tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3242607410560272655.post6366207929958308008..comments2023-11-13T16:43:01.201-08:00Comments on Deborah J. Ross: FocusUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3242607410560272655.post-37722196264381963612011-10-15T15:37:04.411-07:002011-10-15T15:37:04.411-07:00Thanks so much for your perspective, Jen.
I'...Thanks so much for your perspective, Jen. <br /><br />I've never done NaNoWriMo; it's always at a terrible time of year for me. But I've done shorter writing challenges - 3 stories in 10 days - and had a lot of fun.Deborah J. Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03062367794652668585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3242607410560272655.post-22961887914909670262011-10-15T01:31:43.820-07:002011-10-15T01:31:43.820-07:00Deborah:
Great post on the craft of first drafts!...Deborah:<br /><br />Great post on the craft of first drafts! I think I started out at the opposite end, with the meticulous research and careful planning and plotting of the entire novel before I even got started. It worked -- and I was able to write our the manuscript pretty darn quickly -- but I felt the resulting draft lacked a certain "spark."<br /><br />I next moved on to "jumping off the cliff," starting with the vague formations of an idea and simply diving in to let the story take shape as it would. The results were okay, but not really usable. (I did this with only one manuscript. It sits on a shelf, with little to no hope of my reaching for it to do anything more with it.)<br /><br />I, too, have come to a middle ground. I focus on the key characters for a sense of who they are, where they're coming from and where they're headed (at least, where they want to go, and some of the obstacles along the way). I'll think about the setting and circumstances, and I'll sketch out a very rough plot outline.<br /><br />Then I dive in and see what happens. This leaves a lot of room for that spark of spontaneity and creative madness while still keeping the story generally on-track to arrive at its destination.<br /><br />This is one of the reasons I love NaNoWriMo and participate every year. I typically remember that November 1 is coming just in time to do some rough preparations, and then the November 30 deadline forces me to sit down and write, letting the plot monkeys do their worst/best. I've had pretty good results working this way -- "Valhalla" was my 2008 NaNoWriMo project.Jennifer Willishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05707144415239103793noreply@blogger.com