I don't really have to write my book so much as remember it, so you guys are kind of on your own as far as that's concerned, but I'm wondering if anyone was really feeling an idea getting their goat already, or if you guys just get drunk November 28th and write for two days straight.
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AHAAHAAHAAHAA
20,496 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2007 - 15 37
Right now I have the traces of an idea....I'm looking at a major fantasy involving 3 humans, some faeries, a "disenchanted" unicorn, at least one dragon, and other random talking objects....some animal, some...uh....vegetable....
----------I just write what my characters tell me....
25,288 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2007 - 11 15
I'm actually going to do something I've never done and write about my own experiences. It's a comedy non-fiction about things that happened to me in high school. I've tried NaNoWriMo before with new stories and everything on my own creation, but I found that, if I knew the story beginning/middle/end, I could just tell it in a way that made it hilarious. :)
Good luck and keep writing. :)
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Terry, Screnzer/NaNoWrimist
ML for Boise, ID
Script Frenzy '07 - Luck of the Devil - WON
Every NaNoWriMo attempted...not...won...sad panda...
30,943 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2007 - 12 10
I am... STILL... working on that novel I first wrote WAAAAYYYY back in 8th grade (73 pages, handwritten on college rule paper, longest thing *I* ever wrote up to that point!). It's a fairly classic, *cough*cliche*cough* medieval fantasy story of a princess who's country is usurped, she eventually escapes the castle, makes a bunch of friends (including a unicorn and a dragon) and finally returns to reclaim her home.
The past three NaNos have done wonders for me though. The first year, all heck broke loose in my life and I only got a chapter or two done, only about 3000 words. The second year, I got 25,000 done, but reworked my entire outline, and finally figured out where my story was going and how it was going to get there. Last year, I got over 50K, but the biggest breakthrough was that I figured out which characters were staying, who was going, who could be combined into one person (One even started out as FOUR originally!) Who gets to live to the end and who the red-shirts are (that four person into one was originally a red-shirt, but now he lives!) How a lot of the characters are tied together and tie into past events (which will be written in a future story) AND I got a ton done on the actual adventure.
Today, I'm totally stoked because just this morning I had another epiphany. Ever since that original 73 page story I wrote, I have ALWAYS hated the beginning. I fixed a major part of the problem back in 2003 when I changed my main character. But I still have never been happy with how it starts out. I tried starting with a narration of old history, but that was BORING. I tried starting with a 'bang' as the usurper came and took over, but then no one cared about my MC. So I tried to back up a little and start with some 'normal' life, and then go into the attack, and then life after the attack and then into her adventure, but it just wasn't working. I considering doing more 'life after the bad guy takes over', but I was dreading writing it... because it would be fairly boring again.
One thing I've learned is that for a reader to be able to sympathize with the MC, the MC needs to ACT, not just go with the flow or be acted upon. And up until she is being sneaked out of the castle, she really does not do much ACTING on her own. Even the escape is orchestrated by others, but that small thing is ok, because it is a personality trait I'm trying to work into her- hat pre-escape, she was a pansy, and felt helpless to do anything, so she did nothing. Not something the audience wants to read about.
I also realized, that even in the writing, and re-reading, and trying to edit, *I* was pretty much bored with everything up until she is physically removed from the castle. For a long time, I thought it was just because I've been over that stuff so long that I'm tired of looking at it. Today, my epiphany. I'm tired of looking at it, because it is frickin BORING. The actual STORY does not really start until she is making that escape!
So, I'm going to ditch basically EVERYTHING before. There's a few 'good scenes', but I will have her tell others about those, or remember them as something she experiences in the remaining story reminds her of them. That way they're not completely lost.
My old screen writing teacher told us that a good story will "get in late and get out early". IE, start after the action has started and end before everything is quite wrapped up with a big red bow ribbon. (I, however, enjoy the big red bow at the end of a fairytale, and will probably do so with my story, but I may not...) Originally, I thought that starting with the bad guy coming in was a good 'start late' place. But today, I realize it is not. The best 'come in late' place really is as she is leaving the castle to start her actual adventure.
I am SO excited right now. I think the whole thing is finally coming together for me. I may still not get through the end of the book, but I am certainly going to get a TON done this year.
----------I am Hawke: Griff Ov Sorts, The Tackler of Peoples, aka Wacks with Pickles.
Christian, Creationist, Asexual, Otherkin, Psionic, Domme.
Want to talk? AIM me at TNHawke