Nano Progress Notes

Hmm. Haven't made my word count tonight, but I worked late and went to karate, so that's not hugely surprising. I should have skipped my usual post-karate indulgence of watching CSI, really, and got on with it.

On the plus side, it wasn't entirely like pulling teeth tonight, I know a little bit more about one of the new characters -- although I don't actually know whether he's alive or not -- and while I've not got any favourite lines from this evening to share, there are a few little character touches here and there, and some decent enough dialogue. And the plot's vaguely moving on a bit.

I did walk to work and back today, but it didn't really help me think about the plot at all. But maybe it helped my unconscious a bit. According to more than one novelist I've interviewed, wandering around cities is quite good for getting ideas moving...

Nano progress

Well, not too bad today. I at least made my 1,666 words, just. Had a good half-hour blockage, but found (hopefully) another scene from later on that needed doing.

Right now, I seem to be losing it a bit. I've not really got much plot at all. And now I'm drifting more and more into writing disconnected stuff which may or may not join up at the end. And if it doesn't join up, I'm a bit screwed.

I may have to have a Plot Doctoring Day on Saturday. I think the main thing I'm learning here is that I'd have been far, far better off starting out with a reasonable idea of what I wanted to write, and what I wanted to write about .

I have a feeling that it's the plot/outline that are the really difficult bits for me. Character doesn't seem too hard; dialogue's easy, and I seem to have found a pretty consistent voice. But while I'm sure there are some people who can just start off with a single scene and a couple of characters in mind and go from there, I'm not sure I'm one of them. And choosing the kind of noir-y, detective-y, thriller-y style I've chosen, which is of course heavily plot-reliant, may have been a Bad Idea.

So. Tip to self for next year: practise plotting, big-time.

Oh, yeah. Favourite line of the day:

Domingo burst through the doorway. “Run!” he shouted, as he raced past me. I didn’t need telling twice, and I’d nearly caught up with him as three of the Order of the 24th Moment piled through the door and chased after us.
“What the hell’s going on?” I asked, breathlessly.
“I seem to have developed a cult following.”