Day 1: War Against the Word Count

I made a late start in Camp NaNoWriMo, today. It was after two in the afternoon when I finally sat down to do some writing. I set myself a word count target to achieve before I did anything else: 2000 words.

As it happens, I reached just over 2000 before five, with some distractions. Today has been a lot about getting back into the story, and trying to build on what my plan dictates I write. I'm noticing that the first couple of chapters in the book are a lot shorter than I'd have liked them to be, certainly shorter than the first chapters of Balor Reborn. What this means is that the rest of the chapters will be longer, to meet my target word count.

It's not an ideal way to write, but by notes actually require a lot more to be written later on in the book anyway. The earlier scenes provide a lot of set up for events that, in reality, take place over the course of a few hours. I say "set up", but I merely mean that it's all leading towards the climax. As it's a short book - they're all short books - there's not much to actually happen over a few chapters.

The flip side, of course, is that rather than simply having to reduce how much I write in each book, I have to attempt to include a lot more information about characters early on. With Fionn and Michael, it's easy: I'm working from Balor Reborn. With my later addition to the team, Emily, I have to figure out how to make her a strong enough character so that her personality shines through in her passages.

I've actually given her a lot of space to work by herself in this book. While Michael has been the "side-kick" before, Emily has her own troubles to deal with independently to Fionn and Michael. This is keeping in mind the fact that Fionn is the lead protagonist in the series; he's not alone, and he's never supposed to be, but he's also not the only person in the series that matters.

In the flash fiction stories on ModernIrishMyth.com, I've tried to make it clear that there are other important characters who exist in the country. This includes, but is not limited to, Ogma, Fearghus and a couple of the lead characters from other stories - the ones that don't meet an unfortunate end. So, while Fionn is part of a Grand Plan to save Ireland, Emily and Michael have their own roles to play. Without them, it's just this nineteen year old with a hurl trying to fight off all sorts of monsters and magical beings. But see, here's the thing: he's not always the most level-headed person in the world, and the events of the books are going to take their toll on him - on all of them. He needs other people to go through this stuff with him, and they need to prove themselves independent of the protection he can offer.

So, Emily is kicking ass with her half of the book, having scenes alone to deal with problems that on the face of it are larger than those Fionn has to face a lot of the time. I called her, a while ago, a "strong female character", and this is exactly what I mean by that: she can hold her own, not just against the dangers in the book, but narratively. I wish the term hadn't become cliché, but there you have it. I hope you at least understand from this what I mean.

It was today that it really became apparent to me the sort of person she is. I've made her inquisitive and considerate, and while she's not a natural warrior, she's able to put on a brave face. Except that wasn't in the plan. I just wrote her that way today. (That plan didn't say anything contrary to how I've made her. It just didn't say "Make her smart. Make her brave. Make her ask questions." That part had to come from the moment.)

Writing a series like this isn't going to be easy, I know. Balor Reborn was manageable, because it was just one book, with one clear goal in mind: stop the maniac with the Death Ray in his eye. But there's a lot more to the story that I have yet to reveal to readers, and it's those parts that are the driving force of the series as a whole. Early hints have been dropped in the first book, but I have to address the issues again in The Hounds of Hell, before I really throw a spanner in the works in The Blood of Leap.

I won't say any more about what's actually happening in the series. Don't worry.

The actual writing was fairly easy to get in to, once I had my Excel sheet set up. I like to keep track of how many words I've written in a day. I find that when I'm aiming for a word count target, and I find my concentration slipping, it helps to know how much I have to write to catch up on myself.

It's also handy to have something to judge by when I really get into the writing and smash my target. I think the most I've ever written in a single day is over 10,000 words, and I've managed it on a couple of occasions, but it's a whole-day affair, and it requires a lot of motivation. Still, two days like that a week and I'd write a million words in a year. There's a Thing for that, isn't there?

