October 14, 2013

Planning to Survive NaNo: ROW80 Update

Who knew that watching an episode of Vampire Diaries would be so enlightening?

A new arc this season involves Katherine, a long-time vampire and the original girl-to-fight-over for vampire brothers Stefan and Damon, being human (she ingested a human potion at the end of last season).

In last week's episode, which I just watched late last night, she said:
 
"I survived childbirth, the death of my entire family, and 500 years of running from an immortal hybrid. You can understand why I'm a little upset that I'm on the verge of being defeated by a sinus infection."

First, I laughed. Then, I realized two things.

One, as a writer, we need to constantly look at things differently and present the reader with the same experience. Sure, a vampire is interesting. But a vampire who has been around for centuries suddenly struggling to be human is even more interesting. It's the human condition, after all, that we all face.

Second. I am human. I have survived childbirth (3 times), cross-country moves (more times that I care to admit to, but most recently this summer), health issues and scares, and on and on.

Now, I just need to survive another NaNo. To do that, I need to reevaluate my A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) goals. But that's what is so wonderful about this challenge... we have to accept Life's machinations and react accordingly.


New Goals until November
  • Outline at least 30 things I want to happen in my ms for use during NaNoWriMo (TiaBach, if you want to buddy me).  Thanks to Kim Switzer for this idea. For more great ideas, please visit her NaNo Planning 2013 post.
  • Starting next week, use #ROW80 word sprints to plan my ms. This week, my kids have half days all week. Home by 11:50am each day.
  • Perform weekly ROW80 sponsor duties.
  • Get website set up.
  • Cull through emails and finish up to dos as necessary.
  • Get Depression Cookies on Smashwords.
Once November hits, there will be one main goal... writing an average 1,667 words a day. So I need the rest of this month to get my affairs in order. Wait, that sounds so dire.

So my NaNo project will be Chasing Memories 2. What I've been working on turned into another character's show. It's the first time that has happened to me. Guess there will be a Chasing Memories novella now, too. Stay tuned!

4 comments:

krystal jane said...

That line is pretty funny.

Good luck with your goals!! I look forward to checking out the new site. :)

Jo Michaels said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE! I can't wait to get my hands on it :) I spent a couple of hours yesterday outlining my chapters.

Of course, I did that with The Bird as well, and we all know the weird ride that book took us on.

Organic writing is always the best. Remember not to lock yourself into anything specific so your brain doesn't go into seizure mode and block up on you. If the story's going left, but you wanted it to go right, let it go left. It'll come back where it should be eventually. :)

You're already my writing buddy >.<

Great goals. Keep at it. WRITE ON!

gypsyharper said...

I can't believe how fast November is coming! I am so not ready for NaNo yet, but I'm loving Kim's preparation tips.

There are ROW80 word sprints? I should check that out. I have definitely not mastered twitter yet.

Good luck with your goals!

Deniz Bevan said...

I think we're already buddies on NaNo, right?
I like your list of 30! I did something similar - I printed out the guidelines for my favourite monthly exercises on the Compuserve Books and Writers Community, to use as prompts if I get stuck.