NaNoWriMo is no more. My word count was abysmal. But I’m not counting it as an abysmal failure. I started writing again. I started thinking about story again. Characters started talking to me again. That hasn’t happened for a while – several in the win column. Plus, I found some new sources of inspiration – some video series’, some blogs, etc.
One of the things I found when I was noodling around was screenwriting. It started out as some folks who do the Hallmark movies. I watched two of those and found surprising inspiration. I know Hallmark movies, and some that are now showing up on other networks, are very formulaic, but they also have to tell a story in a very compact format. So when the folks in the videos were explaining the process and the key turning points and the character goals and arcs, it took what I know about writing books and reframed in a way that stimulated my imagination and creativity.
The night before last, when I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep – which is a very common occurrence – movie scenes for my very first manuscript started running through my head – which is a very uncommon occurrence. Another in the win column. Last night, when I woke in the middle, the opening couple of scenes for the next two manuscripts ran through my head. Hmmm. This is worth exploring. Of course, that will be after my 12-14 hour workday load lessens. Regular grants + pandemic grants = AAAHHH!!!
So although I didn’t get a NaNo win, I got several other wins, so I’m calling it a win in general. How about you? Did you have any November wins?
Eight Ladies Writing 
I had hoped to finish the first draft of The Demon Wore Stilettos in November but I ran into problems. My hero character had no character. Or, rather, he had too many–he was different in every scene. So I had to stop and remedy that, which pushed me back. Not surprisingly, that fixed a lot of other problems in the book and I now have my fingers crossed for the end of December.
I think inspiration can come from anywhere. It’s a trigger that opens your eyes to something that’s already inside you. Sounds like the Hallmark movie formula woke you up to something you’ve been carrying, waiting for something to open the spigot.
Hoping things settle down in your work life so you can harvest this!
I’m glad you were able to fix your problems.
I agree that inspiration can come from anywhere. I wish I knew where mine came from all the time. Then, when I don’t have any, I can got _______. Sadly, I don’t think inspiration works like that. At least not for me.
I did NaNoWriMo lite and I managed 14,500 words, which isn’t bad given all November threw at me. I had aimed at a measly 500 words a day, so I almost got there. Having said that, the discipline of actually sitting down and DOING something means I wrote more than a thousand words after the day job yesterday – so to quote Michille – something in the win column!
I think anything that turns intention into action–at whatever level–is a win.
I’m with you on the discipline and what November threw. That was one of my goals as well but I didn’t get as many days as I’d hoped.
A side note – I got “one for the win column” from my mother-in-law’s favorite radio color announcer for the Baltimore Orioles, Joe Angel (now retired). That was his signature line.
Congrats on your 1,000 words. Imagine being able to do that even 1/4 of the days of the year. 91,250 words. Definitely one for the win column.
For some reason, I am constantly inflating my word-count in my mind this year. I thought I might have passed 30,000, but it’s only 24,000. A bit short of the half-way mark. However, I did finish the first drafts for four short stories, which is a win. I also discovered that if I sit down and do it, there’s at least a 50/50 chance that I’ll get some good words out of the ordeal.
I haven’t written anything since Nov. 30th, though. My excuse is that I’m cleaning the house for New Year’s (and it really needs cleaning), so I deserve to have some mindless time/make some decorations for Christmas/play the ukulele.
At least with the decorations and the ukulele, I’m exercising some creativity. Technically, reading Twitter counts as feeding my muse, but I’ve been overstuffing her since March and need to go on a Twitter diet.
Very bittersweet, this NaNo. I did better than part of me thought I could. I did worse than part of me thought I would. Overall, it goes in the “rebel win” column for me.