NaNoWriMo
2012 is over for me. Last night, I
typed the period that marked the end of my effort for this year; 55, 538 words
and I managed to do it with nine days left until the end of the month. It was a like trying to run the Marine Corps
Marathon wearing a 40-pound pack – barefoot.
This was my first time trying this challenge; writing 50,000 words in 30
days, and not stopping every few chapters to do a bit of editing. I have a healthy respect for those who've done this year after year. NaNoWriMo is not for the faint of heart.
For my first effort, I set myself a monumental
challenge. I decided to do the next
episode in my long-running Al Pennyback mystery series; a book I’d been
planning for several weeks in late October to get started on, but had been
delayed because of some other freelance writing assignments that were on my
calendar. A week into November, I
decided, what the heck, might as well give it a shot. Problem was, for this one, I’d decided to do
two plot lines; totally unrelated in the beginning, but coming together in the
end.
This is difficult to do without the
added stress of writing to a deadline, and, now the real work starts.
Now that it’s done in a really, really rough draft;
and if you check the excerpt at my NaNoWriMo dashboard you’ll get an idea of
just how challenging it is. My task for
the next week or so is to go back over every word and strive to make the whole
thing hang together. The objective is to
give the few faithful readers I have another Al Pennyback story they’ll enjoy
reading as much as they have enjoyed the 13 that preceded it. I’ll have to make sure the characters who've appeared previously are consistent, and those introduced in this story fit the
story line. The plot twists that I've introduced have to be unsnarled satisfactorily at the end of the story; and,
one little change in my main character’s history has to be explained in a
credible fashion.
This has been an interesting experience, but a
stressful one. Even for me; as a recent retiree my time constraints aren't the
same as I imagine they are for many who enter this project. I don’t have to get up in the morning and go
off to work; I just trundle down to my basement office and apply butt to seat
and fingers to keyboard and write until my fingers are as numb as my
brain. Some days were easier than
others. On a real good day, I managed
more than 4,000 words. My desk and the
floor around me are littered with notes, maps, timelines, and character sketches. The litter will stay in place until I've polished, re-polished, and buffed Dead
Men Don’t Answer until it shines. Then, I’ll send my baby out into the
world to make his own way.
Thankfully, this only happens once a year. If I had to do this month after month, I
think I’d go crazy. Actually, I think I've already crossed that line, because I think I just might do this again next
year. My advice to others who are
engaged in this mammoth project: Take
today off and enjoy Thanksgiving. Stuff yourself with turkey and all the
trimmings, take a nap this afternoon to recharge your batteries, and hit the
keys again tonight. You can do it. Happy Thanksgiving!
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