Who's in Charge Here?

The insanity of National Novel Writing Month is over and I am pleased to announce that for the first time in four years, I achieved a win! I crossed the 50,000 word threshold on November 29th - one day early. This year was really important to me. After struggling for so long, I needed to prove to myself that I can still do this writing thing and I did. Go, me!

I was what would be classified as a NaNo Rebel, which is appropriate since I tend to be a bit of a quiet rebel in most aspects of my life. As a rebel, I didn't spend my month working on one novel. I actually worked on two! The first 20,000 words I put toward finishing the long overdue first draft of Dances with Werewolves, the second full-length novel in my Kudzu Korners sweet paranormal romance series. The last 30,000 words were put toward the first draft of a stand alone fantasy romance, Blood Lines.

I am not an outliner and never have been. Even in my school days, I never understood how I could be expected to write an outline. I mean, how am I supposed to know what I'm going to write about until I write it? I call myself a plantster - a combination of the words "plotter" and "pantser." A pantser writes by the seat of their pants. I don't go into a story completely blind though. For me a story usually starts with the title. When I start writing, I know who my main characters are, how the story begins, how it ends and a few random scenes in the middle. The rest of the story unfolds as I write which mean that the characters occasionally throw me a curve. When I was writing Dial V for Vampire, the hero suddenly offered the heroine a job. It wasn't what I had intended but I made it work, and honestly, it was better that what I originally intended.

After spending the last couple of weeks working on Blood Lines, I have decided that I am not in control of this story at all. *facepalm*

It all started with a secondary character. He was supposed to start off as a jerk but I expected him to grow and be the gruff guy with a heart of gold. I even had a big role for him to play in the story. It turns out, he's not just a jerk, he's both a complete a**hole and the antagonist. Not what I expected but okay. There was another character who could play the role I expected of him. The only problem with that was... she died. Seriously?

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Don't get me wrong. I actually enjoy the unexpected twists and turns that happen while writing. It was just the sheer number of twists that were popping up that was getting rather amusing. I have no doubt that whatever the characters throw my way, the story will be better for it.

On another note, my husband doesn't understand how this happens at all. "What do you mean? These are your characters. You created them. How can they not do what they are supposed to do?" I have explained that it's like having kids - you give them life then they go off and do their own thing. I even showed him this quote to prove that it's not just me.

Now, it's time for me to keep the momentum I started in November going into December and beyond. Wish me luck!

Until next month, Happy Holidays!

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