Project N, Rambling Along

The project I began on November 1 has turned into a decent piece of work. I'd say it's half done as of today. I've begun NaNoWriMo several times and have not "succeeded" at it yet, but I always gain something from the experience. It may be that I'm not a person who benefits from the "messy draft" method, although my drafts are indeed messy. Driving along with only a bit illuminated before me is not my favorite method, but maybe it's useful: it forces me to juggle more in my head, and that strengthens muscles I didn't realize were becoming weak.

Carpal tunnel forced me to write the November stuff longhand, and that has also been surprisingly useful. It's the way I used to write all the time, before I fell for the technological bells and whistles. I think I'll keep to the longhand a bit longer. Brain to hand to paper.

So Project N. Three viewpoint characters, all children. I do love me an unreliable narrator, but I probably will have to make at least one of them ... reliable. It's a science fantasy, or at least that's my intention, so I sort of need an adult viewpoint, at the very least so that I can make sure the science part is clear without resorting to idiotic scenes involving professors explaining things to young children. (As you know, Bobby.) I hate that kind of thing. That's my biggest hurdle at the moment with this project.

Back to productivity

Week two, still very productive. I'm not sure I can put my finger on all the reasons for this sudden return to full-time creativity, but I do know some of them.

1. Reduction in limbo. There have been a lot of uncertainties resolved in the last couple of months, not least of which is the purchase of this house. I think I tend to spend a lot of brain circuitry on if-thens, and the more limbo there is, the more circuitry I use. That is barely a factor these days.

2. I returned to writing first drafts longhand. Wow, this has made a really big difference! I was telling John that some of it is probably an increase in left-brain right-brain cohesion, but I really think another factor is that I handwrite far more slowly than I type. So as I'm going along I never catch up with my thoughts. I have to jot ideas in the margins and scribble things for later. This prevents me staring at the screen and thinking, uh, now what?

3. Scheduling. I took my schedule and made it ironclad. There's time for woolgathering and listmaking and household puttering, and there's time for everyone shutting up and not talking to me or asking me to take them out to pee. Some people don't need this kind of rigidity. I do.

4. I made my binder, the one I wanted to do electronically. I printed out my works in progress and put them in a three-hole binder with notebook paper between each project. I was miffed that I couldn't find a software solution, but I'm so pleased with the return to handwriting that I couldn't find a program.

It's a really good place to be in.