Tuesday, November 1, 2011

1922!

Apparently 1922 was the year that Ulysses by Joyce was published. It was also the year the USSR formed. However, today, 1922 refers to my word count for the first day of NaNoWriMo. That puts me about 200 words ahead of today's goal, which is pretty exciting. It's more exciting, because I wasn't sure I would get there.

Since my goal was to base my novel on other people's dares, I didn't really plan ahead for this one. There is no ending in mind yet. I'm not sure where I'm going. I know henchmen will be involved at some point, but they haven't appeared yet in the first 1922 words (though maybe they should have). I find writing can be at its best and worst when I know where my story is headed next. Not surprisingly, the same is true for when I have no idea where the story is going. It is freeing to think from sentence to sentence, just trying to make a logical step from idea to idea. Sometimes amazing things happen.

Sometimes, nothing seems to happen.

That is when things are at their most difficult. I hit that at around word 600 today. I realized I didn't know where I was going. I felt like there was no real idea there. Perhaps this whole dare idea was stupid (even though I've been thinking about it for 2 years now). Maybe one dare a day wasn't enough to start with. So much could change with each new dare, and will retroactively change all that I'm writing today. I stopped writing.

Twice.

Then I started back up again after a short break. I did what I tend to do when I'm not sure what action should  be happening...I describe. I put extra effort into the descriptions, I brought in a character I had only mentioned once before. Then I described her. I made it to my 1,667 word count and beyond.

Why is this important? It's important because this is what needs to be done to finish a novel. Whether it's one rough patch in a day, or even a rough week, the trick is to keep writing. Eventually, I know that if I keep writing, the story will put itself back on track. The story will eventually find a purpose. Why do I put myself through the torture of the rough patches? Get yourself through a few. See what comes out at the other end. Then tell me why you put yourself through it. I hope that you'll be telling me that you find that moment every bit as wonderfully awesome and magical as I do.

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