Mid-Point Madness
First of all… how are you? How is your NaNoWriMo project coming along? As we’re just over halfway through NaNoWriMo 2020, I know this can sometimes be the hardest part of the month. It is for me.
For those who have been following along on Twitter, or on NaNoWriMo.org, you know already that it’s been fairly smooth(ish) going for me. The biggest obstacle this year has been carving quiet time to write around work and the rest of life. But that’s hardly a complaint. I’m smiling at the moment, because I’ve cashed in some vacation time from my day job for this week, and am looking forward to filling it up with words, as well as some much-needed quality time with the rest of life that occurs outside of my day job.
A Plantser Faces Her Weaknesses
After seventeen days, I’m well to the part of NaNoWriMo that is always the hardest for me; the middle of the story. In a world of plotters and pantsers, I’m a card-carrying plantser. And NaNoWriMo 2020 has seen me true to form. I haven’t descended into total words-of-any-kind desperation yet, but my story is living scene-to-scene at this point, until my characters find their way to the midpoint game-changer… for which I do have a plan. Really.
This is something that I am working on improving about my own writing process, one of those areas of constant improvement. Rachael Stephen’s Plot Embryo system has been a game-changer. This method has become The Way of moving a plot nugget or a general concept into something that can stand on its own as a real, progressing story with a whole lot less trial and error in the prose department.
My surprise non-wordcount win this NaNoWriMo has been, after many years at the keyboard, finally figuring out the missing middle step of translating the embryo into a detailed beat sheet that works for me. As far as my current project goes, that translation has occurred on the fly, but I’m already envisioning how to prepare better for the next go-around. I’m looking forward to doing a post early in December that goes deeper into this process.
What’s Getting Me Through The Month So Far
Tea.
So. Much. Tea.
Ambient-mixer.com has been a lifesaver. I’ve written before about how white noise helps me, but anything too followable is worse than nothing. I’ve been a particular fan this NaNoWriMo of the Cozy Ravenclaw Common Room ambiance track.
Last year, my self-reward for reaching 50k was to purchase Scrivener. After a year of playing with it and learning the system, it is paying back dividends now. While I don’t usually use the Project Targets feature when I’m working on short stories or on less structured timetables, it has been perfect for keeping me on track for NaNoWriMo.
And, last but not least, I’m falling in love with writing sprints. In a November that has been absolutely packed with other projects, writing sprints have been the way for me to get good chunks of word count knocked out in concentrated time. 10 minutes has been my “sweet spot.” I know, I know, sprints aren’t exactly news to most of you, but this is the first time I have made a concerted effort to implement them into my process.
Other Items On The Burner
Besides 1667 words per day, I’ve had a few other things in process lately.
Alongside NaNoWriMo prep in October, I drafted a couple of short stories for submission openings this month. I’m giving those a final review and edit before sending them out into the world, so fingers crossed!
On the reading front, I found a slim little volume that’s providing me with a lot of inspiration: The Creative Writer’s Handbook, by Isabelle Ziegler. It’s a bit dated in terms of guidance on marketing and preparing manuscripts for submission (hello 1975 copyright), but does have a lot to offer about structure, different narrative forms, and tone, packed into a breezy ~130 pages including bibliography and appendices.
I’m also reading, for the first time, Starship Troopers. Oddly enough, as much of Robert Heinlein’s work as I’ve read and fallen in love with, I’ve never read this gem before, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
How is your NaNoWriMo project coming along?
Let me know how you’re doing? Thriving? Surviving? Plotting or Pantsing? Learning something new about your own process this November?
As has been the refrain all year… we’re all in this together! Here’s to finishing NaNoWriMo strong, and ending the month with novels in-hand!
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