Over the last day I:
Wrote over 1,000 words
Offered to write a submission for someone else's blog (I'll post a link later if it gets accepted)
Had lunch with friends
Enjoyed a short walk in the warmer weather while it is still here
Did a little self-promotion on the NaNoWriMo site
Gained a new follower =)
Made a slightly scary choice
It's that choice that I want to talk about. I'm getting bored with my novel. I have a lot of dares to cover. What to do?
I think I'm going to attempt doing what so many other writers do, and what other writers have recommended. I'm going to skip to the good parts. Sounds great, right? So, why am I scared to make such a decision?
I think I've written before about the fact that I tend to write from beginning to end. I make logical steps (at least they seem so at the time) to get from one scene to another and one chapter to the next. (OK, I don't write in chapters, but I'm rolling now, so let me go with it) I try to make sure that there are no plot holes. I try to see my characters grow and change. As I need new characters I add them. As I need a way to help my characters out, I try to base it on information from earlier parts of the novel. If that doesn't work, I add something a bit deus ex machina style and make a mental to note to add something earlier in the revisions so it won't seem so out of place.
Today, though, I will make that first leap into writing the best scenes and hoping to fill in the gaps and connect the dots later. It will start with this line: Jake reunites with his friends, catches them up on all that has happened over the past few months, then other stuff happens and they end up outside of a country mansion.
This will lead right into one of the dares, which I will probably rush through to try to get to the others.
Speaking of dares, today's was posted by Laura the Explorer in Romance Dares:
I actually used this in one of my previous novels (although it wasn't a romance):
-Have a character sneeze just as they're going in for a kiss the first time.
Perhaps I will add a goofy love interest today, just to make sure I have this dare covered.
Scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time; better get writing!
Yay for scary things! I finished my book today. That was scary. I am now going to have to become a rebel and add in other writing to finish my 50k, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had advice about skipping in time, but having never done it, I don't. My writing is very linear, much like yours. I look forward to seeing how this works out for you!
You finished?! That is fantastic news! Going back to add extra stuff could be fun. At least you got to put 'the end' in your rough draft. I usually do a cheating, "and then a bunch of things happen with this character dying and this one living," type of ending. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am still a little in shock. I absolutely love how the book turned out.
ReplyDeleteThe moral of the story? Press forward, and do not fear sloppiness, for it shall all work out in the end! :D