We have a winner!

Wow! It's hard to believe it, but I actually churned out 50,000+ words in 30 days. Not only that, but I did it while dealing with my everyday life, which is chaotic at best. And, on top of it all, I had two rather intense freelance jobs arrive right in the middle of the whole thing.

Well, it just goes to show [me] that if I can write that much while dealing with all that, then I guess I really am a writer.

Yeah, I know. I've been earning my living for the past mumblemumble years as a writer, but I've always had to qualify the "I'm a writer" statement by adding "but not that kind of writer." Now that I've won National Novel Writing Month two years in a row, I can hold my head up and say that, yes, I am that kind of writer.

I hope that you consider NaNo'ing along next November ... or just write whenever you feel like it. I really think that we're all writers -- yes, that kind of writer.

NaNo statistics

Here's how things look on Day 18 of NaNoWriMo. I'm making steady progress, true, but I'm still lagging behind in terms of per-day word count.

For reasons that are valid but won't be enumerated here, I've been NaNoing in the late [relatively] evenings, when my brain isn't usually firing on all cylinders. Somehow I need to do my "thang" earlier in the day or, as a second-best solution, earlier in the evening. I suppose I could always tape The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, but I like the idea of watching them at 7 p.m. (a repeat of the previous day's shows). Oh, well.

I'm thinking that this weekend I'll first do a broad-brush outline of the climactic scene, then grit my teeth and grind out maybe 3,000 words at one shot. That would be a serious shot in the arm, statistics-wise.

Anyway, I've included a capture of my NaNo statistics page. It's actually  pretty neat. Love the graph. The numbers under the Total heading, specifically those for "at this rate you will finish on" and "words per day to finish on time" are the ones I pay attention to. Today my rate dropped from finishing on December 3 to finishing on December 4 -- one day too many, as far as I'm concerned (for some reason, I've always liked "3" -- weird). My goal from here on out is to reach 2,000/day (aside from the previously mentioned 3,000).

Onward and upward!

(Interesting note ... Today I was fascinated when a great big whack of humor showed up all on its own. I'd been sticking to fairly grim and gloomy, but maybe my so-called muse is telling me to lighten up and have some fun.)

The halfway mark

I've just finished my 15th day of NaNo, and I'm only at 22,767. That's not bad, but it means that I'm going to have to get my skates on if I want to win this year. Yeah, I know -- it's not all about winning. Uh ... wait ... yes, it is all about winning.

So I've killed some characters, I've introduced some menace and mystery. I've even thrown in some romance. What to do, what to do ...

I guess what I need to do now is break out the climactic (or is that "climatic" -- har har) scene. I don't know who's going to save whom, but I sure know who's going to die. And, knowing me, the death will probably be gruesome. The worse, the better, as far as my word count goes.

Overall, I have to say that the whole NaNo experience is worth it. Putting the pressure on yourself to apply your butt to the chair and just write, day after day, is great for strengthening that discipline muscle. And who doesn't need a bit more discipline? Or a bit more muscle, for that matter?

National Novel Writing Month

Day 3 = 4,504 words

It's that time of year again -- National Novel Writing Month -- and for the second year, I'm taking the plunge. Last year's entry centered around a wool mill, and, keeping with that theme, this year's entry will feature a spice mill.

Now the mills I'm basing these stories on actually exist (Greenbank Mill) or existed (the Fell Spice Mill). However, I'm taking liberties with all sorts of things, not the least of which are time and space. It's nice being master of the universe, you know?

I did learn a lesson last year, and that is to keep each day's writing in a separate file. That should make cobbling them all together into a coherent whole so much easier. I've been flailing about with the wool mill story and haven't settled on how I'm going to beat it into submission. I'm under some pressure here because two people have asked to read it. I've chosen to set aside the worries about "this is just so much crap" and instead focus on dealing with what is and quickly turning it into something I might not be thrilled about others reading but at least won't die of embarrassment after I hand it over to them.

NaNoWriMo turns out not to be scary at all. In fact, I'm entranced by the whole experience. I've heard that writers have had characters just show up and take over the story or found the story shooting off in weird, but unplanned, tangents. I'd never experienced either myself until NaNoWriMo.

