Wednesday, November 25, 2015

NaNoWriMo complete. Ahead, warp factor one!

50,279 words later, I completed my first draft of book three in my series, A Doorway Back to Forever. I used the National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as a launching pad for this endeavor, and I must say it was a great exercise in using my Captain Kirk brain! I read a fantastic analogy about the two different brains we have as writers. It differentiates between the brain we useto  write and the one used to edit. I've heard that one of the reasons a person never finishes a novel is because they are constantly in editing mode, and therefore never get to a level of completion. The analogy used resonated strongly with my Star Trek connection, talking about the Captain Kirk brain vs. the Mr. Spock brain.

Captain Kirk was all action. He would get in there and get it done. He would out think, out bluff, out smart, out fight anyone and everyone to save lives and to keep galactic peace. This is what we call the writer’s brain. I began a rough outline of beats which I needed to hit, and when I sat down to write, it was all Kirk. I got in there and got it done, scene by scene. Any revising or editing would be saved for the moment I was ready to turn on my Mr. Spock brain.

 Mr. Spock, was the thinker in Star Trek. He would analyze all angles of a situation, use logic and intellect, then ponder and debate before arriving at a conclusion. This is what we do when we edit. We go back, we re-read, we look for loop holes, we expand on characterization, plot arcs, all while keeping the story structure intact. It's a beautiful thing. It's worth the wait. 

Now that Captain Kirk has made his move, Spock can discover the whys and the hows to make this story great.

I'm grateful for the ability to recognize the two different processes because they really help me get my writing done. Without it, I couldn't have pulled off an average of 2500 words a day on it. 



I now have two solid novels to edit. Book two is called A Doorway Back to Forever: Trust. Book three is called A Doorway Back to Forever: Defend.

My next move is to publish book one, A Doorway Back to Forever: Believe. It was conceived nine years ago, given serious work only over the last five years, and is now ready to make its debut. I'll be sending more info on that as it comes along. Thanks for believing in me!


2 comments:

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