My advice, for those who are trying out Camp NaNoWriMo this year, is to set yourself realistic target each day. If you know you have a lot of work to do in other areas of your life, don't assume you can write the same amount as you would if you spent the whole day writing. For me, my 2,000 word target took into consideration the fact that I was starting late and had to clean my room. Well, not clean my room exactly, but clear out a press outside my room...which created a mess inside my room. Mainly in the doorway. I can't spend all day writing when I have to do that. Tomorrow, though, if I have a lot of the cleaning up done, I can write for a bit longer than I did today. I might manage 4,000 words, if I'm lucky.

I've also read the advice that you should never start on a blank page. Some writers suggest stopping before you finish a chapter. However, if you can't bring yourself to stop there, I suggest even writing the words "Chapter..." and whatever chapter you're on, on the next page. That, or do some writing warm-ups. I write haiku when I need to get words into my head again. I really have to think about the right words to use when writing them, so I kind of jump-start my brain.

I may need that tomorrow if I don't finish this up and make my room habitable again soon. To my fellow Wrimos, I wish you good luck tomorrow with your novels. To everyone else, I hope you have a happy Tuesday.

A Room That Means Business

Last night, I stayed in a hotel. In Dublin. Despite living fifteen minutes away in a car, with some light traffic. Why? Well, it was my college ball. I'm way too tired tonight to really talk about the ball, particularly since I need to figure out what should and should not be said, but what I can talk about is the room.

See, I've never stayed in a hotel before. I've definitely never stayed in one in Dublin, so close to the airport. However, it really showed, when it came to the rooms. Lovely as they are, there was something about them that spoke of the type of customers the hotel is used to receiving: people who run, or are executives in, businesses, and those who travel for business. How do I know this? Observation.

Every room came with a copy of a business magazine. This was on a table between two armchairs that didn't face each other. The rooms are not always booked for people who will necessarily talk to each other, at least not face to face.

In each room, there was a desk, with an abundance of sockets nearby. To me, this spoke charge-points for laptops, tablets and phones. It was clear that the room was set up for work, and for people to be ready to leave for business after their stay in the hotel.

The walls were not entirely sound proof. Pardon the crudeness of this suggestion, but it seems that they were not designed with intimacy in mind. If most customers are there for business, rather than pleasure, as might be suggested by its location (close to the airport, not the city centre), then it is less likely that there will be a need to drown out the sounds of peoples' neighbours late at night.

The cafe on the ground floor was blocked off. It was designed to be comfortable, but private, and suggested to me informal meetings.

The room where our ball took place was designed with two things in mind: conferences, and parties. The distinguishing feature was the partition that could be move to join the seating area with the bar. The arrangement of the tables towards a stage at the top of the room suggested that people would focus their attention to that point, with very little space for dancing, which again suggests to me conferences.

Is any of this a criticism of the hotel? No. Absolutely not. It was a lovely hotel, the beds were comfortable, the staff were polite, friendly and understanding of the obvious drunken nature of many (or most) of those at the ball, due to its celebratory nature. Literally the only problem I had all night was with the noise from some of those from my college, but that was to be expected. The point of this blog post is instead to highlight how the nature of the business affects the environment of the building. Setting up rooms for work, supplying a wi-fi code to all guests, and creating a positive, stress free environment suggested to me the typical clientel of the hotel.

For the writers reading this, this is an important consideration to make when writing a setting, particularly if you have a hotel or other holiday spot to write about. Think about what people might need the establishment for. This comes down to what is supplied in the rooms (a dresser, rather than a desk), how sound-proof they are, how dining areas are set up, the last times in which food will be delivered to rooms (as much a staffing concern as one that ensures noise is reduced by eleven at night) and the layout of the events room(s). The purpose of a location (a business, a home, a public area) will define how it should be designed, and so help in the description of such a room. Whether you choose to put your character in a suitable environment for their situation, or make them feel uncomfortable and out of place in an ill-fitting location, is up to you. What really matters is that the purpose of a setting is clear in its description.