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I managed to find my old file that I never got to finish. Hopefully this is legit if I can finish it for this. I left off at 10,137 words and just got done typing another 3354 words. I think I can sleep now. @[email protected] What am I typing to again? 50,000? @[email protected] So farrrrrrrr

Technically, I think somebody's supposed to unleash invisible guilt-monkeys at you for not starting afresh this month... but I'm not gonna tell. :;): Just glad you're coming out to play again!

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Wow- just checked my word count for tomorrow's update.  I'm almost halfway there!  I should be able to update at 20K tomorrow!  I was actually plotting out an outline the other day, terrified that there was no way I could possibly make my idea stretch into the number of words I needed, much less what I actually wanted to become my second book.  I have a huge hole in my plot, right in the middle- what the heck do I put there???  I know the beginning and the end, but this stupid middle is kicking my butt.  So, I know I'm not an outline girl.  I write what I feel like, all out of order, random chapters everywhere and often have no plan untilt he characters themselves figure out what to do for me.  But, I thought at least if I made an effort to plot out a timeline, maybe I could figure out what chapters I needed.  Still not sure, but after making the plan and guestimating the wordage of each chapter... and I got to a range of a conservative 32K to an optimistic 40K.  Drat!  10K short at best!  What do I do?  So... I kept writing... and thinking... and dreaming... came up with a new potential plot twist... and apparently vastly underestimated how crazy-wordy i can be.  So, the adverbs might get viciously slashed later on in my first editing... but, not yet!

 

...and the cat just found the outline.  Say hello to a new chew toy, you little fiend!

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I managed to find my old file that I never got to finish. Hopefully this is legit if I can finish it for this. I left off at 10,137 words and just got done typing another 3354 words. I think I can sleep now. @[email protected] What am I typing to again? 50,000? @[email protected] So farrrrrrrr

Technically, I think somebody's supposed to unleash invisible guilt-monkeys at you for not starting afresh this month... but I'm not gonna tell. :;): Just glad you're coming out to play again!

If I had started fresh with another story in mind, I'd have never come close to finishing it. I also didn't want to leave the last one unfinished.

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I'm slowly plodding along through my novel...not up to the "goal" for each day, but progress is happening. I have a friend to proofread my stuff anyways, so I don't worry about that too much while doing this.  I've been working on my novel for several years just life's crazy and tough to find a good chunk of time to sit down and write.

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Only got about 500 words today...I'm blanking on what to write...grrr... /beats head on wall

Introduce a new twist! Chandler's Law is perfect for these situations. For the TVTropes adverse (or for those who should be working on their novels and dare not take the risk of distraction), I summarize:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chandler's Law

JesusGunDoor.jpg
The readers will never see thiscoming!

 

When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.

 

As codified by pulp novelist Raymond Chandler, Chandler's Law is a concise but evocative piece of advice for writers who have somehow painted themselves into a corner, plotwise. The addition of a new opponent or complication, usually amidst a burst of violence, can free a protagonist from where he has become mired in the current plot.

 

Although expressed in a form very specific to the genre in which Chandler was writing, the Law can be easily generalized to handle any type of story.

 

Participants in National Novel Writing Month (which emphasizes wordcount over quality) know this law by a similar mantra: "If all else fails, have Ninjas burst through the wall and attack someone", as the writer should be able to get at least a few hundred words out of the characters suddenly questioning "Ninjas? What the hell is going on here?"

 

This undoubtedly finds some origin in the Rule of Drama. If guns are too dramatic for you, try dropping a cow for the Rule of Funny version. If an entirely new plotline results, see Halfway Plot Switch. Both Diabolus ex Machina and Diabolus Ex Nihilo can operate on this principle (with varying levels of success). Conflict Killer is often a result of this. Contrast Code Silver (which is this trope applied to medical and law dramas and otherwise non-action-packed series).

 

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I have now experimented with Q10 in earnest. I like it a lot.

 

I do wish it had something to click along the top that would bring up the commands list. Stupid laptop keyboard hasn't got dedicated function keys. That is more a hardware problem though...

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