Vigilant Silver Fox

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

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 ti

        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