NaNoWriMo 2007

Day 3: Word Count ZERO

It's November 3rd, I missed the first minute write-in, and didn't go to the Nov 1st write-in either, and I haven't written a thing until just now, arriving at the retreat in a spectacular house in Pacifica, overlooking the ocean. I drove up the hill and turned the corner onto the street - and there was a deer strolling down the street, looking at me politely. I stopped the car and waited for her to pass - she galloped past me and into the trees at the end of the street. I take the encounter as a good omen.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Resurrecting this blog with a cross-post from over here.

It's another gloriously golden October Sunday in Northern California, and after gardening some more, and setting out the apples for the pie I am going to bake tonight, I drove down The Alameda to the Mission City coffee house, where about a dozen NaNos are congregating, to plan and plot and socialize and get ready for National Novel Writing Month. Like every year, I don't know what I am going to write. But I have notes to consult. Here's what I've jotted down over the years:

Settings:

• an insane asylum ("are you also mentally divergent?")
• a party. open with me primping for it. end with me going home alone.
• an airport. tell the stories of the people who encounter each other there.
• a business meeting, and what the people are thinking about, instead of focusing on business matters
• a dating service
• a therapist's office

People:

• Apache Joe
• an ex-husband
• Pan, seafoam green, the God of shepherds
• the bass guitarist of the happenin' band
• a samurai
• the Dalai Lama
• MBob
• zombies
• Joe Bob
• the Riders of the Apocalypse, stopping to ask directions
• Kolja

(If any of the above appeals to you, go ahead and rip it off; I have no issue with that. If I wanted to keep secrets, I wouldn't put them on the intarwebs.)

Did it!

I made my 50k, and I'll do it again next year. Until then (Octoberish), this blog will be hibernating.

Oh, Crap

Writing my NaNo novel is strangely depressing this year. Last year, I aimed to write a story, with a real narrative arch, and ended up writing 50,000 words of crap. Which was alright by me. This year, being a smartass, I thought I'd deliberately aim to write crap, and maybe I'd end up writing something good. I even had a story, and some major plot points in mind.

I'm making my word count, and the validator is generous. My manuscript said it was at 47,390, the validator clocked it at 47,420, so the goal is in sight. But the writing has been singularly unsatisfying this year, and the only reason I am continuing is to win this year, and not have an "incomplete" blemish my permanent record. I write little snippets easily (it's just like blogging), but I am having trouble getting to the big picture, and I feel convinced that I would be a lousy novelist, and should leave it to the people who can actually write.

Stranger Than Fiction

[Cross-posted from over here - it just fits in here so perfectly, I've got to note it here too.]

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jason forbid me to go see "Stranger Than Fiction" without him. He knows I am doing NaNoWriMo, and was willing to wait into December, but I could not hold out that long, the movie sounded just too great - and like the perfect NaNoWriMo movie, actually: a man starts hearing a voice narrating his life, and eventually figures out that he is a character in a novelist's new book. And she is about to kill him.

Sounds absurd, doesn't it? And yet, all the characters were entirely believable. I think this may well have been the best movie I've seen all year. I loved it right from the opening credits, with the overlaid diagrams. The visuals were great - for example, almost all the architecture throughout the film was very angular and straight and sparse and unforgiving. The characters were GREAT, and the plot moved forward relentlessly, and I was anxious to find out how it would be resolved - and the ending of the movie mimicks, of course, the ending of the book.

But what has stuck with me overnight is one scene with one gesture. (I am not surprised. It's usually something smallish that makes the largest impression on me.)

Will Ferrell's character, Harold Crick, makes a gesture so sweet and romantic that I find myself reminded of John Cusack with a boombox over his head. No, I won't tell you what it was, because that would spoil one of the finest moments in the film for you. Let me just say that it took me about four seconds to comprehend. When I got it, I laughed, because I was so delighted by it.

If you like Will Ferrell, go see this movie.
If you like Emma Thompson, go see this movie.
If you like Dustin Hoffman, go see this movie.
If you like Maggie Gyllenhaal, go see this movie.
If you like Queen Latifah, go see this movie.
If you are a writer, go see this movie.
If you are a reader, go see this movie.

Oh, what am I saying - just go see this movie! (And check out the movie's web site - I'm going back there tonight, to replay a couple of scenes, get a podcast, and play a game there.)

Back in the Game

I haven't posted here much. Sorry bout that. Didn't have much to say over the last week, because I wasn't writing much, but I knew the weekend's writing retreat would bring me back up to speed.

I showed up Friday night with a measly 6115 words on Day 10, and am leaving with 20,113, right back in line with the average I need to be at (20,000 was the mark for Sunday).

I didn't tally other supplies this weekend - suffice it to say there were lots of snacks, caffeine aplenty, several bottles of wines, and good meals shared around the dinner table.

Here, then, are my stats:
Words written this weekend: 13,998
Words written total: 20,113
Words to go: 29,887
Caffeine intake: abundant
Junk food intake: more than sufficient
Alcohol intake: Red, red wine, go to my head ...

Beginnings

My novel starts thusly:
"I swear I'm going to kill her!" I said.

For other openings, check out the thread on the South Bay forums:
National Novel Writing Month - Forums - California :: South Bay - What's your first sentence?.

November 1st Stats

Alright, after the 3rd write-in of the day, these are my results:

Stats:
Words written today: 4,013
Words written total: 4,013
Words to go: 45,987
Caffeine intake: 2 cups of tea
Junk food intake: 4 tootsie rolls, 1 cheeseburger, 1 apple pastry

It is November!

It's November 1st, I have already attended two write-ins today, and I am still looking forward to a third one. What? Yes! I went to the first minute write-in at Denny's last night, and had a lunch-time write-in with a colleague. And I am about to wrap up at the office and run off to Books Inc for the Wednesday night Mountain View write-in.

Stats:
Words written today: 2,774
Words written total: 2,774
Words to go: 47,226
Caffeine intake: 1 cup of tea
Junk food intake: 4 tootsie rolls, 1 cheeseburger

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

The intrepid Cybele reviews writing-friendly candy: The Apothecary’s Garden: Spices - Candy Blog.

As National Novel Writing Month approaches my mind turns to writing-friendly candy. This is a tough category. Not only does the candy need to be neat (no sticky bits to get in the keyboard) but it also has to support the work at hand. In years past I’ve nibbled on licorice vines, Reese’s miniatures (not really recommended as they are a two-handed candy), M&Ms and orange Tootsie Pops.

Check out the whole post and the beautiful pictures of these candies. I am not a licorice or ginger fan, and most cinnamon candies have too much bite for me too (Gawd, I am such a wimp!), but I may have to try these.