So… let’s talk about writing. Last time I posted, I was kind of working out some possibilities for my first Camp NaNo.
Even though it was nearly July, and I had a surgery scheduled, and two weeks vacation planned, and absolutely no respect for my need to rest… Camp NaNo was a given in my To Do List.
You can read more about this here…
I started planning, or better yet replanning, the chosen writing project, intending to write a third draft. All the preparatory tasks were being dealt with, and I was confident that I could expect a productive month of writing.
I am a fool!
With a surgery scheduled for the last day of June, in a non-mentionable body part, and… I got rendered useless a few days after the cut and cauterize procedure.
I wasn’t able to sit, stand, or to lay in any other position than on my sides, and in so much pain that got my head scrambling for relief… and there goes my best writing intentions out the window.
While the painkillers were working their magic, I felt kind of okay, and the first three days of July saw a 4942 word count. But then I had to stop some of the medication, and the pain intensified.
What changed in this writing project?
The biggest novelty in ‘The Shapeshifters’ was… I started the third draft in English!!!
Believe me, this is huge!
I did wrote the first two drafts in Portuguese, but suddenly, as I opened a new google doc, I got swayed into the english language.
I kept assuaging myself saying “It’s okay” or “I can change it later” or “What the heck am I doing???”, but decided to push through my doubts.
Camp NaNo also saw the birth of new scenes and a promise to rewrite the entirety of the scene plan. There’s still so much work to do in this story. I wasn’t pleased with some of it, and I will use these twists and turns to rewrite it, in a somewhat better manner.
Finally, I thought ‘The Shapeshifters’ needed a new cover image. I designed two possibilities and put them to the public vote, on Instagram @saragfarinha.
And this was the winner! Love it!
Meanwhile, I have been released from Surgery Consultations and am feeling quite recovered… and back to writing.
I need to go back to the drawing board and write a new plan for this story. There are some changes that I want to make regarding characters and story line. I’ve noticed that I designed a lot of backstory but failed to put it to good use.
Characters backstory, connections and past traumas are important and need to be carefully embedded in the story. How could I write a story with 79341 words and not put enough density is beyond me.
I’m always careful about not overdoing on what might be considered the boring stuff, an excess of whatever isn’t required. But it seems I trimmed it too much, leaving out even the important story details.
I’m looking forward to getting back to this manuscript and put my english to good use.
Have you done Camp NaNo in July? How did your project faired? What other distractions interfered in your writings?
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Bye and see you soon.
