Pre-NaNo Giggles & Thoughts
October 12th, 2008
Writing, writing, writing. You’d think I’d have gotten bored by now with how much I immerse my self in the subject but truth be told- I’m far from it. How can one grow bored when they hold so many possibilities within their minds. I can create infinitesimal worlds, people to fill them, quirks for the people, and don’t even get me started on plot. There’s no end to the stories one can create. You don’t have to enjoy the process of putting words into some medium (paper/computer) and sharing them with the world, you just have to love playing make believe and saying ‘what if?’
I’m thinking I’m going to NaNo rebel this year. What does that mean? Instead of pulling a new story from the chasm of my mind and randomly splatting it on the paper at random without looking back or hitting the space bar I’m going to apply the same process to a story that’s already been finished in both my head and a very vague outline. I’m going to use this November to force myself to finish this wonderful story that’s been bursting to bloom from just behind my eyes.
I know I can write it on my own but… now and then I go a few days without working on it. I have what a friend of mine calls ADOSO or attention deficit, oh, shiny object! :) Every story, every character, every bit of prose that passes from one neuron to the other is like a shooting star and I just can’t resist. I probably write a good 30,000 or more a month… just not on any single project. Hence why I never seem to finish anything.
So, this year I’m going to take this opportunity- this mind bantering, beautiful, self inflicted, torture (that I absolutely adore!) and use it to channel my inner muse to finishing a single thought. I really want to get this story out there and I really think I have something this time. I know I say that with just about every story I’m working on until the next idea comes along to steal my attention but this time I really, really feel it.
When ‘Kat’s Tail’ came to me it was like a brick to the skull. You just can’t ignore a story idea like that.Trust me.
I tried!
I held out for about a week as I had another smaller, easier project I was trying so terribly hard to finish but then this idea came along- slowly at first like a little fish swimming along trough my veins. On occasion it would surface in my mind and I would watch it idly swim circles for awhile and then I would turn away from it to wok on my other projects saying to myself that if it’s truly meant to be it’ll stick in my head just a little longer till this other thing is finished.
It stuck around alright. One day I decided it had been bothering me enough and that maybe, just maybe I wanted to hang onto it for later. It’d kept me company long enough that I didn’t want to forget it so… I grabbed my notebook and I wrote it down.
That was my first mistake and by mistake I really mean that it was the best thing I’ve ever done since nothing like this has ever happened to me before.
First I just wrote a line. A basic, simple, thought. I put my notebook down and went back to whatever I was doing.
Then I came back.
I wrote a page. Just a few more thoughts, nothing specific, no names or faces and the like. Just a page.
Then I asked my self what if…?
Three days later I’d filled a whole third of a notebook (back and front on the pages) and I wasn’t even halfway through the idea- that thing I was talking about earlier, my little fish, no more than a minnow had grown into a shark and opening my notebook in the first place was like blood in the water.
Five more days passed and I finished outlining the whole story.
A month later and I had a good 16,000 words. Given, I’ve had better starts on other things but this time it just felt so good, so natural. I didn’t think, or look back, I haven’t yet hit backspace (unless you count after the cats run me over and type their kitty curse words all throughout my pages), and… it just flowed and it keeps on flowing at my current 34,000 words. I’m not even to my mental halfway point yet!
I love it but I can’t say I’ve truly created this story. It birthed itself from the collectives leftovers in my brain, like food left in your fridge so long it grows enough food it can practically make menu recommendations to you- probably not a good comparison. It wrote itself, I just sat there and made sure the words hit the notebook instead of napkins or whatever blank wall was near at hand. It finished itself, I merely sat there in awe as my hand, as if of it’s own accord, wrote fin in beautifully sloppy cursive.
Gosh I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next!
Pardon my errors: This was written with great gusto and little care as to what’s proper as far as grammar… not to mention I have an oatmeal flake stuck inside my keyboard and I can’t seem to track it down right now. Or… at least, that’s what I think it is. Maybe the magical typing Faeries are just mad at me again for not finishing my latest short story or maybe… never mind. Methinks I need some form of sleep but I just can’t stop rambling on, and on, and on, and on, and….
