It's been a wild ride

Today is the last day of November. What does that mean? It's the last day of Nanowrimo 2010! That's right, it's coming to an end already. Earlier today I reached the 50k goal. I had to write about 3k per day yesterday and today to get there because, as I suspected, no writing got done during the four day Thanksgiving holiday. Not a word. I tried, too, but only parts of my house are warm and they happen to be the parts everyone congregates to. Plus, it was after a day of shopping with family and I wanted to sit next to Colin and just veg in front of the TV. "My Name is Earl" is surprisingly entertaining, although some parts are more offensive than I care for.

So I've "won" Nanowrimo. Hurray! Except it's really more of a milestone than an end, because I plan to just keep writing my novel. If I never quite find the end of it, I don't think it'd bother me too much. But I need to at least find a place where I can take a deep breath, or some way to make it appropriate to just say "to be continued." Even if it never is continued.

It's been a blast though. Really. I was skeptical that I'd ever be able to actually write that much in one month. But I did it, even with five days of no writing. Any words of advice for future writers? There's no secret tool. Just start writing. Even if you don't think there's much of a story. I was worried about not having enough material for 50,000 words, but I have passed that milestone and the story is still going strong. The boy has aged from 3 years old to 7.5 years old. I'm serious. Okay, I may have more monologues than I care to admit or chunks I wouldn't probably include in a published novel, but I wrote them and they're part of the nanowrimo novel.

You'll probably find that there's not enough "space" to say and do everything you want to do with all the things that pop up and surprise you. A novel is a lot like life, I think. You start out feeling like you've got a plan although you're not completely sure how it's all going to play out, and then you meet new people, you explore new places, you learn new things, you change, and your world constantly is turned upside down. What ends up happening is wildly different from what you'd expected, but it all works out in the end. Sometimes things seem hopelessly chaotic but then suddenly you find things tying in and fitting together neatly almost on their own.

The most practical and tangible piece of advice? Write every day. It's really hard to get back into the flow when you miss a day here or there. Your novel will actually *change* if you leave it alone for awhile. No, the words already on the page won't rearrange themselves magically, but the story in your head is constantly being molded by your own life whether you recognize it or not.

Another piece of advice is to play out scenes. Maybe not physically, but at least in your head. Imagine the surroundings, the moods, the conversation pace, and all the other undercurrents, as you write the scene. Write down the parts that jump out at you or write more about the scenery or physical actions than you think you should when you feel a lull in the conversation or story movement. It almost always helps, either by giving you clues of what happens next or letting your brain take a step back.

Well, I'm more tired than I thought I'd be. Time to chuck the keyboard aside and just laze with a cup of tea until Colin gets home. I'll say it again: It's been a wild ride. And it's not over yet.