I don't know if I'm still on track to do a half-NaNo for this month's Camp NaNoWriMo, but I have managed to stay ahead of the curve since the 9th. Largely due to the massive writing session I managed to get done that day. Saved my butt after neglecting my writing again for four days. On the fifth day, though, I was back below where I should be by July 14th, so I cracked the whip again. I've missed two days since, but otherwise I've written at least 300-some words per day to stay ahead of the game. Out of my 10,000 goal for the month, I'm currently at 6334 words. Not the greatest, but also not too shabby considering how little I wrote pretty much April through June.
Yes, I'm doing fairly well with the word count, but what about the narrative? Well, I didn't get as far as I would have wanted before tonight's writing group. I knew I wasn't going to have it done, but I wanted to at least have the confrontation through to the end written.
I do have the confrontation, and the end, written, but I've been firmly avoiding writing the actual fight scene. How many more times do I have to admit how much I'm dreading this? Maybe I can convince myself to write it today so I can indeed have the back half of the story done by group tonight.
Or, at least, maybe have the rest of the opening written and explain my hesitation with the fight scene. That shouldn't be so bad, right? "Here's this story, and then they fight and Devon gets his ass handed to him, and here's the ending..."
The problem with finishing the rest of it - meaning, the opening of the story - is knowing how to start it. I know that Nyssa gets letters from her parents, but I don't know how to explain her parents knowing where she is. Maybe the teachers at the Xavier Institute contacting the parents? But if Nyssa's family truly are mutant haters, wouldn't the teachers want to shield her from that? Even if I skim over how Nyssa's family found her, how do I explain Devon's ability to escort Nyssa by himself when they feared Trish was with her parents? Why was the default "We need to go and get them" instead of "We need to let the X-Men know so they can save them"? Why did they keep the whole thing a mystery from the X-Men instead of asking for help from their new family? Especially considering the amount of trouble doing pretty much the same thing two years prior brought Devon.
Sadly, Hubby's attempt to move the game plot along quickly meant creating such a broad overview that in-depth thoughts like those above were kind of glazed over. Somehow Nyssa got mail from her parents. For some reason Devon and Nyssa thought they could handle it on their own and kept the real reason for the trip secret from Cyclops. The X-Men randomly decided to let these two go on their own without an escort, but the knowledge that backup might be needed for the kids. Finally, neither Devon nor Nyssa thought to call for backup once they knew how bad the situation was. Don't think too much into it....
I'm hoping the holes will fill once I start writing.
I have a few other things I need to think about anyway, such as what comes after this Devon/Trish faceoff story? Also, what to name this story so it doesn't have such a lame working title anymore....
What other things do I need to think about? Well, for starters, as I just mentioned, the obvious What Am I Going To Write Next question. I'm rolling straight from the Camp NaNo challenge into the Writers’ Huddle summer challenge. In fact, a week overlaps. At WH the challenge will be six weeks between Monday, July 24th through to Sunday, September 3rd. Or, in other words, the time between my birthday and Quarthix's wedding!
Oh, and another side note. Ali Luke has just dropped the cost of Writers' Huddle to only $10 per month! She also sent out a mass email as I was writing this paragraph - I still say the woman has a spy kit focused on me or something - alerting the public that she's now opening Writers' Huddle to new members. She only does this in brief spurts so that all the newbies come in as a "class," as it were, instead of slowly sprinkled in unevenly throughout the course of a year. So, if you're looking for an online place for critiques, info, and support, please check out Writers' Huddle. It really is such a great community, and Ali is such a big help.
OK, sales pitch over, back to my writing.
I had stated that I have a "few" other things to think about outside of my existing story. Well, one of which is the Summer Challenge at WH, but another is a way to get back to my writing practice. This week I typed up the last of my pre-written writing practices. They are all online now. I can only post them as I write them from hereon out, which is great that I caught up, but at the same time intimidating that I have to really stay on the ball going forward. I guess it's for the best: accountability. I wanted to share something with you guys every week, and posting those challenges was my way of doing so. It was simple: I opened up my notebook, typed a practice up, and edited. Easy peasy.
I have to get back to the grindstone now. Make sure I stop slacking off. Like I said, it's a blessing, but also an added weight.
Maybe that will be my challenge for August: work on my writing practices again. Have at least four done per week. That gives me slip days for when I'm just overwhelmed. Especially since my mom is retiring this Friday and is planning on coming up to spend the first week of August with me helping me organize my house, and possibly life. I'm drowning over here.
With any luck, the fresh look to my house will revive me. The de-cluttering of my environment will also de-clutter my mind, and I can again focus. I'm both antsy to start, and terrified. Point is, I want to spend the time outside of work with my mom redoing my house, which will leave little to no time to write. I want to be able to allow those cheat days where I ignore my writing. Maybe even wait and write four different writing prompt practices in one day just so I still have them done.
Then I'll have a backlog again.... which will mean I can again slack off and still manage a new story each week here..... maybe this isn't the most brilliant idea.
On the flip-side, it may get me back into the rhythm again, and drive me to set up daily writing hours once more. I could get my writing nest back in the library! I could take time-outs to sit on my front porch and enjoy the weather while I write. I could have a backlog of the practices to post weekly while working on a larger project, like I'm doing now with the Devon/Trish story! I could get back to Jolene's story. I could go back to the Hey Arnold Jungle Movie fanscript before the real thing comes out in November.
Maybe it IS a brilliant idea!
Well, I'm giving myself until Sunday's deadline to figure out officially what I'm doing, so who knows how much more see-sawing on the subject I can do in the next four days?
In the meantime, enjoy the last of my pre-written writing practices. I'll catch you next week with a new short - hopefully - and my decision on the Summer Challenge!
"Best Left Unsaid"
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