This will be a short update, but as I felt that fifty days was a good checkpoint I decided to spend a little time talking about how this year’s Fifteen Minute Novel Experiment is going. Last year I noticed that as I had nothing but the initial story start written as part of a morning writing prompt, I tended to wander about in search of a plot. I also realized that I might finish my initial plot far earlier than the end of the year so I allowed myself to take additional byways.
So this year, I changed two things about the experiment. The first was that I did what I would consider a minimal outline to keep me on a reasonably straight course. This outline barely deserves the name. It had one sentence for each of the basic points: Set up, complication, rising action, meanwhile, climax and Denouement (see the novel writing workshop in the subscribers section for a more fulsome break out).
The second thing that I changed was that I would allow myself to finish early if the story wound to a close. If it just happened to finish out before the year was up, then I would just pick a different story line and start writing on it. I would not feel it necessary to add additional pathways just to keep the story going past where I thought it should end just because the calendar had not run out.
Both of these amendments have been working well for me. The outline, such as it is, is loose enough that it is still very free writing. I can take some of the scenic byways to my destination, but I still know where I am more or less going. There is always the possibility of an upset, but at the moment I feel this short outline helps. I also feel like removing the pressure of having to make the story fit the calendar is also really helpful. So the two adjustments I made are working well thus far.
So where are the stats: Currently I am sitting on 29, 212 words. It is a fantasy story line and for me those generally fall into the 100k range for a first draft. (I often times find myself either adding or subtracting words during editing, but as a draft it is a good measure). I am approaching 30 K and usually around there I have a turning point. My story is approaching a turning point so I feel like I am right on track. So we will see how this story goes. But for now, this is where I am and I feel pretty good about it. I hope you have enjoyed reading along as this experiment continues.
And if you are working on your own experiment, I would love to hear about it. Feel free to drop a comment below or e-mail me separately if you have any thoughts on this process.
Ten til Midnight 