Nanowrimo: things are chuggin’ along…

I’ve really got into a good pace and I kind of like where this story is going. I’ve got some good characters to work off of, and they are really three layers of good/bad. I have the good character who is on the run for something he is innocent of. Then there is the police character who is just doing his job and is unaware of the coverup/truth behind what’s going on. Then there is the bad guy who is using the police character and his force to their own means, which is to find the good guy and take him out, for good. This leads to a gigantic physical and even mental game of cat and mouse, and I think that kind of pace will make for a very interesting novel.

Rather than start at the beginning as well, the book is starting well over a year into the manhunt. Our good guy has been on the laim for well over fifteen months, and has been good at going underground and staying low for as long as possible. I just finished writing my nineth chapter and things are starting to come along nicely. I’ve got a good feel for the characters and where they are heading, and piece by piece I’m tossing in details to what happened to start all this rather than starting the entire novel from the beginning of the tale. that would have made teh setting a lot longer and that would have made a boring start to the book.

So right now this is a pace I’m enjoying. I’m hoping to be at least halfway through, if not higher by the end of this week. I think that’s a good goal I should be able to keep. I have some people on my buddy list who are already over 40,000 words. I’d love to have that kind of free time on my hands, but even if I did… I’m so picky about the nobvel’s structure and chapter format that I would still move at a similar pace. While this novel is bound to have more than it’s fair share of errors, my goal at the end of every Nano is to have a book that you could pick up and read right then and there on December 1st. Not some mess of scribblings that could be shuffled like a deck of cards, which is what some writers I’ve been talking to are doing.

I concede there is no right way to do this, but I’m very picky about my books. If you can’t just pick them up and start reading righ toff the bat, then I did a piss poor job to write them up to begin with even if it’s a first draft. The cool part is it looks like we might have a working printer very soon. This will give me a chance to print some stuff off (both old and new) and give other people a chance to read it. Yes, I got some buds who can’t stand to read anything off a computer, they prefer paper. Old school, I know but I can’t blame them. I don’t mind reading off a screen but I do enjoy curling up on a couch and doing the paper thing too with a tall glass of wine and some crackers and cheese to nibble on.

But at least things are chugging along, the last thing I want right about now is a block that will stop me dead in my tracks. As long as I can keep writing, I’ll be ahead of the ball and on my way to winning again this month (knock on wood). So things are pretty quiet here this weekend and I hope it’s he same for everyone else. If I have time, I’ll try to jump back on with another entry and some notes for the favs. Until then, take care.

Peter