What NaNo Is Teaching Me

Tomorrow marks the halfway point of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I'm not quite at halfway to 50,000 words. Ugh. I'd hoped to be at 50K by now so that I could actually complete the novel by the end of the month. Because, really, 50K does not make a novel, unless it's a middle-grade chapter book. My own tend to be around 100K and to feel truly proud to say I wrote a novel for NaNo, I wanted to actually complete the entire first draft. I don't see that happening.

I'd hoped by writing something completely brand-new (not a Soul Savers book), I'd be all excited about these new characters and world and would be going crazy when I had to take care of real-world stuff, chomping at the bit to get back to the story. That's how I'd been when I'd started the very first draft of what is now Promise and Purpose. I was absolutely in love with Alexis and Tristan and wanted to spend as much time with them as I possibly could (and actually, that's how it still is with them). The characters in this new series, however, have been harder to get to know, and it's taking me time to fall in love with them. So when I'm not writing, I'm not constantly thinking about them, which makes it harder to sit down and write.

But that's what we have to do to call ourselves writers: write. "Butt in Chair" is our mantra, and there's a reason for it. When the excitement of a shiny new idea wears off, we still have to plant our hinies in the chairs and write. When we're stuck and don't know where to go next, we can take all kinds of showers, play solitaire, go for miles and miles of walks and even clean, but nothing's really going to get done if we don't sit down and write something. Anything. Just do it.

Although I know this, NaNo is teaching me in a different way. I'd always wondered why the founders of this great idea chose November. After December, this has to be the absolute worst month to hole oneself up to complete a novel. It's time to plan for the holidays, start shopping, make menus, have people over for Thanksgiving, spend time with family, etc. Why couldn't they pick a boring month like February or July? Why not January, when people can make completing their novel a resolution?

Well, the "why" doesn't matter. It is what it is. And that's what NaNo is really teaching me (or at least reinforcing for me). No matter what's going on (or not) with the story or in the real world, we have to put our butts in the chair and write if we want to reach our goal. We not only have to get in the habit of writing every day, but we have to do so even when there are so many reasons not to. Even when there are more distractions than usual. And if we know there's going to be specific times that we absolutely cannot write (e.g., Thanksgiving Day), then we must plan for it so we can still reach our goal.

So I'm learning to write with music that has words without being distracted. Maybe someday I can actually write in a coffee shop or airport. Since not having inspiration is new to me, I'm creating new habits of forcing myself to write even when I don't feel like it. I'm getting better at planning my writing time around real-world happenings, which is good considering all the traveling I'll be doing next year while still trying to get 2-3 books out.

In other words, I'm learning how to be a true professional writer. That's not really the point of NaNo, but that's what it's doing for me, and just in time since I am now a full-time author and publisher. Even going into NaNoWriMo for the first time, I knew it was about more than writing 50K of crap just to say you did it. At least, for me it would be. And I'm happy to say that it is doing so much more. So even if I don't finish a full draft by November 30, I'll know this month has totally been worth it. And no worries - I will make that 50K goal no matter what it takes.

So what does NaNoWriMo do for you? Are you participating in NaNo? If not this year, have you in the past? What have been your lessons?

Men Who Don't Wear Pants & Other Lessons I'm Learning

As I mentioned the other day, I'm working on a novella for the March Novel Writing Challenge. This was going to be a Top Sekrit Project because I'm still not sure how it will turn out. I mean, at this point, I'm not even sure it'll be a novella; it may end up being a full-length novel. Also, it's very different than Promise, Purpose and Book 3, yet some things are familiar because it's kind of part of the Soul Savers Series. And since I'm not good at keeping secrets - obviously - I can provide some insight because I'm learning a lot.

First, the "real" books of the Soul Savers Series tell Alexis's story. We're always in her head with 1st person POV. This new WIP, however, tells three people's stories with 3rd person, changing POV. Because I've been so obsessed busy with Tristan (and Alexis), I haven't written in 3rd person in a very. long. time. And I can't remember ever trying to write with changing POVs. It's excellent writing practice. I just hope I can pull it off. The main lessons to keep in mind with changing POV:

• Don't change POVs in the middle of a scene unless you have good reason and you're a complete mastermind writer.
• Use the POV that best fits the scene. Usually this is the character who has the most at stake in this particular scene.
• Use POV switches to add tension. Leave one character dangling in a tree to go see what the other character is doing. Of course, this has to be done carefully. The scene switch must be necessary, not just a hat trick to add suspense.

Second, the main Soul Savers books are contemporary - take place right now. Well, Promise was 9 years ago, but that's not exactly major history or anything. This WIP, however, is historical. As in ancient history. Seriously. It takes place around 300-100 BC in the Ancient Greece/Roman Empire era...and location. And this is freakin' hard!

My mind wants to keep going to the Medieval Ages or to Braveheart or the like and I have to tell myself, "No! Further back!" I'll need to reacquaint myself with Troy (no problem there!), Gladiator and possibly Passion of the Christ because I'm having a hard time visualizing what they wear, what weapons they use and where they live. I've been doing lots of research and here's what I've learned so far:

• Historians have very little in the way of clothing artifacts from that time. They have jewelry and art. The art does portray people in clothing, but it's still hard to see what the subjects are wearing.
• Men dressed more ornately than women. In fact, men's clothing demonstrated class, whereas women pretty much all wore the same thing, regardless of class or status. They displayed wealth by adorning their hair and clothing with jewels. Women wore togas in very early Roman times, but later, the only women who wore them were prostitutes. So the toga was like their scarlet letter - a mark of disgrace for the woman, but a mark of honor for a man. Go figure.
• Everyone wore two basic pieces of clothing - the peplos or chiton and a himation. The peplos and chiton are like tunics and the himation is a cloak. What does this mean? Remember those movies mentioned above? Do you recall seeing anyone wearing pants? Well, they don't. Not even warriors wore pants back then. How did they keep their legs warm and protected??? I guess in all their brilliance, they didn't figure that one out. Men without pants makes writing a somewhat romance quite interesting. Kind of like writing about the Scots.

I don't know if any of these lessons have been useful for you, but maybe they've at least been enlightening. Have you learned anything interesting this week for the sake of your writing? Please, do share!