The time change has happened. Tomorrow I am going to try to get up at approximately the same time that I have been. That is to say an hour earlier by the clock. I need the extra time to keep the novel rolling.
It is going well. It is surprising me but I think that’s the best reason to write a novel. The NaNoWriMo web site has a badge to recognize the kind of person I am, a plantser. That is someone who plans their novel for a little bit before they start writing and then when the sit down to write, they write by the seat of their pants.
Doing that is liberating, fun, and informative. You never can tell where your subconscious will take you. It also results in more believable characters. Think about it. Do you know what you are going to do before you are in the situation that dictates what action you are going to take? In other words do you know exactly how your life is going to go and what mistakes you are going to make?
Neither do I. Nor do my characters. They are all complex individuals that take life as it comes to them. I’m sure there are people that live their lives differently but I don’t know any of them. Or if I do, they haven’t told me about their master plan and how it is working out for them.
We bought a season pass to the new BBC show Dirk Gently. It is written and produced by John Landis’ son, Max Landis. It is outrageously good. It is inspirational for writers like me. It is obvious that Max is a pantser. It is not nearly so obvious whether there is any aspect of planning in his writing or not. I suspect that there is at some point. It is unclear what, if any, impact the technologies that are brought to bear have on the story.
I’m scaring myself. I am beginning to sound like Dirk. I believe that we must all, individually make our own decisions and accept the consequences for them. But the universe steers things in our direction. We are allowed time to develop the skills we need before we actually need them. When we need money, that is another thing entirely. But it comes.
Who knows where these things come from? It manifests like Mana on the desert overnight. We partake of it and are creatively nourished. And don’t forget to throw challenges at your characters. It is the only way we get to see the kind of stuff they are made of. It spices things up and keeps your readers interested.
Sweet dreams, don’t forget to tell the ones you love that you love them, and most important of all, be kind.