Hope Darby Writings

3 days to go, and the rush of frenzied adrenaline is beginning to kick in. Lovely Kahlee asked how I am preparing for NaNo, so here’s a bit of my current process:

I’m Bubbling like mad! I also downloaded Q10, a full-screen freeware word processor, because as we all know, this little girl tends to get distracted in a big way by all the pretty colors and lights of the internet (eye roll here).  So, with Q10 up, I can’t see ANYTHING else, and it helps me to focus better. I’m looking forward to using it this year!

Let’s see, what else?  I’ve spent a bit of time fleshing my main characters. I don’t spend a whole lot of time doing that before NaNo, because it never fails that I learn more and more about the characters as I write. And if what I learn about them conflicts with what I “fleshed out” in the beginning, I get frustrated and feel like I have to start over with the new information. Not good! So, I tend to leave the real characterizations until the NaNo frenzy has dissipated.  The story is what matters most. The details can wait until the second draft (ie December!)!

I’ve bought my “Ramblings” notebook, too. Every year, I get a mid-sized notebook that I carry everywhere I go. Nothing goes into this notebook other than ideas that pop into my head about my story. I do this because 1) if I don’t write it down right then, I’m apt to forget what was so great about it in the first place, and 2) most times, those ideas are totally out of place with where I am currently in the story. I don’t want to forget it, but I also don’t want to break my momentum by trying to jump around too much.

I give each idea it’s own page. This not only makes it easier to find later, when I have a “Hey! This is a GREAT spot for XYZ idea!” but also means that if something else occurs to me regarding that idea, I have plenty of room to make notes. And lemme tell you, I am a note-taking kinda gal!

More to come, when my brain fuzzies clear out…