So, this year’s installment of NaNoWriMo got off to a less than stellar start. I was behind on day one, and it only got worse as the week wore on. Total word count the end of day 7: 2,684 (v. the minimum goal of 11,667).
It didn’t help that I started last week with a long-overdue trip back to east to visit family I haven’t seen in seven years. And it definitely didn’t help that I changed my novel the morning of day one (I was sketching out a rough plot and creating characters well into the afternoon).
Initially, my plan was to write a sequel to last year’s NaNo novel (a story set in Runes of Gallidon). But, last year’s novel is still very much in rough shape, and I didn’t want to hem myself in by committing to too much in the sequel. I was also itching to write about completely different characters and a different region in Gallidon.
I’m hopeful that I can dig myself out of this massive hole and successfully complete the novel by November 30th, but given my upcoming commitments, the only way I can see that happening is by trading my addiction to the Interwebz for shovels. A lot of shovels.
UPDATE: On November 11th, I was hit by a car while crossing the street. Amazingly, I suffered no serious injuries, though I was sufficiently bruised, battered, and banged up to be fairly unproductive during the month of November (reading and working on the computer quickly caused headaches). With that unexpected turn of events, my hopes for avoiding a sophomore slump at NaNo this year were tossed out the window.
Happily, I got far enough into the novel to get a feel for the characters and the story possibilities. And after recently stumbling on The Virgin’s Promise (a female response to the typically male-oriented Hero’s Journey), it radically altered my thoughts about what kind of story the female protagonist should have. Less action, more introspection.
Hoping to revisit it in 2011 and see where the story takes me…