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jetpack_monkeyI'm starting my Nano over. I'm taking this morning to figure out a new plot, characters, basic structure, etc, and then I'm wiping the slate clean.
Worry not for my ability to complete the thing on time, however. Any novel writing I do in November counts towards the 50,000 - so my goal is to do the rebooted 50,000 in the next 18 days, but if I can't do that, I have about 12,000 words worth of leeway.
The scene montage thing... was an experiment. It was an interesting one at that, but it's really better suited for brainstorming - something I should have done in October. Maybe something will come of the wackiness, I don't know.
I do know that some future project will involve monkeys with jetpacks and a giant mutated lemur in middle management with penchant for flared suits.
This is just not the novel I want to be writing right now. It's a good novel, don't get me wrong. There's a lot of potential to the storyline, and I may go back and rejigger it later (cutting out the extraneous scenes or spinning those off into a third novel).
In any case, I don't know *what* I'm going to be writing now. Probably genre. Something that extrapolates the lessons I've learned in the past two years:
1. Go where the action is. (Improv class)
2. Make the most active choice. (Improv class)
3. Go with your first instinct. It might not be the best choice, but it's a choice. (Improv)
4. Characters have flaws and they tend to balance with the strengths (D&D)
5. Having a band of nothing but warriors is terribly boring (D&D)
6. When things are starting to sag a bit, have a dead body show up (Alfred Hitchcock)
7. The darker I try to write, the funnier I get. The funnier I try to write, the darker I get. (observation from last year's Nano)
8. There are no happy endings - because the story never ends. (something from a Save Farscape banner)
9. True love is rarely true or really love. It is, however, codependent obsession and that's amusing from a great distance (Bobbi drama)
10. The problem with wanting to be a great writer is that you tend to think you should already be there. I bet even William Faulkner wrote angst-ridden Marty Stu-laden crap at one point in his life. (general observation)
11. Saying yes is always far more interesting than saying no. (Improv class)
12. Blowing shit up - it's not just for bad action movies anymore. (Buffy)
13. People with dead-end jobs, a terrible secret, and ennui are not interesting main characters. They are even less so if they live in Iowa. (Lesson from last year's Nano)
14. The public loves a girl who uses snark to hide her wounds (last year's Nano)
15. There's no such thing as an unstoppable monster. Have you tried violence? (Joss Whedon)
16. Given strong enough writing, any hoary cliche or labored metaphor can be fresh and witty. There may be no new ideas, but the old ones still have plenty of juice. (Joss Whedon)
17. Not knowing where your going with a pretty detailed mystery plot leads to Full Disclosure and fan headaches. (Alias)
18. If your plot is exciting and fast-paced and twisty enough - and if the human drama is strong but fairly unforced - you can get your audience to swallow or at least grudgingly accept almost anything. (Alias)
19. Except Dark!Vaughn. What the hell? (Alias)
20. The monster in the jungle should never be as interesting as the character's reactions to it. (Lost)
21. There are no heroes. (Lost)
22. Start in the middle of the story. It's probably more interesting that way. (Star Wars)
Er, maybe I got a bit carried away there.
Anyway, suggestions welcome for the novel. Challenges, also. The plot will probably be something fairly action packed. I'm tempted to write cyberpunk, except that the closest I've ever come to the genre is watching Blade Runner a dozen times.
*sigh* I really need to read more.
Worry not for my ability to complete the thing on time, however. Any novel writing I do in November counts towards the 50,000 - so my goal is to do the rebooted 50,000 in the next 18 days, but if I can't do that, I have about 12,000 words worth of leeway.
The scene montage thing... was an experiment. It was an interesting one at that, but it's really better suited for brainstorming - something I should have done in October. Maybe something will come of the wackiness, I don't know.
I do know that some future project will involve monkeys with jetpacks and a giant mutated lemur in middle management with penchant for flared suits.
This is just not the novel I want to be writing right now. It's a good novel, don't get me wrong. There's a lot of potential to the storyline, and I may go back and rejigger it later (cutting out the extraneous scenes or spinning those off into a third novel).
In any case, I don't know *what* I'm going to be writing now. Probably genre. Something that extrapolates the lessons I've learned in the past two years:
1. Go where the action is. (Improv class)
2. Make the most active choice. (Improv class)
3. Go with your first instinct. It might not be the best choice, but it's a choice. (Improv)
4. Characters have flaws and they tend to balance with the strengths (D&D)
5. Having a band of nothing but warriors is terribly boring (D&D)
6. When things are starting to sag a bit, have a dead body show up (Alfred Hitchcock)
7. The darker I try to write, the funnier I get. The funnier I try to write, the darker I get. (observation from last year's Nano)
8. There are no happy endings - because the story never ends. (something from a Save Farscape banner)
9. True love is rarely true or really love. It is, however, codependent obsession and that's amusing from a great distance (Bobbi drama)
10. The problem with wanting to be a great writer is that you tend to think you should already be there. I bet even William Faulkner wrote angst-ridden Marty Stu-laden crap at one point in his life. (general observation)
11. Saying yes is always far more interesting than saying no. (Improv class)
12. Blowing shit up - it's not just for bad action movies anymore. (Buffy)
13. People with dead-end jobs, a terrible secret, and ennui are not interesting main characters. They are even less so if they live in Iowa. (Lesson from last year's Nano)
14. The public loves a girl who uses snark to hide her wounds (last year's Nano)
15. There's no such thing as an unstoppable monster. Have you tried violence? (Joss Whedon)
16. Given strong enough writing, any hoary cliche or labored metaphor can be fresh and witty. There may be no new ideas, but the old ones still have plenty of juice. (Joss Whedon)
17. Not knowing where your going with a pretty detailed mystery plot leads to Full Disclosure and fan headaches. (Alias)
18. If your plot is exciting and fast-paced and twisty enough - and if the human drama is strong but fairly unforced - you can get your audience to swallow or at least grudgingly accept almost anything. (Alias)
19. Except Dark!Vaughn. What the hell? (Alias)
20. The monster in the jungle should never be as interesting as the character's reactions to it. (Lost)
21. There are no heroes. (Lost)
22. Start in the middle of the story. It's probably more interesting that way. (Star Wars)
Er, maybe I got a bit carried away there.
Anyway, suggestions welcome for the novel. Challenges, also. The plot will probably be something fairly action packed. I'm tempted to write cyberpunk, except that the closest I've ever come to the genre is watching Blade Runner a dozen times.
*sigh* I really need to read more.
