Tag Archives: novel

NaNoWriMo 2014: Day 29 – Oh crap, oh crap

Posted on by
2

Two more days of this madness: where do you stand? I’ve seen many of my fellow Wrimos already surpass the 50K mark, and some others are way behind. Myself, I’m behind as well, but not too bad. I’m at 44,481, which means I lack only 5519 until I cross the finish line. That’s only 2759 words per day, though I could conceivably cross the finish line today.

Happily, I have today and tomorrow off. I’m going to spend as much time as possible writing towards the goal line. There’s a write-in in Lubbock that I hope to join, but that depends on me getting some sleep first and then waking up on time. Also, I promised my sister and brother that I would go see Mockingjay Part 1 later today. I really can’t wait!

So for now I’m off to bed, even though it’s only 7:20 in the morning. Until later this morning, have a great day. For my fellow Wrimos, you can do it!

NaNoWriMo 2014: Day 23 – Catching Up

Posted on by
1
Giada Mock Up

Idea for a book cover. I’m sure I can find someone to do better.

You’re not going to believe what happened this week. Yep, I fell behind yet again. This time I was two a little more than 4K behind, and I got within 600 words of par. All it took was me jumping into the car, driving an hour, and parking my rear end in a chair in a coffee house in the great city of Lubbock. And also coffee, delicious coffee. Why am I shaking? Co-co-coffee! Whee!

The trouble I’m running into, in addition to working nights, is trying to advance the story forward. I get to the end of a scene and I’m left wondering, what now? It can be a little frustrating. I know the ultimate destination, but I’m having trouble steering myself that way. I’ll get there eventually. I’m taking the extended scenic route.

A problem I found was that I had a character that did nothing, but is the one that started Giada on her journey. Francesco Manfredo needed to be introduced as more than a place holder character. I wish I would have realized that sooner, but I brought him in, and he’s giving me a wealth of information. Another character is proving to be a surprise, which I’m enjoying. He went from White Hat to crazed stalker.

For now, I’m going to take a nap and start on Sunday’s writing. I hope to get ahead today and tomorrow. Only one week left. I don’t want to lose it now.

NaNoWriMo 2014: Day 10

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome to week two of this madness. Only twenty more days until the end. I don’t know if I can make it. I barely survived week one, and that’s only because I spent all weekend playing catch up. Eight-thousand words in two days: not too shabby!

Right now I’m about six-hundred words from actually being caught up. I hope to get ahead today to give myself a little bit of a buffer. Going overnight at work has really taken a toll on my ability to write. I seem to do best after the sun goes down. That’s when my creativity spikes distractions wane. For the rest of the month, however, I’ll be purging backstock to get ready for inventory.

That makes it hard to write. I’m busy during my peak time working at my job, and when I get home at 6:30 in the morning, I play on Facebook for a few minutes before setting my computer aside and falling asleep. By the time I get up, it’s between one and three in the afternoon, and I do my best to write, but distractions seem to get in the way.

Week two should be a little easier, at least that’s what I’m going to believe. I’m at sixteen-thousand words, and I have a clearer idea of what the story is turning into. I’m still trying to pin down Giada’s personality. In my first book, Giada was flirty with a mischievous personality. I haven’t quite got it right, yet. She also hasn’t met Israel, either. Maybe he’s the one that unlocks her true nature. We shall see.

At least my antagonist is developing nicely. He has a lust for power and an arrogance only those with no real abilities seem to possess. He’s scared of Giada, for some undisclosed reason. I’m ready to introduce the tension between the two and see how it escalates.

No point in procrastinating. I only have a few hours to write before I leave for work. I’d better make the best of them. I’ll check in later this week. Hopefully I can stay on track!

NaNoWrimo 2014: Day 5

Posted on by
Reply

I hit a hiccup yesterday. Well, it was more of an impenetrable brick wall into which I slammed head first, then went careening over a cliff, only to die in a blaze of glory when I came to rest at the bottom, with no one to witness my unfortunate demise. Luckily, I got better and I’m back today.

The brick wall is still there, but instead of trying to break it down by brute force, I went around the damned wall and started the next chapter instead. I was utterly lost and had no idea what to do about my story so I decided to introduce a new character, the antagonist who will work to destroy my M.C.

