*Wacha* (Sound of whip cracking)
It’s that time of year again, no not tax season, different whip. Nanowrimo! This whip is one you got to crack yourself. I’d yell in German right now – because no language is better for yelling 🙂 – but I only have 10 minutes in my break so I don’t think I have time to look it up, so I’ll just yell in English 😉
FOCUS!
It’s the second week of Nano and I don’t know about you, but I have the attention span of a two year old. I want to write the next Evie short, I want to write the short story I got from a nightmare last night, I want to go back and edit the crap out of my first book because I’m sure it can be salvaged.
Not Now, Brain!
The challenge of Nano is to get you to sit down and write, yes, but it’s also to get you to sit down and write one thing. One book, and to actually finish it. That’s what Nano is for, to help those of us who need a kick in the pants to sit and write, but also to get us to finish something because some people really have trouble with that.
I don’t normally, so my lack of focus lately, and consequently me falling behind in my word count, is really throwing me. Why do I want to write, but different stuff? Why wasn’t this a problem last year?
Well, for one, the book last year was the first in a series, it was new and shiny and exciting. This one is the second in the series. I think that’s part of it, never underestimate the desire for something new.
But also, while I have a basic plot sketched out, I think I’ve identified where I’ve been going wrong. I’ve been trying so hard to get words out, I’ve wandered from my path. My character is off doing something that doesn’t have a whole hell of a lot to do with the main plot. So how did she end up there?
This is where motivation comes in. She didn’t choose to go there, she was ordered to. So she is. So how do I get her through this without having to backtrack? Tie it into the original plot and have her start making some freaking decisions.
If you’re feeling lost in your story or just lacking motivation, try to narrow down why.
Ask yourself a couple of questions:
How did the character get here?
What does she want out of this scene, or series of them?
How does this drive the plot forward?
Is someone else working their will on the character and can the character turn this to her advantage?
And then be honest with yourself, do I need to backtrack.
Alright, lunch time’s up. Happy writing.
*Wacha!* 😉
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