Attention of a Gold Fish

Posted on by jennifermzeiger

I admit, my allotted month for finishing Dryad passed a while ago. But, after 40k+ words, I now have a finished rough draft and you better believe I’m doing the happy dance! It’s not pretty (the draft or the dance) but one’s done and the other’s happening. Don’t mind me while I frolic around my humble abode.

Ahem, anyway. My hat’s off to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo. Writing that much in such a short time is a sure challenge. You learn some things about yourself with such a challenge. Here’s a few things I learned.

1. I’ve the attention span of a gold fish- Doesn’t matter how motivated I start out, if the coffee beeps, I’m up to get a cup. Then it goes from there like the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” book.

2. Speaking of Coffee… The consumption of more than two cups in a morning makes my hands shake. When writing, this equals an odd form of torture.

3. While we’re on torture, without fail, the writing starts flowing two minutes before my husband arrives home. That’s my ‘End of Work Day.’ It’s like my muse likes to see how much I can fit into 120 seconds. It’s never enough to finish the scene. So then I’m talking to myself for the entire evening to finish the scene in my head.

4. I might be crazy ’cause my characters talk to me. It’s okay, though, my husband expects this.

Overall, it’s a good thing I write at home. Nobody sees me wandering the house with coffee in hand and talking to thin air.

Next week the adventure returns but, in the meantime, what’ve you learned about yourself when you push to write more than usual?

Blessings,

Jennifer

14 thoughts on “Attention of a Gold Fish”

  1. Good to see you again, Jennifer! Congrats on finishing your first draft! Best of luck getting that novel finished! 😉

    Haha, I know what it is to be so easily distracted! And I was starting to think I was the only one crazy enough to have conversations with my characters! Sometimes I listen to mine to get a story flowing, sometimes I just find them more interesting than the real people around me. We writers are an odd bunch indeed! 😛

  2. Yay for finishing drafts! That’s always the hard part, actually finishing something. And I’m happy to know I’m not the only one who thinks they’re crazy because characters talk to them. Looking forward to next week!

    1. It took me a week to realize I’d finished the draft. I stared at it wondering what else I needed to add…then it hit me. Nothing! Such an awesome feeling.

      And yes, my characters even hold conversations with each other with me as a bystander. It’s wonderful to find someone who might find that normal =) Here’s to the crazies!

      1. Oh, absolutely! They even go for drinks with characters from other stories and commiserate over my overwhelming neglect for them. It is so awesome to realize you’re done with a draft. I hope we get to read your book one day!

  3. From last year’s NaNo, I learned that I want to stick to fiction shorter than a novel, at least for now. I had an outline that I thought would alst me for the month, but about halfway through I finished the story at 22K words. The only thing I’ve published is at 28K words, so I think I’m trying to embrace it now, and improve my novella writing skills, rather than pushing for a novel.

    1. 28k words is still a lot! I struggle with short stories but they’ve helped me realize where I’m putting too much into my longer stories. Guess each type has its pros and cons. Personally, I think novella’s might be the hardest to write because they’re not bare bones but they’re also not rambling sagas. Good on you for your skills there!

      1. Thanks, that’s a nicer way to look at it (rather than me not being able to follow one story for a novel’s worth of words). Congratulations on Dryad!

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