Monday, November 05, 2007

Just Words, Lots of Words

Well, I have finished the first weekend of the National Novel Writing Month experiment. And here is what I have learned.

Writing a novel is a lot harder than writing a page. Yeah, it took me an entire weekend to figure that out. Yeah, I am a little slow.

I have learned some things.

For instance, my main character, Praga – who does not intentionally bear any resemblance to any real person – is an extremely intelligent gear head. He however, has his own language, made out entirely of vowels. Not only that, but it takes several words to say one thing. For instance, "Hello" is "aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu." Okay, you may see this as an inefficient way of saying hello, and I see it as 15 words.

Praga has a monolog about "ghosting" that lasts for five pages.

Similarly, I have intervening chapters with a couple of lesbian lovers who enjoy parroting each other's statements.

~Leesa: Oh, Deb, you have the softest lips.

Deb: Oh, Leesa, you have the softest lips.

Well, the dialog is lame, but I have mastered the "cut-paste" functions in my word processor. Again, I am racking up the words with this crap dialog. I tried parroting actions, but once ~Leesa bit Deb's bottom lip and Deb reciprocated, I thought perhaps the girls would not really want to kiss too much more, as their lips certainly would have started bleeding.

Seriously, writing 1,667 words per day is already starting to be a chore, and I am joking about the ways of adding data. I did not really do much on November 1, which really put me behind schedule.

Maybe I will have something to say tomorrow. Have a great Monday.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now all you need is a guy who stutters in Latin and owns a parrot. Or you could make the story about a woman who signs up for NaNoWriMo and doesn't know how she's going to cope with writing all those words. "How can I possibly write 1,667 words a day? 1,667 whole words? 1,667 complete words? That's one thousand, six hundred sixty-seven..."

- Grant

Tim said...

Just thought I would say Hello.... or is that aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu aeaaoo aeooy aiiooeeuu

Good luck with the "experiment"

Southern (in)Sanity said...

I knew you were kidding. You are far too talented as a writer to try "shortcuts" like that.

Prata said...

I....I have been parodied! RIGHTEOUS!

Wait...is this insult or parody? *sobs* I'm hurt!

And I can say hello just fine damnit...Hello there, if you are in fact a person that uses the word "hello" to greet others..I mean...oh jesus there I go again. ;)

Learn anything else you'd like to pass on to us? And by us I mean me. =-P

richmanwisco said...

Laff out load, milk through nose funny!

LarryLilly said...

thats why sex sells, most readers cant read that much without either getting frustrated or getting off!

kathi said...

I was hoping Deb had gotten here before me, this is gonna make her day. Hugs sweetie!

Leesa said...

grant: oh, the parrot. I was thinking of a guy falling asleep, listening to the record, and it skipping. Two pages of "and that's the night that the lights went out in Georgia" over and over again.

t: thanks, sweetie.

rwa: thanks, sweetie.

prata: my lawyers wanted me to tell you that praga is not based on a real person.

rich: thanks, sweetie.

larry: yeah.

kathi: thanks, sweetie. I have not visited ~deb's site in several days. No one's site, actually.

Ian Lidster said...

A girl I dated in high school bit me on the lower lip so hard it swole up to about plum size. My mother kept asking what had happened to my mouth and I told her it was a bee sting.
Anyway, I am getting engrossed in your novel and want to see how it comes out. And yes, the cut and paste feature is essential.

Anonymous said...

I was going to do that this year. I have just about everything and I didn't do it. I'm poopy.

~Jef

Anonymous said...

Leesa: You always make me laugh. And keep stringing the pages: the practice alone is worth the effort. I've been re-reading Mark Twain's Letters from the Earth recently, and it struck me while reading your entry that much of his work was done a page at a time. And for a bit of inspiration, you might appreciate this: http://redlinesanddeadlines.blogspot.com/2007/10/eewy-icky-euphemisms.html

Keep writing. You are appreciated.

Deb said...

Will this novel be turned into a movie, and if so, can the REAL people be in this???

Is there a second part to this story??? Next post?

Loved it! (Even though my lip is bleeding an awful lot!)

;)

Leesa said...

ian: what a funny story.

edge: not sure I like it.

garyg: I always like Samual Clements.

~deb: you would have to hit the casting couch first, babe!