Monday 4 July 2016

Camp NaNoWriMo Day 4

Well so far so good.  Everything is on track and I've really enjoyed getting into a good writing habit. I've struggled to sit down and write on a regular basis as I'm forever finding things to do instead - mostly faffing about if truth be told but hey, it's what I do!

I'm also enjoying getting back in the swing with the novel. I had left it for a while as I was struggling to love it. It was all planned out and ready to go yet something about it was not right. I tried to follow all the advice to just write the first draft and then fix the problems but it was like wading through treacle. I hoped that the rest would do us both good and I could attack it with gusto.

I have to report that it's not really been like that. I've been following the plan to an extent but something strange has happened. The novel seems to have a mind of its own and is pulling me in a different direction. Something about the story I was planning to tell isn't right and I'm fighting it every step of the way. Now here's the thing: do I fight for the story I planned, even though it doesn't seem to 'feel' right anymore? Or do I let the story that wants to be told have its head?

I've read about writers who have had characters misbehave and refuse to do what they are told. I always smiled at this; after all, the writer is in control, right? Well now I'm starting to understand - my novel isn't behaving and I have to make a big decision about its future. So what to do, what to do ...

But before that I will keep plugging away at the NaNoWriMo and aiming for a win at last.

2 comments:

  1. This happened with mine too, I think it's fairly common lovely ;-) well done for getting back into it, and best of luck with NaNo x

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    1. Thank you! I'm doing well so far and it's great to see the word count climb and watch the story unfold.

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