Monday 13 November 2006

don't dream it's over

My Nano novel is now finished. It’s been officially validated at 50, 152 words. That’s it. Phew.

Well. I say finished, but actually it really just stops. There has been absolutely no plot resolution of any kind and all of the various threads that I have laboriously constructed have been left swinging in the breeze. As of now, I have no intention of finishing off the story. Nor do I intend to go back and churn through some of the mountains dreadful writing and flimsy plotting that I know is in there.

The fact that the ‘finished novel’ contains the following piece of dialogue, I think it says it all:

“Yes Gwilym. Do try to keep up. These are the rats that I was telling you about, the ones that I met this afternoon”.
“The same rats you met this afternoon?”
“Yes”
“Doesn’t that strike you as a touch unbelievable? Of all the rats that must live in York, that we bump into the same two that you happen to have met this afternoon?”
John thought for a moment. “Yes, I suppose it does, but here they are. What can you do?”

I think the bones of a story are in there somewhere, and I think that with some work it could maybe be turned into something. Right now though, I just can’t be arsed to go back and do the editing and re-working that would be necessary to turn it into something usable. It’s time to take a break.

I’m keeping it though – perhaps in a folder marked “juvenalia”. One day, perhaps, I will return to it and find out what happens.

Maybe.

I do like that talking raven though. He's called Arthur.

10 comments:

  1. I have word envy. 35,002 times.

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  2. It all sounds a tad Maurice and his Educated Rodents to me....

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  3. You do realize that you are less than half way through the month and, at least theoretically, could still write another novel.

    I can say this comfortably from an ocean away, knowing there is nothing that can possibly be thrown that far.

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  4. Spins, I said the same to him and he roundly ignored me! *G*

    Your book sounds interesting. I hope you do come back to it someday, when you're no longer NaNo'ed out.

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  5. At the end of the day, er, Terry, the lad done good. He had everything to play for and, er, when all's said and done, he went for it and, er, he done us proud. I'm chuffed for the lad, Terry, I'm over the moon. Good game, good game.

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  6. I'm not sure what that passage is about, but I adore it. Like, seriously, deeply, massively adore it. It makes me want to read the entire novel.

    And I'm back! Briefly at least...

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  7. Good work. You've now written 2 more novels than anyone else I know.

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  8. Congratulations. I am insanely jealous of your sucess. When I saw that little Nano widget with the blue line all the way to the right hand side I almost turned green.

    I am at 33,888 and although it keeps moving I wish it was over and I could go back to reality!

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  9. I couldn't leave something unfinished like that, it would drive me nuts.

    Part of the reason I never start these things in the first place really!

    Congrats on completing it though!

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