NaNo. Week 1, Day 2

Off to a great start!! I'd like to get more word count padding to my month, but so far I'm sitting at 4909 for two days' work. And it's not even 2pm yet. I still have more prime writing hours while the baby's sleeping. I've written the first chapter and a half, and introduced the entire ensemble of important people. Two more will be added later, but for now all the main figures are on the floor.

Due to that crappy internet connection I mentioned before, I figured I'd go ahead and blog for today while I can. I wanted to share a couple of lists taken directly from Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! Novel-Writing Kit. (I'm sure I'll reference this constantly, since it's kind of the official NaNo book and all.)

The lists are called the Magna Cartas. Magna Carta I is a list of elements I love in novels, while MG II is a list of elements that bore, exhaust, or depress me (shamelessly ripped from said Kit.)

I thought it'd be fun to share my lists with you.

Here's my MGI:

• inner turmoil
• quick pace
• past tense
• "literary" style -- not too casual, kind of "pretty" writing
• witty writing (both characters and the writing itself)
• strong women characters, both main and supporting (unless specifically weak)
• unpredictable
• modern setting (as opposed to, say, Victorian era)
• romance
• love trianges or love with hinderances
• sensitive man (who isn't gay)

Here's my MGII:

• present tense
• overly casual/dumbed-down writing style
• set in earlier times
• predictable
• weak women
• push-0vers of both sexes
• random head-hopping
• heros/heroines who fight their destiny -- it was cool once, now overdone

You'll note that my MGII is mostly the opposite of my MGI. Some of that's... well, predictable.

Here's why I shared this with you --

I've already used 2.5 of my MGII elements. Why the heck would I use something on my MGII list?? Baty's books warn writers that this will happen, but I (like so many others, I'm sure) didn't expect it to happen to me. Seriously, since when do I write in present tense with a casual style? And I think my MC, A, is starting to fight her destiny a bit. Why would she do that when I've imagined her to be this ass-kicking bad-girl with hair to her bum and a body to die for?

I guess this leads to what I've learned so far on my journey to the 50K work novel. Nothing is predictable. Characters WILL take the novel over, no matter how much you don't believe in that concept. I think it really is the sign of a good writer when your characters are alive enough to make their own path in the story. Some people disagree, and that's their prerogative. For me, I'm just excited to get back to my untitled Vaampyr novel and see where A and G will take me next!