Friday, November 30, 2012

More Discipline Needed

I was going to title this The Downside of NaNoWriMo, but on further reflection, I realized that the problem wasn't NaNo, it's the way I reacted to it.

I finished NaNo with just over 50k words; about half what I think Background Check will need. Then, I went back to editing Freedom Does Matter and discovered it was hard to work on the characters' situations, having spent a month wrangling with their future selves. I knew where they were going and how the next months would play out for them... it was hard to focus on the present of the earlier story.

But this is my issue, not my characters', not my story's. Discipline, I think. I need to work on the current state of the novel, and leave the future for when I finish the present.

Has anyone else found this to be true, working on two stories with the same main characters at once? Comments welcome!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

NaNo is done for this year!

I've not forgotten those of you who read my musings, but between everything else that had to be done by now and trying to get NaNoWriMo done successfully, I put all my energy there.

However, I finished NaNo today: three different word counts, depending on the software, but they were all over 50K: Scrivener reported 51051, OpenOffice thought 51211 and NaNo came in at 51005 with a certificate.

However, Background Check's not done. I think now it will run close to 85 or 90K words, so it's over halfway. Then of course, comes rewriting, editing, rewriting,... You get the picture. The big difference between Background Check and Freedom Does Matter, which I worked on last NaNo, is that I have completed over half the ms, instead of taking six months to do it. The end should come easier, once I finish up editing Freedom, and getting it up for sale.

Of course, there are other things, too. Covers. Critting for Critters.org. Editing for my beta readers. Ordinary things around the house, like digging out from the snow, which may be a more frequent occurrence this year. If we believe the weatherman. Writing more frequently for this blog. Spending time on twitter. Trying to guess what else might help.

Thanks for following. Comments welcome!


Friday, November 2, 2012

Give: This one's not for me

Update: I thought I'd mention that since I'm asking you to consider donating, I have also made a donation. I hope that those affected are able to recover, and quickly get their lives back.

I'm taking a little time off from NaNoWriMo to plug the Red Cross and their continuing efforts on the behalf of the victims of Sandy. Just like they did for Katrina's victims, or the Joplin tornado's, and on and on.

They never stop.

If you have given, thanks, though my thoughts don't mean a lot. If you haven't and you can afford to, visit The Red Cross site and send them some funds. They'll be able to apply them where the need is.

Thanks for reading. Thanks more for giving.