Crock and Tendril take a vacation
Sep. 30th, 2003 11:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaneramosI don't know how to continue the novel I started writing earlier this month. I have a few ideas for chapter 6, but beyond that I'm lost. It's not that I don't know how to write the next chapter, but I lack a destination. I started to uncover an underlying theme, but can't see how to execute it convincingly. So the story doesn't have any point to it. The possibilities are becoming too silly, even for me.
It's frustrating, because I liked many elements of the first five chapters. I enjoyed the characters, particularly Crock, the 29-year-old deaf gay playwright, and the relationship with his 12-year-old daughter, Tendril.
I need to put this project on the shelf and give myself permission to start something different.
The purpose of this exercise was to learn something, and to find out whether I could tackle NaNoWriMo. I learned a few things:
I was amazed at all the people who took time to read this stuff, and I deeply appreciate their comments. I especially want to thank![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dubious_one, ghostsandrobots and roosterbear for their encouragement, advice and helpful critiques. I feel bad for not letting people know how things turn out, but to my chagrin, I don't know.
Except that some deaf, dysfunctional fairies were plotting to kidnap Crock. It would have been another catastrophe for Tendril, but I couldn't stop their plotting. I don't know what they wanted, and prefer not to.
It's frustrating, because I liked many elements of the first five chapters. I enjoyed the characters, particularly Crock, the 29-year-old deaf gay playwright, and the relationship with his 12-year-old daughter, Tendril.
I need to put this project on the shelf and give myself permission to start something different.
The purpose of this exercise was to learn something, and to find out whether I could tackle NaNoWriMo. I learned a few things:
- Although I don't want to plan the whole story beforehand, I need a destination. Otherwise I get derailed.
- I also need to pick an audience and genre before I start writing.
- I like writing whimsy, and some people like reading it.
- Lark, Tendril, Crock, Lesson, Credenza and Mrs. Apron may assist my future endeavours if they want to.
- I can't handle writing 2,000 words a day on one project. I would have to write larger chunks, maybe 3,200 words four times a week, to complete NaNoWriMo. I still can't tell whether that much pressure will do me any good. Part of me wants to craft the writing more carefully as I go, but another part doubts whether I'll ever finish a first draft that way. It's helpful seeing the way different LJers work. I have to find my own groove.
- This is only the second novel in my life I have written past the second chapter. It feels like progress, and I value these lessons.
I was amazed at all the people who took time to read this stuff, and I deeply appreciate their comments. I especially want to thank
dubious_one, ghostsandrobots and roosterbear for their encouragement, advice and helpful critiques. I feel bad for not letting people know how things turn out, but to my chagrin, I don't know.Except that some deaf, dysfunctional fairies were plotting to kidnap Crock. It would have been another catastrophe for Tendril, but I couldn't stop their plotting. I don't know what they wanted, and prefer not to.
