I made it to 50K Wednesday night around 11:15pm. Forty-five minutes to spare! I'll be honest, 50K in ten days was a pretty ridiculous marathon, and if I'd had to pull together one more 5K day, my brain would be mush right now. As it stands, I took Thursday off of my NaNo book to write blogposts for GeekaChicas and catch up on some Graphic Novel reading. SO mentally exhausting!
This weekend I'm going to be going through a bunch of my stuff from my parents' attic, which is part of why I did my best to make it to 50K by the 10th. I wanted to get my COMPETITIVE writing out of the way before facation! But, I'm definitely not done writing this month, and my draft is definitely not complete. Usually my drafts end up somewhere between 80-100K.
My original plan for NaNo was to come out the other side with a completed draft for this book, but from the beginning I've been kind of unhappy with how the draft is working. There's so much more that I want to weave in and work out that just isn't making it onto the page right now, which is making me wonder if I would be better served beginning the book again and starting the rewrites and reorganization instead of going any further. I know how the book is supposed to end (maybe) and I know what I want to happen next, but the beginning is just rubbing me the wrong way. The tone isn't anywhere near what I wanted. (And if you want to know what I was aiming for, please feel free to revisit my Bad Boy Blogfest post. The first scene is pretty much exactly what I want this book to be.)
What would you do? Continue on with a draft to see where it ends up, even though it isn't what you want it to be already, or stop and start over again?
First off, CONGRATULATIONS!
ReplyDelete(I still think you're insane. In a good way. :) )
I had the same problem with my second book- it just wasn't sitting well with me. I didn't outline the story and wrestled with it and continued plugging away, but now I wish I'd gone back and started over. Instead, I moved onto my third book. It's meticulously outlined so things are going swimmingly.
Good luck!
First off: you are amazing - 50K in ten days? Wow!
ReplyDeleteSecond, I had a similar problem with my NaNo book last year. I envisioned it as a mystery, and that's how I approached the project. Given my weakness for writing cross genre, by the time I was half-way through, I realized I'd already broken so many tenets, I was going to have another a non-formulaic mystery on my hands (read: publishing anathema).
I dropped the mystery and decided to focus on the historical aspect, move forward then go back and rewrite the beginning. As it turns out, I now need to rewrite the book as a thriller. The ms is still not complete. I really can't offer any advice, but I understand your doubt. My instinct says to write to the end and see where it takes you. You can always go back and fix the beginning and the tone. That's what my instinct says, but in reality, it hasn't worked for me. Also, in my case, the rewrite is all plot. My characters are who they are, so that part is easy, it's just a matter of throwing different conflicts their way.
Way to ramble V.!
Stephanie: I'm glad to hear book three is going so well! I don't outline really, ever, so that's less of an issue, but the more I think about it the more I'm wondering if I started the book too early? I don't know. This is the most frustrating novel I've ever written! Ha!
ReplyDeleteVR: Your rambles are appreciated! And I didn't really think you WERE rambling so don't worry about it :P
I always knew this book was going to be rough, and that I was going to have to play with it to get it right, but I didn't expect to get 50K in and still not feel like I have a solid handle on the voice and tone. When I don't get the beginning right, it weighs on me so much and makes me drag my feet moving forward. ha! So maybe I'd better just start again and see if I can figure it out sooner rather than later. Rewriting isn't really that big of a chore to me, so it isn't that big of a deal really. meh. So frustrating!
I've been hearing a lot lately about writing to the end. Try it. See where it takes you :)
ReplyDelete~Tina (who is still in awe)
I say embrace the spirit of NaNoWriMo and finish. It can be hard to resist the urge to edit and change things but you can do it! Depth and threads can always be added later. You may end up with a very rough draft, but it will be a draft nonetheless!
ReplyDeleteTina: I will certainly be making it to the end. I think it's just going to be a DIFFERENT one ;)
ReplyDeleteHeather: It isn't that it's missing elements of the story so much as it's telling the wrong story. I caved and started rewriting, but it is kind of like I've begun rewriting from the middle, not the very beginning, so maybe it counts?
wow...nicely done! Best of luck with the rest of the month...a lofty goal indeed. But you hit this one pretty well. I wish you success.
ReplyDeleteOK, ummm, 50k in 10 days!! That's effing prolific!! Last year I barley got there in 30. Congrats! You're my idol!
ReplyDelete