WIP Wednesday: What Was I Thinking?

When we last saw our heroine, she was whipping a wayward plot into shape while realizing the importance of having a few good writerly friends to steer her in the right direction. In this week’s episode of WIP Wednesday, watch as the writer celebrates her progress…but will her jubilation be short-lived?

WIP #1:
Only Our Blood is finished! After taking my buddy Ben’s advice, I tackled the lazy opening scene by looking for the place where the trouble really starts. After tweaking things a bit, and fixing up the passive writing throughout, I am confident it is a much better, more horrifying read. I’m giving this one a few days to rest on the shelf before reading it once more and submitting it.

WIP#2: NaNoWriMo (brace yourselves…this is going to be a long one)

I let the cat out of the bag already on Twitter. My NaNo 09 Project is going to be a collection of short stories.

After going through my Idea File and realizing my list of proposed shorts was more intriguing than my novel ideas, I figured the best way to succeed was to do what piqued my interest (because nothing says #NanoFail more than a story that does not excite you).

So, great! Topic picked! All systems are a go. At least that’s what I thought.

Now that I’m getting into the actual outlining of the project, I realize that, with NaNo already being a crazy ride on its own, trying to come up with say 10 plots (on the presumption that each story will be around 5000 words) and a possible character roster numbering anywhere from 20 to 30+ – maybe those novel ideas aren’t looking quite so bad.

So the question I need to ask myself is this: when faced with what seem an insurmountable task (of my own doing), do I turn and run? Or put on my shit-kickers and kick some shit?

Let’s look at the task, shall we?

Assuming, as I said above, that each story is around 5000 words. Here’s what I need to accomplish:

NaNoWriMo = 50,000 in 30 days
= 1,666 words/day

Or in my case:
= 50,000 words/30 days
= 3 days/story

I’ve proven to myself that I can absolutely do 5000 words in a single day. I did it multiple times in both years of NaNo that I’ve participated.

So, I’m starting to think that is isn’t the actual writing of so many stories that is leaving me feeling less-than prepared; it’s the fact that I need to come up with so many different pieces (and thus settings, characters, plots, etc.). No wonder I feel like I’m setting myself up, not necessarily for failure, but for a tough road ahead, to say the least.

Regardless, I’m forging ahead. I’m stubborn. I’m not one to quit and certainly not one to shy away from a challenge. That doesn’t mean I won’t continue to whine about it. But secretly, doesn’t the challenge make anything that much more exciting (and rewarding)?

If you’re a NaNo’er, have you ever toyed with the idea of doing a collection as your WIP? Any tips?

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments!

Fellow WIP Wednesday participants:

• Cate Gardner – The Poisoned Apple
• Jennifer Tatroe – Another Place
• Aaron Polson – The Other Aaron

[NWC]