NaNoWriMo - Still Creating!

Here it is Week Four.  I am at 44,416. Okay, some of you may think that I have the 50,000 words in the bag. This is the precarious part of this process.

 I have four days and my life still is going on not to mention my characters are doing there own thing. I have to bring the wanderings of a U.S. Marshal and her Federal Witness to some peace of mind. I have a murderer on the lose, trying to make a deal with the Feds. There are two mob underlings who have had it being treated as doormats and they now are prepared to reveal a new twist to organized crime. 

 I think it was midweek when I cut open a brown paper bag, duct taped it to a wall in my office, and used a brainstorming process called mindmapping to get my characters under control.  It worked. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. Now, I have this group of characters heading towards a "wrap." 

This last week also was very exciting because some interesting things happened to some of my characters.  A villian has discovered his softer side.  One of my main characters has met the man she will marry in another book in this series, (neither one of them know it yet). 

I have researched some fascinating information on air travel, historical sites, and life before technology.  I have backed up this work on my PC, a jump drive, and of course there are hard copies. 

Once this push for the first draft is done my work is not completed.  My mind already is swirling with a plan for the editing process. To add to the stress, my remodeling project is still going on and Christmas will come whether I like it or not.

NaNoWriMo Update -Week Three

Wow, what a difference two weeks can make.  My characters have found themselves caught in a turf war between the Canadian mob and Chicago Mob during the 1960s. It has been a challenge to write about chasing a character without tracking devices, cell phones, or a GPS. It is easier for my characters to cross borders and get through airports because security was negligible.

 It is a challenge to be a protagonist and antagonist in this novel. The characters have to be a creative thinkers. The lack of technology has been a problem for me because I don't think any longer about life without text messages, emails, tweets, or coded Facebook messages.

I also am learning much about the novel writing process during this exercise to write everyday. I have found that the characters and the plot actually are driving the novel. It is hard to put into words, but I always follow my outline when I write. (Don't laugh. Sixteen plus years of Catholic schooling does have an impact.) This time the outline expands with each of my writing sessions as the characters reveal the plot and action to me.

I have identified my main characters. I have a conflict, actually more than one. This time one of the characters in the story created a new subplot and it has enhanced my story. (No, it wasn't that glass of wine at dinner!)

This experience is challenging me, but the support material on the website has enhanced my writing.
Got to go and write. Check out the webstie www.nanowrimo.org and see what this organization is doing for writers of all ages.

29,622 words completed and twelve more days to make my goal of 50,000 words. Write on "WriMos" everywhere.

Progress Update - November 10, 2012

       After successfully starting the NaNoWriMo challenge on the road and writing without struggle for seven days, my return home has felt like slogging through a writer's bog.    Twelve days of mail scattered on every table in the house is screaming my name. There is the nagging nuisance of the phone ringing. Not to mention my well meaning spouse who wants to make sure that I am aware of the status of the remodeling project that is happening in my living room.
       Well, the first week of the challenge is over and I am at 13,424. According to my stat tracker, I have to step up my game or I won't make my goal of 50,000 words on November 30. The pressure is effecting me. Life is calling me. Things like keeping in contact with my family and friends beckons to me. The gods of order and cleanliness are hounding me for ignoring my duties as a the keeper of all things.  My cat has begun to bother my husband for her food because she knows that once I close my office door not even a nuclear attack can get me out. 
        Why, someone asked me would you want to write a novel in a month? Why not? It's the challenge. It's why individuals climb mountains, run marathons, knit, bake, sit through movie marathons - because I want to do try to do it.