago, I saw, for my first time ever, the balance of words written tip over the number yet to write. I'm more than halfway done.

Triple Espresso Shot Mocha aside, though, I'm freakin' exhausted. I'm going to check FeederWatch Cam and then go to bed.

OK, so I lied...

Due to an insane case of insomnia exacerbated by one of the trees in front of my apartment falling over from the severe wind, I ended up sleeping all day yesterday, and a rather large part of today. SO I haven't been writing. So my vow of never taking another day off zizzled in 24 hours. Alas.

Though, I inadvertently determined a few character traits by scouring Pinterest steampunk related boards. My protag is going to have an incredibly sarcastic perspective of the Continent's rapture with all things steampunk (and the fact that less than a quarter of what passes as steampunk does anything whatsoever). Everybody but EVERYBODY is going to be an "Adventurer" or "Adventuress" or "inventor" or "explorer" as stated on their calling cards. With only a paltry few who have the guts and genius to survive any real adventure, invent anything worthwhile, or explore any place beyond their general neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, back in my Protag's home citadel, it's not a trend, but a kind of junker's way of life. And she really is an adventuress, really does encounter danger where "run mad as often as you choose, but do not faint" is pretty damn good advice. So when she encounters the "stylish" and rather risque steampunk clothing in the Continental stores, she's baffled and amused. The only "adventure" the wearer of these gowns would encounter is a torn stocking or scuffed boots.

Am I picking on steampunk a little? Yeah. I have to. It's in my blood to blast what I love. Mainly, I lampoon the viral trend that sweeps the Continent even though they have no idea where it came from and don't know what to do with it in reality. But for those who live that life by necessity, the trend is silly, superficial, and sometimes rather crass. And useless.

SO while I haven't physically added to my word count, I have found some ingredients that will add richness and will, in time, help the word count to soar.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Week Two...

That's IT! No more "I'll catch up" days. No more. I hate looking at my "at this rate you'll be finished by" date sometime in early December. NO! To quote Paramore "I REFUSE, I REFUSE, I REFUSE!" It shall be done in November.

Now that I've stopped flopping around about my plot, I can just write. Which is great, except sometimes I have the mental capacity to write in the quasi-Victorian style, and sometimes I don't. And I've also managed to write myself into quite a corner. I might have to leave this section alone for a bit as I fill in bits of crucial "when did THAT happen" narration. And it's all pretty skeletal as well, with hardly any introspection and little to no real character development.

Eh, I'll figure the rest of that out later. Right now, let's just figure out how exactly to get from point C to point J.

Tomorrow. After I sleep a little.

Word Count: 18,861

Sacrifice Word Count for Much Needed Socialization

OK, so I took a few days off on the novel because I needed human interaction and I really needed to get out of the house. So the word count has suffered. I can catch up quickly enough.

And since I slept for a couple of hours earlier this evening, I should be able to stay up all night again, clacking away.

Total count so far: 16,787. We'll see how that's changed tomorrow morning.

Fire Bad. Tree Pretty.

I apologize for the blatant Buffy quote, but that's about how I feel at the moment. Over the last couple of days, I've chugged out nearly 4 thousand words on my Nano novel, and my brain won't let me rest. For instance:

Tonight I wrote and wrote and wrote. Brain decided it was through with thinking and I shambled off to bed drunk zombie style. I floated in that blobby world between sleep and wake for maybe an hour.

Then, an idea hit me. An idea so mind-blowingly perfect for my story that I couldn't risk the sandman whisking it away or having it dribble out of my ear as I slept. So I got up, drunken zombie walked to my computer, and started clacking away again. That was at about 11pm Thursday. 4 hours later, here I am, in the wee morning hours AGAIN, having squeezed nearly all the juice from my cranial spaces, leaving just enough to write this post. I'm dangerously close to "Fire bad. Tree Pretty" once more.

Maybe I'll get two hours out of this sleep attempt this time.

It's only Day 8. Save me from this madness!!