Nanowrimo Update: Day 14

I’m going to start of by letting you all know that I’m finished. I passed 50,000 words last Sunday. The new book is also finished, a complete story totaling 54,000 words and change.

I could have tried to push for more words, but the story is done. It feels done, so I’m not going to push my luck. Instead, I decided to take a two day break on Monday and Tuesday, then start writing again on Wednesday.

And what I am going to starting writing on Wednesday you ask?

I’ve decided to write a second novel.

That’s right, I’m going to try to do another 50,000 words before the end of the month. This is what many people writing this month call a double-nano. I’m not sure if I can repeat what I did in the first half of the month in the second half, but it’s not going to be from a lack of trying. I’ve never done a double-nano before, but I’m in the zone this month so why the hell not?

I’ve spend the last few days finishing up a comic book and working on a ghost project that’s behind, but I’ve also been looking for the next project. I have over 30 potential novels that are still in what I call “development”. That means I’ve thought of an idea and even written down plot points and character sketches and saved it into its own folder. These are books that I want to write but haven’t gotten around to yet. One of these books is going to be my next Nano, I’m just trying to figure out which one I want to do next.

So I’m going to look over all the potential projects and try to pick one that I hope will click like the previous selection did. We’ll find out when I start writing again tomorrow, but there is less pressure this time around because I’ve already passed the goal and everything after this is all gravy. I’m still going to use the imaginary deadline to push myself to keep going and maybe complete another novel, both of which I’ll release next year. I’m very excited about the novel that’s already finished.

In the past when I finished a new book, the only person I would let read it first was my Mom. Now that she’s not around, my Dad has stepped up in her place. He’s not a binge reader like my mom, but he’ll have to do. Mom used to read several books a week so whenever I gave her a new book, she was usually done and ready to talk about it two or three days later. Dad takes about two or three weeks but now that he’s retired, I’m hoping it won’t be as long this year. I also think he’ll like this year’s book cause there’s a lot of action in it, so this book will be more up his alley. It’s also a Sci-Fi book, and part of me thinks that I actually picked the book I wrote this month to make it easier on Dad. It was also a plot I had been dying to try, and I’m so glad I did. Twelve days is the fastest Nano I’ve ever done. Before this year, the quickest was the 23rd.

The book I just finished is also about time travel, which required me to do research at the library. Every time my protagonist went back in time, I made sure I looked up the events in question so the scenes I was writing would be as historically accurate as possible. Not perfect, but an effort was made. It was a fun book to write, and I went out of my way to make sure it set up a sequel because I want to wrote another one very soon, just not right now. I need to take a break from this plot and move onto something new.

I think another reason which this Nano was so easy was because of something I did earlier this year: I took an online writing class.

Earlier this year, I paid $90 US to purchase a Master Class. The one I selected was the screenwriting course that was taught by Oscar winning scribe Aaron Sorkin. The same guy who wrote amazing movies like A Few Good Men, The Social Network and Moneyball. He’s also responsible for bringing great shows like The West Wing and the Newsroom to our televisions. To say I am a huge fan of this guy’s work is an understatement, so when I heard Sorkin was releasing a Master Class I was like:

One reason I took this class was because I did want get better at writing screenplays. I love television and movies, and I’ve been told by a lot of my beta readers that my novels are so dialogue filled that I should consider writing screenplays. So I took this class for that reason, but also because I am such a huge fan of Sorkin’s work that I was eager to learn anything about writing from him. I was also confident Sorkin’s lessons would have an affect on all writing, not just screenplays and I was right. I’ve been pumping out comic books, novels and yes, screenplays out with ferocity. This Master Class had as I hoped inspired a lot of writing in all formats, and completing this year’s Nano in record time after that cannot be a coincidence.

I’ve enjoyed Sorkin’s class so much, I’ve considering buying another Master Class. Right now I’m split between two other writing classes. One of them is learning how to write novels taught by bestselling author James Paterson. The other I’m eyeing is a dramatic writing class taught by David Mamet. To be honest, I see myself hovering towards Mamet, just because a course on Dramatic Writing can again be applied to all my writing and not one aspect of it. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t considering buying both. I am not above learning more about my craft and since the last class inspired a lot of work, I am eager to try again and educate myself further.

So that’s the latest writing update. Just look at the size of this entry and you’ll get a good idea of how fast and furious the words are flying out of my hands. It’s a literary tsunami, and I can’t stop! Onto the next novel!!

Excelsior!

Peter