Feeling Left Out...And No Time To Think About It

If you haven't noticed, I did not put up any announcements about joining in on the NaNo fun that so many of my fellow bloggers are enjoying.  Yeah, a part of me really wished I could do it but unfortunately deadlines with school and lots of essays still to write dictate my schedule these days.  So instead I've snatched tidbits of time to sneak peeks at everyone else's posts about their progress.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm very happy that so many of you have decided to do NaNo.  While it's not for everyone, I found it to be a great tool for getting a story started and blasting through a first draft.  I'm just feeling envious.

On another topic, I will soon be the envy of everyone else (okay, maybe not everyone but possibly a couple of you). Saturday morning, I'll be in an awesome writer's workshop with the one and only Jamie Ford!

Oh yeah, oh yeah!  Even though that day is our anniversary, my loving wife has agreed to grant me two hours of non-anniversary time.  Either she really understands how HUGE a fan I am of Jamie or she's planning on subjecting me to chick flicks and quality time for the rest of the day.  We're a pretty boring couple though.  I asked her the other night what she wanted to do for our anniversary and her response was less than earth-shattering.  She just wanted to go have dinner somewhere nice.

Yep, after 18 years of wedded bliss (not every single moment mind you, but enough of them), we don't really need much from each other besides time together.  And though I might make fun of my wife's choice of chick flicks at any opportunity, I guess I don't mind sitting through a Sleepless in Seattle-esque movie.  After all, she puts up with my crazy writerly dreams.

I just hope when I meet Jamie, I don't stumble over my feet and make myself look like an idiot.   You know how it is.  You see a celebrity on television and think how awesome it'd be to meet the person, but when you're there in the flesh, all common sense seems to evaporate from even the best of us.  Jamie seems to be a very down-to-earth guy though, so perhaps he'll forgive a bit of personal excitement on my part.  I'm taking my copy of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet too, with the hope that I can beg a signature or something.  I'll try to get a picture too and post it here.

Anybody else going to a workshop, meeting a famous writer, doing something we can be envious of?

The Party's Over...Or Maybe It's Just Begun...

Well folks, the NaNo party is over. Writers everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief as they relax their pens, fingers, keyboards, etc. And how did your ol' buddy Eric fare during this trying month? Well, let me tell you.

I started out the month really cranking hard. I got a good lead in the beginning, and it saved me from really falling behind. But life has a way of popping the balloon just as we're soaring to heights never seen before. Despite my early lead, little things here and there caused me to fall behind schedule. By the twentieth, I was a good 5 or 6 thousand words behind. Then I had a very difficult decision to make.

You see, besides working on NaNo, I was also studying intensely for my last collegiate exam. It was a Microsoft certification exam for networking (in fact, one of the hardest they have out there). On the twentieth, I sat down to think very hard about what was the most important thing here. Remember our recent discussion about priorities? After weighing everything carefully, I decided to opt out of continuing with NaNo and concentrate on my studies. NaNoWriMo has been important to me, but finishing school was even more important.

Making that choice was probably the best thing I could have done. I crammed hard for the test and yesterday I successfully passed it. I am now a college graduate with a Bachelors degree in Information Technology with Networking emphasis. Okay, I still have some paperwork to complete with the college and a graduation to attend in January, but these are mere formalities.

Now that all of this is done, it's time to reflect on things. I do not regret beginning NaNo one bit. I managed to crank out about 37K words before I stopped (which I intend to continue working on). I also learned alot about myself. Let me share with you what I have learned through this experience:

1. I can write every day and crank out alot of words per day (okay, not as many as Lost Wanderer seems capable of, but oh well).
2. I realize now how much I really need more organization prior to launching into a project. Even a rough outline would be better than what I attempted during NaNo. It would probably have allowed me to be a "free roamer" and still stay inside boundaries that make sense.
3. I realize I don't really like NaNo with respect to word counts. The word count became an anchor that threatened to drown me, rather than allowing me to concentrate on the story.
4. I can write chapter after chapter of not-so-good writing and it's okay. This was a really hard thing to learn, to duct tape my inner editor's mouth shut so I could just write. I swear he almost chewed through the stuff at least 10 times.
5. My wife hates NaNo. It was a really drastic change for me to shut out the outside world while I build my own on the page. I usually don't shut the door on the fam for so long, but I had to in a very big way for this event. This is not an aspect I like, another reason I may not attempt NaNo again.

