On a whim of foolhardy bravery, I took part in the 3-Day Novel Contest from Sept 5-7. I hadn't even heard of it until last week, and entered two days before deadline. I had a vague plot idea, and then sat down at midnight Friday to get started.
And it was AWESOME! I've never had such fun writing in my life! I wrote the opening 10 pages on the first night, then barely move throughout Saturday. (T wisely dragged me out for a walk in the neighbourhood at 9pm.) Woke up on Sunday itching to get back to it.
For those outside Toronto, the Labour Day weekend also happens to include the annual Toronto Air Show, and T and I live directly in its flight path. So for four hours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, I sat here typing as huge fighter jets buzzed our house. (Mental note: next year, write a novel set in war time.)
I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, though. Beer o'clock hit at 4 p.m. on the dot. I took lots of little snack breaks, and would wander around the house staring at some imagined horizon, trying to work out what was going to happen next.
In the novel, something goes missing and I sat here for about 45 minutes wracking my brains trying to work out which character had it. Not which character I would make have it, mind you, but which one actually did. I was all but interrogating them to work out why they would have taken it, and what implications it had. When I finally realized who it was, I let out a whoop of excitement, and was laughing aloud as I typed.
So if entering wasn't mad enough, I certainly was doing a good job of looking nuts.
In the end, I had usual 8 hour sleeps each night, and finished writing the novella on Sunday night. I spent Monday editing, and fleshing it out, then printed it up at 9pm -- three hours before I even had to stop writing! T was very proud, and a little frightened by my productivity. Actually, so was I!
Things I learned in the writing of Lily of the Valley (99 pages, now in the post en route to the 3-Day Novel judges):
- Characters live, but only if I actually write them down. I've had so many people come and go in my mind. I must stop being embarrassed of or flippant to my urges to write these imagined things.
- It's actually really easy to do, once you become obsessed with it.
- I don't have to know the plot before I write. After a while, the world itself and the characters in it dictate what goes on.
- I now have no excuses for not trying this again. Darnit.
- It's frickin FUN!
The Writahhh at work.
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