As I spent my free time these last three days trying to meet my word count quota, I have learned a few things.
- November is a good month to stay indoors and write when you live farther from the equator; it's cold and windy outside.
- I am obsessed with progress. When I was a student, I would constantly click "print preview" to see my progress on writing papers. Now that page length is not my goal, I constantly click "word count" instead.
- 7,095 words is nearly 12 pages of single space writing. Or at least 12 pages of my short paragraphs. I suppose longer paragraphs would make for fewer pages.
- I am so glad I decided to write in first person. It fits my writing style much better than third person would.
- I like my main character. Emily Ann is a difficult girl to like, but in her, I see reflections of myself and other difficult teenage girls I have known.
- I have a vague idea of where I want this to go. I want Emily Ann to come to know Jesus. I want her to realize that the labels that she and everyone else have put on her are not her identity. I want her to know that her identity is rooted in Jesus. And I want her to begin to be healed from the pains in her past and present.
- I don't know where this is actually going. There are so many authors participating in NaNoWriMo who have a spreadsheet of details for their novel. They spent months in preparation creating their characters, mentally developing their plots, and mapping out the other details of their novel. I, on the other hand, am learning about Emily Ann as I go. I am pretty much learning about the development of the book the way a reader would; I get glimpses of important points, but I don't know the full story yet. Sometimes, I write a sentence and think, "I can't wait to find out what that means!" This could be interesting.
- I believe that God knew about this novel way before I considered it an option. He knew about it way before Saturday. I also believe that he knows how the story will unfold, and I think he will do powerful things through it.
- I care about orphans and the issue of adoption more than I thought I did. God is using this to change my attitude, and if it ever goes beyond my Google document folder, I hope he uses it to change the attitude of others too.
- I still have no idea for the title. I am counting on you, my dear friends for suggestions! As I promised in my last post, if you send me a suggestion, I'll send you a postcard! Even trade, right?
If you are interested in helping me create a title, here is a little bit of information that might help you:
- Emily Ann is an orphan. She identifies herself as "Emily Ann, the orphan." She believes she is a nobody and will always be a nobody.
- Emily Ann will meet Jesus, and he will show her what it means to be adopted by his Father.
Yep. That's it. So, suggestions would be helpful. Don't you want a postcard from Eastern Europe? I thought so!
I'll let you know what I learn about Emily Ann, writing, adoption, God, and myself through my next few days of writing!
How are you spending your free time this November?
No comments:
Post a Comment