Hello, writers. As has been our tradition lo, these three years and ten months, there will be no Write On! on Thanksgiving. Let’s meet back here on November 29th to cheer on those who will be topping up their NaNoWriMo wordcounts.
(If you’re doing NaNoWriMo and are at 25,000 words as of midnight tonight, you’re right on track, she said helpfully.)
Here’s a list of doughty writers who hadn’t thrown in the towel as of last week:
terrypinder
CayceP
Wiseferret (word count of 6625 reported 11/8)
CFAmick (goal of 1k a day for 30 days)
Mnemosyne
jabney
JanetT in MD
(Plus one other doughty writer who doesn’t want to be mentioned by name.)
(That’s a nice word, isn’t it? Doughty, doughty, doughty.)
The only real clash I’ve found between NaNoWriMo and my writing process is that-- like a lot of people-- I edit as I go, and when you’ve got to crank out 50,000 words in thirty days, editing can cost you valuable verbiage. Other than that, I like to go full steam ahead.
I usually don’t find out who my characters are—or indeed what my plot is—till I’ve finished the first draft, and maybe the second. After that I have to go back and make changes, especially at the beginning, because my characters are often saying and doing things that, now that I know them better, I know they wouldn’t really say or do. I have to rewrite lines of dialogue or change actions—how they’re done or whether they’re done—to match the characters.
Then, of course, the protagonist, except in certain genre series fiction (eg hardboiled private eye) has to change over the course of the story. Starting with the third or fourth draft, I usually color-code scenes where I can show the character changing. It makes them easier to find during future revisions.
Tonight’s challenge
In 50 words or less, show us a door being opened.
Now show us the door being opened again, but differently, because it’s being opened by a different character.
And then show it being opened by a third character.
In each case, make sure the manner of door opening suits the character.
What it’s the door to and who the characters are and why they’re opening the door is up to you. The three actions don’t all have to fit into the same scene, but it’s fine if they do.
Write On! will be a regular weekly diary (Thurs 8 pm ET) until it isn't.
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