Sorry I missed you on Thursday. Boys with half day schedules and teacher conferences were cramping my blogging schedule. But I’ll tell you a secret–I didn’t mind not writing because I’m rather busy with another important aspect of drafting which is being a sponge. I’ve been kicking butt with my writing since buckling down in September and sending those boys back to school. *grin* And it’s been awesome and I’ve been loving it, that is, until my NaNo battery ran out of steam and d-i-e-d.
It was bound to happen. In my excitement to produce prolifically, I forgot what kind of an artist I am at heart. I am a sponge.
I soak up all kinds of stuff floating around me and then I squeeze it to see what kinds of questions pour out. But lately, I’m afraid that in my enthusiasm to write, write, write–I wasn’t absorbing as much as I need to. Writing can only a numbers game when we have thoughts in storage and I realized I was exhausting my supply faster than I could replenish it. My sponge was on the dry side.
But I’m happy to say that my “break” from word count is not a break from my drafting process. It’s very important for me to day dream, observe, read, ponder and experience. What are the more hidden aspects of your drafting process? What stimulates and feeds your artistic process?
Thursday is Thanksgiving, so I’ll be taking the day off. You’ll all be too busy eating turkey and watching the parade to read blogs. But I’ll be back next week in DECEMBER! How the heck did that happen? Guess I can say…see you next month LOL!
Tags: drafting, Drafting Series, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, sponge
Well, it’s official. As of Sunday morning, I officially quit National Novel Writing Month aka #NaNoWriMo.
And I’ve got to tell you, it feels fabulous. But I’d love to share with you why quitting was the best choice I could make.
This was my third attempt at #NaNoWriMo. My first shot at it was in 2012. I was in the middle of debut novel launching and I think I wrote approximately 6,000 words. It was bad timing for me, but I made a mental note to try again. And in 2013 I did and I wrote all 50,000 words. *fist pump* A huge achievement, but I didn’t use any of those words–at all. Even so, I learned a lot about myself and my process and I did a lot of exploratory writing so I felt the experience was deeply beneficial.
Now fast forward to 2014 and this year’s #NaNoWriMo attempt. I was lined up for success. I had a loosely thought out idea with characters that I’d been mulling over for about a year. I’d been increasing my daily writing and consistency for months now and felt I could handle this because I’d been “training” for it. And I’m super competitive with myself and if I did it once, why couldn’t I do it again, right? And I like NaNo–I really do. I’m a huge fan of the collective energy.
I should also tell you, I started out strong. My first two days out, I wrote a lot of words and built myself a little buffer so that I’d be able to miss a day or two in an emergency or my daily word count wouldn’t be quite so high. I was trucking along great until last week. And then something pivotal happened. My story started to rewrite itself. The more I explored the characters, the more I realized that G and C needed to combine and become one character. And I could absolutely not write this story from so many 1st person perspectives, but maybe I should write it from third. So I simply moved forward with these drastic changes knowing I could go back and fix the beginning later. The whole idea was to just move forward with the free flow of ideas. But then 3rd wasn’t intimate enough and the MC was beginning to reveal herself (especially now that she was combined with another character) so I’d write it that way and test out this idea I have for a way to get some intimate information from the other characters. But at this point I am so confused. What I really, really need to do is print it all out and while I reread it, compile all my current information into clear character sketches that would allow me to do a little plotting before starting from the top. But that’s not how NaNo works!!!
So, even though I went from quickly popping off my word count most days, I was now struggling to decide how to move forward. But I felt sure I could still write my way to NaNo success while getting some useful information that I’d be able to mine later. So I kept writing. I left my usual process of writing in consecutive chapters and began to write scenes. And again I unearthed some fabulous information that is a gold mine for this book. I’m so excited I wrote it. And then the well went dry. I had 1,000 words to write by yesterday to hit the halfway mark. I could knock that off easy peasy. But I didn’t. On Friday I only wrote 382 words. Those words took way too long to write. I should have had over 1,000 in that amount of time.
But I gave myself a 1/2 of a star just for motivation. And even though I was still on track, I wrote nothing on the 15th. I told myself it was still okay–Sunday I could get caught up and this week I could power through. But then I realized I couldn’t–because the truth was I knew I can’t go forward until I go back. And this contest isn’t built for that. Deep in my heart, I knew I had to put a fork in it and call it done, but let’s be honest–I was still trying to find a way to make it happen. I told my husband my dilemma and he looked at me and said it should be about writing words for the sake of numbers. And I smiled and mental quit on the spot. And I ain’t going to lie, it felt great because I was no longer writing what I wanted to write. I wasn’t being true to where the story was taking me and that’s not productive.
What I learned is that the tool I’m using to write should never have more power than the actual writing. And that is why for 2014, #NaNoWriMo became #NaNoWriMoANoNo LOL!
Now, don’t expect me to become a slacker. I’ve still got lots of work I want to do and I believe I even have a couple more Drafting Series posts left in me–at least one for sure. It’s percolating already. And if you’re still doing NaNo–you must keep me updated on your progress. I am rooting for you!!!! But I’m here to tell you that I’m confident that I made the right/write decision for me. More to come on that later.
Are you holding the NaNo course? How’s it going? Did your inner compass have alternate plans for you, too? If so, what are they?
Tags: #NaNoWriMoANoNo, drafting, Drafting Series, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, NaNoWriMo
I am enjoying this drafting series way more than I expected, particularly since I’m blogging while doing NaNoWriMo. And I’ve done a lot of talking about the things I’ve learned and continue to learn about the drafting process. But as I’m closing in on my #NaNoWriMo halfway mark (which means that I’m far enough along that the novelty has worn off and not far enough along to see the light at the end of the tunnel) I’ve realized that part of drafting is…
KNOWING WHEN
As in, knowing when to say I would rather sit on the couch tonight and catch up on The Voice while eating a big bowl of ice cream, than think deep thoughts about writing. Especially when my brain already hurts. So, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
When you’re pushing to reach a deadline, how do you “know when?” And what do you need to do to take a small break?
