Passed the 21K mark!

NaNoWriMo is one of those occasions where you're missing out if you don't try something new. Sure, it's great if you have your tried-and-true processes on lock, but it may be a great opportunity to leave a comfort zone if the confidence is there.

This time around, I'm doing the free-writing thing. In the past, I've always sworn by planning carefully and getting it all mostly right as I go. Less to do, more confidence, right? Well, no, not really. I didn't actually save myself from any work. I would still have to go through the steps of editing and redrafting several times to refine it, no matter how carefully I approached the first draft.

I've found a new sort of confidence. While I definitely planned since my NaNo draft is continuing a series, I decided to abandon things like getting the names of side characters right or fully sticking to a plot if I was uncertain. Rather than dwell on feeling great about it, I wrote a rough idea for what might take place and moved ahead. I thought this might mean that I'd constantly think about it, but instead I'd find where my brain wanted to be and it was quickly forgotten. I found that conversation was coming more organically (something I struggle with) and that plots were more exciting to me, even letting me take quick notes to go back and add later, but flying ahead almost seamlessly.

What I thought would be messy is actually pretty damn efficient in a story and world I've now gotten to know from the 300K+ words in the two previous books.

If your book doesn't need planning (a simple quick standalone or short stories, for instance), then this is the place you're probably writing from to begin with. You'd probably think it gets harder to keep track of a world that is filling up with rules and logic, but I've found that I can rely on my creative memory more than I thought. I'll definitely check for consistency later, but right now, I've got my fingers on the pulse of an erratic unfinished series. Just like checking a heartbeat, you have to keep your fingers on the pulse diligently lest you miss the delicate signs of a problem.

Editing might mean a lot more red pen, but it's no more intimidating than getting a funny story stuck in your head and finding the right words before you run into someone to tell it to.

In fact, I overheard a really stupid end to a phone conversation yesterday and I thought about how to tell it as I was walking home. The more I played with the words, the more I knew where to add emphasis and by the time I delivered it (to my sister that morning) it was way more successfully told than it might have been if I'd stumbled through the recollection.

Walking for inspiration is a tried and true buddy of mine. Combined with the spur of the moment and planning, it can be a long-lasting marriage.

I'd love to tell you the very short story, but wow, my alarm went off. Time to get the boys from school already? I totally got lost in my writing goals today! Excellent!