I participated in NaNoWriMo last month and was
writing book 3 in my Wind Dancer series. I managed to win on day 11. One
of the good things about having written the first book in a series is
that you’ve already established the rules of your
world and the subsequent installments can just get on with the story. I
think this is what helped me write so much so quickly…until it all fell
apart at approximately day 17.
I’m a plotter and I thought I had it all
worked out before I started writing but
it turns out the story completely ran away with me and much of it will
have to be scrapped. Which would be fine except that I am one of those
writers who hates editing. I could write another 50,000 word story no
problems but any kind of editing makes me want
to curl up into a ball in the corner. But it has to be done and I don’t
want this book to take another four years to write like the last one
did. I have so many loose
ends to tie up and my biggest fear is ending
it all without a satisfactory resolution.So this month and the next, despite it being the festive season, I will be doing the thing I hate most and kind of loving the process anyway. If you participated in NaNoWrimo what are your plans for your novel? How is everyone else's writing going?
Congratulations on winning!
ReplyDeleteSorry you hate editing. I hate first drafts. Want to switch?
I participated in NaNo years ago and I made it to the end and got my word count in--but I realized that the important thing is that it gets you writing. Even if you only write 10,000 words the whole month, that's 10,000 words! Many of us don't write that many words any other month, so it's a win.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Alex. I hate 1st drafts! I mean, I'm learning to love them... slowly. I'm planning on writing my latest MS full-tilt come January, and for now, I have to plan the entire story, so we're both doing what we do NOT love about writing. They're different things, but we feel the same about them.
ReplyDeleteOh man! That's so frustrating. I hate editing too! If only we could write perfectly in the very first draft. Sigh!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I also like editing. Rough drafts are usually harder for me. I took part in NaNo, but didn't win. The book I was working on is a sequel to the two I have published, so that's where it's headed as well. :-)
ReplyDelete