Steady as she goes

Thought I'd give a little status update on the novel. It's been a roller coaster. I started out a little bit ahead of the daily word count minimum 1,667 words, but then fell behind which put the pressure on the weekend to make up for the slack. This week seems to be about the same, but it is something to claim having written 100 pages of anything 11 days. I kept a little log with some random thoughts each day as I concluded writing that day.

Nov 1: Feels like I can keep writing, but I want to save some excitement for tomorrow. Added some characters I didn't think I would, but not straying too far away from the plot. (2,080 words)

Nov 2: Half way through, the story is taking on added layers of complexity which is very cool. I have to stop now in the morning before work. Hopefully I can get some writing in at the office. Lots of OTN dialog which I hate. (4,186 words)

Nov 3: I should create more drama with the climactic death of Theia. The aftermath is a bit boring, but it helps to introduce the other Titans which I originally didn't think would play a significant role in this story. That's kinda cool. (5,761 words)

Nov 4: Work was super busy and I only had 3 hours of sleep. I squeezed in a couple hours at the office. The plot is expanding within the outline and I still haven't gotten to the Act 1 break. (7,509 words)

Nov 5: Ran out of time at work. Hate being behind now. (8,202 words)

Nov 6: Got a decent amount of writing in, but none of it feels good. A lot of scenes seem functional and I am introducing some story elements that don't make sense relative to the overall plot. (10,227 words)

Nov 7: Well, I don't hate it yet. There are some interesting arguments going on and I'm starting to get some of the stories back on track. Just need to keep focusing on writing two pages per beat and then move on. Just need to trust the outline. (12,054 words)

Nov 8: I am going to give in to the fact that this first draft will be really rough and a lot of things won't make sense. So I will have to refrain from overthinking things and worry about all of that in the editing phase. (14,044 words)

Nov 9: Got through a love scene that went by quickly and almost too easily. May need to tone it down depending on how this book will be marketed. Feels good to be back on schedule. (16,096 words)

Nov 10: Feeling good. Took care of a nagging plothole with a great torture scene that also revealed character. Love it! (17,461 words)

Nov 11: Really fleshed out some problem areas to smooth things over. Some interesting character development. Love when I get into a roll. (19,096 words)

Punchlines

"Take no prisoners!" He kept saying over and over to me. I understood what he meant, of course, but it didn't make any sense when all we were doing was...

...getting to fourth base in the back of his Miata.

NaNoWriMo

Each November for the past 11 years, a little non-profit organization has held a contest for all budding writers worldwide who are in desperate need of a kick in the pants to finish the greatest novel of our generation. Last year over 119,300 writers generated over 1.6 billion words during 30 days and 30 nights of literary abandon. Of those participating last year, 21,683 completed the minimum requirement of 50,000 words. This year, I will be jumping into the madness with a dramatic, epic novel with multiple storylines set in the times of ancient Greece.

  

Title: Seasons of Conflict

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: Helios struggles to keep his family together after his mother dies at the hands of Vesper during the Tiberian war.

Yes, there will be nymphs and goddesses. Yes, there will be alchemy and magic. Really there will be something for everyone! While I've written screenplays with multiple storylines before, plotting a novel that is literally twice the length of material that I am accustomed to writing (200 pages for a short novel vs. 100 pages for a screenplay) is proving to be a challenge. I'm not yet confident that a single plotline will hold enough interest for me to write let alone for an audience to read, and so I decided to tell four interweaving stories. 

Everyone has their own writing process, but I thought I would share mine. It's an electronic version of organizing a story with the use of scene cards. Across the top of the chart are each of the chapters, of which there are twelve. Below each of the chapters are the three acts to occur within. Each act has its own progression with every chapter ending with some sort of cliffhanger in the final scene. 

The main plot (A-story) is denoted by yellow scenes which primarily follows the arc of the hero. The B-story highlighted in green follows the villain. The outline is not yet complete and may not be by the time I begin to write on Sunday. This is a by-product of running out of time but also wanting to allow for creativity to occur during the process and not wanting the entire exercise to be writing scenes to connect the dots. I will likely write the first chapter in sequence and then write the rest out of sequence depending on which characters come to life and which scenes I am drawn to. With over 100 scene cards, I suspect I will be writing about 2 pages per scene, which is a pretty fast clip to move the characters through the scenes. 

I'm nervous and excited to get underway. I'll be back at the end of November with a link to the final product. 

Punchlines

So my hero in this story is kind of an alcoholic, smokes a lot. He's a Private Eye and he's got this once-in-a-lifetime case to solve for a wealthy attractive widow. However, I'm thinking this is all very cliche. So to make it fresh, to have us see something we've never seen before in a screenplay, I want to...

...have it all take place on a blimp. Yeah, I think that'll sell.

Ham radio

I miss Frasier. I miss great television. So I dug up this old episode of Frasier, which I digg and hope you do, too. Enjoy!

Punchlines

Dear Abby: On the top of my otherwise completely bald head is a single strand of hair about 5 feet long. I'm quite proud of my hair. It took me a long time to grow it. People say I should just give in to the inevitable, but I don't know what to do. Should I yank it or leave it?