NaNoWriMo 2016 – Week #3

Lots of writing happening this week. At the end of Sunday, my Nano word count is at 48,808.  I should reach the 50,000 mark tomorrow. The manuscript will still have a little ways to go after that, but the Nano goal will be reached. I’ll continue to write the story until the draft is complete.

The story itself is coming together and I’m in the process of killing off my first character ever.  I’ve been struggling with it a bit. It has been an emotional journey for me to do.

It is reminding me of when my fiancée, Sam, was in a car accident just over five years ago. They say that a writer writes from their own life experience. I can feel what they mean by that while writing this scene. I am reliving the sitting in ICU and the waiting for him to wake up. In my case he did wake up and recover, thank God. In my character’s case, however, it isn’t going to work out so well. But that is the way that I’m choosing for my story to go. Real life isn’t always about happy endings. That is one of the themes that seems to be coming out as I write The Street’s Way through Nano this year.

Through each of my writing experiences, I grow as a writer. This year’s Nano is definitely not an exception. I’ve been able to incorporate many of my editor’s tips from The Hard Way into this and my content seems to have more feeling to it too. Or, maybe I’m just willing to go there now and not be afraid. Whatever the reason, it adds a dimension to my writing that I hope will ultimately make for a better read.

Here is my inspirational photo for this week. One of the books I reference in The Street’s Way is Fahrenheit 451, a novel by Ray Bradbury. It is a book that my main character, Paul, is reading in his senior English class. So, when I read this quote, I really liked it. Then I saw who wrote it, and it definitely said to me that it should be put into the blog for this week.

From my research on Bradbury, I learned the difference between dystopian and utopian societies. Dystopian being about a future that we don’t want to have happen and utopian being the ideal future we would want to have. Then I compare that to what I’m writing, a story about what is going on in the here and now. The society we are currently living in.

Here’s to having a good writing week. Good luck to all of the other Nanos out there. And Happy Thanksgiving!

#Fahrenheit451 #RayBradbury #TheHardWay #TheStreetsWay #WritingJourney #postaweek #NaNoWriMo #NaNoWriMo2016