Thursday, December 2, 2010

All's Well...

...and I WON!  For the third year in a row, I have WON the NaNoWriMo!  I have three certificates on my wall to testify to that.   This year I was more sporadic in my writing unlike the last two years when I wrote some every single night.

This year I also did over 90% of my writing OUT of home.  I found that I had the best luck at a couple local spots, with fellow WriMos.   I tried something new - alternating "chapters", the first taking place in present time, the next in biblical times and so on.    The idea was that they'd sort of meld together at the end.

It was a learning experience.  I learned:  DON'T EVEN TRY THAT!  It was pretty stupid, and now that I HAVE gotten over 55,000 words written I can say with confidence that what I have is TWO entirely crappy pieces of dreadful writing, each about half the length of a NaNo.  I'm thinking of letting the biblical one sort of wizzle away and putting some effort into the "present day" one.  I suppose at some point I could try to resurrect (there's a joke there; I'll tell ya later) the biblical one, although it's going to take some SERIOUS cleaning-up. 

Like - this is not a "taking a little plastic bag and a pooper-picker as I bring the story out for a walk".  Oh no.  This will be like "hiring a garbage truck with one of those enormous scoops on the back as I tear along behind the out-of-control story."  For starters - the Crucifixion figures in.......but the whole thing takes place in ancient Egypt.  What's that?  Jesus wasn't crucified in Egypt?  OY VEY!!!  (See what I mean?)

But I have to say - I'm inspired enough to actually be considering going back to clean up the present tense part of the story......AND considering going back to last year's (which I also didn't finish -- did I mention that I'm still plodding toward the end of this year's novel?) and finishing that one for further editing. 

In 2008 I DID finish the story, and while I haven't read it probably since right after NaNo that year, I remember it fondly, and by gum I might take that back out too!

Here's how I see it:   I'll get a day-glo orange camouflage pattern jump suit and hat.  I"ll go wait out in the middle of nowhere with a tent, and I'll pack in a bunch o' food, and I'll line up all three stories and let 'em go.  Then I'll tear after 'em shooting, and if I can bring 'em down....I'll haul 'em home for butchering.

But for now?  Think I'll watch "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" or wossname.

NaNoWriMo Survivor party Sunday next at Brocach.  I'll be there!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS! I knew you could do it! :-)

Jamwes said...

Congrats on the win!

Anonymous said...

Good work, ma'm! We knew you could do it!

I would probably agree about the alternate chapter thingie. Books written like that annoy me.