Day Two–Bumpy Starts, Smooth Sailing, and the Squishy Space in Between

So there I was…staring at the computer and the White Screen of Certain Doom, when I realised that I hadn’t had any coffee yet.

Then I remembered the advice column our dear Adam B pointed to. That sent me wandering over to Jennifer Weiner’s column “So You Want to Be a Novelist.” In itself, it’s very cool to get bits and pieces of wisdom from those who’ve  made it through the vaunted gates of “The Published.”

That being said, I think that her very first words pretty much sum up what I’m feeling about this whole adventure.

Follow me down the winding path…

Well, there’s no one path to take. Novelists come in all shapes and sizes. They’re men and women, wunderkinds and retirees. Some of them are very attractive. The rest of us resent them horribly. And if there was a single magic bullet, or a list of steps to follow that would guarantee publication, believe me, someone would have published it by now.

Yup…that’s pretty much what I figure–there’s no one path to take.

For whatever reason we, this crazy few, have decided to embark on a 30 day quest to see how far we get.

We stand on the deck of the boat…errr…ship…okay…maybe the top of the mast. We put our hands on our hips, toss our piratical gazes onto the distant horizon, and embark on a journey in which we have plenty of caffeine, not a lot of time, and a compass that doesn’t point North.

“Why doesn’t it point north?” you ask.

Simple…either that damn compass is broken. Or it’s a mystery compass that points you in the direction of your heart’s desire (in this case…the first draft of the novel).

Now this is where it gets sticky. There’s a wee small voice that’s in the back of your head. When you embark on a journey like this, that little voice gets louder and louder as you move further and further from the Knowne Worlde and head out for uncharted territory complete with the dragons.

Now…here’s a thought. There’s a brig somewhere in the lower decks. That’s a really good place to put said “Voice of Certain Doom” for the moment. Make sure that there’s plenty to entertain the voice during its stay. And let it know that when you’re ready to go into Edit Mode, you’ll be happy to bring the voice back out.

But for right now…getting started on the first draft is a good way to get to the later stages…

The cool thing? My character has an ex-boyfriend, a brown thumb, and an aunt who, while of on vacation (destination unknown) has apparently had her apartment ransacked by someone looking for something.

So…this is a sorta kinda pep talk Write-In space.

Here are the relevant links:
National Novel Writing Month
Last Minute Panic (read Deadlines)
Plot Stuff
Setting Stuff
Character Stuff

Sorry this is later than expected…busy day. And I have 600 more words to write before I get to today’s quota.

x-posted over at the sandbox