I started writing part 3 of my plan today. This is where all the juicy bits come in to play, so the words came easily. I wrote over 2,000 words at work and then wrote another 700 words in the evening which finished off the scene. This means I’ve actually stopped on a scene break and that’s not a good practice for me, as it’s too much like starting with a blank document the next day. But I’ve had enough for today and will chance it.

My NaNo Progess:

Today’s Word Count: 2,704

After my terrible day yesterday, head wise not word wise, it meant that if I was to reach the personal goal I had set myself for this weekend, then I would have to work extra hard today.

It meant I would have to write over 3,000 words in one day. That’s a lot of words!

After an excellent sleep last night, I was up at 8am and sitting at my laptop at 8.15am, with a cup of tea and cereal already in my belly. By 9am, I already had 787 words written. It was a mighty fine start to reaching the desired goal.

[ Personal Content Removed ]

We got home rather late at about 4pm. Then the race to the half way mark really began. Not wanting to experience another migraine I tried to limit my time on the laptop for each writing session. By 6pm, I had 1,820 words, but was unsure if I could get the other 1,400 words down in those later hours.

There’s a lot to be said about being on a roll. The words flow quicker than I can type them and I can type fast. AT 7.45pm, I had finished the scene and when I checked my word count, I had accomplished my goal for the weekend.

I am over the half way mark.

My NaNo Progess:

Today’s Word Count: 3,288

[ Personal Content Removed ]

My NaNo Progess:

Word Count for 10 November 2007: 1,710

Mirror Image is based on a family and their emotions after the death of a son (it is a fictitious story and is not based on what has happened in my own family). Part 1 dealt with the family’s grief and how they coped with moving on with their life. Part 2 steps into something else altogether as it is the beginning of a horror thread that runs through the story.

I’ve never written horror before, but it used to be my preferred genre many years ago, so I’ve read a lot of it. Upon writing the first scene where the horror starts, the words kind of went crazy at the beginning. I found I could only write a few words at a time and then I’d have to do something else for a minute or two. Then, I got into the swing of it and I was away.

When I planned the story, I actually planned the horror thread as if it was a character. I found this approach gave me the why, how, when and where. This gave the whole thread more depth. Then, within the horror thread, I have a second story running parallel with the main plot. This second story is more two dimensional, but that’s the way it was planned, and the characters are vague, but that’s planned too. However, at the end, it will all make sense.

But that wasn’t all; I was also blessed with the arrival of an unplanned character. She put on her high heels, a short skirt and deep red lipstick and she walked right up to my MC’s older brother and introduced herself. He was rather taken with her and I have to say that so was I (but not for the same reasons ). This girl has style and confidence, and she is completely out there. She also has a soft side that will eventually get through to a grieving young man who is in need of love. Even a planned story can hold surprises and this was a surprise to me, but I can already see that the resolution for the character she has connected herself to will be more complete because of her.

Today, the horror began, but so did the love. That’s a wacky combination, but I believe they compliment each other and will give the story balance.

My NaNo Progess:

Today’s Word Count: 2,428

Mirror Image has been planned in five parts – the beginning, three cycles and the ending. I especially did this so that I wouldn’t run out of things to say in week 2 or 3 of NaNo. However, I’m writing a story that is strong in my mind (and heart) and I don’t think I’ll be backing myself into a corner any time soon.

Today, even though I was extremely busy, I managed to get to the end of Part 1 and I’ve exceeded my hoped for word count, so I’m doing well.

But I have a problem…

As I predicted before I started this project, my energy levels are beginning to suffer. I’ve been careful to date to make sure I eat properly and sleep as often as I can. I’ve also made a point of trying to get my words down during daylight hours, which allows me to rest in the evening. Apart from the weekend, when I’ve been able to nap during the day, this “writing during the day” plan has worked well, except for today.

It’s only 8.30pm and I’ve reached my goal, so it’s nothing serious. I realise some people have to write well into the midnight hours and to those people I wish you all the luck in the world. Unfortunately, my health won’t allow that at the moment. Tonight, I can still go and “veg out”. But I’m worried that tomorrow will get a little bit harder and the day after that harder still.

If I can make it to the weekend, I’ll be able to recharge my batteries. I certainly intend to try my hardest. I need to stay calm and rest often. I think I can do that.

My NaNo Progess:

Today’s Word Count: 2,125

The other day I visited Struggling Writer’s blog and found an excerpt of his current NaNo writings. I was impressed by the fact that he had posted part of his work and left his site thinking about if I could do the same thing. My answer was definitely not.

However, I found myself thinking about this for way longer than I should have done and eventually came to the conclusion that a writer should be confident enough to show a part of their work – no matter how small. I slept on that realisation and the next day I decided to post an excerpt of my own work…but it didn’t happen.

Today I’m going to take a leaf out of Struggling Writer’s book and I’m going to share the unedited opening of Mirror Image. This will be the first and only excerpt I’ll place here and I hope you like it (I won’t be offended if you don’t).

