Week Two - how was it for you?
NaNoWriMo is a challenge; Week Two presents its own special variations of that challenge. If Week One is about just getting started then Week Two is about carrying the load when you realize, oof, OK, I’m keeping to my schedule despite everything but there’s three more weeks of this to go!
Word count at the end of Week Two?
I’m writing this on the afternoon of November 14. Since I work a full-time job (well, sort of, given the economy) I tend to write in the evenings. My present word count is 30,649. So I’m well ahead of the minimum.
Are you diligently keeping to a certain word count per day, or are you writing in longer sessions?
I think it’s important to understand something about “word count.” NaNoWriMo, for me, is about finishing. I need that sense of accomplishment, because writing is a very subjective act. Because of that it can be very easy to fall into the trap whose words play in your mind to the theme of “This story stinks, it’s horrible, I’m horrible (dramatic flourish) and I can’t go on!” Having something objective like a word count is one form of encouraging yourself. Encouraging writers to write is the whole point of NaNo. Remember that at the end of the month, if you’re a finalist, you’ve either got a first draft or something pretty close to it. Especially for someone who’s never finished a first draft this is an incredible, precious achievement. It can give you something important: faith in your ability as a writer.
So far this year I haven’t had any marathon writing sessions. In the past I’ve written as much as 7,000 words in a day. If I have the opportunity – which is time coupled with inspiration – I may try to beat or equal that in the next two weeks. If I do, though, it will be just for the fun of it. To the present time I’m averaging about 2,300 words per day. I’m happy with that for now.
Any changes to your writing schedule/habits?
No real changes in writing habits – the bug I caught in Week One is hanging on and it’s autumn here in Hickory, NC, so I’ve continued writing in bed under a nice warm blanket. Since autumn weather kicked in the older cats are spending more time indoors, i.e., more time walking on keyboards and insisting on being held while one is trying to write. The new kitten (Elsie) is still the worst offender. She’s fascinated by the motion of letters across the screen, I think, and maybe also that rattling noise the keys make while I type.
Talk to us about what’s happened in this week’s writing. Is the Grissom in orbit?
This week the Grissom and her crew have indeed left orbit! As of last night they are more than halfway to Mars. Colonel Davis is becoming aware of the defects of his executive officer, Major Collins, who has been carried in his post by his subordinate, Captain MacRae. (Folks, you should know that the Grissom has a joint USN-USAF crew, and the USAF is actually in charge of the vessel. “Stroker” Davis is a fourth-generation USAF fighter pilot; there are some Navy traditions he has trouble with, and being called “captain” is one of them.) Captain MacRae learns that she has an instinct not only for coordinating the ship’s drive fields but for actually piloting the vessel. MacRae and Master Chief Donovan become allies, teaching each other things that will help them survive the disaster that’s about to break upon them in the next week of writing. The reactor officer, Commander Henryk, has noticed a neutron flux from the Grissom’s nuclear teakettle that he doesn’t care for; it’s a little high even though it’s within safety limits.
Do any particular writing challenges present themselves this week?
Another challenge that’s cropped up has been the necessity for creating some minor characters. I don’t like calling a character “pilot’s assistant” or “drive generator watch technician” so on rewrite I may have to give these characters more depth.
The events of this last week could easily be a cautionary tale for the principle of “writing what you know.” My last three novels for NaNo concerned US Army Air Forces pilots fighting in the SW Pacific early in World War II. I know a lot about that particular era, and I’ve had the chance to actually sit in and fly some of the aircraft belonging to the times. Visualizing the events of those novels wasn’t very difficult, because I knew about it. The Grissom is a remodeled ballistic missile submarine, though, and I don’t know very much about submarines, or submariners. I’m having difficulty visualizing the internal environment of the Grissom and I feel that’s slowing down my progress. “Write what you know” shouldn’t restrict you to things you’ve seen or done yourself. After all, it seems unlikely that Homer was a veteran of the Trojan War, or that Sir Thomas Malory was one of Arthur’s knights. But I’m sure they had useful knowledge of their own that helped them in their task. In the next 5000 words of my story there’s going to be a reactor malfunction, and speaking of “write what you know,” somewhere around here I have an old book on nuclear reactor engineering. I’m going to have to dig that up and get a feel for what sorts of things might go wrong with a nuclear reactor.
Hopes for next week:
By Week Three I hope to write the Grissom through a disaster that nearly destroys the ship. Some of the crew may get killed; don’t know who just yet. Regardless, the Grissom should be headed to Mars, possibly even landing on or in orbit around Mars, by the end of next week. That depends on how well I get the crew through whatever disaster befalls the ship, though.
NaNo in a nutshell (Week Two):
Week Two has been a bit of an endurance contest, mentally as well as physically. I’m past the halfway mark, and that’s great! Now to keep it up for two more weeks.
For more on NaNoWriMo and to follow our other writers, please take a look here.
Tom, you're setting a cracking pace - 2,300 words every day is great going! Either you've planned very well or you're really hitting your stride.
I like this point you make about minor characters; I know exactly what you mean. You suddenly find that you've been using 'engine driver' rather a lot and it's nuts not to know his name. And once you do that, you've got to give him a bit more rounding, and before you know it you have another person you hadn't catered for. These little things can derail a writer, but the great thing about Nano is that the focus on the deadline means you just have to shrug and deal with it. There's a book to be written!