Progress (word count or a general status update): 17,634! Just a titch bit ahead of schedule.
Current Mood: Satisfied. After my first two chapters, I realized that I needed a second narrator, and I've been alternating chapters. I looked back at chapters one and two--both narrated by my guy narrator--and realized that they were practically crying out for an intermediate chapter narrated by my girl. It's like I knew and left space for her to tell part of the story. So I started writing that chapter today.
Inspiration: The Vitamin String Quartet. They are a string quartet that covers all kinds of pop/rock/whatever. My favorite so far is definitely "Hey Ya"--but there are some other great tracks. I've been listening to them on Spotify.
Goals as of Today: Get the dishes done and clean up the house! I've met my word count goal for the day, so now I'm off of writing for the weekend. I made a schedule for next week so I don't neglect my chores so badly.
Recent Favorite NaNo WiP Line:
I
wake up on Sunday with the disturbingly strong and completely alien
desire to go to the mall. This is unsettling and I want it to stop. I
stumble downstairs in the hopes that some coffee and protein will
restore my brain to its correct settings.
Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on): I walked three miles yesterday! It felt awesome. It's a lot easier to be sedentary outside of New York City. Also, I finally pulled the trigger and bought plane tickets to see my students' play next week! I'm really excited to hit a few of my old haunts, support businesses in my old neighborhood that were without power for several days due to Sandy, and see my students and colleagues.
In my downtime (ha!) I’m reading: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (a re-read--I made November Cakes this week, and I read a little whenever I eat one!) and today I polished off What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones.
You should read this blog post: Revision, Day One: The Read Through By: Veronica Roth
You should also read this blog post: Revision, Day Two: The Giant List of Doom By: Veronica Roth
Because: We are all going to have some serious revisions (that is, if you're working on a new piece/new words for NaNo) and when Veronica talks about it, it's easy to grasp and sounds actually kind of ok.
Gratuitous Photograph:
 |
| Delicious November Cakes. Recipe courtesy of Her Maggiesty. |
As always, thanks to Katy Upperman for the template!
I love The Vitamin String Quartet :) And Veronica Roth's posts are brilliantly useful, I think I'll be clinging to them through my November revisions.
ReplyDeleteI love how simple her process is. I mean, you have to be able to see your problem, but the steps are really basic.
DeleteWooo great job!! :) And thanks for mentioning the revision articles--I'm not doing NaNo, but in the spirit of NaNo I am doing some intense revisions this month. So that's perfect! Thanks!
ReplyDelete(Btw, check out the new blog hop we’re starting: Save-a-Word Saturday!)
Thanks! Good luck with your revision!
DeleteGoing to go check out The Vitamin String Quartet--I love me some strings. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you're using two narrators. I have an idea for a story that would involve the use of two narrators, and it's kind of appealing to me. I especially love the idea of trying to write a guy narrator. Challenging, but fun! Love the segment again, too. :)
Okay, looking at those November cakes makes me really want to try finishing THE SCORPIO RACES (that and the fact that I loved THE RAVEN BOYS so much). Plus, it's November and I said I'd return to it this month. Just have to finish THE BOOK THIEF first.
The guy narrator came first...turns out I had totally underestimated his step-sister and she needed a voice too. Now she's totally my favorite...I'm actually worried that his voice is suffering in comparison. But I'll punch it up in revisions!
DeleteHmmm November cakes, they look delicious :D (and what a wonderful way to like to THE SCORPIO RACES...)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy dual POVs, and I´m glad this seems to be the way to go for your novel. Don´t you love figuring out how to make it even better, already in the first draft? :D
You´re rocking, NaNo, Jess!
Congrats!!!
Thanks! Turned out my characters had too much to say for me to settle for a single narrator :) It was such an exciting discovery!
DeleteYou're doing so awesome, Jess! I adore your snippet... It's exactly the kind of voice I'm attracted to. I made November Cakes last year (twice!) and they were amazing. Tons of work, but really, really yummy! Ah, THE SCORPIO RACES... Love!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I definitely get flashes of Craig's voice...then sometimes he just kind of goes flat. But it's encouraging to hear that it works when it's "on"!
Delete