Friday, November 18, 2011

NaNoWriMo #17

     Last year was much easier.  My story was nice and tight.  I had minimal characters and the story followed a moment in a family's history.  Albeit a quite bizarre moment that most families don't ever experience, involving shovels and bludgeoning.  And a cover-up by local officials, specifically a small town sheriff.  Plus it was based in part on two local crimes from way back before the turn of the twentieth century.
     I had a formula that I made up on my own.  I'd start each writing session with a blank document and an idea from the night before where the story was suppose to go.  I was writing the story chapter by chapter.  (I would make a note at the bottom of the main document before I quit writing for the night.)  Then I'd write the next days section (chapter) and attach it to the main document when I was done.
     This worked out for me on a much better level.  I don't really know why.  I think it made me more aware of where I was at in the story and the natural progression/flow of where the story was going.  I needed to keep my characters straight and the story straight in my mind because I was starting out clean every day.  Plus it gave me a starting point and I could think on it all day as I lived my life. 
     This year I've just added onto the end of the document as I've written.  There is no clarity for me.  I've lost the characters, the direction, I have an unformed plot twist I can't seem to solve, the whole story seems a little murky.
     Also, this year, I'm dealing with more characters, the plot is more sophisticated, and it is revolving around a current real life event that may or may not take place in 2012.  This event has been O-Kay'd by the United States government but Canadian officials are having a hard time deciding if they want in on it.  If they don't vote "yes", it won't happen.  I came across this by accident during some research.
     Still plugging along. . .

© Lydia Lowe  11/2011

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