The last Stretch

We have five days until the end of November and the plot is moving towards the third act. It hasn’t gotten there yet but it is very close. The way things are going now, I say that I will reach 50,000 words soon. Yesterday I had 2k words! I think it had to do with the fact that I wanted some time away from the family.

I don’t know if I’ll reach the end of the story (like the actual end of the novel) but I can always rush it if I need to. I’ll probably have to. At this point, I don’t know how my subplots connect to my main story but that’s not important. What’s important is that I’m almost finished. I can start that headache inducing revision later.

Honestly, I’m excited. It’s been almost two years since I came up with this story and I’m so glad that I can just write it and get it out of my system. I think that’s what I need to do for all my unwritten stories. Just write them and revise later. Thinking about  it now, that’s what I’ll probably due in December. Start on a novel that I’ve always wanted to write but wasn’t sure how to start. Otherwise, I won’t start and I won’t get anywhere.

The best part is that I do get to use a scene that I wrote a few weeks ago. If y’all remember, I wrote a scene that really had no part of the plot at the moment. Just today, I was able to write it in into the plot. So far nothing was wasted. I’m proud of myself.

Tomorrow’s plot: cooperation and a forced trip down memory lane

Word Count: 1,841

P.S. I’ve hit 45k words! 5k more words to go!

You win some, You lose some

Happy Wednesday!

As you can see, I’m in a good mood and I was productive today. Well, not as much as I was yesterday but today wasn’t so bad. I managed to plan out at least two more scenes for Phantom Blade. It’s not the most detailed outline but at least I know what’s happening for the next 2 to 4 thousand words.

I read somewhere that not all characters should get along and, let me tell you, that is an iron rule I have been following. It wasn’t intentional. I just created Avon that way. I say created because in part that is true but also because of her backstory (which will come to light later). That experience transformed her into the character she is now – in the story. She is as complex as she gets. Sure, I can change a few things here and there but, for the most part, she’s alright.

Today, more than ever, I realize one huge mistake that I made. I did not and have not made a timeline of any events. Sure I have the scenes but the information of specific things like where Boss Anderson works at is either on the 20th floor or 10th. I can’t remember. Or what day of the week it is in the book either. Little but important things like that that help with consistency are somewhere in the abyss.

But Kassandra, you might say. Why can’t you CTRL+F and find what you want? Well, that’s the thing. NaNoWriMo, the website, partner with Novlr.org and the chapters aren’t all united. Each chapter is a separate file so to speak and it will take me a long time to find what I want. I’ll just have to go back and do everything once I’m completely done with the story.

Word Count: 1,814

Total Word Count: 41, 515

Pulling Teeth

To start off, I would like to say that I have outline almost half of my plot for Phantom Blade. ‘Almost half’ is not the entire thing but at least I have something. With this, I don’t have hand write anything from now on. Sure, the time it takes me to type 18k words per day would be faster but I can manage. There’s pros and cons to this choice but at least I have a choice.

Believe it or not, today has not been my day for writing. I was just not feeling it today. It had been clear from the very beginning that I was not going to enjoy writing every word or scene of Phantom Blade. It has nothing to do with being tired or the fact that there are some scenes in my story that area bit slow. Today’s scene was one of those times that I did not want to write regardless of any reason. Every word was like pulling teeth and I wanted something or someone to distract me so I didn’t have to write anymore.

There was nothing particularly hateful about this scene. Avon (my Lead) and another character were at an auction and the people they were looking for turn out to be part of the auction. No it’s nothing to do with trafficking. The people (two individuals) were the ones who brought the items in and out. There was a chase and two dead ends. Literally because these individuals died and  Avon and her partner didn’t killed them. This entire scene was a set back that I had set up in the beginning and I think it turned out nicely. I just didn’t want to write it.

During all of this, I felt like it got easier and easier to stop writing. Perhaps it was pride or stubbornness. Whatever the case may be, I am grateful towards it because I managed to finish writing the rest of chapter thirteen. I just really hope something like this doesn’t happen tomorrow because I really want to finish.

I will finish.

I will.

Today’s word count: 1,814

P.S. I don’t like the fact that I keep having this feeling. I want it to stop but I don’t know how. Should I take a break while I’m writing? Maybe do a five minutes workout I found on Pinterest?

The Countdown Begins

There are ten days left until NaNoWriMo comes to an end. I’m happy and proud to say that so far, I have not fallen behind schedule. Better yet, at the rate that I’m going, I might be finished before November 30th.

In the past, I have mentioned that I want to finish Phantom Blade and not only reach 50k words. As of right now, I’m not sure if that will possible. In my free time, I’m going to plan out the rest of my chapters and write a beat by beat version of my plot. That way, not only will I know what to write, it will also help me reach my goal.

So far, it’s been a great experience. Participating in NaNoWriMo has made me write every day and had made me to constantly think about writing. I have even thought of two ideas that I might turn into novels later but I’m not sure if I will.

I will confess that I’m getting a bit tired. Not of the story just typing in general. As I write Phantom Blade, I’m also Beta Reading two, soon to be, three stories. Plus the edits I like to suggest, grammar-wise. I think I put too much on my plate but it’s a good kind of tired. I’m getting back into the habit of constantly working on a story. That’s what I wanted in the first place.

In regards to Phantom Blade, while my plot isn’t coming out exactly as I planned, the scenes of tension that I had planned beforehand are coming into fruition. Today, I merged two of these scenes and they worked. It was just that I didn’t want to stretch this story out any longer than I have to. With the end so close, I’m going to plan out what’s going to happen next to keep the story moving forward.

Today’s word count: 1,813

Experiment Failed

So, you know how I was going to type up half my word count earlier in the day and the other half later that day? Yeah, no that failed. It wasn’t because I had to get groceries yesterday or anything like that. Okay so maybe it does have something to do with the fact that I forgot how to divide yesterday.

Whatever the case may be, I decided to go back to what I been doing all these days. Writing everything in one sitting. I just have to start by five so I can at least finish by seven or seven thirty at the latest. It’s not like I won’t keeping try to find new methods for writing but I know that this one wasn’t for me.

On a side note, today’s ‘chapter’, so to speak, was really slow. The action had wind down and all that was left to write was the aftermath. I think I did a good job of described the consequences for Avon to keep using her abilities so recklessly. Better yet that this will play a huge part in the ending. Can you guess what will happen already? While I didn’t get to what I wanted to write: Avon learning where the gooey blob came from, at least I will have something to write about tomorrow.

Today’s Word Count: 1,919