Happy Endings

Aaaaand June is officially over, you know what that means… (Actually, it was over almost two weeks ago, but that’s not the point).

The point is that after four weeks with a sad lack of plot, underdeveloped characters and a rushed ending- I can officially declare, VICTORY! (I will omit the details of my victory dancing as an act of consideration to any reader actually drifting through here).

Indeed, I’ve actually managed my 50k word story for this June’s NaNoWriMo and am very happy and proud of the fact, despite the fact that the product of my work is light-years of editing away from being something I’ll ever be showing around. It was definitely one hell of an experience, which for me served as a rough crash course into the world of novel-writing. Not that I didn’t have a high regard for it before, but now it’s even more so, as I have a better understanding of the difficulty level that this activity requires. Or, better known as: “Fuck, this is hard.”

Aside from that important lesson, what else did I take away from the NaNo?

• Plotting is a game of connecting the dots. If you’re jumping into a novel, it would be nice if you already have most of the dots in mind so you can actually trace the lines to connect them.

• Timers are our frenemies. After weeks of working with it, I hated the very thought of a timer. But I never loved it more than when it started ringing telling me I’d accomplished another half hour of writing duty.

• The freaks come out at night. The freaks, in this case, being my “inspiration”. It seems allergic to daylight, or any kind of reasonable hours. Nope, my muse is strictly useful during the couple of hours before dawn. (Sub lesson- Sleeping at night is for losers).

• Finally, hate/love relationships can extend farther than ever anticipated. I greatly dislike a great percentage of what I actually wrote last month, and I loathe the thought of getting back to read and edit it at all; but I am also immensely proud of it and am a bit in love with it as well.

Basically, logic does not apply to the NaNoWriMo. Oh and, I WIN!!

Half Time

Two weeks into this June’s NaNoWriMo, and you know what that means. I am halfway there! This is a rather conflicting time, because I am confused as to whether I should celebrate that I have made it this far, or despair that I only have two weeks left to complete a 50,000 word novel.

At the moment, there is a little more of the despairing side. Why? Well, at this point, most would like to look back at what they have written and nod in self approval at the work they have accomplished so far. I, on the other hand, look back and must wonder at how much of a selfish person I can be. Because honestly, only the most selfish of people could have started writing the way I did, sparing not a single thought to the future and their own poor future selves who will have to follow up on the senseless chaos they wrote.

The problem with trying to put together a whole story in such a tight time limit -for someone so lazy and fond of improvisation as myself-, is that thinking on your feet, while very effective in moderate use, leads to a quick burnout when attempted on a daily basis. I will give myself some leeway (because I’m nice like that) since this is my first try at an original story of this length, and I have the added pressure of the time limit. But for future reference, to myself and those interested in the lessons of a rookie, the next time I write a story with a time limit, pre-writing prep must include thorough notes on plot points to be my map. I gave much focus to building up characters, and ended up with two characters I know deeply, but that have nothing to do for 50+ pages.

Nothing too intricate for the plot planning: just taking note of three or four major events that will move and lead the story is enough. The rest, in my short experience, tends to fill itself out. So long as you know where you’re going and where you’re coming from. Otherwise I will end up halfway through a novel realizing that next to nothing has happened.

Onwards, to the rest of my tragically linear path I ride! May the Force be ever in my favor. (I will need a lot more than odds in this case)

A day of Firsts

Well, this is my very first blog, so picture me awkwardly shuffling in and waving while imagining you in your underwear (Wait, that came out wrong! I'm trying to get rid of nerves, nothing dirty... Unless you're cute. In which case, Rawr.)

I had said I would start this thing on the summer, and here I am! The reason I waited for summer? So I have something to blog about! Which brings me to the day's other First...

First day of my first time participating in the National Novel Writing Month! And I have successfully passed through it without needing a diaper change!

The challenge? A 50, 000 word story written in one month. Hello, June!


After weeks of preparation (consisting mostly of last-minute character interviews and multiple pep-talks in front of the mirror), June finally arrived. It came faster than I ever expected.

 I would have thought at least Winter would arrive first. 

But it’s here, slapping me in the face saying that ‘holy shit it’s time to write a novel’!

Now, I won’t lie and say I was unprepared. I had been preparing myself for this. I had my main characters set, and a basic outline of the plot… And that all went to hell within the first 24 hours! (Somebody! Check if that’s a record!) Let’s not be so drastic and say it all went to hell, but something pretty darn significant changed. I don’t want to spoil anything, but one of my MCs may or may not be breathing from chapter 2 onwards.

You know it’s a heck of a plot twist when the author doesn’t see it coming.

So that’s an interesting way to start off. Of course, I realize what brought this twist on and I must admit that it is for the simple fact that my own story was boring me to tears. I understand it’s only the first ten pages I have so far, but good Lord I would have dropped this back into its shelf after the second page. Realizing this was very frustrating, but after going through the stages (anger, frustration, denial, fear) I remembered all the little writing tips I had seen not too long ago. And I realized that they all basically told me to come to terms with the fact that I would suck. But in the wise words of Jake from Adventure Time: “Sucking is the first step to becoming sorta good at something.”

Guess what? I may be about to write the most boring story since Kirsten Stewart’s facial expressions, but damn it all I WILL WRITE IT! I shall have 50,000 glorious words describing my characters eating toast for all I care, but I will have them!

Which brings me to another important point of today…

Reverse Psychology for a lazy brain.

Before starting this whole NaNoWriMo journey, I had set myself a goal for each day: 1,700 to 2,000 words every day, so that I could complete the 50,000 in time. On my first day, however, I exceeded expectations by completing over 4,000.

I understand that this is only the beginning and it will only get harder from here on out, not to mention that my level of inspiration will be inversely proportional to how many days have passed, and so this is not an achievement I will be likely to repeat very often. This is where the psychology comes in. I know I’m too lazy and irresponsible to follow a schedule as well as I have today, and doing this for a whole month is basically impossible. So my solution is, I have one part of my brain telling me this all day long, while the other says:

CHALLENGE: ACCEPTED.

So while Brain Side A drowns in the rain of its own misery, Brain Side B is doing push-ups and running 5 miles to the sounds of Eye of the Tiger as it says I will fucking do this.

During this whole complex process, I stand in front of the mirror and practice my smile for when July 1st comes and I am able to say: I WON, BITCHES.