Oh Dear God, Why Did I Let Them Move In?

So, yesterday, I finally let my wall down and let my main characters (MCs) move into my head.  Together. All of them. In my brain. Basically, what happened after that, is that two of my main characters from different novels of mine (Alaska and Lucy) seemed to have an intense dislike for each other straight away, and seemed to argue all the time.

To be honest, I don't really mind it. I learnt lots of stuff about their personalities that I didn't know before, but then my other MCs started getting annoyed with it. So, to keep all of my other MCs happy, I got Alaska and Lucy twitter, so they could carry on their argument online and not annoy the others by it.

It sounds crazy, but I've got another really cool Twitter/Blogger friend (http://cupsandmuses.blogspot.co.uk/ or https://twitter.com/#!/mariellacecilia) to join in too, and her character Julian (https://twitter.com/#!/JulianTheMuse) who is so adorable, and, as Alaska called him, really, really awesome. 

So yeah. That's why I have my character's have twitter accounts on the side there...

My Final Decision

I know why I'm finding it so hard to write Becoming Sky. It's got nothing to do with the fact that my characters aren't talking to me - although that was a huge problem yesterday - it's to do with the fact that I'm finding it a chore to write it. 

So I looked at loads of author's blog posts and read them religiously today, practically all day, when admittedly I should have been writing. And then I read one of Maggie Stiefvater's blogs, and it changed everything I had thought of Becoming Sky.

In the blog, Maggie talks about one of her new novels: The Scorpio Races, and how it was one of those books that she wrote because she had wanted to read it when she was younger. And then she talked of how hard she worked on it - it was a work in progress for many years. And then I thought, well, would I be prepared to write for that long, edit it until I think it's perfect, and then be prepared to send it to publishers, just knowing people are going to love it? 

And I had no answer to that straight away.

So I copied the html, and then pasted it onto a word page, ready for me to rethink that question. And then I go to another blog post, by Rachel Aaron, which made me hate Becoming Sky all of a sudden. I mean, she talked about wasting precious writing time on novels that might not make it, or ones that you're not interested in anymore.

And the fact of the matter is, I'm not interested in Becoming Sky. I was, but then that changed, once I started getting more and more muddled into the world of Pelesivia.

As I read more and more of the post, I realised my planning and information on it, was all totally wrong. I didn't spend very much at all on planning, and half of the stuff I have written has bored me. Nearly all of it, and that's not good, because if the writer finds it boring, you can almost guarantee the reader finds it boring.

And so, I think I've made a good decision, by putting Becoming Sky in my Work On Later folder, ready for when I've planned it right, and when I really do want to write it. And then I can revise all the loop holes and hooks that didn't work, and maybe make it into the novel I imagined it to be all those months ago, when I thought of it in the shower. 

So, I hear you wondering, what am I writing for NaNoWriMo? Well, I have no idea is your answer. I think I need to plan very carefully the novel I'm thinking of writing, and maybe get enough time to actually write something for NaNo. Maybe.

I have no idea why I have told you my deepest thoughts on Becoming Sky, but I felt I had to get it out, and this was the first thing that springed to mind.

The websites that made me question everything I had thought about Becoming Sky:

http://maggiestiefvater.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/writing-book-i-always-meant-to.html

http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/how-i-plot-novel-in-5-steps.html

Insecurities

So, four days into NaNoWriMo, and I'm already behind some of the campers in my cabin. I mean, how the hell has one of them written 6,000 words, whilst still going to school?! I'm on holiday, and all I've written is 3,453 words. 

It's not fair how, that to get words written down, I've had to force the information out of my characters, by threatening to kill them. Seriously. Sky has had three death threats already, and all the information that she's given me is that she doesn't want to die.

How does that help me to get the words piling up? That's right, it doesn't. But, at least Gretcha's giving me information . . . too bad she's not in the scene that I'm stuck on writing. 

Grr...

This could be you, Sky, if you don't tell me what you know.

 

In other, much more happy news, Maggie Stiefvater is coming to my school for a book signing and a presentation!!! And I'm allowed to go!

 

OK, well, I might be able to go, if my teachers let me. See, she is supposed to see the year below me, but I emailed the teacher who is organizing it to ask if I could go because she is my favourite author. And she said yes!

 

But, she has to ask my teachers if I can miss their lessons to see her. I think they'll say yes, though, since they like me.

 

I'm so excited! She's coming next Monday, and I can't wait. Monday, you better come quickly!