Non NaNo 2011

Photo of a Long Road
How appropriate is this image to writing a novel?

When you first start, you see only the Big Picture. The finished novel. It’s full of light and glory and beautiful words. The view is lofty (just like this view from Coronado Heights near Lindsborg, Kansas).

Then you get started writing and before you know it, up pops an obstacle. Potholes begin appearing in that pristine road. Twists and turns you didn’t anticipate. Road hazards that aren’t visible in the Big Picture view. Warning signs.

You begin to realize the road to a finished novel isn’t all sweetness and light. Sometimes the road gets muddy.

Photo of a Muddy When Wet Sign
The primary goal for November is to maintain the Big Picture view as much as possible even when I’m staring that Muddy When Wet sign in the face eye-to-eye and nose-to-nose.

But I have some ‘down-to-earth’ goals, too.

Primary is finishing the second draft on Saving Grace. That’s a leftover goal from October (doesn’t that seem appropriate for Thanksgiving month?). Being leftover makes it no less important.  It needs to be done and the more quickly, the better!

I had also hoped to be doing NaNoWriMo this month, but that was contingent upon successfully completing October’s second draft goal. I missed October’s goal, so I will not be doing NaNoWriMo – and a brand new story – this month.

But….

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that there was a consolation prize in my future and here it is.

There is a story closely related to Saving Grace that is fully outlined and partially written. So rather than tackle a brand-new story in November, I’m going to attempt to finish this in-progress, but long-ignored story. It is related to Saving Grace, so working on them together shouldn’t be a hardship. In fact, I’m hoping the little gray cells will find inspiration for each while working on the other.

The new story is untitled, so I’m currently referring to it as Saving Grace 2 or SG 2. (Yeah, I know. Not very imaginative!).

Goals for November 2011

  • Finish the second draft of Saving Grace
  • Finish the first draft of SG 2
  • Word Count Goal for the Month (Fiction Only): 75,000 words

The plan is to work on both stories from the start with a preference for Saving Grace and to post updates each week as I did in October and as I would have had I been doing NaNoWriMo.

Lord willing and if there aren’t too many migraines, I’ll have two completed drafts by the end of the month.

Carrie

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I've been an avid looker-at of books since I was old enough to sit on Mom's lap and listen to the stories she read. Once I learned to read and discovered the school library, I read every horse story I could find. I must have read Walter Farley's Black Stallion series a dozen times during grade school. I still enjoy reading the adventures of the Black Stallion and Flame and all the rest. But Marguerite Henry, C. W. Anderson, Thomas Hinkle and anyone else who wrote a story about a horse was also on my to-read list. I couldn't get enough of them. Then I found Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and discovered another world; the world of mysteries! More recently Dick Francis has combined my love of horse stories with my love of mysteries with his series of books. Frank E. Peretti, Joel C. Rosenberg and other writers now fire my writing and story telling imagination. I am, as yet, unpublished. I write every day, maintain painting and writing blogs, painting journals, writing journals and a number of other writing endeavors. Along with other members of my church family, I've written devotions for Advent and Lenten devotional booklets. For a time, I wrote a monthly column for the Newton Kansan newspaper. I still enjoy a good horse story but I also enjoy a good mystery or cozy mystery, suspense and a little bit of action here and there, as well as literary works. I hope, Lord willing, to try my hand at each of those genres, but if you pressed me to tell you what my stories are about, I'm most likely to tell you they're usually a mix of political thriller and Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament prophets had a lot to say to the people of their day. They have a lot to say to us, too. It's impossible to follow the news and read Old Testament prophecies and not make connections. Once a connection is made, a story is likely to take shape. The never ending wellspring of ideas is often delightful, frequently overwhelming and sometimes frightening. After all, I know what followed the prophecies of the Old Testament prophecies. Can we be far behind...?

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