All in all, I enjoyed plodding through NaNo despite the troubles and aggravations. I am sure I would have been successful at the end, had I not needed to concentrate on other things. And I have a whole year to contemplate whether to attempt it again (a whole year of flowers for my wife so she doesn't scalp me next year).

As for celebrating, you better believe I am doing just that. I graduated! That in itself is cause for celebration. I also learned alot during November, which is also good. And now that I'm not working towards an IT degree, maybe I can take a few creative writing classes to improve my craft. Thank you to everyone who supported and encouraged me throughout this month. A special thanks goes out to my wife and kids, who always support me no matter how absent I might be.

So who made it through NaNo as a winner? Even if you didn't, congrats for making the attempt. It's quite a challenge, and no matter how it turned out, you should hold your head high.

Stumbling Into Muddy Waters

I've written myself into a wall (metaphorically speaking, anyway). My NaNo project has hit a stumbling block, and I have no idea where I'm going to take it. I think I'm about 2/3 of the way through the story at this point, which is a good thing. I'm on the downhill side, but evidently there is a cliff I did not expect.

I've heard many different perspectives on this type of problem. Some people say when you're stuck, kill somebody. I had a hard enough time dealing with one death, not sure if I can do another one. Okay, I guess I am over Trevor's mother dying. But I don't know who else I would kill anyway. So I doubt that's going to be the option I take.

One problem is that the storyline has changed from my initial ideas. See, when I first began telling Trevor's story, I imagined him wanting to get out of town as soon as possible. He is physically different than everyone else around him(significantly so), and he hides (both figuratively and literally) inside a disguise. With the death of his mother (which he is directly responsible for) and discovery of his "differences" by the antagonist, he is on the run. His friend Brent helps him escape from the clutches of the antagonist, and their thoughts are to get him out of the city. They have no idea what is like outside the city (since nobody ever leaves the city), but it has to be better than what punishments await him otherwise.

Then the plot takes an abrupt turn and Trevor discovers this other sector of humanity hiding beneath the city. Trevor meets a woman (Mara) who declares she is his destined wife, and he starts to uncover the horrific truth about humanity's past. The need to know the entire truth drives him further underground towards a mysterious bunker from another era, with Mara becoming comfortably (and uncomfortably) close. The antagonist (not having given up on finding Trevor) breaks up the party again, capturing Brent and inadvertedly collapsing the tunnel end.

So now Mara and Trevor are trapped underground with no apparent escape, just as they are reaching what may be the truth he seeks. They have almost no supplies and no discernable way out. A search through the underground complex reveals some truth about man's past and eventually they find an alternate exit, climbing their way back up to emerge within the sewers beneath the city.

Here is where I am stuck. Trevor's need to escape has disappeared, transformed into a need to stay near this woman. He also has to try to find his friend Brent and free him, if he can. Finally, the chains that have enslaved humanity must be broken. He realizes this, and ...

Here's the crux of it. I have no idea how I get him to save humanity. HOLY FREAKIN' COW, BATMAN! Can I really have created a world so dependent on their own slavery that they cannot exist without it? And how do I get this one insignificant person to overthrow the existing order without causing the city to destroy itself in the resulting chaos?

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Okay. Virtual scream of frustration finished. I don't have any hair to pull out, so I had to talk through this here. I do have some inklings now that have emerged in my brain, so this wasn't a complete waste of time. Oh, and for those keeping track, I am about a day and a half behind (or so). Most of that is because of these plot issues. But word count wise, I'm a hair below 30K. So I'm not really too far behind. I will be catching up this weekend and hopefully getting ahead even.

So what do you think of the storyline so far? Intriguing enough to read the story? All comments are welcome.

A Couple Reasons To Celebrate

I meant to put up a post yesterday, but of course by the time I got done writing on my NaNo, I was too tired to think straight. This post is going to be very short as well.

If you haven't stopped by The Literary Lab today, hustle on over. Scott (who is on vacation no less) posted a really awesome discussion concerning First Acts. This is in reference to the previous discussion revolving around writing with a beginning, middle, and ending act in mind for our writing projects. It's very well thought out, and I found some useful gold nuggets among his words.

