When writing any story, there are bound to be changes during the first draft. That’s especially true for me during this NaNoWriMo since I am planning the novel while I write it. Even 27,000 words in, there are things that change.
Characters can change more than their name or eye color. Their outlook on the world and other characters starts out vague and is more defined as you develop them. I already have several notes on things to change from earlier chapters.
Continue reading25,020 words so far. I realized today that I’m going to have to scrap a scene and a half from earlier in the novel to adjust for new characterization and plot. The characters are finally coming together in my head, so I’ve decided to outline them below.
There are many more characters, but these are the important players in the first book.
Continue readingI am 1/5 of the way there, with 18,011 words total. That’s on track for 90k! I spent most of this evening working on figuring out the rest of Acts 2 and 3, with many ideas but still a lot of scenes to sort and place.
These six are smaller subplots that either are only a small part of the story, or are the beginning of a larger plot that extends through the rest of the trilogy.
Continue readingFour days into November, and things are running pretty smoothly. I’ve written 12,419 words, or about 1/8 of the total. That’s close enough to par for me, especially at the beginning of writing.
Besides the main plot, there are ten subplots that I’ve planned. With the expansion of the main plot, some of these will run their course in this book, and others will persist through the trilogy.
I’ve made a large chart detailing each plot and how it comes into play for each scene. Each subplot was outlined using the same major beats as the main plot. I’ve got the first half of the novel roughly planned out, though I expect some changes in the future.
Continue readingI sketched out the main plot by hitting upon 9 major scenes that form the scaffolding of the plot. Hopefully I’ll be able to plan scenes to lead into and out of these scenes to fill the rest of the space between them. For those interested, these major scenes are based on K. M. Weiland’s Story Structure.
Continue readingNaNoWriMo got off to a good start today. I often don’t finish the goal of 1,666 words on the first day, because it is always difficult getting into the swing of a new story. This year should have been especially hard, since I’d only done the briefest amount of planning. But things went fairly smoothly today.
I spent two hours this morning working on plotting the main plot, discovering the characters I’d need, and writing the opening of the first chapter, getting a total of 754 words written.
This evening, I managed to complete planning the main plot, which I will share tomorrow. I also began to work on the sideplots that I discovered along the way. After half an hour of planning in my notebook, and an hour expanding my notes into Manuskript, I managed to finish Chapter 1 with a total of 1,993 words written for the day.
Now, to see if I can improve my pace, as I’ll need to write 3,035 words a day to get to 90k by the end of November.
How’s the prep been going for this year’s NaNoWriMo?
Well, for me, there hasn’t been much. Between work, family, and editing What Happened at Ingvar Bluffs, I’ve put off prepping for this year’s NaNo novel. So far, I only have a few themes, some sketches of the world, and a loose sense of the plot.
This year’s novel doesn’t even have a name yet, so I’ve given it a (very boring) name: Project River. You’ll see why I chose “river” in the setting description below.
I’m sharing this as a way to work it out in my head for tomorrow morning and to encourage you to begin NaNoWriMo, even if everything isn’t perfectly planned out. Here’s what I have prepped so far:
Continue readingOver the next two days, Magnus slowly got back to work. Christmas was on Saturday and several orders needed to be finished. He worked in a daze, mindlessly completing memories, not noticing the movement of his hands.
Alvis stopped by at one point, ostensibly to invite Magnus to his Christmas Eve party, but Magnus knew he’d heard about the argument with Val. Magnus gave a few noncommittal responses to Alvis’s questions, and his friend soon left the workshop muttering and shaking his head.
The whole time, the memory of the fire sat in the center of the work table, untouched, but not unnoticed. Continually throughout the day, Magnus’s gaze wandered over, yet he never disturbed it.
It was the morning of the 23rd when Shay visited the workshop. “Sorry to interrupt, Magnus, but I’ve got another memory for you.”
“Alright.” Magnus did not look up.
“Everything okay?”
Continue readingMagnus finally caught up to Val outside of Mr. Dakken’s place. The two were talking in the front step when Magnus arrived, breathing heavily through clenched teeth. “What do you think you’re doing?” He snatched the memory from Mr. Dakken’s hand. “What’s going on with this?”
Val stood there, too stunned to speak.
Mr. Dakken cleared his throat. “Now, Magnus, I quite like-”
Magnus held up his hand, silencing him, but continuing to stare down Val. “Did you make any other deliveries?”
Val narrowed his eyes and glared back at him. “Not yet.”
“Good. Let’s get back to the workshop.” Magnus stomped down the street, leaving Mr. Dakken in his open doorway, mouth agape.
“Listen,” Val called as he jogged after Magnus, “you’re the one that said I could do this.”
“What? Use my reputation to sell your own inferior work?”
Continue readingMagnus ran his hand over the sling again. His fingers bounced against the pebbled outside of the cast. He cautiously flexed his muscles. Though his wrist did not move, a string of ache wound its way up from deep within and along the inside of his arm.
He scowled at the injury. He should be working. Instead, his stupid wrist was holding him back. He cursed his luck again and imagined what he could be working on if he hadn’t been injured.
Turning his attention from his wrist, he looked around the workshop. He had picked up the fallen sensations yesterday morning, but his tools were still out and scattered around the workbench.
He bent to pick up the shears that caused all this trouble, but a bolt of pain shot along his back, stopping him. He grit his teeth, grumbled under his breath, and slowly stood upright.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needed a plan. Valkan should be arriving soon. The student seemed skilled, so he should be able to follow Magnus’s directions.
Continue reading