As mentioned in my previous post, today is also the day I began writing my novel. The working title is Headstone--catchy, right?--because editors and publishers change those sorts of things anyway, so as long as I give it a crappy name, I won't be butthurt when someone comes behind me and changes it. So from here out, when I say Headstone, you know I mean the novel about Elizabeth. Maybe something better will come to me down the road, but for now, I'm focusing on the important stuff, like, actually writing the book.
The first day of writing went well, but after so much build-up, I expected things to run somewhat smoothly. My experience with NaNoWriMo is that the first week is always the easiest, but the second week is when the real trouble starts. For now, I'm just taking things one day at a time. My goal is 500 words a day, which looks like a tiny amount compared to NaNo's 1667, but my motivation makes all the difference. NaNo was something silly to do to pass the time, to be a part of a world-wide community of people doing the same thing at the same time, suffering all of the same trials and tribulations. This novel, though, is meant to be something bigger. I actually hope to do something with this once all of the words are written and for that reason, I want to make sure I'm taking my time and paying close attention to what I am writing.
My designated writing time is as early in the morning as I can make it, before anything else happens with my day. If that fails, my new writing time will be later at night when everyone has gone to sleep. I am naturally a night owl who has been parading as a morning lark for a year or so, but I know that if I'm struggling in the morning to get my words written, the night will welcome me with open arms.
Stephen King, possibly one of the world's most famous Pantsers, wrote in his memoir/writing book, On Writing, that all of his books start with a question. Keeping that question in mind, he writes a novel that answers it. What happens if? What will a woman do if? What if? I'm doing something similar out of the gate, answering the question "Why is Elizabeth Markham buried in Southgate Park?" I will likely be moving towards a more structured outline as ideas start to solidify, but for now, I'm relying on my notes about her life and my imagination to get this rolling. I'm looking at 500 words a day, approximately 100,000 words in the novel, which means just under 7 months of work. I can take a few months off before having a whole year to revise and edit before shopping the book around. I will be fully astonished if everything actually goes according to that plan, but at least I have one, and that's a solid step in the right direction.
Speaking of my highly-active imagination, after months of nothing, just as I'm gearing up to start writing Headstone, my brain decided to throw several new ideas at me. Granted, they're ideas that started out as actual real life scenarios (like the time I stalked the Egyptian god Osiris into the parking lot of an IHOP) but in order to make them more than just interesting campfire stories, I need to put a writer's spin on them. To make matters worse, these ideas are coming to me with destinations. "I bet this literary magazine would LOVE your story about Osiris!" and "That new romance-y literary journal would probably enjoy the story about how you met Kyle." These destinations both have due dates, which means in order to get the short stories written in time, I will need to work on those alongside working on Headstone. There's just not that much time in the day, but I do want to continue putting short stories out while I'm writing the longer novel. I'm just going to have to find a way to make time, or at least manage the time I have available better.
With all of this technical talk out of the way, my day went well. The fresh carrot juice this morning was a nice way to start the day, but back home, I kept the coffee flowing. My secret Starbucks connection had given me the heads up that Pumpkin Spice Lattes would be back today, although they wouldn't be advertised for another week, so at lunchtime, Kyle and I took a break and picked up our annual PSL. It was like getting a high-five from fall.
I invite you to join me as I blog through the process of writing a novel, as well as continuing to live a creative life, be a mother, wife, and student, as well as keep my sanity. What little I had to begin with, anyway. There are some great things coming up over the next few months, including a writer's retreat in the woods, OcPOEber, and a heck of a lot of hiking, baking, and pumpkins. I'm off to write more about Osiris, but I leave you in the able hands of my favorite god, Vincent Price.
