National Writing Month Results: I Crossed the Finish Line but Have a Way to Go

Done. Done. And not quite Done!

That's how I felt on November 28 when I exceeded the 50K word count for my novel in progress.

My official ending count on November 30 was 51,428 words. I still can't believe it!

I'm now about three-quarters of the way finished with a very rough first draft of a novel I've been wanting to write for years.

The next step is pulling it out and finishing the first draft early next year. Then the revising, rewriting, and editing starts. My plan is to have a decent manuscript by the spring, unless life gets in the way of my plans.

November was not without its bumps and bruises, but at least now I can say I wrote 50K+ words in a month. Of course many of those words are crappy, but what the heck. They're still words.

Congratulations to anyone else who has ever taken on this daunting task.

Here are my lessons learned:
Write every day.
Early morning or late at night worked best for me.
Limit social media time.
Limit editing. I could not turn off my internal editor; I just toned her down.
Outline ahead of time.
Don't feel compelled to stick to the outline.
Map out characters ahead of time. (I kept changing their names and descriptions)
Listen to your characters.
Go with the flow. (cliché, I know)
Spreadsheets are your friend. (I kept one with the chapter number, title, word count, and a brief synopsis.) This was extra work but helped keep me focused and on task.
Celebrate!
Put the WIP away for at least a month before picking it up again.

NaNoWriMo Progress Report

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been blogging much lately. That's because I'm elbow deep in writing a novel during National Novel Writing Month.

Today is the midpoint.

For those unfamiliar with NaNo, the goal is to write 50,000 words of a new novel during the month of November. That equates to 1,667 words a day.

Generally I'm a slow writer because I tend to edit and cut words as I go, but I'm trying my best to just let the words fly. It has worked to some degree, especially in the beginning. I didn't edit much except for quickly reviewing my the previous day's chapter and fixing tiny mistakes before proceeding to the next chapter.

My progress during week two has been slower. I found myself doing more re-reading of previous chapters along with editing and fixing of plot holes because my story is taking off in a new direction.

It's both fun and frustrating.

In addition to the stats provided by NaNo, I have a spreadsheet that breaks each chapter down by word count. I have a line entry on the spreadsheet for each chapter. The spreadsheet helps keep me organized and on track. The word counts on my spreadsheet are generally a bit shorter than how they're validated by NaNo, which is a good thing. Maybe they're giving me a 20-word bonus.

Now, for my progress report.

This morning I tallied the words on my spreadsheet and I've passed the 25K mark. Actually, I'm at 25,101.

So, at the half-way point I'm half way there.

This weekend is shaping up to be busy but I'm hoping to take some time to write some more.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Oh, if anyone has any extra words lying around they're not using, send them my way.

On the Matter of Tense Shifts

Yesterday I sat in on a works-in-progress critique group. One writer's manuscript was interesting, had some nice description and a creative premise, but the writer shifted from past to present tense several times and changed points of view at least once.

While the POV shift was a minor distraction, I found the tense shifts confusing. I couldn't tell if the action was occurring today or yesterday or in the future.

While this isn't an excerpt from the work-in-progress, it is a crude example of what I mean:

"What's going on," he said.

"Not much," she answered.

"Do you think we'll get out of here alive?" John says.

"I hope so," says Ann.


**

The first person to comment picked up on the tense shifts and pointed out where they occurred. Before she could finish with her remarks, another person chimed in that wasn't quite right because the second person had read a book explaining it's okay to mix tenses when the writer is summarizing the scene.

I spoke up in favor of using one tense in a scene and sticking with it to avoid confusing the reader. I believe that whichever tense a writer uses, she should be consistent. 

Although I didn't get time to elaborate or give exceptions, such as if a writer adds in backstory or has a flashback, now I'm wondering if I mislead the other writers with my "be consistent" advice.

Okay, you expert writers. What are your opinions on tense shifts?

Coming Attractions and More Free Chocolate

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Mostly sunny, high 81 degrees. A lovely last-day-of-school for Michael, who gets out of school at 11:30 then summer vacation begins.

Over the next several days, a lot will be happening around here. I thought my readers might be interested in learning about what's going on in my writing world:

May 30 - Saturday Writers presents, "The First 300." Members of Saturday Writers who have submitted up to 300 words will have their works in progress read and critiqued by editors: Lou Turner, Amy Harke-Moore, and Donna Volkenannt--hey, that's me! The panel and will offer practical comments about what's working with their piece as well as what needs tweeking. Prior to the panel, David "Kirk" Kirkland will give a brief tutorial on "Self-editing." For more details, click on the Events page at http://www.saturdaywriters.org/ .

June 1 - I officially launch a new blog, A Book A Week, at http://donnamariev.wordpress.com/

Each week, baring any serious injuries such as paper cuts, eye strain, or pulled muscles in my typing fingers--or illness or vacations--I will introduce my blog visitors to books I have read. The first book I will discuss is SECRET KEEPERS by Mindy Friddle. Note to all my Donna's Book Pub blog readers: I will continue Donna's Book Pub, where I will post several times a week about writing and books in general. My new A Book A Week blog will focus on specific books --- one each week!

June 5 - Acclaimed Southern writer Mindy Friddle will be interviewed right here on Donna's Book Pub, as part of the WOW Author's Blog Tour. Friddle will answer questions about the writing life, as well as her latest book, SECRET KEEPERS, which I have read and love! Friddle's writing has been compared to Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty.

If you missed last Friday's posting, where I did a lot of whining then talked about chocolate, here's some "sweet" news. Every Friday through September, the folks from Mars (the candy company, not the red planet) are offering chocolate lovers the chance to get a Free* Real Chocolate coupon for your favorite Mars brand. Visit their website for details.

Hope you all have a "sweet" weekend--sorry I couldn't help myself.

First Paragraph Contest

(Logo courtesy of Nathan Bransford's blog)

Today's forecast for St. Peters: Partly sunny; high 31 degrees.

First, thanks to Bea Siros for pointing out the typo in the last sentence of my blog heading. I must've read it 100 times and glossed over it. If your curious, the word "know" should have been "knows," but it's been corrected.

***

Now, for all you intrepid souls who want to get the attention of a literary agent, here's your chance. Nathan Bransford is a literary agent with the San Francisco office of Curtis Brown Ltd., a New York based literary agency that has been representing writers since 1914. On Monday he began inviting writers to post the first paragraph of a work-in-progress on his blog. The invitation expires at 4 p.m. Pacific time Thursday. Finalists will be announced Friday.

As of this morning, more than 900 people have posted their first paragraphs (or comments) on his site. It's interesting to read what writers are posting as their first paragraphs. I read about the contest the other day and figured: With so many paragraphs to wade through, what's one more? Why not give it a shot, so I did. You can too!

The grand prize winner will have the choice of: a partial critique, query critique or 15 minute phone conversation with Nathan. Runners up will receive query critiques and/or other agreed-upon prizes.

To read some first paragraph entries and complete details, here's a link: http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/12/2nd-sort-of-annual-stupendously.html

Good luck,

Donna