Usually a plot idea strikes me or comes to me in a dream a couple of days before November 1st arrives. This year?
Nada.
No ideas.
No dreams.
Nothing.
So I'm affectionately calling this year NoIdWhToWriAb. Rolls right off the tongue, right? It stands for No Idea What To Write About and I'm fully embracing the sheer terror of just sitting down at my computer come November 1st and starting to type, hoping that my fingers will transcribe an idea to my brain.
Questions are jostling around in my brain. There's the big one. What on earth am I going to write about? Insert your suggestions here:
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Perhaps I could cobble together a novel sort of Mad Libs style wherein you give me stuff and I mash it all together into sentences that kind of make sense.
Will I finally be able to kill off a character this year? Probably not. I like them all too much. Even the jerks.
Will I actually write the ending to the book within those 50,000 words? Probably not. Let's face it, there are times when somebody just has to die and I just can't seem to make it happen. Thus I have an unhealthy stack of unfinished novels and undead characters.
Will I ever develop a taste for adverbs? No. Meaty verbs always clobber them and I like it that way.
With 1, 666 words a day vying for my time, will the laundry get done? That's a good one. Does it ever? I may be venturing into an unhealthy definition of 'clean clothes'.
Will I beat my friend Ed? Yes, my word count will make his word count weep. Sure he's already got an idea and everything, but what I lack in ideas, I make up for in blind confidence. Sorry, Ed, but you're going down.
And finally, what songs should I add to my writing playlist this year? Tell me your favorites. Maybe your song will be just the thing that inspires my magnum opus. No pressure or anything.
To my fellow Wrimos, happy writing! And yes, that shirt's clean enough. Set down the laundry basket and pick up your pen.
Oh thank goodness. I have no ideas either, yet feel compelled to join in. What is November without NaNoWriMo?? While you're search-typing, know that I'm doing the same!
ReplyDeleteCan't help with the words, but I do have some music that may help. The American Dollar alternates creative textures with inspiring crescendos. Crescendii? Their music sounds like a soundtrack to a movie I'd really like. Anyway, try them out free online:
ReplyDeletehttp://theamericandollar.bandcamp.com/
Yay, Lynn! I'm always so glad to be in your good company. Let's hope our fingers figure something out soon! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Skip. I'll have to check them out. :)
ReplyDeleteI've never done it and have been wanting to try for years. I also have stories running around my head but never think to write them down. Years past I've claimed to not have a topic/story to write about, but this year I do-of course during the busiest time of my busiest college semester! oh well, I'm still gonna give it a shot! Good luck, love your blog! :)
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Jordan! NaNoWriMo, here we come! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know I always try to encourage you, but I'm afraid, I have to disagree with the answer to your #5 question. Your brashness reveals fear...and well-founded fear at that. I will be going down....down to the local yogurt shop on Dec. 1 to celebrate my victory over you. You of course will be invited.
ReplyDeleteAnd so it begins, Ed. And so it begins. ;)
ReplyDeleteI would like to see your interpretation of 50 Shades of Grey, but with more graphic content. I would like you to have a character die by being squished under a large boulder; this should be the opening image of the story. I would like you to complete your story with your 50,001st word of the month.I would like you to continue to avoid adverbs; find any word containing "ly" upon your first revision and delete without prejudice. I would like you to do (and fold) the laundry. I would like you to not not beat your friend Ed; violence is never the answer. I would like you to add Closer by Nine Inch Nails to your playlist.
ReplyDelete1. That would require me reading 50 Shades of Grey which won't happen because I would turn 50 shades of red.
ReplyDelete2. Giant boulder has potential, but there aren't many giant boulders where the bulk of the story is set. Perhaps a snakebite from a green or black mamba will suffice.
3. 50,001 and done? Sounds like a worthy goal.
4. I will continue to emphatically, unsympathetically delete adverbs.
5. Terry has done and folded the laundry. Bless him.
6. You're on Ed's side?!? It's because he's a pastor, right? Don't get all RevGizmo on me now.
7. No. Just no.
Fear not the adverb, for it carries a world of decription in one word. Of course, lean not on the adverb lest you find the wrath of Stephen King who said of J.K. Rowling, "She never met an adverb she didn't like."
ReplyDeleteI may have paraphrased a bit there.
For my part, I write to any music that isn't too distracting with silly lyrics. Instrumental music is my game.