Tags: Alden's Ice Cream, drafting, Drafting Series, ice cream, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Knowing When, NaNoWriMo
I’m 19,000 words into #NaNoWriMo and one of the things I’m learning about is when to draw a blank, or really when to write one. Normally when I’m drafting and I arrive at a thought that’s related to a previous thought, I take a break to go back and look up the detail. Sometimes I take a minute or two or three to ponder the direction I might be heading with something that’s surfacing from my subconscious. This break allows me to examine a creative thought or remember the name of a character I’ve been fleshing out or keep a place description uniform. It also slows me down. Normally I don’t care, I like my process and it works well for me, but in November, dilly dallying and day dreaming is a luxury I can’t afford when I’m participating in NaNoWriMo.
During my regularly scheduled drafting, slowing down might make my first draft take longer, but in my opinion it does’t really hinder my overall process because I’d have to go back and sort it all out eventually during one of my revisions. Do it here or do it there–it all has to get done in the end, right? And to be honest, I like the practice of taking a moment to look back. It allows me to better “place myself” in my own writing. When a world or it’s characters are new, it’s easy for me to get lost. I can wander around like a girl from the suburbs in NYC. Sometimes I have to retrace my steps to see where I was going.
But during crazy NaNoWriMo style drafting, I’m pushing myself to think less and let go. Stopping is counter productive. It is the fine line between drafting and revision and there’s no room for it in November or any time when you’re speed drafting. So, what’s a girl to do who can’t keep it all straight? Or what happens when I need to spend hours dreaming about what perfect book my MC should be reading in English class? I’m learning to substitute the missing thought with a CAPITAL BLANK. Here’s some of my favorite BLANKS from my draft so far…
BLANK shivered and I was sure she was picturing BLANK’S disgusting butt on the kitchen island.
“I’m not a good liar. My mother knows every single time I tell her BLANK,” I said.
“Remember that Saturday after BLANK, when she had the flu and your parents had to cancel your trip to BLANK?”
I’d seen the school’s production of BLANK and even though BLANK didn’t have a big part, he’d been in that crew of guys who’d had the audience in stitches.
I looked at my plate, there was a table spoon of BLANK in a middle of the dish. I looked at my mom’s plate, which had a serving of BLANK and BLANK that wasn’t much bigger than mine. Dad on the other hand had a large helping of BLANK.
And it works. It’s a hot mess, but it’s getting the job done at the moment. But here’s the big question–will I draft like this all the time? Absolutely not. LOL! It feels like trying to run a marathon in the dark. It makes me anxious and confused. BUT…the experience of drafting outside of my comfort zone has taught me that my natural drafting rhythm, can (and often has) easily morphed into unproductive procrastination. And getting comfortable with pushing over those unnecessary speed bumps is why I always think it’s important to try new things with our writing process. You never know how an experience will clarify your process. How it will make you a better, more flexible writer. Conscious doing almost always evolves into growth–especially when you’re drawing a BLANK.
Do you use BLANKS in your drafting process? If you do, do you find it helpful to your process? Have another method for speed drafting over the rough patches? Please share–I’m always looking for more ways to drive myself nuts LOL!
Tags: BLANK, drafting, Drafting Series, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, NaNow, NaNoWriMo
Today I’m stepping away from my ongoing NaNoWriMo experience to talk about what happens after Thought Splinters and Monkey Mind and Writing the Wrong Book. If you’ve been following this series, we’ve been talking about making drafting progress by figuring out what’s driving us to write. And we’ve been discussing how to get our publishing-centric, monkey mind to behave so we can writer the right book. And we’re also holding ourselves accountable by setting a reasonable productivity goal and then showing up to write. Hot dog, we are doing great. So, it seems like this is the perfect time to get to a drafting rewards. I like to think of this one as the horizon.
I often hear people talk about how glorious the first third of drafting is. Everything is shiny and new.
Yeah, not for me. Hate those people.
The shiny new part I experience, is the pliable lump of clay in my brain that has a few shiny splinters in it. That’s where my “new draft high” takes place. I’m giddy BEFORE I put a word on the page. But once I start writing I struggle. I find the first 1/3 of a draft like wandering around on a pitch black, moonless night in a place I’ve never been before. Without being able to see, I’m supposed to find all the good stuff out there, without bumping into all the dangerous pitfalls. It’s a scary, hot mess. And it’s slow going, which doesn’t endear me to the process. There are too many options and the whole thing gives me monkey mind.
But then something wonderful starts to happen. About the time I reach 2/3 of the way through my manuscript, I’ve started to figure out where I am. Every time it happens it’s the sun coming up and illuminating my world. I may not see everything clearly yet. There are still clouds and obstacles in my way, but I get the undeniable sense that everything I need is out in front of me. I can see the horizon and it’s beautiful.
It’s at about this time my characters start to reveal their true selves to me and I also begin to understand how they interact with each other and why. And the world I’m building begins to solidify and have rules and structure. And most importantly, sentences fly out of my mind and through my fingers that I know speak to deeper truths. They dangle there like vivid threads, brightening my horizon and waiting to be woven together later in the revision processes. This part of drafting is such a gift–enjoy it. Take a moment to appreciate what you’ve done and what you plan to do.
What is the toughest part of drafting for you? What moment gives you the gift of knowing that you’re headed in the right direction?
Tags: drafting, Drafting Series, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, The Horizon, writing
