The End

NaNoWriMo is swiftly coming to a close.  As of press time, I am at 81k.  I'm well short of my somewhat crazy 100k goal but I've learned a lot.  I'm halfway through chapter 32 and am back on track.  For now anyway.

What I've learned about myself this November:

• There has to be balance.  If I spend all of my time writing, I start getting somewhat cranky.
• I have to pace myself.  Better to take 6-8 weeks to do 100k than burn out on week 3.
• Plan, damn it!  Plan!  My lack of preparation was part of my downfall this year.  I didn't think about the characters enough until it was a bit too late.  That's what subsequent drafts are for.
• Read AND write.  If I don't have words coming in, it's harder to maintain the stream of words coming out.

In other news, the 12 Beers of Christmas beer exchange kicks off tomorrow.  I intend on reviewing all 12 beers I receive as I receive them, as readers of my previous blog may remember.

I'd better get back to my writing.  I want to hit 83k before NaNoWriMo officially ends.

Second Draft postponed, forward progress resumed

I'd fully intended on starting on my big re-write today but I woke up with the entirety of chapter 31 in my head.  Things are progressing quickly and I've even managed to showcase the personalities of Kashgar Jong and Glitch.

Some themes are becoming apparent in Wandering the Web of Worlds.  Yes, themes.

• Bureaucracy is bad
• Suppression of knowledge is bad
• Being conscious of the environment is good
• People in authority are usually liars

When is lunch ever going to get here?  I was getting really used to eating whenever I pleased on my four day weekend.

Tomorrow - The rewriting begins

Even though I never finished the first draft of Wandering the Web of Worlds, I'm calling what I'll begin doing tomorrow the second draft.  I hate that I had to stop at the 66% mark but I was running into walls with the characters' personalities.  If I can eliminate one or two characters from the mix, I think I'll be in good shape.  The thing that terrifies me about starting the second draft at this stage is that I'm afraid I'll end up not finishing the story and I'll have pushed myself into a lot of writing for nothing.

In the mean time, I'm enjoying a reading vacation.  I went from reading two or three books a week prior to NaNoWriMo down to one a week.  I think my New Year's resolution this year will be to balance the reading and writing rather than going in binges.

Speaking of resolutions, I don't remember the ones I made last year.  I'll just assume I accomplished them with flying colors.  Wait, I do remember resolving to get caught up on the Hard Case Crime series before 2011 hit.  Since I have seven left, I'd say it's not completely out of the realm of possibility.  I've done two a day on winter weekends before.

Day 27 - Definitely Stuck

I managed a whopping 200 words this morning before admitting that I am going to have to go back to go forward.  I was trying to tough it out and finish the first draft before the alterations but I don't think that's going to fly anymore.  While I'm not going to let the 77k I've done so far go to waste, I'm definitely going to have to go back to the beginning and start changing things.  Note to self for next writing project: Make your main character the MOST detailed, not one of the least.  If I would have known more about Valaric's failure to save Elluria's brother in the north polar tunnels and his reluctance to use the Spear of Enrik afterwords, we wouldn't be in this mess...

In an effort to make maximum use of my creative juices, I am going to attempt a first person noir story concurrent with my changes to Wandering the Web of Worlds.  Look for that in a few days.  I intend on posting the chapters here on my blog as I complete them.

Thanksgiving and The Black Keys

Three Thanksgivings down and one to go.

Yesterday wasn't bad as far as Thanksgiving double headers go.  The morning went by quickly.  I was engrossed in Donald Westlake's The Ax and making corn pudding according to Carrie's instructions.  Good think I didn't defy her and start making the thing at 10 because it took about twice as long as the recipe specified.  I'm chalking it up to either the double batch factor or my oven being about thirty five years old.  It was a photo finish to get it done before we left for my grandparents' house.

The crowd at the gp's seemed a little light but still fairly crowded.  As with all holidays, I'm glad Grandpa had the foresight to build an adequately large house when they moved in '77.  It was a good time.  My cousins' kids were running amok and provided ample entertainment, as did all five of my aunts not believing I could cook.  We took off about 3:30 in an effort to evade enough of the winter weather not to get stranded while trying to cross the four creeks on the way back to the main road.

Part two of the Thanksgiving double headers was at Carrie's parents'.  It took longer than I would have liked to get there due to the winter weather preventing me from using the old O to 32 shortcut, which normally shaves 15 minutes off the trip.  It was a good time but our eating was restrained due to gorging ourselves a little over four hours before.  We also got to hear graphic details from her dad's stint on jury duty.  FYI, I never want to be on the jury during an alleged rape trial, if only to never hear the written statements.

Tomorrow is it.  We're heading over to my parents' for a lunch of pork sausage and mashed potatoes.  I'll get to bring Belle, which is a blessing considering how many times she woke me up this morning wanting to go for walks.  The hound needs her exercise in the worst way.  Hard to believe she's eleven now.

In other news, I got three Black Keys albums in the mail today.  So far, The Rubber Factory is my favorite.  It's a shame people are more concerned with reality show winners than they are blues rock or the Black Keys would be household names by now.

People read this?

A few days ago, I was over harsh in my criticism of Max Allan Collins' Nolan character, mostly for comedic effect.  Who knew Collins himself would read it?  I feel like a douche now, especially because I love his Quarry books.  Sometimes I forget anybody can read my blog.  I'd like to apologize to Max Allan Collins now and thank him for the hours of entertainment I've had reading his Quarry books and pushing them on other people.


Time to fire up the Scooba and see if I can get my foot the rest of the way out of my mouth.

Day 26 - Changing History

The past couple days have alerted me that another trip through time to the beginning of my novel is in order.  With 33% left to write and a slew of changes I want to make, I think I'd be better off changing the past now rather than witnessing the future first.

As time travelers always so, I have a multitude of good reasons for wanting to tamper with history.

• I didn't have a handle on Valaric when I started and that becomes more apparent with every scene he's in. He's pretty much a generic wizard character and since he's my lead, that's no good.  I've got some idea for him, like a fascination with technology, guilt over some deaths he may or may not have caused on the expedition to the tunnels at the north pole.
• Ebeneezer Froad didn't have much of a personality when I started but developed quite nicely over time.  I'm going to give him more to do and more of mentor role to the rest of the characters
• I want to speed up the first few chapter, such as the building of the Silver Scarab and the arrival of the other magicians.  It drags a bit as it is.  Also, it will flesh out Malvernia quite a bit more if I have Valaric in action rather than hiding out.
• The League of Scientists gets a mention but no face time.  As I said, I want Valaric to be more conflicted about his role in things
• I've got a few too many magicians on board and not enough for them to do.  I think if I shrink the Silver Scarab and combine the interesting aspects of some of the characters, the whole thing will feel tighter.  I think I can lose Jochi fairly easily and combine Glitch and Zephalmachus into one more interesting character.
• More Fenlock.  I glossed over Fenlock's time at the Hall of Forty Seven Imponderables and could get more out of things with another Fenlock chapter.

In other news, I somehow lost quite a few words during validation.  Oh, well.  I'll figure out why sooner or later.