NaNo 2010 reflections

In case you missed it, November’s over, and so is National Novel Writing Month. Before the clock hit midnight on December 1st, I managed to write 47,877 words… this close to the 50K I needed in order to win.  Oops.

Don’t feel too sorry for me, though, because so far as I’m concerned, I won. I may not have made the requisite word count, but I did finish the rough drafts of “Areopagus“, “Spyder, Spyder“, and “Strength of the Fallen“. Each of the three projects now has an ending, if a sucky one.

I’m not too concerned about suckiness. The goal of NaNo is not to be perfect, it’s to be prolific – to suck, but to suck impressively. At this point, the hard part – the “getting words down” part – is over. What is left is the perfectionist’s dream. When editing, I can be as detail-oriented as I please, from the perspective of a writer, a world-builder, a reader, and a feminist. Revision brings out a polished shine to my impressively sucky words, and adds depth and thoughtfulness to an otherwise-flat world. Yes, revision is definitely my favorite part of the writing process.

But first, I get a break. I had homework to do December 1st, but on the 2nd I had my first taste of freedom. I got more than 6 hours of sleep (during the entire month of November I only managed this once), and when I woke up, I did whatever I wanted. So I really just played Pokemon in bed all day, but hey, that’s what I wanted!

The days to come will be slightly less fun, as I have one more week before finals. Still, I will be without a long-term creative project for at least a few weeks. Maybe I’ll do some art. I have a short autobio/journal comic planned for Winter Break. Nothing epic in scope, thank god.  I’m even too pooped to start thinking about Multiversed again. The goal for now is simply to recover. When I return to the drafts of the three projects, they will be new to me again, and more importantly, as exciting as they were when new.

So that’s the interesting stuff. What follows is a rundown of my NaNo 2010 experiences. If you like stats or listening to me blathering on about process, feel free to read below the cut.

Twelve characters, three stories, one kick-ass month

NaNoWriMo goes well so far.  I had a very stressful time last week, and I’m still recovering from that.  So I’m behind in my word count, but the last two days I’ve managed to pull off 2,000+ words.

This NaNo seems to be oddly easier, even with the setbacks.  It helps having established stories to work off of, I suppose, and the fact that I can switch between stories once my steam runs out.  I’ve written 5,744 words so far, about half in Spyder, Spyder, and half in Areopagus.

I found this awesome 12 Characters meme on the NaNo forums, but they’re down at the moment, so I thought I’d post mine here.  It’s crossover-tastic, as one might expect.  Later in the month I’ll probably be writing crossover-fic due to NaNo desperation, but for now, this scratches the itch pretty well.

Spyder – okay, you know what, I got nothin’

Couldn’t think up an appropriate play on the title of the third NaNo project, Spyder, Spyder. ^^;;

The premise… is best explained by the project page linked up there. I really don’t know how to explain it in fewer words. It’s a story about gendered professions, a world just starting to come out of the shadows of patriarchy and superstition, but mostly it’s about three kids who are trying to live with one another while finding their places in the world. It’s kind of a love story, but mostly not. It’s kind of a YA novel, but kind of not.

Spyder is hard to describe because the worldbuilding is folded into the story in a way that SotF and Areopagus aren’t. It’s about the charmcrafting, it’s about the techno-mages called ‘spyders’, and while the characters are prominent, the magic – whether ‘female’ and symbolic, or ‘male’ and scientific – might as well be a character in itself. It’s hard to describe.

To be honest, when I was writing it the first time, I was constantly upset that all I seemed to be writing was drama, the mushy stuff. Rereading the script, I saw that wasn’t quite true. The worldbuilding is more present than I thought. As a result, there aren’t any large sections to cut. The whole damn thing is plot, or worldbuilding, or both. It’s like that the whole. way. through. 70 pages of pure (if editable) plot. I have no idea how that happened.

Nice thing about that, is I have no canon-rewriting changes to make. I don’t have to choose what foreshadowing to follow, because it’s all important and there’s only one way the plot can go from page 70. The only question is how far to take the conclusion.

Okay. National Novel Writing Month starts in 20 minutes. Wish me luck!

Tossing and turning the page

I’ve been having trouble sleeping recently. I go to bed and I toss and I turn, and I think about Multiversed. As a result, I’ve made a lot of progress in figuring out the chapter storylines. The prologue and chapter 1 still need some work, but chapters 2, 3, n-1, and n are more-or-less planned out in my head (where n is the magical chapter when shit goes down, yo). I even have chapter titles for some of them. It’s an exhilarating feeling, having solid plot to work with.

And, if you check my Multiversed references page, you’ll see that I’ve posted an update with Damien’s character sheet. I’d hoped to have Valerie’s revised character sheet done by today as well, but… see for yourself :

Heh heh. To misquote “Bend It Like Beckham,” when drawing, I tend to make even mosquito bites look like juicy juicy mangoes. ^^;;

Sleeplessness led to another awesome turn of events besides Multiversed progress. One night I stumbled back out of bed, and went back to my computer. I was looking for a couple of documents in which I keep spare ideas (for incorporating into a Multiversed storyline, say). But instead I ended up reading the beginning of Strength of the Fallen. Then, amazed, I read bits of Areopagus. Then Spyder, Spyder.

They were actually good.

It’s been long enough since I wrote these projects that I don’t remember anything but the barest details of them. It was as though someone else had written them, some writer who knew what she was doing.

For the first time in my life, I agree with my mother that I should try to get these things published. …Which means I should probably finish writing them.

Therefore I’m proud to announce that I will be doing National Novel Writing Month again this year. This time, I will be writing the ends to the drafts from my previous three NaNo’s. This month, my prep reading will be the drafts; my homework to brainstorm endings. I’m incredibly excited for this. NaNo is the most hectic but brilliant time. I feel so alive (if tired) during it, and I’m sure this time won’t be an exception.

(And look at those pep talk guests! Holly Black, Dave Eggers and Lemony Snicket. SQUEE. :3 )

Last but not least, I’m including an excerpt of Strength of the Fallen. There are a few things I’ll change in a later draft, of course, but it reminded me of all the intrigue that’s at the heart of this story. Click to read the excerpt.