Look Out, World, Here I Come...

The words I say before I sit behind the wheel of a car to attempt learning to drive, among other things.  Yep, you guessed it.  I started my day with some driving training and I was actually not freaked out for once. 

That aside, I reached the halfway point on my NaNo goal, getting to 25,011 words today. That leaves me in a tough spot though, folks; 25K more to go!

One of the toughest things is hashing out how to fill the space.  When I'm not writing to appease a word count, it feels much simpler. Trying to divvy out the plots based on counts? Tougher. And maybe it's backwards thinking at all. You don't want to be too scant but you also don't want to get too puffy and end up with reams of unnecessary filler.  What I end up doing is finding where I can inject some new ideas and prime real estate that also don't clog the reader with too much extra. I have never liked filler or purple prose. It's a terrific part of poetry that is a nightmare in the marathon of a novel. As much as I loved Anne Rice growing up, I sometimes found her graphic walks through places to be a chore to get through.  Yes, it paints a lovely picture, but most people drawn to fantasy fiction want wiggle room to see things for ourselves and prefer more attention going to the characters and story (not too telling, not too much dialogue-- whether or not a reader likes action is all over the map though too). Mind you, I never found it so tedious I wasn't buying the next book, but it did feel like I was doing quite a bit of skimming without getting lost.

That's where we learn where we want to be as writers, though. I have to admit, I have been wary about reading too much in my genre.  It would be too easy to unconsciously yank characters or ideas that would muck up my original ideas or intentions.  Ask me how many books I've read and I'll freeze up.  Still, I am a voracious reader of another sort.  Many writers will be quick to assure you-- it's not just about what you read, it's about always fitting it into your life somehow.  Blogs, books, magazines, shampoo bottles, you can find inspiration everywhere. Of course no matter how much you try to avoid comparison to other authors, they will be made whether they had any influence on you or not.

So my leery attitude towards reading in genre has found some wiggle room.  However, I've also seen good points on reading outside of the genre you right. A writer's curiosity is better served, not by fitting the mold, but by finding new things to fill it with.  Decorate the outside a bit once you fill it. But don't be afraid you have to break it or use one at all for that matter.  You will not destroy just by creating something new.  I really feel that, more than mastering one thing, a bit of curiosity for other things can only make the market richer.  You may be giving a voice to someone who is still absurdly saying 'is it just me or--?'

Nevertheless, each milestone is exciting and I can't say, even with frustrations, that I can regret this demanding journey. I don't worry about 'burning out.' I was plenty burnt out when I was procrastinating and it was not at all fulfilling. I've found so much solace in the hard work. If college taught me anything, it's that frustration and pushing your stamina are necessary evils in the creative process. If I'm afraid of anything now, it's stopping. It takes far more discipline to take breaks than to throw my hat in the ring and prepare for a few face plants in the mud, blood, sweat, and tears.