It can be so hard to ignore ideas sometimes. I’ve heard that quite a few writers suffer from the same problems that you do – having a really hard time when it comes to finishing stuff. Maybe you could try working on more than one thing at once? I really don’t have much to offer, unfortunately, being that I tend to work on something until it’s finished. Have you ever heard of http://www.nanofimo.org/ – National Novel Finishing Month? It might be something to check ou. :)
Hello, Chibi, and welcome to my spazzy little blog. :)
I have noticed in the past that I do seem to focus better when working on multiple projects at once so that might worth a try. I know that I really, really want to get this one that’s been stuck in my head for awhile done but so far, with my track record at least,… well, I’m mostly worried that I’ll find myself distracted so if that happens I suppose I’ll just have work on it AND Kat’s Tail because there is no way in heck I’m giving up my current bit. :D
Hmm, I’ve heard of the NaNoEdMo and NaPoWriMo, among countless others but this sounds good. Like I said, my main goal this year is just finishing if anything. :D That and not forgetting to blog. Thankies for the link!
Hey there, Spirit! Thanks for dropping by my blog and saying all those nice things :) :) I’m finally returning the visit, and wow, I’m going to have to make a few return trips just to properly read what’s on your main page!! Very nice :)
NaNo: I’ve, ummm, been meaning to get all organized for it, but, ummm, procrastination seems to be a problem … it’s not like I have no time, it’s more like I’ve got too muvh time on my hands and therefore I don’t do anything… *sigh* … I should be kicking myself in the pants this week… wish me luck!! :)
I’d be interested to see what it is that’s gotten your creative juices flowing so well – hope you share and excerpt or two of Kat’s Tail next month :)
Hello, Willow! It’s wonderful to ‘see’ ;) you here. :D Thank you very much- I warn you now I have a habit of writing exceeding long posts that may or may not have a point, lol.
Ah, you sound in perfect need of the NaNo! Organized, shmorganized- if you have a good chunk of time on your hands than I highly recommend trying it out this year. Generally, I have a big problem with procrastination or getting distracted by, well, everything so I don’t tend to get much done but ever since last year’s NaNo my whole writing style has changed. I had been afraid of delving into certain parts of my writing self at the time, a fact few believe nowadays, but ever since then… I’m not up to my standards yet but I’m doing a whole lot better.
If you do, do the NaNo this year please let me know! It’s always wonderful to rant alongside a fellow writer especially during this time of the year. :)
I’ve been thinking about posting a little something of Kat’s Tail up but I’ve been wary… Actually, the better word would be nervous. It’s my pet project but I think I’ll have to make an exception as soon as I get out the mental duct tape and fix it up a bit. :)
I already added you to my blog so you can expect to see me around your place a whole bunch. Peace out till then happy writing!
In response to what you posted on my blog, I tried to do a system restore. My father is quite “up” on computer technology, and a lot of it has rubbed off on me. Sadly, my computer had, like, a corrupted system or something. Whenever I tried to do a system restore, the computer refused to recognize that I wanted to do one. I’d click the “next” button and… nothing. My father told me that he thinks wiping the harddrive was inevitable – my grandfather had the laptop before me, and he screwed it up a little.
Luckily, I didn’t loose anything. I have an external harddrive, and I was able to copy everything to it. My previous system wouldn’t let me install AVG, so when the system is working, I’ll install it and just do a quick scan on my external harddrive before moving it all back. It’s a pain, but believe me – the system corruption really left no other choice. The viruses were just the icing!
Are you a planner, by any chance? I’ve found that doing a bit of outlining can help when it comes to finishing things. I know – just the word outlining is enough to scare most people off, but it can be really helpful at the same time.
Oh, thank goodness! I was worried because I know a lot of poor unfortunate writers who have a bad habit of formatting their entire system if even the slightest thing goes wrong. The thought alone is enough to make me cringe terribly. :)
Well, I’m glad you had backups of all your important stuff. That’s what matters. I don’t let anyone touch my laptop- going back to what you said before this sadly means that if something goes wrong I have absolutely no one to blame it on lol, and I know what it’s like to have a pre-owned computer. In that case, you’re right, wiping it is your best bet. A friend of mine has been having a lot of trouble with her Mac and since I’m her repair girl, so to speak, I’ve been thinking about talking her into wiping it because someone else owned it before her and sometimes… that’s all you can really do. :)
Lol, that’s pretty bad if the viruses were just the icing. :D
Yes! In fact, this current story of mine, the one I want to finish for the NaNo is completely outlined- that’s the most exciting thing about this one project! I’ve never gotten so much done on this… but, I digress- yes, I’m a planner. Outlines are my best friends.
I do a little FanFiction on the side and to be honest if it weren’t for outlines I’d never have chapter updates.