Before I go on, I think it’s funny how the escort/prostitute is the hero in my story while the Cardinal is the villain. Shouldn’t the holy man be the good guy and the woman who sins for a living be the bad guy? Yeah, but then the story would not be what I want to write. I want it to be about what’s in a person’s heart rather than what they appear to be.

But back to my point….

My story was meandering. I couldn’t find a way to go forward. Giada was in Rome. She moved back to Rome. Look at how much Giada is in Rome, for the first time in ten years, back in Rome. Did I mention she’s back in Rome? For the first time in ten years? Here, let’s show her again in Rome, where she used to live ten years ago, but then moved. She’s back, and it only took her ten years!

I’ve never been that stuck before. One good thing is that I found her a love interest. I guess I should say I found someone who’s interested in her, but she doesn’t share his feelings. Too bad. He’s only in his early forties, tall, ruggedly handsome, and rich. He also accepts her for who she is and refuses to try to change her. He’s a good guy, but she doesn’t love him. She’s incapable of loving anyone, even him, and she feels bad for it.

But I couldn’t figure out how to write myself out of that corner. I didn’t know where to go, so I went to the opera. That didn’t help. Took her shopping then to dine where she ran into one of her clients. Still nothing. Frustrated, I lost control, hit the wall, went over the cliff and died. I think I only wrote 200 words yesterday.

I knew it would happen eventually, just not on day four. That’s okay. I’ll just skip ahead a bit and introduce someone new. I have to flesh him out a bit, discover his history and motivations. That’s what I’m doing now, and I’m up to 700 words for the day, and I’m just getting started. I should make my daily goal and make up for yesterday’s disastrous attempt. I hate being a day behind, but that’s not catastrophic. I just need to work harder so I don’t fall farther behind.

In search for a plot

Posted on by
7

Participant-2014-Web-BannerFellow Wrimos, we’re going on less than thirty-six hours before NaNoWriMo 2014 kicks off, and I can’t be more excited! And terrified. I just realized that though I know who I want to write about, and I have a general idea of where I need to end up, I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to get there. It’s a little like taking a trip from my house to Maine without consulting a map. Nope, I’m going to be my usual pantser self and drive, hoping I get there in one piece.

At least in the car, I know the general direction I need to take, and I can read road signs. Maybe it wouldn’t be the most efficient way, but I’d certainly get there. But with this story, I need to figure out a plot, even a loose idea, that can move me along. I have part of her history down, and I think I know why she choose to become an escort, but how did she get there?

What I know about my main character, Giada, is that she’s extremely intelligent, with an appreciation for literature, art, music, and working knowledge of politics. What scares me is that I’m not so intelligent, and I have a very limited knowledge of the list above. Also, I know nothing about escorts, pornstars, and the interactions between them and the clients that hire them.

What am I to do?

As with everything, I’ll just fake it and hope it makes sense. I know more than I’ll admit to myself, and I’ll research what I need as I go along. I have a feeling that there will be some nefarious character, a Cardinal working in the Vatican, that will incite the troubles against Giada, forcing her to ally herself with the very institution that she turned her back on, the Catholic Church. As a bonus, I’ll get to meet Israel Mendoza, the main character in my first NaNo novel, as a young priest.

But why is a Cardinal, one of the hingemen of the church, so interested in a mere prostitute? I have an idea, but I don’t think I’ll share that reason, at least not yet. All I know is that when I wrote her into my story back in 2011, she was just a throwaway character, a bit of revenge against someone who did me wrong. Naturally, I fell in love with her. She’s broken and jaded, but I understand her brokenness. Also there’s a joy and an innocence in her that belies her worldliness. I can relate to that, too.

As with everything I write, there’s a personal reason for my telling. I think with her, my reason is that she’s ultimately what I created, a throwaway character. That’s what I feel I am to those around me. She’s used and discarded, with no one to love or to be loved. That, too, is how I feel at times.

But she’s the hero in her story. She may live a sinful life, but she’s not beyond the call of redemption. She may sell her body for earthy pleasure, but in her soul there’s still a place unblemished by the touch of man. No matter how worthless she feels about herself, she will find that she does matter to someone who prizes her above everything and everyone else.

Too bad I don’t know how the hell I’m going to do it!