Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Up and At 'Em

I am up, breakfasted and halfway through my 2nd cup of coffee. Poised and ready to be uber-productive today (knock on wood). I thought about why I was able to get so much done yesterday afternoon (3016 words!), and some of it may be because I did a lot of timeline work last week - figuring out what has to happen when and plotting it on an actual calendar and index cards. It didn't translate into words, but it laid some good groundwork and a much clearer path for where I need to go. So, what's the lesson? Stay on top of word count, but don't panic as long as things are getting done. I still need to make up the word count - I need to stay on that track or I'll never finish, but I'll stop the self-flagellation routine.

As for NaNoWriMo it sounds like a fantastic idea - sign up to write a 50,000 word novel in one month - from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30. If I were completely blocked I would definitely do it, but the thought of losing a month to my current project doesn't sit well with me. Also, in general, I just don't work that way - spewing out words with no plan. I am an outline person. If I were doing it just for the heck of it, then I guess I wouldn't care if I had an outline or not and it would just be a fun thing to do. If anyone signs up, let me know. I'm curious how rewarding it is.

1 comment:

Dodi said...

I'm reading the book written by the founder.

It sounds like many people go into the project with outlines and research all done. You are allowed to plan, just not to write any of it.

I've pretty much talked myself out of it. Who am I kidding. I can barely write an anecdote. But I love the whole concept.

You should take a look at the forums. It's a huge community of writers helping each other with research, plots, blocks and other writerly stuff. The forums along with the local support groups sound like a great way to network.

I understand about your current project though. You'd hate to lose momentum. Maybe you could schedule it in next year.