Nano day four, and chuck update.
Day four of nano
Well it's day four, I have just over 10,000 words, but am wondering whether to push for 12, just in case I decide 90k is achievable this year - hmmmm, we'll see how enthusiastic I am after cooking supper.
So today I got to thinking about those little details that make the difference from something being bad writing to being good writing.
I think it's always a good idea to be reading something good during nano, because it reminds you how things can be done. I'm reading 'Last of the wilds' at the moment by Trudi Canavan, one of my favourite authors, it's the second in a trilogy and unlike many second books in a trilogy I'm finding it more compelling to read than the first book.
So what was my point? I think it was what makes the difference between something you get really into and something you'd just as sooner put down and go have a cup of tea. Well maybe not so much that, but those little nuggets that make you really visualise the scene, those gems dropped in between dialogue which just enrich it.
There was this scene earlier where one of the characters finally met some immortals she'd been searching for and during their conversation one of them picked up a loom to weave whilst they spoke:
" she drew a small loom close to her and begun weaving, her fingers moving with the sure deftness of someone who had been practising a skill for a long time."
I admit it's probably not the best example, but when I read this bit it really got me thinking about what my characters would absentmindedly do whilst they were talking. It also gave an insight into how long this character had been in hiding, and what she'd done to keep herself busy. What can my characters be doing that will give little bits of their story away? And it showed more of the pace too, this person was living in a cave, but it must have been quite comfortable, with woven pieces spread over the floor and other hand made implements.
It's those little nuggets I love in books, little bits of description that tell you so much and enhance the action or dialogue. Sometimes I love a good long description of something or someone, but I think it's those little details that add so much to story.
Elsewhere in my world, I took some more phtos of chuck, my rescued chick, who I wrte about here: chuck entry
She's four weeks all now, getting a bit straggly as they do, but still cute to me. She wouldn't oblige and look at the camera much today, so here's a slightly blurred picture of her stood on a large piece of horse muck, she looks so proud of herself!
Well it's day four, I have just over 10,000 words, but am wondering whether to push for 12, just in case I decide 90k is achievable this year - hmmmm, we'll see how enthusiastic I am after cooking supper.
So today I got to thinking about those little details that make the difference from something being bad writing to being good writing.
I think it's always a good idea to be reading something good during nano, because it reminds you how things can be done. I'm reading 'Last of the wilds' at the moment by Trudi Canavan, one of my favourite authors, it's the second in a trilogy and unlike many second books in a trilogy I'm finding it more compelling to read than the first book.
So what was my point? I think it was what makes the difference between something you get really into and something you'd just as sooner put down and go have a cup of tea. Well maybe not so much that, but those little nuggets that make you really visualise the scene, those gems dropped in between dialogue which just enrich it.
There was this scene earlier where one of the characters finally met some immortals she'd been searching for and during their conversation one of them picked up a loom to weave whilst they spoke:
" she drew a small loom close to her and begun weaving, her fingers moving with the sure deftness of someone who had been practising a skill for a long time."
I admit it's probably not the best example, but when I read this bit it really got me thinking about what my characters would absentmindedly do whilst they were talking. It also gave an insight into how long this character had been in hiding, and what she'd done to keep herself busy. What can my characters be doing that will give little bits of their story away? And it showed more of the pace too, this person was living in a cave, but it must have been quite comfortable, with woven pieces spread over the floor and other hand made implements.
It's those little nuggets I love in books, little bits of description that tell you so much and enhance the action or dialogue. Sometimes I love a good long description of something or someone, but I think it's those little details that add so much to story.
Elsewhere in my world, I took some more phtos of chuck, my rescued chick, who I wrte about here: chuck entry
She's four weeks all now, getting a bit straggly as they do, but still cute to me. She wouldn't oblige and look at the camera much today, so here's a slightly blurred picture of her stood on a large piece of horse muck, she looks so proud of herself!