Well, here it is, the end of NaNoWriMo 2011 and I am once again a winner! Whew! Doing and winning NaNo as Rebel was a different experience for me. It had its pros and cons, and I learned a lot through the process - here are the links to Lesson #1 and Lesson #2 - but I think this one is probably the most important for me -
Lesson #3 - Confidence is fleeting. Or, at least mine is.
How many times this month did I waffle back and forth on whether this was a good story or not? I've lost count.
How many times did I think, "Hey, this story is amazing but I'm mucking it up something awful!"? I've lost count.
How many times did I think, "This is going really well and I'm a pretty good writer after all." I'd say...three. Three times.
BUT even with all that wailing and sniffling and worrying, I am still able to look at my story, my big giant mess of a women's fiction/horror hybrid of a novel and think, "Hey, look at that! Look at what I did. Look at what I accomplished."
And you know what? I'll take it.
Congratulations to all those who won NaNo 2011 AND to all those who participated! Believe me, that counts for something. It really does.
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
A Rebel Learns a Lesson (Lesson #2)
If you're interested, here's the link to the first lesson I learned this National Novel Writing Month.
Now, on to Lesson #2 -
Regular readers of my stories are aware that a lot of what I write is dark, maybe edgy, often sad. (Don't ask me why. I don't know and I'm not sure I really want to know...) This NaNo novel is no exception. There are some funny parts and lighter moments (if not, I'd be under my desk, weeping) but there's one particular scene - a violent crime - that gave me pause. It makes sense within the framework of the story and by the end, a lot of questions regarding the crime have been answered. But that wasn't good enough for me. This horrible scene has to make sense to the reader the first time it's read. Not later in the story. Not after some things are clarified. Right then.
You've probably heard phrases along the line of "a senseless act of violence" and "a crime with no motive," right? To us, the outsiders, the spectators, that's how it looks. To most of the victims in my novel, to the other characters, that's how this scene looks - senseless, unmotivated. That's fine. But the reader needs to see more than that, even if just a little.
The reader knows the bad guy is a creep but is he that much of a creep? Yes. But I have to show the reader that beforehand, show how one thing leads to another then leads to another and so on, until this guy thinks he has every right to do what he's about to do. This horrible thing that's about to happen makes sense to him. And so, even if the reader would never see and do things this way, it still makes sense to the reader that this guy would behave like this.
I read somewhere once that the antagonist is really the hero of his own story, that he has a reason for everything he does and says and wants, etc. So, in his mind, my bad guy is justified in what he is about to do. It makes sense to him. And, hopefully, it makes sense to the reader.
(Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to crawl under my desk and try to figure out a way to stop this creep....or at least figure out a scene where he gets severely punished...)
Now, on to Lesson #2 -
Regular readers of my stories are aware that a lot of what I write is dark, maybe edgy, often sad. (Don't ask me why. I don't know and I'm not sure I really want to know...) This NaNo novel is no exception. There are some funny parts and lighter moments (if not, I'd be under my desk, weeping) but there's one particular scene - a violent crime - that gave me pause. It makes sense within the framework of the story and by the end, a lot of questions regarding the crime have been answered. But that wasn't good enough for me. This horrible scene has to make sense to the reader the first time it's read. Not later in the story. Not after some things are clarified. Right then.
You've probably heard phrases along the line of "a senseless act of violence" and "a crime with no motive," right? To us, the outsiders, the spectators, that's how it looks. To most of the victims in my novel, to the other characters, that's how this scene looks - senseless, unmotivated. That's fine. But the reader needs to see more than that, even if just a little.
The reader knows the bad guy is a creep but is he that much of a creep? Yes. But I have to show the reader that beforehand, show how one thing leads to another then leads to another and so on, until this guy thinks he has every right to do what he's about to do. This horrible thing that's about to happen makes sense to him. And so, even if the reader would never see and do things this way, it still makes sense to the reader that this guy would behave like this.
I read somewhere once that the antagonist is really the hero of his own story, that he has a reason for everything he does and says and wants, etc. So, in his mind, my bad guy is justified in what he is about to do. It makes sense to him. And, hopefully, it makes sense to the reader.
(Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to crawl under my desk and try to figure out a way to stop this creep....or at least figure out a scene where he gets severely punished...)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A Rebel Learns a Lesson (Lesson #1)
I always learn something during National Novel Writing Month. It could be anything - the idea I thought was so great actually stinks up the place, I drink way more coffee than I should, or the tortoises miss me hanging out with them since I'm in my office more than usual. (Okay, that last one is just an assumption on my part.)
This year - my first year as a NaNo Rebel - is no exception. But unlike the lessons above, I thought some of you might find what I learned this time around helpful or interesting or both. And please go ahead and comment if you have anything to add. I can use all the help I can get.
Lesson #1 - Flashbacks that are too long can be incredibly boring. (I swear I dozed off as I read back one I wrote for this novel.) It doesn't matter if the content is interesting (as I had believed this was.) It just wasn't working. I think the problem was that not only was the flashback itself too long and but it also took the reader out of the story for too long. The sense of immediacy was gone and a distance took its place.
Now, there are a number of solutions to this problem but one I stumbled upon was to have the character who was experiencing the flashback to tell it to another character instead. This keeps the reader in the story. It makes the reader more a part of the story because he or she is now listening to it just like the other character(s). I can add mannerisms to everyone in the scene, making them all more full and complex. I can mention aspects about the setting, etc. cementing the reader in the here and now while still learning previously experienced critical aspects of the plot and/or character development.
Another solution I found was to make the flashback more active. In my case, I took one of the snooze-fest flashbacks that happen later in my novel and rewrote a big chunk of it. Then, I moved the new part to earlier in the novel where it is actually happening and not just a memory.
I won't know what will or won't work for this novel until I'm done with writing and revising...and revising...and revising but I am definitely going to keep this lesson in mind for future stories.
This year - my first year as a NaNo Rebel - is no exception. But unlike the lessons above, I thought some of you might find what I learned this time around helpful or interesting or both. And please go ahead and comment if you have anything to add. I can use all the help I can get.
Lesson #1 - Flashbacks that are too long can be incredibly boring. (I swear I dozed off as I read back one I wrote for this novel.) It doesn't matter if the content is interesting (as I had believed this was.) It just wasn't working. I think the problem was that not only was the flashback itself too long and but it also took the reader out of the story for too long. The sense of immediacy was gone and a distance took its place.
Now, there are a number of solutions to this problem but one I stumbled upon was to have the character who was experiencing the flashback to tell it to another character instead. This keeps the reader in the story. It makes the reader more a part of the story because he or she is now listening to it just like the other character(s). I can add mannerisms to everyone in the scene, making them all more full and complex. I can mention aspects about the setting, etc. cementing the reader in the here and now while still learning previously experienced critical aspects of the plot and/or character development.
Another solution I found was to make the flashback more active. In my case, I took one of the snooze-fest flashbacks that happen later in my novel and rewrote a big chunk of it. Then, I moved the new part to earlier in the novel where it is actually happening and not just a memory.
I won't know what will or won't work for this novel until I'm done with writing and revising...and revising...and revising but I am definitely going to keep this lesson in mind for future stories.
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