NaNo2017: My Last-Minute Prep and the First Few Days

Wow, can you believe it’s already day four?! NaNoWriMo is flying by! I mean, four out of thirty isn’t much (only about 13%), but it’s still several days which I’ve spent writing like a maniac.
But, before I start talking about my (amazing) NaNo progress, let’s talk about my last minute prep.
Really all my prep was last minute. I didn’t start outlining until early October, and then I put it off and put it off until … I did most of it a week before NaNo, quite a chunk of it on October 31st!

But in the end, I was ready to go on November 1st.
Note: this is a thrown-together post without the proper pictures and such that I’m used to having … so please forgive me. I’m having a crazy week. (Updates on that at the end, too.)

Notebook Outline

So, I usually start outlining in a notebook (you saw the starts of that in my last post). I try to summarize the whole plot. Basically, it’s a big block of text cut up into bullet points.
I usually write this at least twice through (changing it and making all kinds of notes about changes between these outlines). (I also made an original half-done outline on the computer before this that I worked off of.)
This time, I think I did three notebook versions of the outline and two computer versions. (More on that in a moment.)

Computer Outline

I’ve never done an actual outline this this, with neatly arranged i, ii, and iis, but I did this year! I mean, I technically just made a big point for each scene(ish) and then put in whatever random thoughts I had about it, but … it’s an Official Outline, y’all.
My very first official outline. #plotterpride
(And yes, my scene-summary outlines were probably must more thorough, but this is much more me. Sharp. Quick. To the point. The kind of thing I can read at a glance.)
So … I typed up and wrote most of that (^) on October 31st. And I’m actually super happy with how it turned out! I tend to be a major procrastinator, so a lot of the time things end up being all over the place, but this actually turned out well … despite my last-minute-ness. 😉

Playlist

I have yet to actually use it while writing … but I do have an official Beyond Her Calling playlist on YouTube! You can view it here. There are only eleven songs at present (I might add more as I get deeper into the novel), but it is a playlist, nonetheless. 😉
I know … there are lots of different genres in there. Everything from Disney to Evanescence to Beethoven. But I swear they all have something to do with BHC!

And Writing Began!

I have 9,354 words so far, and I haven’t started writing today. So a pretty good start, eh? At least for a girl who’s just doing 50K. I know people who’ve already made it into the 20Ks and beyond! *jaw drops*
I got up at 4:30 on Wednesday to write. It was crazy. I still haven’t recovered from it. Honestly, I can stay up all night writing … but getting up early? Nope. It doesn’t work that way. I need sleep in the morning.
I am reasonably happy with how the novel’s going. I just got to the point where I’m writing about Jordy … and ohmygosh, he is so sweet! And Violet is hilariously annoying
Here’s an excerpt so you can see what I mean.

(NOTE: this excerpt is completely unedited. As in, I didn’t even read through it before I posted it here. It is sure to be terrible.)

She stepped forward and said his name again as he drew nearer. “Jordy.” She said it flatly, emotionlessly, and there was no smile on her face, but something in her eyes said he was just as glad to see her as she was to see him.
“It’s good to have you home, lad,” said Dr. McCale. Jordy had forgotten how good a Scottish dialect sounded. He used his only occasionally now, usually when he wasn’t thinking or if he wanted to bother one of his peers.
“It’s good to be home,” Jordy responded, throwing his arms about his old mentor in an impromptu embrace. “I’ve missed ye, sir.” It was so easy to let the brogue slip back. He promised never to use an English accent again. Who wanted to talk like a Britt, anyway?
Dr. McCale quickly shrugged away, though Jordy thought he was a wee misty-eyed. He next turned to Mrs. McCale and enveloped her in his arms. She held him close for a long moment.
“Oh, Jordy, look at you!” she exclaimed. “You’re a man grown!”
“Aye, I suppose I am,” Jordy laughed. “And Violet has done some growin’, too. Where’s that leggy little lass I knew?”
Violet rolled her eyes. “Well, at least I know where that condescending young man I knew is.”
Jordy chuckled. “Now, Violet. I’m not so terrible, am I?”
Violet didn’t reply; simply glared at him silently.
This was Violet, all right. She’d never said a positive word about anything or anyone that he knew of except perhaps Ivy. Ivy … little Ivy Knight. He wondered what had ever become of her. Probably a debutante by now. At least, he hoped so. She was a likely lass, and he wanted her to succeed. Hopefully, the time she’d spent at McCale House had prepared her to step out into the world.
He tossed an arm around Violet’s shoulders just to make her uncomfortable. He couldn’t help it, really. She was so much fun to bother. “Well, me darlin’ wee lass, shall we make our way to the carriage?”
Violet shoved him away with surprising strength. “Oh, leave off, you big idiot.”

So … what do you think? Isn’t Violet the best even though she’s annoying as all get out? I honestly could write about her all day.

And Then There Was Life

And Kell saw the Life. And Kell said that the Life was bad.
Seriously, though, life tends to get in the way of things.
Though the truth is, those other things are getting in the way of LIFE, as life is what’s real.
Though I guess writing is also real. I mean, I’m really writing. And blogging.
I guess the more accurate description would be, “Parts of my life are getting in the way of other parts of my life, and it annoys me.”
So here are the life things that are getting in the way of my other life things (e.g. writing and blogging):

• Work. I only work three days a week from 3:30 to about 6:00 (6:30 at the latest). I also worked for a couple hours this Tuesday morning (and will eventually start doing that every Tuesday), but it’s still not that much. All the same, it is there.
• School. From the moment I wake up to 1:00, I have school. And that’s hard on me with all my grand illusions of finishing a novel in a month. Sometimes it runs over if I don’t work fast and get P.E. and instrument practice done.
• AWANAs. I’ve been doing AWANAs (Affirmed Worked Are Not Ashamed – it’s like a Bible study activity for kids) every Wednesday night. And it’s not long, but it does take up the rest of my evening, soooo …? I’m really loving it, though.
• Might be getting a puppy. This evening, we’re going to go look at some puppies in a nearby town. We’re going to have to put my dog Gidget down in a couple weeks. I’ll never have a dog as good as her, but it will help a little to have a puppy (assuming they turn out to be as good as they look & my parents give their consent).

Update:

We got a puppy!

Her name is Aubrey Keira Roth. Isn’t she gorgeous? I’m been calling her Aub or Bree interchangeably. She’s really smart – already coming to my voice – and she’s quite gorgeous.

My mom: I was going to name you Aubrey.
My dad: I had a dog named [Kellyn] once.

Yep … that’s not much. But it has been keeping me busy. That and procrastination.
Well, that’s all for now! I’ll see you Wednesday (supposing I’m able to put a post together). 🙂

~Kellyn Roth~

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p.s.

How’s your NaNoWriMo/November going? How much have you written (if any)? What’s going on in your life? Are you a procrastinator? Do you like the excerpt? Do you like border collies? (I’m gonna block you if you say no …)