NaNoWriMo Day 4
What you listen to matters. I listened to Halle Bailey’s “Angel” the whole time while I was writing and the words just kept spilling out. I was in the zone today. Albeit, I didn’t start writing until 11 pm yesterday. I went out with the fam, then slept for the rest of the day. But like I said, it’s okay to take breaks. So long as I write every day, that’s all that matters.
But it has been a minute since I crafted a playlist for my writing. The only playlist that is thoroughly thought out is the one I have for my WIP Pamuya. But that’s because i’ve been working on that novel since 2011 and I know what I want that novel to be.
With this, it’s a no-edit novella. All I know is that it will be a contemporary romance but I don’t know what the novella (although it’s starting to turn into a full novel) will be in the end. Are my love interests sappy romantics or are they “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” from Disney’s Hercules. I need to get to know my characters and my novella before I can craft a really good playlist.
Maybe it’s time I actually sit down and plot out my novella instead of trying to keep it a no-edit novella. Although, I do like the no-edit aspect of it. I like just writing and no feeling pressure to stick to the script. Pamuya has a distinct theme that if I deviate too much from, it changes the whole novel. Sometimes that does put me in a box and it does create this pressure when I’m writing.
However, I also created an outline and a storyboard for Pamuya and anytime I do feel that pressure to stay within a certain box, I look at my notes and ask myself some questions. Does what I wrote match the theme? Can we play off on that? Does this distract from the goal? Would my characters normally act like this or is this out of character for them? If I get any no’s, I stop and access and go from there.
So there are pros and cons to writing a no-edit novella as well as a planned novel. Take the best bits of both and see how that works. I can make notes and plan out my novella, but keep the part where I write and don’t edit until I’m finished. That way I don’t stop and edit along the way. I’ll let you know how that goes.
As always, thanks for reading. Until next time . . .
Here is an excerpt from what I wrote today. Enjoy and feedback welcomed.
Immediately I dialed Faisa and waited for her to pick up
“Hey girl,” she said breathlessly. “One of these kids had my phone and didn’t tell me someone was calling,” she shouted over her shoulder.
“Oh.” I felt nervous now. Of course Faisa would be dealing with something. She wouldn’t have time to deal with my mess. “You know, you sound busy. I’m going to let you–”
“Girl, it’s just the kids being silly. I put on Shrek and they’ll be alright for an hour. What you need?”
I took a deep breath. I could have just blurted everything out but our talk from this morning stopped me. Faisa was a mother with three children. She did have bigger things to focus on than my love life. And just because this was the most pressing issue in my life, it wasn’t the only thing going on. Faisa has always been there for me, no matter what I needed and I shouldn’t take advantage of that.
“Listen, I’m sorry for being so insensitive this morning. I know there are more important things going on than me dating my boss–”
“Hold up!” she cut me off but I didn’t mind. I was kind of done with my apology anyway. I would have gone into rambling soon if she hadn’t interrupted.
“Now wait a minute. Since when did you start dating your boss? You was just fussing over what to wear now y’all together? Girl, I need details. Now!”
I laughed inwardly. Of course Faisa would just gloss over my apology. Our tiff wasn’t that big of a deal. Hell, she probably had forgotten about it as soon as it had happened. That still didn’t mean I didn’t need to be mindful of things going on in her life. But I was still grateful she wasn’t mad at me.
