Day Six - floundering slightly

Fortunately I have done this before, so I know I set off running, and get a few characters going, but the plot then seems to idle.  One of the reasons is not wanting to suddenly find oneself at the end too soon.
If you write in summary form (I'll pad this out later) then it proves all too easy to just close out.
I notice that I do third-person descriptions of the story, which seems like 'telling rather than showing' and always needs fleshing out.

Dialogue can prove a safe way to get from page to page, although quite often it is not moving the plot along, but just people chatting.  That can work in context (think Pulp Fiction):

Vincent: And you know what they call a... a... a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? 
Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with cheese? 
Vincent: No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is. 
Jules: Then what do they call it? 
Vincent: They call it a Royale with cheese. 
Jules: A Royale with cheese. What do they call a Big Mac? 
Vincent: Well, a Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it le Big-Mac. 
Jules: Le Big-Mac. Ha ha ha ha. What do they call a Whopper? 
Vincent: I dunno, I didn't go into Burger King. 

My baddies have started evolving, but they don't seem mean enough yet.

I think I need to do more sensual descriptions,  to clarify who people are by the way they look, and dress, rather than just what they say, and think.I also need to evoke Seville more warmly, with the weather, the customs, the huge variety of bars, the food, etc.

Day Five - putting my thoughts in order

I didn't keep the average going on Day Four, having a pretty dozy day, what with the rain, the hangover, and all that.

I managed to put some together, and am now catching up today - although I have to resist the temptation to go back and edit, as some sort of plot falls into view, and I can't be sure all the earlier bits will entirely fit together.

However, editing for inconsistencies comes later - right now the game is to slog on, keeping the numbers up.

Day Three - cruising speed

It's early evening, and I am only a 200 words off the pace, so cruising along nicely, and with the rest of the evening to pick up the slack.

The plot seems to be emerging slowly, and I have only so far used a few of the characters planned, so there's plenty of room for expansion, still.

It's great fun browsing information about Seville, as I spent two different visits totally charmed by the place, back in 1985-6.

Of course, that was before the Expo exhibition in 1992, so much surface detail will have changed, but the feel of the place won't be much different.  We've all got mobiles, of course, when back then I used to have to arrange to meet people in a certain bar, and the internet and other options have become more crucial than they were (so cybercafes, etc) - but I haven't gone into much detail, yet, so locations do not have to be too specific - not for a rough draft, anyway.

So, if I do a little more, this evening, I will be on course - keeping a nice steady pace.

Day Two - Setting the scene

I got a little in front yesterday, which is always a good idea, and the writing flowed fairly smoothly, conjuring people and events out of the blue.

I do have a scratch plan, but no details, and giving people names and rounding out characters will have to do, to start with. And what were the Brits up to in the 14th Century, when the Muslims were creating decorations like these...cool tiles for hot weather...and water gardens everywhere...

My choice of the conspiracy thriller specifically allows me to have characters pontificate, or fill each other in on back history, however wooden it sounds: "As you probably know..."  Exotic locations allow that kind of touristy detail, too (I've chosen Seville for a variety of reasons).

So I am figuring out characters, and locations, and using research to keep the details going, although the real action hasn't begun yet.  Scrivener is proving terrific, as I expected.  I am ahead of the curve in sheer numbers of words, and still have a few scenes and ideas in my head to keep it going.

From past experience I know it is good to get in front and stay there, during Week One, because it is easy to start to lose momentum in Week Two, when the sheer size of the task hits, and you feel like you've thrown all your best ideas at it, and have a long way to go.

That's when you have to resist the temptation to go back and edit out any inconsistencies, or infelicities, and just continue to hack away at the words, using every trick in the book, lists, descriptions of places, bits of half-digested research, sheer idle wordage, dialogue, which can rattle on, etc.

Meanwhile, I am trying to get the skeleton laid down, decide on a MacGuffin, and position the characters around the city map, for which my memories, guidebooks from the library, and Google Maps are proving very useful.

