Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Itching
My warm-up for NaNoWriMo began in earnest this morning when I got up at 05:45. By 06:15 I was showered and had drank my coffee and ready for the off. I fed the animals and was at the bus-stop for 06:30.
The family normally get up around 7am so if I can get into the 5am starting habit, I figure I can get 90 minutes writing in the morning before anyone rustles out of their kip. Then I can get into work mega-early and leave early, too (we're on flexitime).
This will mean I can work on the novel when I get home before the rest of the family get back from work and school. I'll need to get to bed at a decent time if I'm to achieve this, though.
Why am I wanting to do such early starts? Simple, I'm most productive early morning. I have no excuses to procrastinate while the world is so quiet. Sitting in my office just after 5am with nothing but the sodium glow of the street lamps forming a bubble over the city outside, and the trickle of water in my aquarium as the fish wake up for another day's swimming, is actually very calming and conducive to writing. Words that I might not be able to place later in the afternoon seem to spring to mind with ease.
In the evenings it is much harder to get it all together, get freshened up and be in a position to produce solid work. Fatigue comes into it and the pull of the television and the couch can sometimes prove too great. I have to achieve a 2k daily word count if I'm to pull it off. Hopefully any drops during the week - like Thursday mornings after a few pints over snooker the night before - can be made up over the weekends.
So anyway, there I was, sitting in the office (day work office) and it was still pitch black outside. No moon just now means it's extra dark and not as special. Soon the glow of the moon will be back and it will be time to begin listening to Stella again, this time, with a matching story to go with it. Oh, and don't forget the wee picture of the crow. He'll be back, too.
Work dragged on and on. By the time lunchtime came round I was starving, my stomach not being used to such a long gap between breakfast and lunch. Gail's home made pasta in pesto sauce that I brough to work really hit the spot.
The semi-detailed chapter synopsis for Slick is now almost complete. I have the basic layout of the story, the main threads and sub-plots. I've still to develop the characters, though Ronnie, the protagonist, is becoming more well-known to me each day. The others I've still to even create names for.
I don't think I like Ronnie. I think he's a good character, but I'm not sure that I actually like him. I think he's the sort of bloke that if I overheard him in a bar I'd probably go out my way to accidentally shoulder him on the way back from the toilet. By the end of the story however, he is very likeable - and more human.
There are still some things to work out, and I want to allow for a lot of freedom with how I get from a to b to c etc., but I really can't wait to start writing it now. It is so tempting to just begin, but I won't. I will wait - promise.
I'm finding it hard to think about anything else really. From morning until shut-eye. The story is there. Ronnie is there. The excitement of embarking on a new novel is there. Roll on November 1st.
The family normally get up around 7am so if I can get into the 5am starting habit, I figure I can get 90 minutes writing in the morning before anyone rustles out of their kip. Then I can get into work mega-early and leave early, too (we're on flexitime).
This will mean I can work on the novel when I get home before the rest of the family get back from work and school. I'll need to get to bed at a decent time if I'm to achieve this, though.
Why am I wanting to do such early starts? Simple, I'm most productive early morning. I have no excuses to procrastinate while the world is so quiet. Sitting in my office just after 5am with nothing but the sodium glow of the street lamps forming a bubble over the city outside, and the trickle of water in my aquarium as the fish wake up for another day's swimming, is actually very calming and conducive to writing. Words that I might not be able to place later in the afternoon seem to spring to mind with ease.
In the evenings it is much harder to get it all together, get freshened up and be in a position to produce solid work. Fatigue comes into it and the pull of the television and the couch can sometimes prove too great. I have to achieve a 2k daily word count if I'm to pull it off. Hopefully any drops during the week - like Thursday mornings after a few pints over snooker the night before - can be made up over the weekends.
So anyway, there I was, sitting in the office (day work office) and it was still pitch black outside. No moon just now means it's extra dark and not as special. Soon the glow of the moon will be back and it will be time to begin listening to Stella again, this time, with a matching story to go with it. Oh, and don't forget the wee picture of the crow. He'll be back, too.
Work dragged on and on. By the time lunchtime came round I was starving, my stomach not being used to such a long gap between breakfast and lunch. Gail's home made pasta in pesto sauce that I brough to work really hit the spot.
The semi-detailed chapter synopsis for Slick is now almost complete. I have the basic layout of the story, the main threads and sub-plots. I've still to develop the characters, though Ronnie, the protagonist, is becoming more well-known to me each day. The others I've still to even create names for.
I don't think I like Ronnie. I think he's a good character, but I'm not sure that I actually like him. I think he's the sort of bloke that if I overheard him in a bar I'd probably go out my way to accidentally shoulder him on the way back from the toilet. By the end of the story however, he is very likeable - and more human.
There are still some things to work out, and I want to allow for a lot of freedom with how I get from a to b to c etc., but I really can't wait to start writing it now. It is so tempting to just begin, but I won't. I will wait - promise.
I'm finding it hard to think about anything else really. From morning until shut-eye. The story is there. Ronnie is there. The excitement of embarking on a new novel is there. Roll on November 1st.
Colin 7:43 am
1 Comments:
If anyone can do it, you can, Col!
It sounds like you've got a great strategy. Good Luck!
It sounds like you've got a great strategy. Good Luck!
