Now We’re Getting Somewhere

Finally, I made myself read all the way through my NaNo manuscript to the end—or at least to the end that I have.  The working title on this one is Storm Front.  Now I can go about adding, deleting, and rearranging and hopefully getting my word count up there where it should be for the sixth of February (6,000 words).  I did get 523 new words on Saturday, but whether they’ll stay or not is another story.  Ah, story……

I got pulled in once I let myself read as a reader and not as a writer.  [New lesson learned; that’s where I need to start with Cousins in March.  Remind me!] The story has potential.  It is more complicated however, than Cousins was.  There is a possibility for several story lines and if I follow those lines, it will call for multiple points of view, &/or subplots. Which is just fine.  That would allow me plenty of opportunity in the course of things to not take the readers where they want to go.  At least not right away.  

Plus there are reasons I want the audience to think the protag knows less than he actually does, so where and when and how to divulge important information is a more complex issue than I’ve dealt with in the past.  

And I’m still not sure what the theme is, what’s at the core of this story.  If I could settle that, it would make things gel a little better.  Right now I have newly made Jell-o, a real soup.

And as I’m speeding toward the NaNo end, things develop too quickly in the story, too unrealistically.  It’s one of my greatest faults at the moment—rushing the end.  I can’t tell if it’s ingrained or if it’s a result of doing these novels for NaNo.  I have a funny feeling it’s ingrained.  Endings are the weakest areas on my short stories as well.  But it’s all fixable.  The question now is, how?  

I did download a trial copy of Writers Blocks 3, just to give it a whirl.  It’s way out of my price range now, but I think I’ll make myself use it now just to see if it helps.  If it does, then perhaps it’s a program worth saving up for.  


The other highlight of a rather dreary and unhealthful weekend (every joint in my body ached like a toothache Friday night and Saturday.  It was awful.  Has let up some today.) was Friday night when we went with Lincoln to an event that was extra credit for one of his ASL classes.  We went to see Trix Bruce perform—my first Deaf event.  It was delighted with the evening for several different reasons.  First was that Lincoln called me from school and actually talked me into it—and his Dad as well.  He doesn’t mind being seen with us in public!  Second was that I understood the show!  The sign-to-voice interpreter confirmed it most of the time.  Third: It was a beautiful show.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  And fourth was watching Lincoln in this new world of his in which I’ve not seen him operate.  His energy and—here comes the motherspeak—charisma spills into everything he does.  People enjoy him.  

He has one instructor that apparently picks him to pieces every chance she gets.  I can often tell what kind of day he’s had by asking him how R was today.  I was delighted to hear one student who is doing her practicum this semester (which means she’s two semesters ahead of Lincoln) say that this instructor has a tendency to do that more with students in whom she sees the most potential.  I had that happen to me.  It’s not fun, but can pay off in the end.  

I’m boring myself now, so I’m going to go.  My goal is no less than 4 blog entries this week.  One down, three to go.  

You’ve been warned.    (I promise to stop the doting mamma thing.  LOL!)