 

Day One...and counting

So midnight passed, and I have decided to take a Facebook Fast, so I can focus that energy on writing.  I had to stay up to keep an eye on the dog (long story) so got cracking with the first couple of scenes, because I remember how much it helps to get ahead of the 'average' count, to allow for difficult days.

NaNo second thoughts

After last year's sabbatical I thought perhaps I would not manage to get back into NaNoWriMo - having an essentially lazy temperament - but I feel like I should not let myself off so easily - having just enthused about it at talks I gave on Saturday.

So, I have a couple of days to wobble, and then it starts!  It cuts down on my trivia (FB and Twitter) and my television time. It focuses the research game and my reading.  And it can prove fun!

So I decided to go for manifesting the cliche of a conspiracy thriller I outlined in a template previously.

That at least gives me a framework, which can shape my thoughts; it will allow me to use esoteric bits and pieces of Forteana; I can always have the investigators sit down and be given a lecture by 'the professor', just as I can drift into tourist information about the famous locations (leaving a trail for readers to pursue, if they so wish), etc.   Oh, and I might get to kill people off (I've always been too nice). Not sure I can manage the torture bit too well (it's a essential ingredient) but we'll see - perhaps I'll just place that in an abattoir, so the horror of what meat-eaters ignore every day is what makes the reader squirm.  Who knows?

I have started compiling my lists (see the template in the post linked above) - choosing a main city, a MacGuffin, a few of the goodies and baddies, etc.  I have a couple of maps and guides to stimulate thought.

And I will use Scrivener this time (I've never done a NaNo on Scrivener) - and perhaps it will bump start the autobiography all over again.

Grainy flashbacks

The second year I did NaNoWriMo I had some kind of game plan, and it seriously helped to have a vague outline, a theme, and a decision to create short chapters.

The social aspect of the NaNoWriMo community meant I had already been interviewed as an "Over 50" person for their podcast - so I explored the video channel they had, as well, in which you either cheer people on, and motivate them, or maybe brag about how well you are doing, or complain about getting stuck.

As I had got ahead on words, I did the podcast, and even thought "I could make a video, I have a webcam".

The hum from the fan on my computer in 2008 really interfered with the sound, so I added some Eno sounds to baffle that a little bit, and having no lighting, deliberately did it in minimal light - which increased the lines on my face, and looked pretty sinister.  Be aware, the sound and light all seem terrible quality to me now, but I just found them again on Viddler (I didn't even remember having a Viddler account!) so I have put them here for my own amusement and embarrassment.
Here's a direct link, if you have any problem with a four-year-old embed...

So that was at the end of the first week, and the written words were going fine (the comments come from other would-be writers). A couple of days later, and still using sounds to smother the whine of the computer, I decided to make another clip, using Movie Maker to edit bits and pieces.
Direct Link
And whaddya know, ten days later, in spite of fiddling around with videos and all that, I had completed the minimum target of 50,000 words and was, in the terms of the self-challenge which is NaNoWriMo, a "Winner" - you get a certificate, and everything!
So yeah, I made a bragging video, which was not intended to demoralize people who were still struggling (as I had the year before) but just to celebrate - not something I do much - and maybe hope to display what fun it was to just complete the task, whatever the actual quality of the book.
Direct link, if it helps (?)
I went on to commission a cover from Bobby Campbell, and produce a hard copy print edition on Lulu - all for the sheer fun of it. The whole thing remains amateurish, but remember that before that word came to mean 'rubbish', it originally meant people who do things just for the love (amo) of it. I tried to find the word (when hitching around Mexico) to explain why I juggled (and they asked if it was 'my job') - I wanted to say it was my hobby, but didn't have the right words, until someone offered that perhaps I was an 'aficionado' (amateur). And that nailed it.

I have always found 'work' that I can do for the love of it. If I get paid, as well, that seems like a perk. Money ain't the object.