NaNoWriMo 2010 – Day 4: Changes

Aw Crap.

Yesterday I was writing up a bit of workshop style feedback for a friend’s first novel…and I realized I was making a mistake. Not with the feedback, but with my own manuscript.

I’ve been developing the world and backstory and characters that inhabit my manuscript for about two years…what I haven’t ever found was the villain. No antagonist. I’ve had this sort of backstory/travelogue thing going on, and I kept waiting for “the story” to happen. There’s plenty of adventure in my current story, just no opposing force. Nothing to overcome.

I’ve thought about this at length, and I realized that I’m trying to tell the wrong story. I know I will tell this story, but it needs more time to bake. So, I’ll do what every great team does on fourth-and-long, drop back and punt.

I’ve had an outline and synopsis sitting on my laptop for the last five years. It’s the story that comes before a story I’ve already written and shopped around…a story that is clearly a story that comes after the one waiting to be written.

I decided to follow my insight instead of continuing to force something I’m clearly not ready to write, and write the thing that I’ve been holding off writing for literally years. It has a villain, it has a clear story with clear impetus and clear resolution. And I think it will be a darn good book.

It also means I was basically three days behind. So this morning I started cranking, and I’ll use this weekend to catch up. I’m currently at 2850 words, and if I can do 2000 words a day this weekend, I can be close to 10k (and on track) by the start of next week. So…here’s to hoping.

And, here’s to realizing you’re on the wrong track before you get so deep you refuse to back up and start again.