Writing

I have always been a short story guy.  I suppose I always want to get to the point and not waste time.  I have written short stories, chapters, bits and pieces, and even a novella but have never been able to put together something really large and meaningful.

I never put too much detail or get too wordy in any of my scene or character descriptions because I can see them so clearly in my mind.  Another consideration is that I want my readers to populate some of the story themselves.  I hate it when writers insist on explaining and detailing every little grain of sand in the story.

Last November I did a writing challenge called NaNoWriMo and had to come up with a 50,000 word story.  I typed and typed and typed and as I neared the end of the month with 35,000 or so words I realized that I was not going to make it.  The story was nearing its conclusion and I had nowhere else to take it to.  I went back and added minor characters.  Gave them some scenes and some dialogue and ended the novel at around 42,000 words.

I then had to start at the beginning and as I read through it I began realizing that I was leaving readers flat.  I had tons to write!  Character descriptions, location descriptions.  internal monologues.  The story was half written!

So with hours to go I crossed the 50,000 mark and had my novel.  The story sits on my hard drive untouched for now but I may soon go back and edit it.  The real success of course was improving my writing skills.  I no longer look at descriptions as mindless space filling fluff.  I’ve a long way to go to be sure but with time and friends support I think I will be ready for this years NaNoWriMo challenge.