Something Plotting This Way Comes . . . - NaNoWriMo Update, Day Eight

This NaNoWriMo is going far better than I expected it to. Well, in most respects.

Pages: 39
Wordcount: 18,155
Plot progression: A little slower than I expected, but elements are coming together more effectively and with greater promise than expected.

I'm aiming to hit 20,000 words before the weekend, preferably, but these past few days have been somewhat hectic with my Oxford English aptitude test, and my slightly panicky rush to send off my marked work to the university. Still, all that is done and behind me to my satisfaction, and thus I'm hoping some open space will allow me to plough on ahead before anything else creeps up on me.

The novel itself, I am fairly pleased with. My loose plot format is pulling together well, and many elements are coming together that I did not forsee, which hold plenty of promise for later stages of the book. 

My main issue thus far is coming from the narrative. I haven't written in first person for eons, and the journal format is creating confusion over dates and timings that I am having trouble keeping track of. My other weaknesses are showing, too. I've never been terribly strong on dialogue, but coupled with a weaker-than-is-preferable grip on the narrator's personality, some rather nasty inconsistencies are coming through. 

Upon finishing, I also intend to go back and ruthlessly hack at the early chapters. I'm sure my introductory passages could be a lot sleeker, and I could get into the beginning of the proper plot much faster than I have done. Other events will also need re-ordering, certainly, in lieu of this.

All in all, though, it's going well - as I write more, I'm hoping to get a better handle on my narrator, and solve some of the problems I mentioned earlier. I may tweak some aspects of his character later, for the sake of kicking the plot forward a bit, as his shy, introverted nature somewhat inhibits that at times, but overall I'm very pleased with him, and with most of my supporting characters, who have begun to enter the mix.

And, finally, I'm drawing up to the opening of the really exciting bit of the plot now. And thus far, it's looking bigger, better and messier than ever I dreamed it would.

Hold onto your hats, readers. It's gonna be a bumpy ride . . .

~ Charley R