The whole point is to just write. The pressure of coming up with 50,000 words in just 30 days is supposed to turn off your internal editor, who thinks that everything you write must be deathless prose. It works. Each day when I sit down to "NaNo," I just close my eyes and start writing. This morning I wrote about a thrilling robbery. Yesterday featured an unexpected comedic bit. Of course, on the first day I killed three people and sent one to an asylum.

See how much fun you can have?

It's not to late to set out on your own NaNo adventure...

Criminal mind

I just love me some Captain Tightpants!

This picture amuses me because Nathan Fillion looks like he means business. I thought it would be an appropriate image to go along with a quick post to say that I, too, mean business.

My novel is still deep in the throes of the climax, but then again, the action is being described on three fronts, four if you count the baddie. I don't want to get too much into his head, though, because it's a scary place to be.

Anyway, I'm now up to 59,347 words.

I'm also feeling less of a poser when I say, "I'm writing a novel." Even if it never sees the light of day, what I'm writing truly is a novel.

And I've finished today's writing a mere 10 minutes before da boyz come bursting through the door and the weekend officially begins.

Life is good!

Just keep writing

Having spent a month working toward a 50,000-word goal, I'm finding it hard to stop.

Rather than fighting it, I'm giving in to what seems to be common sense and setting a new goal: 100,000 words in however many days it takes for me to get there.

I'm still trying to get all my characters to their proper spots for the climax, and they're coming along. However, it's taking some words and some time to get them from their respective point A to point B.

The weather, however, is cooperating beautifully. If there's one thing the weather around here can do, it's whip itself into a frenzy of a thunderstorm. I've lived through quite a few and there were one or two that I wasn't sure I would. So let's just say that I'm going to pull out all the stops and gleefully rain on my own parade.

It feels good to be a winner

We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.

--Captain Malcolm Reynolds, "Firefly"

I've climbed the 50,000-word mountain (50,932 ... and I haven't even finished the story yet).

What an awesome experience. And to think, just 30 days ago I had neither plot nor characters. All I had was an idea that involved a local historical mill and a gruesome murder or two. Now, 30 days later, I have characters, scenes, dialogue, way too much description, and three murders.

Even though the prospect of writing 1,600+ words each day for 30 days was intimidating, I found it to be actually fairly easy. Once I'd trained the boys, dogs, and spouse that "I'm NaNo-ing" meant that I'd be busy for the next half hour to 45 minutes, it was so easy to just close my eyes and type what floated into my head.

Of course, now I need to finish the story (I stopped before the most exciting part, which is guaranteed to keep me writing), then go back and flesh everything out. I mean, I have two male leads and two female leads, and the villain is about as easy to spot as a chocolate stain on your favorite white shirt.

From what I understand, a so-called average novel is about 100,000 words, so I'm a little more than half-way there. I'll be using what I learned from taking Holly Lisle's "How to Think Sideways" course (thank you, Holly!). I'll also be using Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Pro software (both easy and fun to use -- thanks, Randy!).

Most of all, I'll be using the self-confidence that accrued during the last 30 days.

Now when I tell people that I'm a writer and they ask what I write, I can tell them that, in addition to the business, technical, and marketing writing, I'm also a novelist. Life is good!

NaNoWriMo: I may have to kill someone

I'm up to 42,278 words. Only five more days to go.

Things in my story have become a bit placid, so I'm thinking it may be time for someone else to die. It has been a while since there's been any blood and/or gore, and it's a sure way to get things moving.

Hmm.

Of course, a kidnapping would work just as well, as would a love scene. I don't know, though. Blood and gore don't really faze me, but writing a love scene might cause problems. Did young people in the 1800s have sex? Well, obviously they did, or we wouldn't be here, right? What I mean is, did they really roll in the hay or was their world more like that of Twilight -- all deep, soulful glances and no action?

Maybe I'll just start writing and see what happens. I'm finding that what the NaNo founder said is absolutely true: Your writing will take you places you had no idea you'd go. I'm finding this whole process is much less onerous that I was afraid it would be. Turns out I can bang out 1,600+ words in less than an hour, easy.

