I’ve ignored my blog since NaNoWriMo started, and I’ve got words to show for it. 51,400 words by the end of Friday the 25th, in fact. I was thinking of writing a blog post each week on my experience, but that apparently never happened.

However, I did learn four things about novel-writing in general.

1. Outlines seriously help. Every year, I have this brief outline in my head which usually has this major problem: there’s not enough plot points rising up to the big scene. I tell myself that I’ll be inspired when I come to it. 5k or 10k in, I realize I have nothing to write except for the big scene. I try to think of something, can’t, and give up. I write it.
   But what about story structure and arc? Yeah, that’s gone. I’m just left with a big mess that could one day be turned into a real storyline, if I want to make the effort.
   Then there’s the opposite problem — outlining too much. That doesn’t work for me either. When actually writing from a massive although well thought out outline, I got bored. I knew what was going to happen. There also wasn’t enough room for inspiration. If I adjusted one thing here, it could throw off the entire book. (That book was never, ever finished.)
   This year, I plotted on paper (well, okay, Scrivener). Before NaNoWriMo, I brainstormed for a general plot arc — enough scenes to get me started and scenes of major events I wished to include. That gave me arc, and flexibility.
2. Of course, the same thing happened again… I ran out of scenes before I got to the 25k mark that started the big conflict. That’s when you brainstorm again and absolutely refuse to budge. Instead of worrying that you’re not writing, take the time to work through your plot. Name three activities that they could be doing (like courtship activities for my novel — this actually helped) and then build scenes around that. If necessary, arrange for a character to be introduced before you planned, if they will shake things up. But overall, the number one thing — don’t budge. Use your will power for more than writing words. The scenes will come.
3. It’s always dreadfully slow in the beginning. 1667 words seems like nothing now, but in the first week, writing for two hours after coming home from a full days work was torture. Worse, I was trying not to just spew out words. I wanted them to be good words. That’s hard.
   So I divided up my writing time. Instead of reading in the morning before work, I dragged myself out of bed and tried to write a few hundred or so words. Even if I could only write 300 words, that’s 300 words shorter than in the evening. Shorter bursts meant less fits of, “Oh damn it, when will this end???”
4. It’s easier to write scenery for places you’ve been than making it up. Or, at least that’s how it is for me, being a novice in setting. Going to Europe was a tremendous help, since I based most of the novel in a Venice-like city. Then when I built the scenes, I just imagined I was in one of those beautiful old homes (and I was in a lot of them through the continent) and wrote down the particulars. Likewise, you can swap places that you have been (like your own house) with one of your character’s houses. And hey, lucky me, this was one of my goals!

So how did I do on my goals? Well, before the final verdict is from my partial judge (who is not myself, I swear!), I know I improved on setting. As in, I have one! (or two or three… yes, my characters actually talk in places with semi-accurate details!) The little detail actions, I tried, but I think I only hit it half the time I could have. By the end, I tried to add them, but was feeling nothing but the overwhelming dialogue.

And more masculine male characters? Umm… Well, they’re not overly girly.

In addition, I’ve taken a bold step and entered my first writing competition: the NaNo-Virtuosos Contest sponsored by Curiosity Quills. It’s a contest especially for NaNoWriMo submissions, fresh from victory and still bloody and raw from the battle. I’m a little hesitant, but I think with the extra effort I put into to actually writing well, I have a decent enough chance.

(Update: Voting has started for Round 1! You can see my work and vote for me here)

So, how was your NaNoWriMo experience? Do you think it’s really true that agents get piles of new submissions hot off the NaNoWriMo press?

Oh, and my NaNoWriMo novel? I decided to christen it, “God Cursed”.