So far, I've only missed one day in NaNo where I did not get a chance to write (Tuesday), but I made up for it the following day. Well, today is going to be another such occurrence. My wife and I are celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary today, so needless to say there will be no NaNo work this evening. Yes, she is understanding and says she wouldn't care if I did. But I'm not such a thickheaded knuckledragger that I'd truly believe that. It's a special day, and if that means I have to write twice as much tomorrow, so be it.

Lastly, I'm happy to say that as of last night, two things have happened - I passed 11K words, and I am just about ready to plunge headlong into the "middle section" of my story. Scott, wherever you are in vacationland, keep your fingers crossed for me. I may need all the inspiration and help I can get.

For all the rest of you out there slaving away on NaNo, on RevisMo (good luck Guppster and The Intern), or just on your regular ol' WiP's, good luck to you and may your pens drip eloquent words on the page like golden honey sparkling in the morning sun. Okay, maybe a little overdone, but it's my blog so there! :P

Oh My God, She's Dead!

No, I'm not talking about my novel. That, thankfully is very much alive. What I am talking about however, is my MC's mother.

I've never killed off a character before. Of course, I am not as experienced as so many of you out there, nor do I have a vast library of successful and unsuccessful novels. But this experience is truly odd.

I suppose what makes it most odd is the fact that I had not intended for her to die (at least I don't think so). I was sitting there writing away on Chapter 3, the MC and the mother were in conflict (as they often are), and then some time later she's lying dead on the floor. As I finished typing the last sentence of that particular scene, it hit me. Holy cow. I just killed her.

Now don't get me wrong; the death of the mother actually does work well within the framework of the story. And as a catalyst to get the MC moving, it's perfect. It just surprised me, as if I really weren't the one typing the words but instead were strapped to a chair while my muse played havoc with my WiP.

I'm okay now. I've become accustomed to the idea of her demise, which is why I can relate it to you all now. There is a method to my muse's madness, despite the fact that sometimes I think he's the grand ol' Wiz working behind a curtain. I've been able to continue the story beyond this woman's death, and I am sure that with editing, the scene will be quite memorable. The shock of the moment however, will probably always linger in the back of my mind.

Oh, and on the positive side (not that this is negative really) I have already exceeded my daily goal of 1700 words per day. I am supposed to be at 8500 words by the end of tomorrow, and after today's work, I'm already at 8798. If I manage to keep up this pace all month, I figure I may even exceed the 50K goal by a good 10K margin. It's great to be ahead, but I'm not slowing down no matter what. This is so much fun, I can't really describe it. I don't think I've ever had so much fun "forcing" myself to write.

So back on to the topic I started with, have any of you ever killed off a character? How did it feel to take your first "virtual life"?

Still Slaving Away

Although I am working hard on NaNo, others have made it clear that this difficult challenge is not all there is to life. Cough...Surly Writer...Cough Yes yes, I get your point. We do not need to become silos of silence, only peeping our heads out long enough to yell out a word count as if the very numbers themselves will cause writers worldwide to proclaim our greatness.

Whew. That was a long sentence. Sorry.

Okay, now that I've had a moment to breathe, let's talk about other things. I stumbled on a couple of posts that were coincidentally useful for me right now. Rachelle Garner had a very interesting post about foreshadowing and telegraphing. And Scott Bailey over at The Literary Lab was talking about the middle of our stories. The reason I call them coincidental is because I am really progressing nicely with this WiP (even though my inner editor is screaming about how crappy the writing is in general), and very soon both of these concepts will be something I need to deal with.

Let's talk about foreshadowing. Prior to reading Rachelle's post, I had not thought about the fact that I could be telegraphing the future events instead of foreshadowing. I am probably guilty of writing hints all the time that are really more blatant than they should be. That after all, is the key. Foreshadowing should be very subtle, as Rachelle is so adept at pointing out.

For example, in my WiP the MC Trevor has a father that disappeared some time ago, with no notice, and leaving no trace. Trevor knows the father did something to alter Trevor's body, his genetic makeup (prior to birth). His father was a brilliant geneticist. Trevor is distinctly different than the rest of humanity and must hide beneath a sophisticated suit or risk all sorts of problems (both legal and social). Out of nowhere however, he is given information that may completely alter his perception of his father, as well as his future existence.

