WeFiNoMo

Gotten a bit sidelined on the blogging the last few weeks! Lots of family stuff going on and distracting me--between anniversaries and birthdays, it's been busy around here. But more importantly, it's time for WeFiNoMo: Wendy Finishes Novel Month.

I've been seriously struggling with this project, not because I don't enjoy it, but because I've been trying to achieve a lot with it, and I think I've been over-thinking the drafting. So I'm going to shift into NaNoWriMo-style drafting, the kind of writing that is mad and messy and full of ugly.

I've resisted this kind of writing because editing has been such a painful experience the last few years, but honestly, it's the only way I'm going to reach the end of this thing. I tend to get insanely freaked out about word count (honestly, I doubt I'll ever write a 100,000 word novel; I am a short novel kind of gal) and then I freeze up and don't write anything. I told myself I would power through to the end of the story as I know it and on the second draft, I will look for other threads of conflict I can weave into the project.

Of course, the second I gave myself this permission, I thought of a thread and immediately wanted to go play with it, but I frowned firmly and got back to work. DONE, first and foremost. Play, later.

On the amazing plus side, the other night I had a random burst of inspiration on a novel I wrote two years ago. I powered through Nanowrimo, looked at the 50,010 words I'd written and became convinced I'd never do anything else with this story. And then things just collided in my brain while I was taking a shower. I might just have a pretty sweet urban fantasy on my hands when I get done.

Now I'm really excited to have a summer project and I'm doubly eager to get done with this book's first draft. I wish it had taken me less than 5 months to finish this project, but I'm glad I'm getting there!