“In grief at your death, but in gratitude for your life, and for the privilege of sharing it with you, we commit your body to be cremated.”

Kirsti Fowler stared at the coffin, tears blurring her vision, a lump causing pain in her throat. Was her twin brother really in that wooden box? How could it be possible? She turned to her parents and found them huddled together. Her mother sobbed uncontrollably and tears rolled down her father’s cheeks. She had never seen him openly cry before and it made her feel uneasy. Kirsti’s older brother, Tim, stood ashen faced on the other side of them. He stared at something just above the coffin. Kirsti had seen that look many times before and knew he was a million miles away.

Her gaze returned to the framed photo of Owen sitting amongst the beautiful array of flowers on top of the coffin. The smiling face stared back at her and a small sob escaped her throat. How could he be dead? A mistake. It was all a horrible mistake. It had to be. She swallowed and turned her attention back to the grey-haired priest.

“Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

They say write what you know. I know about a family’s suffering when a young person dies and I wanted to explore the emotions my family felt and the way other people reacted to us in a setting that may overlap my own life, but is completely fictional in all other ways. More than that I will not say, except, I guess you can now see why the words are flowing so easily.

My NaNo Progess:

Today’s Word Count: 2,228

[ Personal content removed ]

My NaNo Progess:

Today’s Word Count: 2,240

It took a while for me to actually get going, but once I got out of the starting box I was quick to pick up the pace and get some mileage behind me. On my first day of NaNo, I’ve already worked out a bit of a system that seems to be working quite well for me. I’ll share my secret in case it’s something other writers can utilise.

I have a Gmail account – doesn’t everyone? Gmail has a section called Documents and in October I did all my planning in there because I have access to it anywhere I go and I sometimes find myself able to “be naughty” during business hours and work on my planning.

This month, I plan to use that spare time at work to write, because let’s face it, every spare second counts when you’re on a tight schedule. Anyway, I have Mirror Image saved as a Gmail document, but I don’t actually write in that document. Be patient, I’m getting there…slowly. I use Word at work and at home. I write in Word all the time, because I’m used to the program and don’t have to spend time trying to work out how anything works when using it. So…I write a page in Word and then I transfer it over to Gmail. I then return to Word and keep writing. I write another page and transfer it and so on.

This works for me because the writing I transfer into the Gmail document is no longer seen by me, which means it’s no longer seen by my inner editor. Yes, this means I don’t feel the need to edit, edit, edit. I admit that I still do a bit of editing when I’m writing that page. I simply cannot help it. If there’s a spelling mistake and I spot it, I just have to fix it. It’s like listening to a dripping tap if I don’t. It drives me crazy. However, the editing I’m doing is much reduced by this transfer method. My word count for today proves it. I’ll wait while you go and take a peek.

See! It’s a sure thing method. I certainly am happy with my effort and I found the writing quite easy. But it’s only day one and I guess that will change sometime soon.

I could have kept writing too, but I don’t want to exhaust myself too early in the month so figure it’s in my best interest if I go and relax as soon as I’ve finished this post. Who knows, tomorrow might be like pulling teeth and I might need the energy. Then again, tomorrow might be just like today. I hope so. How’s everyone else going?

My NaNo Progess:

Today’s Word Count: 2,416

My NaNo project is falling together like you wouldn’t believe. I’m extremely pleased with the result and can’t wait to start writing this project. I’ve already started warning my family that November is “Karen Month” and I’ll be spending a lot of time behind closed doors. However, I’ve also be telling them that I’ll be accepting visitors bearing gifts of cups of tea and encouragement who don’t want to chat for too long. They didn’t seem overly impressed or willing. Never mind. I’ve still got time to talk them around.

Anyway, during this in-depth planning I realised that the supporting characters where just there to look good and didn’t actually have much of a part to play. I knew everything about them, but not their storylines, so I had to fix that. I used the Snowflake method to sort out that problem. Now they are real characters with real problems and I’m now sure their presence will improve the overall story.

I then set about “fattening” the plot so that I don’t run into problems in the middle of NaNo and anyone who has done NaNo will know that we can’t afford to flounder … and there’s definitely no time to sit and think … in the middle of the month. No, we must be able to type, type, type. I’ve broken the story down into five parts – the beginning, three cycles (borrowed from Helen Parocha’s Dynamic Tension Charts) and the ending. During November, this type of planning will help me stay focused, but will also ensure I don’t come up against a brick wall and stop typing. This is exactly what I need, because not having a plan like this will only cause me stress and stress will stop the words from flowing. That will only lead to disaster.

Finally, on the weekend, I realised that this story has another story within the main story which must be told in order for the whole thing to make sense. Yesterday, I spent the majority of the day planning out this mini story. At the end of the day I felt content that the two stories, when merged, will make a powerful combination. More than that I will not say at this stage.

Now I have to merge the plan for this second story into the plan for the first story, so that both are covered from the beginning to the end. Once I’ve done this I’m pretty well ready to write. I even know what the first sentence will be.