nanowrimo update #1

Word count goal for Day 8: 13,328
My word count to date: 13,862
Words to go: 36,138
On my iPod Shuffle: "Heart of Rock & Roll," by Huey Lewis and the News
Recommended reading: How to Write a Novel, by Nathan Bransford

NaNoWriMo is officially one week in, and quite a week it's been for me. I got a head start by drafting close to 5000 words for the first two days, knowing I'd be traveling to New York this weekend and staying on Long Island for the week. My plans for the beginning of the week went awry -- that's a story for a Friends of Mine epilogue, perhaps. However, the good thing about a gig like this is that you can write just about anywhere at anytime. All things considered, that I'm about 500 words ahead of the curve is pretty awesome.

Despite the impressive word count and my having thought about this particular story and characters for months, I felt as if I got off to a sluggish start. I knew I'd dumped too much backstory in the first chapter, and that that entire chapter was likely going to be revamped come revision time. I tend to be an "improvisor" when I draft -- that is, I don't use outlines or plot my story beforehand. Sometimes I envision mental markers along the way, sort of like signposts, but for this one I was feeling like I was on a long and winding road, with no signs ahead.

Rarely do I get stuck in the mud so early into a draft. For the first time, I thought maybe my improvising strategy wasn't so good. Maybe I should make a map.

I stayed true to form, however, wrote through the mud, and I'm starting to get in a groove now. The signposts, although a little blurry, are at least in sight. I'm starting to fall in love with the story and my protagonist. I'm already putting her through the wringer, as any good storyteller must do. Whereas earlier in the week I worried I wouldn't be able to come up with anything to fill up the day's word count, much less 50K, right now I'm typing furiously and delighted to find that I've banged out almost ten pages, over 2000 words, and I'm itching to get back to it.

I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

As always, I'm enjoying the dialogue most, and watching these characters spring to life. And I've already gotten teary-eyed at the end of a scene.

One thing that's different about this is that while I've been writing at my mom's house, I've been listening to my iPod Shuffle. Unless I'm writing at a coffeeshop, I normally don't listen to music, don't like to work with any distraction. But for some reason the iPod hasn't been bothering me. I have a feeling I'll go back to my normal habit of silence when I'm back in my writing studio. Or maybe I'll keep it up for this novel only. Who knows?

I know I'm talking in generalities rather than specifics here. The other day, at lunch with my mom and a dear friend of hers, when she asked me what I'm working on, I replied simply, "a new novel."
"What's it about?" she asked.
"Um, a new novel," I replied. I just can't bring myself to talk about it. Even at my brother's recording studio yesterday, I didn't ask him to play me anything from his latest album-in-progress, instinctively knowing neither he nor it was ready yet. I hope there's still something here in this blog post of value for you. Perhaps you'll reflect upon your own writing practices--what does and doesn't work for you. Perhaps you'll be motivated to keep going. Hopefully you'll feel good about where you're at, even if you're behind your word count. You're writing a novel, dammit! Be proud of that.