It’s “Choose Your Own Adventure” Time!

I managed to meet and exceed my daily word count quota so guess what I get to do… that’s right! Start ANOTHER book! Have no fear, I’m not doubling up just in August, oh no. This project is another bit of incentive to get my word count achieved so I’ll give myself the year to finish it (maybe even be through one editing cycle… Ohhhhh how ambitious!).

I’ve always been perplexed how writers successfully write a “choose Your Own Adventure;” it seems so convoluted and confusing but I’ll figure it out. it’s funny- I normally hate puzzles (I won’t even look at one that’s more than 25 pieces) but I’m intrigued and excited by this challenge. I have the basic start outlined, now I just have to do some research in regards to number of endings and how interconnected they are. Are the stories tightly interwoven or are they 2 or three distinct story lines with a few possibilities (i.e. endings) exclusively for them? I suppose the number of choices at each junction will determine how long and involved the story will be. Maybe a bristol board won’t be big enough.

Well, I have my three story lines chosen so at the point I can start writing it and see how things go. I should have invested in some pencils. I have a feeling there’ll be a lot of scribbling out.

I’ll probably explore this genre and fool around a bit with it. Ideally I’d really like to get experienced enough writing them that the choices can be multipurpose (but then the issue of grammar and flow becomes tricky) and nonexclusive. It’d be great to have a story where you’re not shunted down a distinct track right off the bat. That’s not so fun.

I thought by buying one and physically dismantling it I’d have a clearer picture of how it works and how to approach it but at first glance that doesn’t seem to be the case. Well, this is a night to put in a comfort movie (I’m thinking “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein”), plunk myself down on the floor in front of the T.V. with a pair of kitchen shears, my bristol board and a pen. I wish I had more than one CYOA book to go by but I can’t afford to be buying books and ripping them up (and my conscience won’t let me destroy anymore). I feel like I’m committing a crime.

Here goes nothing. I’m ridiculously excited about this one.

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The Road to Redemption is Bumpy

Word Count so far today (and yesterday): July 11-12, 2011- 3,092 (5 1/2 pages); 1 journal page

I heard somewhere that most writers have a higher chance of success if they keep their works under wraps. This keeps the perfectionist/internal editor at bay but I find it’s the opposite for me. I sent my Western to my parents and asked them (actually pestered them) to read it and let me know how it was. WEll. Not only did they read it but so did a family friend and her kidlets! Everyone loved it so what a relief! (yay me!) It’s wonderful to feel like you’ve accomplished your job when someone says they can’t wait to find out what happens next (I’ll let you in on a secret- neither can I!).

I was suffering a bit with a lagging word count (my delinquent word count is almost in the 7,000 range!) but those comments and enthusiastic support really rekindled my fire and focus. Yes, I’ve always enjoyed working on this story and no I never wanted to throw in the towel but at the same time I’ve been struggling. I think the problem was that I wasn’t feeling like I’ve been writing a western. Since I get such concentrated, compartmentalized pieces of the story, I don’t have a sense of the overall picture and tone. All I see is setting and character interaction. The nuances I unconsciously add and the atmosphere is lost on me. At least for me, I think it’s going to be important to have designated readers so they can give me “reader enjoyment” feedback. Yeah, this won’t be awkward at all when I get to the romance novel *cough cough blush*.

I’ve been working pretty well today. I still have a little bit to go but I can do that at home (and by little I mean under 500 words. When was the last time I fulfilled the day’s quota let alone go above and beyond?!). I’m really looking forward to getting a huge chunk done this weekend so when the 16th rolls around I have a significant amount written so I can send it to my budding legion of fans (I have to admit I felt like an egomaniac when I wrote that… but not enough to delete it!). I’ve earned another trip to hot yoga tonight *happy dance*. Then it’s cupcake baking for Yesterday’s birthday tomorrow. She’ll be 3 whole years old. Wow. Where’d the time go?

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