I Can't Read My Character's Minds

So.  Here we are.  9 days before the beginning of NaNoWriMo, and I'm steadily working on the plot for the final novel I'm planning out.  And this is where I hit a snag in my plans.  See, I figure I might just have enough time to finish all my plots, do some edits on a previous novel and the last critique I need to do before we break for the already busy November.  Apparently my characters had other ideas.

I was at the end of the brainstorming phase and just about to launch into character bibles (which is, let's face it, my least favorite part of plotting) when one of my characters finally decided to speak up.  You see, I thought I knew what her part in the novel was.  Where she was going, who she was going to be with.  Simple and easy.

Really, I blame myself.  I should have known that something was up.  My characters are never simple and easy.

Not only is she no longer doing anything that I originally thought she was doing, now she's also going to be with new characters.  Characters I hadn't planned on introducing in this novel (if ever).  Characters that are part of a new race that, while they're in this novel, I hadn't thought I needed to really dive into until later in the series when they become much more a part of the plot.

So now, instead of being nearly done (which I really was happy about.  I mean, 9 days!) I've got to figure out an entire race of people, including what they look like and their history, and will most likely be adding 2-5 more character bibles to the list I already have.  A list that I already thought was pretty long.

And that character?  The one that so kindly dumped all of this work into my lap at the last minute?  She's blinking at me innocently as if I should have known what she was planning this entire time.  As if I could read her mind.

As the person who created this particular character, I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised that she thinks this.  After all, if I created her, why don't I know every step she's taking?  While I will, eventually, be writing out every word she says and every move she makes, her thoughts aren't necessarily open to me.

Characters, you see, take on a life of their own.  Each one of them thinks that they could write your book better than you.  And they're more than willing to go behind your back and do whatever they want.  It doesn't matter to them that they just messed up your entire plot, or that they weren't supposed to do that until book 5.  They simply don't care.

I'm not going to let this get to me, however.  I know what I have to do to get to the bottom of this before Nano begins.  (Aside from giving up on the idea of getting sleep...) I'm going to teach them that I'm the one in charge!  That I'm the writer and I  made them, and I can kill them off if I want to.  Then, when their laughter subsides, I'm going to give into what they want and do the extra work they want because, as any writer will tell you, the characters are the ones running the show.

I think I need to learn how to read their minds...

23 Days and Counting

I feel like the year has sped past us, leaving nothing  more than a blur to prove it happened.  Now here we are in October, November looming over us tauntingly as we admit that we aren't anywhere near being ready for the epic race that is nanowrimo.

For those who don't know, nanowrimo is National Novel Writing Month.  One month devoted to the development of writers.  The goal is to write 50k in the month of November.  Which means that October is the month of figuring out what the hell you're going to write and maybe even getting down a plot.  For pantsers, October is for casually wondering what they're going to write before flipping a coin.

Last year was my first experience with nano.  I remember October being a month of nerves where I constantly changed my mind on whether or not I was actually going to attempt what I, at the time, thought was the impossible.  It wasn't until the middle of the month when I finally firmly made up my mind and started telling people (so I couldn't back out of it at the last minute).  I wrote a plot for the 50k novel I wasn't at all certain I would actually finish, and on November 1st, I dived in.

Here's the thing about nano.  It's a fantastic experience, no matter how you choose to get through the month of insanity.  Even going it alone will have you learning something about yourself I'm sure you didn't know before.  But if you decide to join with the community, go out to the write ins and start doing word wars, you can do more than you ever thought you could.

Last November I was given an affectionate nickname that has survived to this day.  (I'll give you a hint...it's the name of this blog)  That's right.  Epic Robot.  And I gained it because last year, when I was absolutely certain that I wouldn't even finish my original 50k, I ended the month with over 150k words written.

I learned something about myself last November.  More than one thing, in fact.  I learned, first, that I'm way more competitive than I thought.  I also learned that the nano community (especially the one here in Calgary, lead by the amazing Xanateria and Naiya Azurewater) is one of the most supportive and encouraging communities out there.  And, last, I learned that I'm a writer.

You see, before last November, I had written, but never much.  And I was under the rather mistaken impression that I couldn't finish a novel to save my life.  That writing wasn't a viable option for what I wanted to do with my life.  That I had to get over that fantasy.  But November and nano helped me to realize just how wrong I was about that.

Since last November I have written 2 novels (as well as started one that got scrapped half way through.  Just because I know I can finish novels now, doesn't mean that all of my ideas should be made into novels.) and I've just recently joined a critique group.  2012 will be the epic year of queries and trying to find an agent, and I firmly believe that one day I will be published.

Maybe you're sitting at home right now thinking that nano isn't something you could possibly do.  You can't write 50 thousand words in a month!  And what are you going to write anyway?  No.  Nanowrimo is just not for you.  Take it from me.  It is.  Whether you cross the finish line, or not you'll learn something.  About yourself, about your writing and about the people around you.  And I can almost guarantee you that it's not an experience that you'll forget about in a couple of years.

All I can say is I've been there.  Scared and sure I'd never finish.  But don't let your fear keep you from doing something that could literally change your life.  Take the leap.  You never know where you might land.