Tick Tock, Clarice...

In just 4 hours, it will be November 1st (CST). I plan to write at least a few words after midnight to kick the enterprise off, then roll into bed.

Our local group got a small write-up in our daily paper. It's one bit of publicity I have not shied away from. By putting my intentions out there, to the public, I hope to generate enough fear of failure within myself to get through this.

Salud!

As November approaches, trepidation builds. I have written some in the past. For example, you can look over my abandoned web site. It's just full of "stuff" with no particular theme. (Please forgive all the ads; they weren't always there.) I have written almost everything there. There are short stories, poems, even a fan-fiction TV script. But I have never tried 50,000 words.

So about 4 days ago, I determined to make the run up to the start of the month by writing 1667 words per day (for the unwashed, 50000 (words)/30 (days) ~= 1667 per day). First night: about 700 words; second night: about 900 words (better). So I saw some improvement. But it was hard. Oh well, wish me luck!

"It Came from the Sub-Conscious ..."

I don't know if anyone noticed (heck, I don't know if anyone's reading!), but I named two of my characters after child molestors. One is a real-life child molestor, the other a literary one. I did this with no intent whatsoever. As it turns out, those two do have a history...

Nothing to do with anything...

...I just HAD to have this picture of a chicken though. The stars lend a regal bearing to this noble fowl, don't you think? However, the context - avian flu - is a serious subject.

Character-building exercise

I thought out some of my novel's characters today. There probably won't be too many more prominent characters, but we'll just see where it goes.

Jim Talbot

Our Small Town's deputy sheriff, and the story's main character

Sara Talbot

Jim's wife. Right now she's just window dressing, but with an important part toward the end. I'm sure she'll become a fuller character once I start writing.

Zach Abrams

Sheriff of OST (Our Small Town - as you can see, I'm still working on the town's name.) The whole police force will probably consist of 4-5 people.

Hollerith Humbert

A local celebrity who had a kids show in area in the late 1950s. The show was kind of like "Howdy Doody." Humbert never did make it nationally.

Roman Jacobs

Humbert's attorney in the past, now a judge.

Ed Moffett

A man who, as a boy, had a disturbing encounter with Humbert.

"Linus" & "Lucy"

Two children, presumed to be siblings, that show up at the beginning. They are somewhat of a mystery, having amnesia to some degree.

Emma & Ronnie Baker

A couple of local children that disappear shortly after Linus and Lucy arrive.

I think if there are too many more, I could get swamped. However, since the primary goal is to get to 50,000 words, you may see me chucking in characters that go by 3 or 4 names (Billy Joe Swanson, Jr!) telling their life stories!

Every word counts in your Word Count

Chris Bridges, writing in the Dayton Beach News-Journal, has some good advice for those lacking in the word count department. Hey, they're not much sillier than tips from NaNoWriMo's forum, "Reaching 50,000!"

Waiting 'til November

After becoming intrigued last year, I have bided my time. You see, it only happens once a year, in November. I am referring to "National Novel Writing Month," or NaNoWriMo for short.

Will I make it? I am tempted to say "I doubt it." Fifty-thousand words is pretty daunting, even if it does make for a pretty short novel.

But I'm not going to doubt it. I am going to seek out others, visit forums, and allow myself to be held accountable. I hope that some local participants can get together in Bowling Green.

I hope to have short excerpts from the novel, plus some other stuff. So stick around.