I write at the super-awesome built-in desk my brother built for me. Sitting in my $25 wheelie chair from IKEA, I just lean forward, rest my forehead against the bottom of the first shelf, close my eyes, and put the pedal to the metal. (I'll say it again: Learning to touch type was the single most valuable skill I gained in high school. Bar none.) I just let the characters talk and it's almost like taking dictation. Naturally, I don't worry about spelling, punctuation, or any of that; that all waits for phase 2.

News you can use: If you ever want to stomp your muse flat, then try writing and editing at the same time. Trust me. You'll be blocked worse than if you ate a chunk of cheese as big as your head.

Time to go start making pumpkin pie. I also need to give that turkey a poke. I have a feeling that it's not thawing at all. Maybe I should have moved it from the freezer to the fridge last month.

Happy thanksgiving tomorrow to all, and happy birthday today to SpecialEd!

Right on target ... and brownies!

With just one more week to go in National Novel Writing Month, I'm right on target: 38,302 words today, 50,000 a week from today.

World's Best Brownies -- Seriously

The recipe for these brownies comes from The Great Book of Chocolate by David Lebovitz. SpecialEd and I have tried a lot of brownies (he's the baker, I'm the taster, of course), and these are by far the best. They're cakey and fudgey and perfect. You're welcome.

Dave and Kate's Remarkable Brownies
Yield: 16 brownies (who is he kidding? 6 to 8 is more like it)

8 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 C sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C walnuts or pecans, toasted (don't skip the toasting) and chopped
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Butter an 8-inch square cake pan and lightly dust it with flour, tapping out any excess. Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the chopped chocolate and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and mix in the sugar, then the eggs and vanilla.

Stir in the flour and salt, then the nuts and chocolate chips. Scrape the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

*The cutting will go much more smoothly if you can curb your impatience and wait for the brownies to cool completely. Ask me how I know. Also, the author says that they can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Right, like there'll be any hanging around that long.

I can bend time and space

Day 19 of National Novel Writing Month

Hard to believe that 12 days from now it will be the first of December and NaNoWriMo 2009 will be over.

I'm not finding the going that difficult. Of course, all I have are a bunch of scenes that have the most tenuous of connections to the ones that precede and follow. I'm not fussed about that, though. I know that editing and writing are two different disciplines and are best kept separate. Besides, I do believe that there's a National Novel Editing Month to go along with NaNoWriMo. If there isn't there should be.

I've been having fun with this. Let's see ... I've killed two people -- nastily, if I do say so myself. I've got a few somewhat flat characters, including the bad guy. I had a cop show up out of the blue and try to highjack my story, turning it into a who-done-it rather than the basic historical fiction thriller (?) that I'm aiming for. Fortunately, he's gone back to the office and hasn't been heard from since. I imagine that if I kill anyone else, he'll come calling.

Right now I have 1 hour and 20 minutes before Skimbleshanks and BuddhaBoy arrive, and all hell breaks loose (a daily occurrence in our house). I've done my daily quote of NaNo, so now it's back to my current engineering report.

TTFN!

NaNoWriMo

This year I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month. On day 13, I'm up to 19,981 words; the goal is 50,000 words by November 30. That's not a bad number, considering that on the first of the month I really had no plot and no characters.

The story is set sometime after the Civil War in a small mill town. A series of horrible murders leads a young woman to stumble into a web of secrets that will endanger her life (of course), lead her to love (why not?), and ultimately shake the town to its very core.

Not much to live up to there, eh?

I did have a lot of fun the other day writing about the first murder victim. It's kind of a rush being able to decide who lives, who dies, and how they die. I must say that SpecialEd was a bit put off by how much I was enjoying it.

I'm really, really glad that learned how to touch-type in high school. It's one of the best skills you can have, if you ask me. And back then, who knew every home would one day have not just one but multiple computers? Anyway, when I write, I just lean my forehead on the front of the bookshelf above my desk, close my eyes, and let the movie and soundtrack unroll in my mind. My fingers do a great job keeping up with my thoughts.

It really is a lot of fun, and since I'm the only one who's being exposed to my writing, the potential damage to anyone's delicate sensibilities is minimized. Writing really is fun once you give yourself permission to just write. Maybe next year I'll set out to write the most awful book ever written. I already have the first sentence, which I've borrowed from Edward Bulwer-Lytton: "It was a dark and stormy night."