My final word count for July 2013: 50,138. Through tears, through sweat, through aching wrists and a few questionable test grades, I did not give up. I did not throw in the figurative towel. I did not quit. For the fifth consecutive year in a row, I can look procrastination in the face and say, “Hey. We make a pretty good team. But I’m still better than you.”
It’s true. 10,000 words in two days is a lot to type out.
(I feel very sorry for the guy with the bronze trophy. He does not look like he’s having a good day.)
I cranked out 5,000 words yesterday and another 5,000 today, which is something I do not recommend to anyone with a life outside their novel (a.k.a., 99 percent of all writers everywhere). I was spitting out a lot of flashback dialogue by the end, which I was trying to avoid, but hey – maybe it will come in handy later on.
Most of the last 10,000 words I’ve written are focused on Brittany and Melody’s relationship. I was not originally planning to go this route. I never wanted the reader to be able to look into Melody’s POV or to be able to see her flashbacks. But as I thought more about her story, I realized how important she is to both Brittany and Ally’s stories. The ways these characters are connected is really starting to freak me out. Dale is going to give Greg a promotion at work, which will believe it or not put a strain on Amanda’s marriage, which will in some bizarre way affect Maddie, which will in turn affect pretty much everyone else.
As my find dove into flashback mode, I found myself exploring Brittany and Ally’s relationship as well, which really adds a lot to the reasons behind their big fight earlier in the book (I have absolutely not been writing in order. I have written the beginning and a lot of the end. Interesting, but it’s working). As much as I do try to stay away from flashbacks, I’m finding more and more that they just work in my books. I don’t think a lot of my stories could exist without them. I don’t know how I feel about that, but in life, there are just some things you can’t change.
This is the first novel in several years of WriMos that I am seriously considering continuation on after the month of writing insanity ends. I’ve been very attached to these stories since I tried my hand at TV script writing a few years ago, and I can’t seem to let them go. In fact, the more time passes, the more each subplot of the show develops into something greater than the original pilot episode of the show ever showed potential of. That scares me, too. It really does.
The biggest issue I’m having with this story (the show was called “Disorderly,” but I have yet to decide if that’s what the name of the book will be) is the fact that it started out in my head as a drama series. I have an entire season plotted out on a document hidden away somewhere on my hard drive – that’s a lot of story to sift through. And I can’t fit it all into one book. No way.
The other problem? The book I’m working on now, all 50,138 words of it, hasn’t even covered all of the pilot episode yet.
So what, as a writer, can be done in a dilemma like this?
The answer: just keep writing. The rest comes later. For now, just write.
Tomorrow, summer begins for me (again). Writing will be a lovely way to spend these last three weeks at home before heading back to school for “real life” endeavors.
Bring it on, brain. Bring it on.
Thank you to all who have stuck with me through this month. I hope that even after JulNoWriMo comes to an official end, you will continue to check up on my writing progress. All I can do is update, probably quite periodically. Whether you choose to keep coming back is, well, up to you.
I hope you choose to return. It has been a pleasure entertaining (or boring) you over the past 31 days of crazy.
The life of a writer, it seems, is hardly much beyond the choice to be something other than what others might consider sane.
Love&hugs, Meg<3
Meg Dowell Writes 
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