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@mrsjazz: I might have to do that for now if I cant think of anything by tonight when I write again
I have a loose outline to a point and from there it gets a bit sketchy and needs more work but I didnt want to not start Nano so I just went with it I still have a lot of ground to cover before I get to the hole which is good but I like to have a plan and I wish I had a better one right now
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How's everyone's writing going?
Because of major work deadlines I didn't write Wednesday or Thursday. I have 2 hours to kill before a dinner date tonight so I'm going to stay at work and write and then I plan on doing a sprint after LO goes to bed Saturday night to catch up.
In other news my second chapter was workshopped in my fiction class after a major re-write (everyone thought I should write in present tense and wanted me to slow down the sequence of events) and everyone loved it. So I'm pushing on with the idea of slowing down.
My teacher mentioned that one of the biggest mistakes most of her writing students who are working on novels do is to put everything in the first few chapters because they think they have to make sure that people know everything about the characters. She said we need to remember to slow down, we have an entire novel and readers don't need 100% of the details in the first 3 chapters.
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I didn't write much on Wednesday or Thursday either. Someone broke into our house Wednesday around lunch time. Thankfully, no one was home and it doesn't look like they took anything valuable. The weird thing is that even though our alarm went off, the burglars still opened up a couple of our dresser drawers before they left. Totally ignored my laptop and some money I had on top of the dresser though. Bizarre right? Anyway, I haven't been feeling motivated to write these last couple of days. Meh.
I'm also guilty of trying to cram all of my "setup information" into the first couple of chapters. I just feel like if I don't the reader might be lost. Like in my novel, it's split up into two parts. The first part details the narrator's childhood and the second part details the narrator entering into adulthood. So far, I have labored over getting everything into the first two chapters (relationship dynamics, character descriptions, even jobs). Logically, I know there's just too much there that can be spread out. Eh, that's what second drafts are for, right?
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@mrsjazz: Great point! I think one reason I struggle with that is because everyone emphasizes how you need to grab the reader right away. They say that the first 5,000 words are the most important, and you want to prevent readers from saying, "It started out slow and I just couldn't get into it." The pressure to perform right away is so intense that it's easy to put too much up front.
@Warbler
That is bizarre! Maybe they were high or drunk? I'm glad nothing valuable was stolen.Our next question (feel free to post your own questions, btw):
What's your favorite passage you've written today?
I was lucky enough to write this one, which might really shine after I edit it later.
"Thorgeir was one of those indomitable old men whose bones had become thin and hard as iron. Time may have sapped the muscles of his youth, but years of self-discipline and generally getting his own way had molded his will into a force to be reckoned with. He hobbled down the path, leaning against his ceremonial staff like a crutch, but it did not fool Kara even for a moment. She knew he donned the heavy cloak of infirmity only to conceal the sharpness of his wits."
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@Skadi: Guess I'm not doing it this year. Report cards snuck up on me!
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@Mrs. D: Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that!
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@Skadi: It's ok, I wasn't sure I'd do it this year anyway. Summer would be a better time for NaNoWriMo, lol. But then it would have to be NaJuWriMo or NaAuWriMo.
That is bizarre! Maybe they were high or drunk? I'm glad nothing valuable was stolen.
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