The subject is apropos of nothing, except CBC 1 is playing the finale song as I type this entry.
My NaNoWriMo novel got off to a rousing start, and so far I’m keeping pace with my goal, and then some. Over 4000 words on day 2, and the day isn’t over yet, and Lost is a rerun tonight so I might get some more work done tonight.
As an experiment, I’m writing in present tense. I’m not sure if that will survive the first round of edits, but it’s a way of helping me distinguish the mood, setting and feel of this book from the one I just finished revising on Monday. So far, though, it seems like an appropriate choice for the book. We’ll see if it persists.
I didn’t exactly outline this novel, though I have a fairly good idea in my mind of what it will look like in the long run. I understand the character arcs and the plot trajectory. However, things happen along the way to surprise me. For instance, I need a little bit of background into the local newspapers at the setting and I discover that in real life there are two fierce rival newspapers, one that has been around for over a century, one that was established less than a decade ago. The new one is brash and intensely investigative and free, whereas the other is conservative, staid and 50 cents. Not a big deal, but it helps me set up a couple of ancillary characters who didn’t exist in the book’s original notion.
Now, cross my fingers and hope that the story doesn’t run out on me before the month ends. I think I have lots of story, enough for at least 50K words, but we won’t know for sure until 12/01/05, will we?
