Friday, November 19, 2010

And That's a Wrap

20101119 typecast pt1
20101119 typecast pt2

Typed on Morticia, the Olympia SM-3
"Morticia", the curbside Olympia SM-3, c. 1956

6 comments:

deek said...

Nice job. I pants it last year, got past 50K but didn't finish the story. I kind of got stuck in the middle and didn't know where to go. Since I had my end count and really wasn't in love with the story, I just didn't finish it.

One year I really want to finish on time. But, it won't be this year...

I'm good with names, fantasy, sci-fi and just in general. I guess that's what years of running role-playing games gets you:) Sorry, no real advice I can give.

I did a really good job with the SG1 and Lettera 32, same pitch. I thought I was going to get my SM9 and AlphaSmart into the mix, but it really didn't happen.

Again, good job and both this year and last, you've been the rabbit I've been chasing, so thank you for writing at a fast clip!

If you are ever wanting to add another to your pen pal stable, I'd love to exchange some letters with ya!

Richard P said...

Congratulations!!

A complete novel in 20 days. So, let's see, you ought to be able to write 18 books a year, with a few days off for the holidays. Right?

Tell us more about your revision plans. Are you going to work it for submission to an agent, the whole deal? Or do you revise more for your own pleasure?

mpclemens said...

@deek: I thought I heard someone back there...

My very first year was pantsed, and although I had some ideas, my characters got stuck, and I got stuck... and I dropped the story as soon as it hit 50K. I think I finished with something like 50,008. Since then, I've planned, and it's gone much, much better. Year 2 was about 90,000+ words (!) by far the largest and most complex story I'd ever attempted, and I skipped whole scenes, because my lovely wife threatened to eat all the cranberry sauce and pie if I didn't have things wrapped up by Thanksgiving.

I'm always up for more pen pals. I enjoy that overwhelming feeling of guilt when I realize it's my turn to write and it's been weeks.

@Richard: you're a funny guy. I don't know if my brain (or marriage!) could withstand me being in novel-mode more than once a year. The ideas seem to take a while to percolate: like cicadas, they bury themselves and only come out when they're good and ready.

Revision plans are vague right now. I try to make a deal with myself to do something *more* each year. So far, the goals have been:

Year 1: Beat 50K
Year 2: Beat 50K + complete the story
Year 3: Beat 50K, complete story and get proof copy printed
Year 4: All of the above, plus ?

I do have someone reading an early draft of last year's, and I truly do need to finish revising. This year's... I dunno. I've shared the plot with my kids, and they both seem interested, though honestly, I tormented the main character a lot this year. I'm not sure it's kiddie fare.

"Revising for pleasure" sounds like an oxymoron to me. Perhaps the goal should be, "finish a complete revision before NaNo 2011 starts."

Richard P said...

I love that cicada image -- very apt.

I'm enjoying my own story but strongly suspect that I won't touch it after November 30. It is what it is. The point of writing it is to write it.

Strikethru said...

I am thinking Nanowrimo is becoming a little bit like a bunnyhill for you. Next year, you must double your wordcount to keep yourself challenged. Consider that a dare.

Anonymous said...

Nice work, dude.

First of all, I think it is good that you finished the story when it wanted to be done instead of forcing it. There are many novels that are short but just as good as anything twice their length.

Secondly, yes, SM-3s are made for novel writing. All three drafts of my first novel that I attempted (and fourth draft my be in the works soon) were done on my SM-3. They are so smooth and sensitive.

Thirdly, nice work, dude.