Surviving #NaNoWriMo

Week two of the month long sprint that is #NanoWriMo brings new challenges. The biggest obstacles for most writers-- hitting the wall of inspiration, wondering 'where the hell AM I with this story?' and the nagging feeling you won't make it to 50k words by months end once you start falling behind the pace. 

I am behind on 'words' and have felt the creative parts of my mind nudging against the wall of writers block. The pressure to produce something, anything grows as I sit starting at the screen, waiting for the muse to arrive. 

To keep focus, I'm following the excellent Nano twitter handle NanoWordSprints, which gives motivation, ideas for writing sprints, as well as providing a community of writers there to cheer you on towards the finish line. 

The key is to push forward and not look in the rear view mirror. Revision comes later, after you have bleed the first draft onto the page. Run with the ball, don't walk. Pound the keys as if you know where the story is going, for your brain will find the thread of thought and take up the narrative. 

At this point, I'm not sure about much in my WIP-- LITTLE BLACK BOOK. It's about sex and violence and all else that happens in Sin City. I don't have time and will not stop to 'figure it out', for that is the fastest way to let the writer's block goblins steal your momentum.

So, writers--- it's clear. First drafts are for writing- not thinking, revising, editing, big picture clarifications. 

Pound the keyboard as if it's your last day on earth. 

With that, I return to the chase.

From Las Vegas, where everything that happens ends up in my book. 

Stephen Moran 

NaNoWriMo UPDATE

I was close to the edge of giving up. I wrote a grand total of 165 unusable words for the first five days of the 30 day sprint and basically had mentally checked out and was ready to throw in the towel.  

Then, yesterday...6k words. 

That isn't a misprint. 

I wrote 6k words of LITTLE BLACK BOOK in one day. 

Now I'm almost back on pace to finish this by the deadline. I'll need another big day.

The story so far is a running stream of sex and violence. I'll post a few chapters if people want to read this early draft material. I don't know if I still need to warn readers of this blog about the type of content--- but this book is basically--- sex, kills, more sex, more death. 

I hope to write at least 2k words today. It's early and i have my coffee. 

Follow along on twitter @NaNoWriMo @smoran26 as I take part in writing prompt sprints and no revision writing as I attempt to write 50k words in 30 days. 

Can I do it?

We shall soon see. 

The story so far

Some people have expressed interest in joining the twitter role play. I know I have jumped around a lot in the story, so I shall give you a summary of the journey so far.

Ella Thomas, age 20, leaves her hometown of Uxbridge, Massachusetts on a journey of discovery in search of a man from her childhood that she believes to be in Las Vegas. She is followed by two men, Mr. Brown and the FBI agent, Marcus. 

Ella is a writer working on her first novel throughout the journey and relays her adventures as stories. One chapter details a public mass shooting, another tells of an affair with a bartender in Dallas. 

The stories of sexual encounters and kill scenes are alternated with flashbacks of her childhood abuse at the hands of her father. As she grows as a killer, she continues to tell the story of Ray Holden (a writing mentor and special friend from childhood) and the part he played in the death of her father. 

Ella arrives in Vegas to be held captive by Mr. Brown, who prevents her from completing her quest of finding Ray. Their interactions complete the novel, with Ella 'dealing' with Mr. Brown in her own special way.

The next book finds Ella in Vegas, free and young and rich and in search of men to put to the knife. 

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask or comment. 

Come one and all to twitter and enjoy the role play. 

List of needed characters: 

rich tourists, 
degenerate local gamblers,
drug dealers,
a woman 'friend'
cops, fbi men (Marcus)
strippers, 
nightclub players

Like to Roleplay?

If you like to RP and would like to help with the next Ella book, contact me by comment or email or Facebook or however you want.

I'm looking for the following players: 

Rich tourist gamblers.
Degenerate locals. 
Drug dealers. 
Strippers.
Detectives/cops/FBI

If you are interested, let me know. 

*edit* someone expresses interest in playing Mr. Brown. I will consider a Ghost of Mr. Brown character...played like Dexter's father. 

NEW WEBSITE

I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone that took time from their busy lives to read my blog over the last couple of years. All those that have offered comments, critiques and suggestions--- THANK YOU!

As publication of ELLA ramps up--- I have started an official website for my fiction writing to be found here 

StephenJohnMoran.com

I will continue to post non-writing articles on this blog-- namely about poker, politics, finance and other topics that do not fit on the fiction blog. 

I hope you all continue to enjoy the content. 

Enjoy the new site and have a great day! 

Novel update and new writing for NanoWriMo

Only 300 words so far, but I'm making progress on the story even if that hasn't translated into typed copy at this point. 

The title is a sticking point for me and it's hard to move forward without having a 'working' title for a book. So, without further delay, I'll give you the different choices and you tell me what you think.

1) A killer in Vegas

2) Little Black Book (of death and sex) 

3) Death in Vegas

At present, here is a summary of the story I have so far--- perhaps that will help make a title choice.

The narrative follows the events of ELLA chronologically and we see Ella in Vegas. The book will be a series of 'chapters' connected by common themes of gruesome murder and sex. The first book told of the journey to 'becoming' a serial killer and this book will jump into the action.

The book centers around Ella keeping a record of her kills/conquests in a little black book. She describes for posterity (and in some ways the FBI) the deaths as they occur, in story fashion. The reader will get a front row seat as Ella leaves a bloody trail of bodies in Las Vegas.

This is all I have for now. Let me know the title you prefer and any comments on the story so far. 

Thank you for reading and following the blog. I will have news about a new website coming soon!!!

NaNoWriMo

Today is November 1st, the beginning of National Novel Writing Month, where hundreds of thousands of novelists try to complete a 50k word novel in 30 days.

Here is a link to the site for any of those interested in more details. 

http://nanowrimo.org/

Without any planning, I will jump into the fray and attempt to complete the challenge!

That said, I need ideas to get going. To complete the challenge, a writer needs to write 1667 words a day on average. Time to do this!

I have two ideas I can run with at this moment---

1) The adventures of Rita and Karl- this idea centers around Las Vegas. It will be a casino by casino tour told by chapter, with each chapter representing a complete episode. 

2) an Ella novel filled with sex and murder without any icky childhood drama--- just the good stuff!

Vote in the comments and let me know!