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Seven days to go.As of this moment, I’m 200 words ahead of schedule and looking at a downhill dash to the finish.
Week 3 was way smoother than Week 2. Yeah, I had a couple of major plot questions to work out, but my wife and I went to dinner again (this time during happy hour) and by the time we finished I had the answers.
Still, I barely averted another crisis when my fingers were working faster than my brain. I’d planned a major twist for the middle of Act III, where a supporting character switches sides. Somehow I blew right through that scene, realizing only later that the wrong character had made the jump - and the rest of the plot now hinged on them both having new allegiances. This took some furious brainstorming, but it worked out, and the scene is now stronger.
And I’m finding it easier to get my rhythm. I normally have to chug out two or three hundred stodgy words to clean the pipes, but it now takes only a couple of sentences.
How all this will carry over to the rewrite stage, I don’t know, but I’m hopeful. Maybe I’ll set a 30-day limit on that too.
Before starting this project, I polled members of my critique groups to see if any cared to join me. Only one was tempted, but she had other commitments. Another, mystery writer Doug Levin (he of EQMM Jan 2008 and an issue TBA), suggested my time might be better spent writing a mess of short stories. The more I ponder that idea, the more I like it, so sometime soon I’m hoping to stage my own personal ShoStoWriMo, and commit to cranking out 10 or 15 stories, or maybe 30 flashes. Thanks, Doug!
13 comments:
Just curious, Evan, how do you classify your novel as to genre?
This one is technically historical adventure, but will likely be seen by publishers as a western.
I heard Dave Sim (writer/artist on the comic book, CEREBUS) once say that if he went two days w/o drawing, he could tell. If he went a week, his fans could tell, if he went a month, everyone could tell.
Writing is like drawing in that sense of --let it slide: become a rusty crankcase. Thankfully, as you've found, the opposite is also true.
Happy hour is so helpful. And I'm sure Hemingway would approve.
Congrats on the NaNo!
Congrats, Dave. I'd like to think it was all due to my encouragement, but I'm afraid I can't take credit. :) Anyway, good job!
Evan, I'm struggling with my latest opus THE BURNING RANGE. Any chance you can take some time off and crank out, say, 5,000 for me? It will only take you a couple of hours.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks, folks.
Geez, Joe, maybe someday, following in the Ralph Compton tradition, I'll see a book with your name in giant letters at the top - and down at the bottom in fine print it will say, "A Joseph A. West novel by Evan Lewis".
Yeeehah! I'm all for that.
But in all fairness to Signet, my name is usually in 6pt at least.
Thanks for the credit and the link. Well if you go for the short story idea, let us know. Maybe you should trademark NaShoStoWriMo or some such. For whatever reason, I've never gotten too excited by flash fiction, though I did write some 50-word stories once in conjunction with a kid's school assignment. I should probably work toward greater excitability in general.
Woo hoo! Lookit them fingers fly! When do we get to see this thing?
The short story marathon is a great idea. I oughtta...
You go, boy!
I picture you, seated at a desk, crayon clutched in fist, Big Chief tablet at the ready, mind spinning with ideas for plot twists, great dialogue lines and descriptive passages.
He puts crayon to tablet, tightens his grip, forges the letter "T" onto the paper! Another word begun! Another sentence begun! Another paragraph... well you get the idea.
Good work. Keep going!
Appreciate you stopping by, everyone.
Are you psychic, Rick, or just kin to Sherlock Holmes? Yep, I do all my writing with a Big Chief and crayons.
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