Now I have already crafted the passing of information, clumsily to be sure. That will need to be refined in the 2nd draft, but Rachelle's post helped me see how important it is that I not just drop it in Trevor's lap with a bow. So how do I hint that there is more to the story without it being obvious telegraphing? Honestly, I'm not sure and this may require a great deal of thought. For the first draft though, I'm leaving it at clumsy.

As for Scott's post, he divides stories up into three acts. He pays special attention to the fact that most writers have difficulty with the middle of the story, not the beginning or end. I usually only know the beginning, but surprisingly I have a good idea where this story has started and where it will end. Connecting the two is nebulous at best, and I'm hoping my quasi-planning/writing process will work it out. I'm also worried about pacing, because once this thrill ride gets moving (which is not too far from now in the storyline), I need it to stay at a very active, heart-clenching pace. How do I do this? I have no idea.

Using this WiP as an example again, let me explain. Trevor is significantly different from every other person in society. I won't spoil it by saying how, but suffice it to say that his physical makeup is actually illegal, not to mention socially unacceptable. His own mother considers him an abomination and a coward, since he is too scared to reveal himself to the world. Trevor has enemies however, even if he doesn't know it yet. Once they find out, he will be running (literally and figuratively) for his life. The pursuit will be hot on his heels at every turn, and I will have to be careful to not allow any significantly quiet moments. Only when he reaches a sanctuary of sorts can the story slow down, which by that time should mean I'm in the 3rd and final act.

How am I going to craft this? Only my muse knows. Any advice on either subject is very welcome, by the way. I am happy to be almost blindly stumbling through this process, but I wouldn't begrudge a lit candle now and then.

Oh, and incidentally I did manage a decent amount of words yesterday (2675 to be exact). It was more of a struggle than the first night, though I can't really say why. The story just wasn't flowing as well as I would have preferred. I still have to do my allotted time this evening, but I wanted to get a post up.

So there, Michelle. Take that ya dirty rat! You had to read through my entire post just to see my total, so nyah nyah! :P

NaNo Opening Day

Well, although I didn't began at midnight like so many others may have, I did begin the challenge today. I also didn't do as much planning for this beginning as I had thought I would, but it didn't seem to slow me down much either. And despite the angry yelling of my internal editor, I kept him at bay throughout. So I bet everyone's wondering what my first day word count is? Hold on to your butts! I managed to crank out just a hair over 2900 words (2910 to be exact). Yeah, wow huh? I actually didn't stop until I had the first chapter complete. I already know I will have alot of editing to do when all is said and done, but I'm trying to keep that thought hidden for this month.

I am amazed that I was able to get that much done. I just kept on plodding along though, not allowing myself to think and instead just letting the tale flow out word by word. Astoundingly enough, the words kept on coming despite my internal editor screaming at me to go back and correct this passage or fix this sentence. Okay, to be honest I did do a few word corrections here and there. But I managed for the most part to just let things be what they are.

So day one is done, I've gotten the beginning going, and now I just have to sit down and plan out what Chapter Two is going to be about. I'm really excited about this though, and I hope I can keep up this momentum throughout the month. Can you imagine if I did? Wow.

On another positive note, I turned in my Capstone paper yesterday morning and I got the grade back after a few hours. The grading scale is from 1 - 4, with 3 being passing and 4 exceptional. For my 35+ page project detailing how to install a network in a hypothetical dentist office, I got a 4 out of 4! Woohooo, oh yeah! I have been on cloud nine ever since reading the results. Now I have only one more test to pass and I am done. Unfortunately it is one of the hardest certification exams Microsoft has for us network guys, but I am hoping I will be able to pass it successfully before the month is out.

Do I have too much on my plate this month? Probably. But I'm determined to both pass this test AND win NaNo. If this isn't the hardest month I'll ever have to do, I don't know what is. But hey, if I survive and achieve both things, imagine how much celebrating I'll have to do.

Okay all you other NaNo participants out there, let us all know how you did. Was it easy? Was it fun? How was your first day? Stay tuned tomorrow, where hopefully I'll be able to have another great day.