Writing Wednesday - NaNoWriMo Update and Elizabeth George

 Soooooo...

Last Friday I was all set to sit and write away. To really pound out some word count. However...

We have a new store manager at work who is really, really pro to-go and wants to grow it beyond what we have managed to do so far over the past year and a half. One of the things we talked about was an idea I suggested of having postcards with a quick 'thank you message' that the shopper signs and attaches to the bag. To make the experience even more personal. The whole 'personal shopper' is something he wants highlighted.

And my quick idea and design was accepted and I spent my day off getting some printing quotes and getting 500 postcards quickly printed up. 

While it meant I got 'zero' words written for Sancutary, it was super thrilling to have my idea green lighted and asked 'what do you need?' to get it done.

And today?

It's my day off, so what do I HAVE to do. Grocery shopping!

There will be a couple of hours of running to the store and doing my Thanksgiving dinner shopping. I need that turkey in the fridge thawing. And I need some other basic ingredients. I have my list in hand and am hoping it will be a quick trip (for the most part). 

But it will be a couple of hours out of my writing time and I am WAY behind from where I want to be. Luckily, I think/hope/feel, once I get started writing it will flow nicely and I should be able to get words on paper. And I am laying some of the credit at the feet of Elizabeth George.

For those who don't know, Elizabeth George is the best-selling author of the Inspector Lynley series. However, I recently 'discovered' she is also an instructor and has written a couple of books on writing. George's latest, From Idea to Novel, I read. And then bought a Kindle copy of the book because her system really appealed to me. 

She researches her location and then writes an extensive character sheet on her characters - where they come from, what's their motivation, what's their norm, among other things. Then she lays out scenes for the book. Just brief scene descriptions, whose POV mainly. 

Then she lays these 'cards' out and puts them in the order she feels the book would go in. All the scenes have to move the book forward.

Then she writes.

And it's not really a polished version of the scene or chapter, but rather what all needs to be included, what needs to be brought out by having this scene. 

This is the technique I have mainly followed in my own way. I had a timeline - where I was starting and finishing and things which would be happening along the way. Then I made scene cards for the story based on the timeline and how it moves the story forward.

So now I am writing the chapters, or scenes. There is dialogue, some description, notes on the tone I want to set in the chapter. In other words, a rough, rough draft. It's what George calls a stream of consciousness writing. And it's working for me. Rather well in fact. WHEN I SIT DOWN AND WRITE!

I am now over 20,000 words (barely) and I had hoped to be at 44,000 about this time or at least 30,000 words. Between now and being off next Saturday I hope to play catch-up and get some more words on paper (or computer). To that end, I probably won't be concentrating on blog posts, but rather on Sanctuary. 

Wish me luck!