Monday 9 November 2015

Day 8 of NaNoWriMo: in which I forgot to write my blog

After a slow start and a brief interlude to do some objective planning, pace is picking up again.

I decided to head back to my opening chapter and rewrite the entire thing. I wasn't happy with the introduction to various characters, so it had to be done relatively early. The opening scene in the novel is pivotal to how the characters interact and trust one another, so revising it sooner means that those relationships will have more chance to bloom as I write other parts.

This was all back on Sunday, so I've fallen behind a few days on the blog. I'll do my best to catch up, but only if there's something to catch up on. What I have found is that I'm finding it much easier to just pick up the laptop and write.

In the past, I used a variety of mediums. If the computer didn't draw on inspiration, a pencil and paper always got the juices flowing. NaNoWriMo has helped me realise, and build the habit, that scribbling on a laptop can be just as effective as a notepad. However, on the plotting phase, pencil and paper was definitely easier for scribbling and doodling. It was that process that helped me revise the direction that I was headed.

A key part of this novel structure for me is to draw on recent experience with an editor I'm working with. My previous MS was littered with to be's and to look's and so my task for this novel has been to effectively avoid them where possible from word one. It's been a great exercises so far and has definitely worked--I can highly recommend it to anyone. So, here's your challenge for day 9: write 1,667 words, or more, without a single was, were, is or looks! Go on... Live dangerously!

No comments:

Post a Comment