Too many days!

I haven't been writing. I continue to be a bad, bad girl.

I have failed NaNo. Not that the month is over yet but reality bites. I know I'm not going to get much - if anything more of Mercy Me written this month.

The count down to our "must be out of this house" date is creeping steadily closer and we are still looking for a new place to live. In the mean time I'm busy with work, I've picked up an extra shift, and packing all our many belongings into boxes. We have more boxes of books than anything else and they tower precariously along the walls. The house now has that odd echoy feeling when I'm home alone.

So with all the work and packing and house hunting and everyday housework there hasn't really been time to write or space in my head for stories to grow. Stress is a serious creativity killer!

Still, in a matter of weeks it'll all be over. We'll have moved and resettled. Some measure of normalicy will return (one hopes) and our creative juices will start flowing again. Perhaps then the Muse will crawl out of the box he's hiding in and agree to go back to work.

For all of you out there who are still plodding through NaNo, all the best! I'm rooting for you!

Day Eight: I'm back ... and bad

I'm back from my trip away to Auckland. A little red faced - my first sunburn of the year.

We had a totally incredible time with family and friends, many of whom we haven't seen for around 10 years. The wedding was beautiful. Awesome and busy times were had by all as we tried to cram in as many moments together as we could in to a few short days.

I didn't have time to even think about NaNo. I did take a notebook with me but it never got to see the light of day.
I'm tired but still buzzing from the trip. I'm back to work this afternoon for the first time since I was in hospital a few weeks ago, so today will be yet another that I fail to clock in a NaNo word count.

Life is unpredictable. The house we're renting has been on the market for about seven or eight months. Last Monday we were told it has finally been sold. Why did it have to be this month? NaNo month?

So now my head is full of moving related scenarios, issues and contingency plans. It could not be any less focussed on NaNo.

I shrug my shoulders. What can ya do?

If we don't make it we don't make it. Never mind. We'll play again next year.

Day Three

I spent most of today packing and generally getting ready for our trip to Auckland tomorrow.

I was thinking I'd get nothing written today, but I had everything sorted by this evening so I curled up in my armchair and got typing.

I'm making slow but steady progress. The words are struggling on to the page. Today I tripped my way through some interesting scenes.

It's an altogether different experience writing in the first person POV of a character who is the dark about so much that is going on around her. Of course as the writer I know the big picture but it's tricky getting the balance right and not revealing too much to the MC or to the reader too soon. I hope that makes sense, it's late.

Happily I've managed to slog out my word count for the day and we're now sitting on a jolly 5,969 words.

I'll be back on Sunday, have a productive NaNo weekend. I look forward to checking in on your progress when I return.

Day Two

By the end of yesterday I'd made a fairly good dent in my NaNo word count, chalking up a neat 2700 words.

Today has been a bit slower thus far. I sent a bit of time pottering around home and on the phone making health related calls and I had to pop out to the chemist and pick up some more medication, so all in all it didn't make for a terribly productive morning. I did manage to write 1000 words before I crawled off to bed for a nap, totally exhausted.

I plan to have another crack at the story again tonight. The more I can write before going away to my sister-in-laws wedding the better as I'm going to lose at least four days of NaNo writing time.

Still. Over all the word count is healthy.

Part of the fun of writing are the unexpected things that happen when words are pouring on to the page.

One interesting such thing has come out of today's writing. Something totally unexpected! Something I'm going to have to work into the plot arch and use to create strife and complications.

It turns out that Mercy, my MC, has light fingers. Yes. She is a bit of the thief with a weakness for shiny things. She just seems to collect them without really thinking about what she is taking or why.

I've never had a main character with a tendency to do stuff like this so I'm looking forward to playing about with this weakness.

Day One

So today I started writing MERCY ME, my NaNoWriMo Steampunk novel.

We got off to a bit of a shaky start, but that is to expected with the first draft of a brand new novel.

I'm still getting the feel of the characters, especially Mercy. It's written in first person, which aside from the odd short story isn't a POV I tend to use, so that is something of a challenge in itself. I'm much more comfortable writing in the third person.

The first 700 words felt a lot like pulling hen's teeth, but it got easier and after plugging away for a few hours I have reached today's goal of 1700 words. So over all I'm happy.

After all it doesn't matter so much at this point if it's a whole lot of dreadful waffle NaNo is all about getting the words on the page.

Besides, with the eclectic cast I have to work with and a plenty of chaos and misadventure to visit upon my poor main character I think we're in for a fun ride. So let the adventures begin!