RIP NaNoWriMo

I want to begin by congratulating all of my fellow writers that made their 50,000 words or greater for NaNoWriMo. You have accomplished a tremendous goal, and I hope that many of you choose to publish your work.

I was sitting here this morning (very early morning!), looking at a 42,600 word count, and less than 24 hours to make it to 50,000. Willie Nelson came to my rescue - "Know When To Hold 'em, Know When To Fold 'em". I am folding, hopefully in a graceful manner. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, and how I wanted to say it. On the days that I could write, my characters took over the story and ran with it. They are to be applauded!

There were many more days when I distracted myself in any and all possible ways so that I did not have time to write. For keeping me sane, I want to thank my friend Ali. She posted this link, and I played the video over, and over, and over again. http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SUoY-bfweg&feature=player_embedded.

I am going to finish this book, and publish it (Create Space, here I come!) The first thing I am going to do is to take the time to go back over what is already written, and tighten it up. Then I will finish the story. Then I will do at least two edits/rewrites. Then I will outsource it to an editor that does this kind of thing for a living. Then I will get my baby out there.

One thing I know - writing full length fiction is much harder than full length non-fiction! Another thing I know is that I am glad t hat I started writing a Bible from the very beginning. There are too many details about characters, as well as settings, to keep straight in my mind. And time lines ... it is not easy to keep them straight. It just is not.

Will I do NaNoWriMo again next year? Yes, I will. Maybe I will even finish!

(c) November 2010 Bonnie Cehovet

Still In Shock!

Today NaNoWriMo reached it's half-way point. Looking around in shock ... I have more than half of the words necessary to "win", at 28,012. Do they make any sense? Some of them do, while others will need "a little help". I still don't have a crime (this is a mystery cozy), and my perpetrator refused to comply - he would rather be a "good guy". Another character wanted to be his wife, rather than his victim. The good thing is - they fit well into the story. ;-)

There will have to be a good deal of "after the fact" research, as I am placing my story in and around San Francisco, and I have never been to San Francisco. Much of the action will be taking place in a luxury spa - again, no first hand experience. I am making notes, so that before writing the sequel (this is meant to be the first in a series) I can experience what I am writing about. (Make note - need to win the lottery to foot this bill!)

Mentally, I am moving forward to putting this book in front of the public. By necessity it will be sent to a professional editor. And I will act on his/her suggestions. I am going to put this in the hands of professionals for submission in both print and e-book format to ... heck, to whoever will accept it!

Video trailer on my professional site (which will soon move to Word Press), with separate video trailer on You Tube. Research Internet radio shows to guest on, research blogs to wander through (wander through with intent!), send out promo copies for review.

Deep breathe - I can do this!

(c) November 2010 Bonnie Cehovet

Week 1 - NaNoWriMo

Big announcement – I have just survived my first week of NaNoWriMo! So proud of myself! Relatively close to my intended word count (ideally, I would be at 14,000 words, in reality I am at 12,306), with my characters behaving reasonably well. They do have their own minds, but the pieces are coming together nicely.

I am so happy that I decided to do character profiles, rather than just “jumping in”. I do find that I have to refer to my profiles (which I printed out for easy reference) in order to keep them “in character” with dress, mannerisms and speech. I also found the literal backdrop of what their houses etc looked like as I placed them in the story settings. I am having to do a bit of quick research as I go along, because I choose to place them in luxury settings, and upscale professions. None of which this middle American knows anything about!

I am going to do more work tonight on the plot, although it seems to be flowing relatively well so far. This is a cozy mystery … I have the backdrop for the mystery, but have not decided what the mystery is yet. The character that I had intended to be the villain wanted an entirely different place in the story – and he wanted a wife! I thought the character that turned out to be the wife would be the mystery – someone who disappeared long ago, presumed dead. Not so, Sherlock! I have a pretty good feeling that this character will lead me to the real mystery.

An elite, private, international style spy organization has popped up too. I never expected that one! Completely blindsided me. I may have to write a chapbook about the process of writing this book!

More next week!

© November 2010 Bonnie Cehovet