Draft 2 - Begin!

Yes finally I'm ready to dive into the second draft of my NaNoWriMo Novel. Doing an outline for this draft was a lot more rewarding than I thought it would be. Usually I'm very against planning things out, but after the first draft it was refreshing to know I won't have to worry (so much) about getting stuck.

Chris has been a great friend and has been helping me sort out all the crap I didn't need, including a ship personality and some ridiculous coincidental relationships. I recommend having a writing support buddy like that. It really helps.

I decided to keep most of my characters, threw out a couple and the rest are all going on Rad's pirating crew. Chase is getting a big makeover - and Kevin got a personality makeover and is getting a chance to shine as the nerdy, social misfit fanboy mechanic on board. I like his character a lot. This time around it's also in third person so I can do some scenes with the other characters. I feel a little distant from Rad, but I think it's a good thing. He wasn't a very reliable narrator (sorry Rad, it's true!) and I got to know him well in the back story I wrote (for my own reference).

I wrote 1,800 last night. It was hard, but I resisted the editing bug as much as I could. I'm still doing it a little bit, but it's not nearly as bad and now I've gotten to the point where I don't go far back unless it's a continuity thing - and even then I'm learning to just make a note and move forward. I'm excited to see where Rad and crew take me this time. I have a feeling it's going to be 10 times what the last one was.

- Joanie /^>

Learning to Outline

So I'm back to Rad Savage full-time now. And this time around I'm brainstorming an outline to keep them from wandering the center of the planet for about 30 pages, hahaha! It's been difficult for me because I'm the type of writer who likes to work "straight ahead" (as we say in animation) with no plans and just see what happens. As in animation this can be a good thing if you're experienced enough to handle the challenges that come along with it, one of which is getting stuck in proverbial corner, surrounded by wet paint.

Sheila's always been good with outlining her work, so we've been helping each other out. I just finished reading her 3rd draft a few weeks ago and she's good to go. Before I start on mine I'm outlining the big events to give me a framework to hang my story on.

It's going good so far, but I'm afraid I'll have to cut out just one supporting character to round things off. It's a hard choice to make though. At the end of next week I'm hoping to have it completed and ready to begin. I've already done a ton of character studies on my MCs so I feel like I know them better. I also did a literal backstory so I know what happened in the past (so I can leave it there!).

2010 is looking even better than '09 and I'm glad to be into the future now! Here's hoping this is a year of creativity and growth.

- /^>