Day #4 and I'm doing well racking up the words. Unfortunately, what I'm producing is mostly crap. And, no, I'm not just being modest. The first couple of chapters really are crap.
To add insult to injury, my neck and shoulders are tight and achy - which I blame on too much time with my laptop and the stress of knowing I'm writing crap.
In theory, the story I'm writing should interest me but, truthfully, I'm bored already - which I suppose means I'm writing the wrong story. Or maybe it's the right story but the wrong genre. Or maybe I'm just suffering a major sugar crash after devouring too many Halloween treats this past weekend.
In any case, here's a synopsis of what I've got so far:
No one is more surprised than Cassie Jollimore when she's elected to the Legislature and appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Nothing in her previous careers as a small town lawyer and masters runner has prepared her for the challenges she faces as chief law officer for the Crown. Determined to do a good job and earn the respect of her colleagues while keeping an appropriate emotional distance between herself and her dangerously attractive Deputy Minister, she struggles to balance pragmatism and idealism. When she begins receiving death threats less than a month into her new job, she can't be sure whether they're related to her new role as Minister, her investigation into a Cabinet colleague's suspicious activities, or the ex-husband she'd rather forget.
Even going for a long run yesterday didn't help much. By the time I headed out late afternoon, my body was as tired and achy as my head. On the upside, I ran through Shubie Park where I was pleased to find some colourful autumn foliage remained - though even the rich forest smells and dogs frolicking in the park didn't do much to energize me. By the time I got back to the house, all I wanted was to curl up by the fire and sleep.
That said I'm not ready to give up on this novel just yet. After all, as I discovered last year, NaNoWriMo is an excellent antidote for post-marathon syndrome. When the little voice in the back of my brain starts nagging me to go for another long tough training run, I tell it to shut the hell up and get busy plotting. A month of short, easy runs is exactly what my body needs to recover from all the events I've run this season.
BTW, if you're participating in NaNoWriMo too, check out my friend Janet's blog for some great tips. Janet's been writing for awhile and coached me to my first NaNo win last year so she knows what she's talking about.
Time to get back to work!
Happy running and writing, friends.
Your blurb is fabulous, Janice - reads like the back of a book! Just keep trusting the process - one word at a time, just like when you first started to run (one foot in front of the other). And make sure you get up and out of the chair every hour to stretch those back muscles!! It's hard when we sit at a desk all day and then choose to sit at another when we come home - hard on our bodies!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout-out :)
Thanks, Janet. The story will have more layers in the end, but I needed to start thinking about an overall shape so that I had a little direction. BTW, did you see Chuck's post today? Brilliant, I thought! Let the characters lead. Excellent idea!
DeleteSynopsi always read like crap. I read somewhere that writing them is harder than writing the book. Perhaps your book really starts later than what you think, but you need to write the first bit to understand that, and where it really starts. To say nothing of getting to know the characters.
ReplyDeleteActually, I didn't think the synopsis was so bad, Keith, but I guess it is pretty dull. Hopefully, I'll be able to write something more compelling in a few days.
DeleteBTW, congrats on your word counts so far. You're on a roll! Look forward to reading some snippets soon.
I think that a synopsis triggers my advertising radar. I would prefer to pick up the book and browse through it. Pointedly not reading the first para.
DeleteYou mean we're expected to post snippets??? (incredulous double take) Did I miss something? Holy cow, talk about upping the pressure! Babble. Babble. Well, that conversation isn't too bad, maybe I'll post that. Hmmm.