Plot Has Left The Building
As we approach mid-November and I find myself almost halfway through NaNoWriMo without a severe hitch, I want to lift my head for a moment and say, "Hi".
I'm getting into a routine, although it was a bit rough at the start.
I have managed to get my word-count in every day but sometimes it was by the skin of my teeth and, one evening, I had to literally sit myself down around 8pm or so, and scribble out those last 100 to 150 words.
Then trouble hit, in the form of appointments; spouse's appointments and a couple of my own. Nothing unmanageable but he gets up early for them and when he's up and about, it's nearly impossible to write; he's a bit of a conversationalist.
Pre-planning and mindfulness got me through.
What Plot?
Yep. I lost the Plot somewhere in the third chapter, I think; it was getting up to leave during the second one so I should have known. Now, I'm pantsing my arse off and have no idea where this story is going or where we'll end up.
I guess I'll just have to write it and see. I wonder if Tolkien ever felt like this...
What I have been doing is creating a little roadmap, on a scrap of paper, of what I want to include in each scene just before I write it. Just a few jotted notes and then I jump right into the scene. Remarkably, this little bit of plotting seems to be working out.
I think I'll keep it.
Logistics Problems
On at least two days I jotted throughout the day for no more than 10 - 15 minutes at a time and scraped by with the last few sentences under the wire before falling into bed. Those days were mentally draining, and I wasn't having much fun, either.
On Wednesday, I managed to get my quota wrapped up early and took advantage of the nice weather to change my chariot's winter tires. I was so set up with this accomplishment that I came in after dusk, showered and wrote another 300 words. Yay!
Today, Friday, was a great day with no obligations. Spouse, on the eve of his vacation, is sleeping in and I have a 'normal' day to be a 'normal' writer, whatever that is. I clocked just over 2200 words between 9am and 3pm (school hours) and now I am going to go play in Azeroth for the rest of the evening; run a few dungeons, kill stuff, and rest my brain.
Cheers!
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