Thank you and Happy New Year to those who have spent time with me on this blog, on Facebook, or Twitter. Only active since October, I hope I entertained, provided a laugh or two, or brought a memory long gone to mind with the posts.

I began the year toying with a novel I had been writing since early 2014. I finished the draft of Saving Delisanna in March. It was over 100,000 words written by a pantser (me). I wrote two endings, one suitable for a standalone novel and one suitable to leave an opening for a follow-on work. However, Saving Delisanna needed a lot of work. I enjoined experts for assistance by reading their writing blogs and craft novels. Among these experts were James Scott Bell, Marcy Kennedy, and others noted in my blog  https://dwaneknott.com/2016/12/christmas-gifts-writers/.

How do you create a brand?

What fun is having a novel if it is not read? Readers have to be cultivated. Kristen Lamb wrote a premier work called Rise of the Machines, Human Authors in a Digital World.  She espoused one needs a brand.  Facebook, Twitter, and blog are three of elements that can contribute to exposing one’s brand to the world. I had the Facebook and Twitter accounts where I began to be more active. In October, I posted my first blog to this site.   (Kristen writes on noteworthy topics. One of her latest includes advice on succeeding in 2017.)

W.A.N.A Tribe for writers

Writing is a solitary business but writing alone is a lonely business (pun intended). Kristen’s book introduced me to W.A.N.A. (We Are Not Alone) Tribe. This is a site she operates for serious writers. I found the serious writers there willing to share their experience with those who ask. It is also a place for writers to socialize and to write. Kristen hosts ‘sprinting’ on weekday mornings and sometimes in the evening. Sprinting is a timed writing window after which participants can brag about how much they have written. It is easier to write if someone is supporting.

I have several favorite blog writers. Among them is K.M. Weiland’s https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/. Her blog series How to Outline for NaNoWriMo inspired me to join the NaNoWriMo challenge. I finished November with a winner icon and Kiliane’s Rage, my second draft novel.

December has been busy. Besides the blog, Facebook, and Twitter, I have joined a critique group to provide reviews of Kiliane’s Rage revised chapters. I am providing reviews for other writers. Writing critiques seems to help my writing. Seeing ways to improve others’ works gives me insight into ways to improve mine. My road is long but I am on it.

The last half of this year was hectic. I hope the coming year to be less so since the ‘getting going’ work is done. The past few months were interesting and fun. I interacted with some amazing writers and personable people and have learned much from them.

May you have a Safe and Happy New Year

A special thank you to everyone who has visited this site. I hope that you will visit again and leave me a comment. Let me know you came.

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The question asked is having fun not enough? Must winning be the only acceptable result? Before I explain why I ask, a brief interlude to discuss the status of my writing.

My novels are lonely!

The Christmas season is in full bloom and I have the post-nanowrimo malaise. This is the second consecutive day without reading or writing on either of my draft novels. The first was put away to allow me to concentrate on the challenge. It is still hiding in my word processor. The one written during the challenge is staring at me with hopeful eyes. Like my labs, Duke and Bear, it is crying for attention. I feel badly that I am ignoring it but today is a downtime day. This is my daily dose of wordsmithing.

“‘Tis the season to be jolly” but sometimes events struggle to dampen one’s spirits. A minor and inconsequential blip in my happiness yesterday was coaching the boys’ soccer team and losing. On a scale of 1-10 in importance, it doesn’t make the scale. It remains the season to be jolly for these boys. They consider wins and losses less important than playing. Coaches need to keep this in mind when working with youngsters this age.

I posted about the Pipeline 2008 Boys Gold teams season earlier. They lost yesterday yet not one appeared distressed by the result. Throughout the match, I heard parents calling support to their children and the team. When the game was over, I saw the parents eager to congratulate their child and teammates on a good game played. Contrast these parents of eight and nine year old boys to the man in the next paragraph.

Is performance most important for a child?

When does winning become the only acceptable outcome? When does trying become not enough? I watched another soccer game. I listened to one of the parents berating his daughter for her play. The girl might be eleven or twelve. When she was on the pitch, her father was screaming at her most of the time, correcting her play. He called her by first name initially. When she didn’t change her play as he wanted, he screamed at her using her full name.

Eventually, she was subbed for and came to the bench to sit with her teammates. Her father came up behind her and compared her play to players on the other team. The entire time he was talking, she refused to look at him. The girl was weeping. The father seemed not to notice the effect his criticism in front of teammates and fans was having on her. Ugly thought, maybe he noticed but didn’t care.

So I wonder, is there a magic age when perfection in performance becomes more important than having fun. Is it between nine and eleven or twelve? Should there be an age?

Readers, do you think there is a magic age? Is having fun not enough? Use the comments to give me your opinion.

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I finished NaNoWriMo with a total 50,248 words in 28 days. It has been an interesting experience from which I learned much. My goal when I signed up was a 50k word novel or near-novel by the end of the month. It was great relief to meet my goal with two days to spare.

Kiliane’s Rage

I think the push to jump in the briar patch came from reading K.M. Weiland’s How to Outline for NaNoWriMo series of posts.  They led me to find out more about the challenge. Intrigued, I sought a topic. There is an artifact in my first draft novel  that a family reader said needed some backstory to explain its existence. Why not make that the foundation for a NaNoWriMo novel? I signed up and announced Kiliane’s Rage.
It would be the first volume in a two volume set if it was finished and turned out good.

What Outline?

I wrote Saving Delisanna without outlining it.  I did not want to write this one by the seat of my pants. *I had worn holes in them writing Saving Delisanna.* Since I decided late, I had five days to create an outline for a 50,000 word fantasy novel.  I developed a basic outline of three acts and significant plot points using Susan Bischoff’s The Story Toolkit Worksheets thoughtful questions.

Let’s Write

1 November started the journey using an outline lacking in one, I would soon learn, vital area — a detailed scene list. The first 12,000 words came quickly. I was ahead of schedule. I was also ahead of where my outline told me I should be for this word count.  The first act was complete minus details such as beats associated with dialogue or physical description of characters and locations. I gave myself something for the rewrite and edit.

Are we done yet? 

The story sped along as I wrote the next 10,000 words. The acts were in the rear view mirror and the pinch points a distant memory. I was screaming along ahead of schedule, barely. Day 17 at 28,928 words, I finished three acts, pinch points, climax and the denouement I envisioned for the novel. Alas, I had over 21,000 more words to write in the remaining 13 days and no scenes to write. I knew I could go back and fill in descriptive details but that would be tedious at this point.

More to write

Dropping a copy to print, I read what was written. There were scenes I could write to make the story flow more smoothly. They became fodder for the word processor as I used up 7 days and  12,605 words filling some of the voids. *I know I will find others when I edit.*

There were still almost 8,500 words to write in 6 days and Thanksgiving was one of those days. I thought I could finish before Thanksgiving but helping coach an out-of-state boys soccer tournament dropped my progress to 1400 words the weekend before. I had written something everyday in November and didn’t let family visiting from Illinois or smoking a holiday turkey prevent me from writing every day. Monday, 28 November 2016, I completed the challenge with 50, 248 words.

Did you learn anything?

Things I learned. I can write, in my opinion, a draft from a bare outline. I must train myself to include details into the story as I write. *I have to overcome tendencies developed the last 50 years writing terse, to the point communications for the military and federal government.* I must learn to outline though I can tell a decent story without one. No one, including me, wants a decent story. I owe me and you great stories! If I take the challenge next year I will be better prepared. In the meantime, anything else I attempt will start with a good outline including scene list.

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo this year? Use the comment form to tell me about how your challenge went this year? Get notifications when I post using the follow button on the bottom right.

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