Monday, October 29, 2007

I'm Here

Thanks a gazillion for the invitation, folks. I'm truly honored.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to post in generalities, because I signed up for NaNo under my real name (because I was a NaNo'er before I was a blogger) so if I'm too specific, you could find me on the NaNo site and then I'm out of the closet. Not that I wouldn't tell you anything you wanted to know anyway, but only privately in an email. To the blogosphere at large, I'm #1 Dinosaur.

As it is, I can't post my title on NaNo because I already posted it on my blog. I'm going with "The Phlebotomist," the "take this job and shove it" fantasy love story.

Status: Remembering that I've been cogitating about this story for months, if not years, I actually started "outlining." This "outline" looks *so* nothing like the format we all learned in 5th grade; no Roman numerals; no nested lists; none of that. It's sort of stream of consciousness, "pre-writing", so I know what comes in what order, and so I don't leave out any specific detail that needs to be there. It looks like a solid block of handwritten text on the page. Yes, I handwrote it. Although I won't do this for NaNo, I've found that I prefer to write longhand. That way I'm not trapped in front of the computer, but can do it on the couch, upstairs in the easy chair in the bedroom, at work; wherever. Then when I actually type it in, that constitutes the first editorial pass, as I'm always making changes.

The most important lesson I've learned from NaNo, though, is just to get it down. With my current WIP I have successfully resisted the temptation to go back and edit or re-work, even where I know it's going to need it. Job one is to get the draft done.

NaNo itself is a little different. I'll be keyboarding from the git-go, mainly for time but also because it lets me keep constant tabs on my word count. But as long as I have the "outline" by my side, I know where I'm going and a general idea of how I'm getting there. Plot-wise, this one is pretty straightforward; quite a change from my WIP, which is twisty as hell. But WTF, it's only NaNo.

Now all that's left (after finishing the outline; I'm only about 75% done with it) is hoping (praying; begging; wishing) that I can squeeze 50,000 words out of it. Nothing to do but try.

Awaiting 11/1. Tally ho!

4 comments:

Dreaming again said...

Welcome aboard!

I guess one thing about writing it in long hand ... you don't loose it to the cyberworld ... you just have to worry about Fido eating it.

*grimace*

#1 Dinosaur said...

Fido weighs about 12 pounds and can't jump. (She uses a wheelchair to walk outside.) And she's very picky about her treats.

BTW, how do you go about inviting others to join? One of my writing buddies from last year signed up again.

Dreaming again said...

I added you as administrator, so if you go your dashboard, and go to the settings page for this blog, then the 'permissions' page ... it will give the invites option put in their email and it will send the email invite.

Or, you send me the email address and I can do it.
Pearlsofaneagle@aol.com

Wish me luck, I'm starting my character development stuff again ... lets hope I actually SAVE it this time.

wait ...Fido uses a wheelchair?
*scratching head*

Unknown said...

I'm here! I'm here!

Thought you might like to know. Thanks again for the invite to join. I'm excited about NaNo-ing again this year and very much looking forward to sharing ideas, etc. I have a feeling you'll like the new novel if turns out anything like what I envision in my head. Be prepared for the same humor as the last one.

ps- I still need to read yours (hint, hint)