Day 0 - Less Than 24hrs til NaNoWriMo

Day: 0
Word Count: 0

It is finally here, folks! NaNoWriMo 2014 (or, National Novel Writing Month, in case you've come down with a case of finely tuned amnesia!).

 

Turn up the music! Bring on the tea! It's time to write a novel again. Errrr, or in my case, it's time to FINALLY finish my novel that I began a mere two...three....years ago. Don't ye worry your fine self, I promise you, this is the year it shall be finished! You hear that, Buoyancy, you're gonna be as finished as Amanda Bynes' illustrious career! We miss you, Ashley!

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so I hope that I get to typing. It is the final day in the Hollywood house that I've lived in with my five other roommates (and a dog and a cat) for the past year. AU REVOIR, SELMA HOUSE. It's been a crazy year of ups and downs, but regardless, things were learned and lived.

Pause. I am listening to David Bowie's "I'd Rather Be High (Veneitian Mix)" and it is just maaaaagical. Mr. Bowie, my personal baby-snatching hero, is definitely going to be one of the artists I will be listening to as I take back up on my novel. Music for me sets the mood for writing. I'm a fan of ambient sounds, rain/thunder, movie soundtracks (Add "Gone Girl" soundtrack to all your playlists, please), and video game music. It is surprisingly a beautiful genre full of many various melodic, soothing tunes.

You may or may not know that my novel is set from eight different point-of-views in the third person. Obviously, George R.R. Martin (you know that guy) is partly my inspiration. He wrote some books... Well, music helps me get into each of my different characters perspectives because obviously a poor, young thief doesn't listen to the same music as a rich, older housewife! DUH.

Oh, and my novel is Steampunk-Fantasy, which just so happens to be the theme of NaNoWriMo this year. If that isn't a sign that I need to finish it this year, then I don't know what is.

There are going to be a lot of distractions and excuses, but I shall remain strong. GET AWAY FROM ME, NETFLIX!

Cheers to a happy, fun NaNoWriMo! And remember, "There Is Nothing Wrong With Hating Rock Critics" or in this case, "Book" critics. JUST WRITE AND CREATE! Thanks, Of Montreal!

- ben josé

currently listening to: this smashing hit, gruntilda's lair, from banjo & kazooie. DON'T JUDGE ME.

50,000 Words Down... and the journey continues!

Day 27
Word Count: 50,522
Mood: Ohhh yeeeeaaaaa, baby! Hear Me Roar!! [In the Lannister slogan way, not the Katy Perry way, just to be clear!]

 "A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." Wise Words, Tyrion.

I did it! 50,000 big ones written down (50,522 to be exact!). It feels great. My novel has really taken shape and developed into something that I am proud of. That being said, I still have a lot more to write to complete it. I have it planned to be around 80 chapters and I'm only around chapter 40 (crazy, I know), which means I'm only halfway there.

Just in case you are worried, my chapters are not that long, so it won't be some huge tome of a book that is never-ending. It has an ending... at least... for now... until the sequel! ;)

After validating my novel, I was greeted by this!

I am steadfast in my dedication to this book, so I plan on continuing my writing through December and until I finish this book. One of the NaNoWriMo Pep-talkers gave advice that was beautifully simple: "Write. And Just Write."

It's that simple.

So, I shall. I shall write, ye naysayers! Wait, don't exit my blog. Keep reading!

I plan on sharing more information about my novel and spotlighting my POV characters in the future. I want my many* blog readers to get to know them!

Until next time, thanks for following my NaNoWriMo dreams! Success, chyaa!

Check out this video for NaNo winners!

- ben josé

*by many, I mean maybe 2 or 3. 

Day 5!

Day 5
Word Count: 9,777
Mood: Wooooohoo, I need a drink. Oh, wait...

I spent a majority of my day today writing and it felt damn good. I got a good chunk of my story in and lots of things developed, including some new things. I wrote over 4,000 words today and caught up with the pace that NaNoWriMo sets for you to write each day (1,667). So, that's nice!

However, once I had written all those words today, my first thought after closing my computer was: I'm going to head next door to the Farmer's Market for a happy hour beer. Yum, yum, beer in ma belly! But, I can't. No alcohol. Damn. It's been less than a week since I stopped and, despite this urge, I feel great about it. I don't need no happy hour beer, y'all!

You can check out my progress below or here or go to Nanowrimo.org to see how everyone is doing. Los Angeles is doing pretty damn good this year.

Onwards and Upwards: Hell yeah graph!

On Monday, I didn't write much because I was finishing fleshing out my story's timeline. I charted out each character's main actions each day and night to make sure everything lined up in the end. I discovered that this novel takes place over only 10 days. Something I didn't know before. Hm. So, good to figure that out. Here's a little snippet of that chart with some of the characters:

Wow, this chart is super complicated and mysterious.

As I mentioned before, "A Song of Ice and Fire" aka "Game of Thrones" is one of the biggest influences on my writing. Like "GOT," each chapter in my book is from the point of view of a different character. In this first book, I have eight point-of-view characters with wildly different experiences and beliefs. It is fun writing for these completely different characters and really getting into the heads of each of the characters. For each character, I listen to a different station on Pandora. It's pretty fun. Maybe a little later on in the month I will go into more depth about each character and their story.

I am the hardest critic on myself, so I have to learn to let go and just accept my writing for what it is. This is only a first draft, so I don't have to be completely nitpicky (that is until I reread everything when I'm done. Then I will nitpick it up! Is nitpick a real word? The answer is yes!).

Well, the sun has set on another day and only 25 days remain. I have about 41,000 words to go. Thanks for checking in, folks.

Side note: The soundtrack to "Amelie" is beyond beautiful. Ah, to be quirky in Paris...

- ben josé