The Lone Writer

Well, Matt left Wednesday morning, and since then I've written aprox. 3,000 words, leaving me far more than half way behind my word count. Matt and I thought this time away from each other would be great time to focus on our novels, but it seems for me I need another writer around to inspire me to write.

A couple of people have asked me what my novel is about, and I have divulged to them the plot (which isn't incredibly interesting) and gotten asked more than once, "is the main character you?"

"No," I always explain, "she's not me at all, she just happens to have a few experiences in common with me for the sole purpose of me being able to write about them well."

This is true, or at least it was when I started the novel. As my writing goes on, I'm starting to not be able to write because I'm realizing I have no idea how this character thinks. I mean REALLY how she thinks. I know how she acts, that was vaguely outlined when I first had the idea, but she has no voice of her own. Sonya (my main character) is a mere shadow of a human being right now, and while she has revealed a little about herself to me as I write, she hasn't revealed enough and I know I need to make some decisions for this writing process to continue.

Oy, my words wreak of "amateur writer", but that's what I am right?

Also, Audrey Neffenegger has a new book out, Her Fearful Symmetry, which I couldn't help but buy even though it's not in paperback yet ... (I love you Matt, don't be mad!)

Well, back to the writing grind. Wish Sonya and me luck!

One word after another after another ...

Okay, first to credit my ever encouraging and under appreciated boyfriend Matt-Josh, he said this to me many times before I went on my digital inspiration journey: JUST-KEEP-WRITING.

Last night I only pumped out a couple hundred words because I kept changing little tiny words and phrases so as never to complete more than a page. I sat down to write tonight, and I found myself researching everything I wanted to write about. The mention of a city, a color, the anatomical make up of a strand of hair (okay, that last one is an embellishment). Finally desperate from my own self inflicted sabotage, I went to NaNoWriMo for some inspiration.

I read through all of the pep-talks by published authors, and of a collective 17 respected authors, only two really did it for me. They came down to three simple facts:

1) Writing is the hard part of being a writer. The plots, the metaphors, the shimmering, cleverly flawed characters laying in wait - those are icing yet to be spread with out the messy toiling of a first draft.

2) At more than one point I will hate every single word I write and try and convince myself to do anything but write, as every writer has done this with every book they have ever written.

3) Writing is a journey. You start with a few basic ideas and then it takes on a life of it's own as long as you let it and don't get bogged down by the "rules of trade".

Now, without further butchering of good advice by neophyte like myself, writing pep-talks by Neil Gaiman and Tom Robbins:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/1065561

http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/1052008

Happy NaNoWriMo!

Most of the last 24 hours has been Halloween, which Matt and I celebrated'ish. Matt ordered 25 fair trade chocolates (we only gave out 22 though, in part to end of the night laziness, and in part to a sweet our monstrous sweet teeth). They came with little cards about fair trade, organically grown chocolate alternatives and little patches of that tacky glue stuff often used in cheap packaging, which we pressed onto the cards. It's called reverse trick-or-treating. We got asked a couple of times what we wanted once we handed them the chocolate and said our little spiel, and got genuine surprise when we said, "nothing." We were offered non-fair-trade chocolates many times, which not long into our roll reversal adventure, we gave in and accepted graciously. We also ran into my co-worker, Bekha, which was awkward because work is kind of shaky right now. A story for hopefully never again because I'd really like to just get on with my day to day life, and never relive this past week.

More importantly though the last hour has been the start of NaNoWriMo! Matt and I went to Frontier, a local, cheap, New Mexican food place where the first NaNo write-in began promptly at midnight. We got there a little later, and there were easily 15 people there, most in Halloween costumes, all typing away furiously. I'm really quite sad we didn't bring our good camera (the one that kind people at cost-co so graciously let us take out on loan for $1,000, which we'll bring back within 90 days and get our money back) so we could get a picture of just how amazing of a scene that was.

I've written approximately 750 words so far (goal for the end of November 1st being approx 1600), and I'm not even sure I'm going to stick with this story line.

Wish me fruitful noveling!