Well, I never thought this would happen to me as a blogger, but I missed the opportunity to blog for an entire month. I could blame NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), my Critique Group, Thanksgiving, housekeeping chores, but the real culprit was the conflict between my story idea and my main character.
I was drowning in a sea of ideas and misdirection for two weeks. Yes, I did outline my story. I had a neat, readable mind-map on the wall in my office. I had a character, a plot, and an ending. Then it happened, the main character took over the story. I’ve had characters do this in other NaNo Challenges, but this one had her own plot in mind. She took over the story in Chapter Three.
What I had planned to write changed. The story bore no resemblance to my map. My main character decided to bring in four more characters, and three more dramatic incidents. My character’s disregard for my plot threw me into a serious case of writer’s block.
I looked for help. I found it in the pep talk written by Charlene Harris published November 17, 2015. Miss Harris suggested to write your story’s ending when you can’t more the plot forward. Following her advice was magic, my character was under control. Yes, once my main character knew how her story was going to end, she started working with me. I made the 50,000 mark with a few more words to spare.
This isn’t the finest first draft I’ve written during a NaNoWriMo Challenge. It’s okay. I have a first draft of 50,000 words of a novel that needs some serious work. I can’t wait to wrestle with this story, plot, and these characters in 2016.
Pat W Coffey @Wordpress.com 