nanowrimo refelctions of a creative challenge: The Second Door hook and excerpt

Short Synopsis :
After preventing the suicide of a stranger, Robert Coates becomes a minor local celebrity. Trying to defend his "good deed" as a basic human duty, he is forced to analyze the way we interact as people in modern America.

After the death of his dear friend and benefactor, Robert becomes the reluctant patriarch of his community, a job he is unsure he can to do. He keeps his community together but an untimely visit from his past causes him to doubt his strength.

Set in Northwest Portland, The Second Door does not feel like the dreary last days of the year, the wintertime winds. It feels like the dramas next door, the second door, the one you might want to avoid.

nanowrimo reflections of a creative challenge: The Second Door

nanowrimo

I decided I would compose directly on the computer. That said, I figured the novel would be in a workable format instantly, but it would be just a first draft. Ultimately, the whole goal of nanowrimo is to focus on writing daily and getting the draft down.

From the nanowrimo side, I really enjoyed the organization on their website. I liked having my own page. I liked the email function with the other members. I loved the process chart, stats page and the awards. Awards? Oh yeah, they're called badges. I'm proud to say that I earned every one of them. Admittedly, I did not do the 30 day word count update because I finished early and verified on November 20^th.

It took me 13 days to complete 50K words. I wrote on average 3,850 words a day. That was about 12 pages double spaced Times New Roman 12pt font with one inch margins.

nanowrimo reflections of a creative challenge: My Prep

Nanowrimo

So, I accepted the challenge to do nanowrimo. Janice was the one who suggested it to me because her good friend wanted to do it too. I also convinced my buddy Dave to do it with me. And at about this time, Freesia, my penpal of over 30 years announced she was doing it too. So, I now had my own group of four people doing this with me.

My insecurities were very high. I did not think I could do it. I considered the daily target of 1,667 words and the overall goal of 50K. I know myself, I know that I can write way more than 1,667 words in a single session, but I also work in fits: 5,000 today and then nothing for days. I also had no ideas of a story which needed writing.

I write a good many short stories. I try to write about fifteen of them a year. I had figured on writing three more by the end of the year at the time I signed up for nanowrimo.

nanowrimo reflections of a creative challenge: What I did and what I did it for

https://nanowrimo.org/

I had heard of National Novel Writing Month, or nanowrimo, and I've even known a few people who participated in it over the years. For those of you who don't know, it is an organization that helps the participants write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.

A 50,000 word novel in November? Yup. Should a participant follow the plan, it's a mere composition of 1,667 words daily from November 1 to November 30. It seems like a daunting task, 50,000 words in 30 days.

Breaking it down, at least from my perspective, 50,000 words is a fairly short novel. Both of my novels, Dysphoric Notions and Undertakers of Rain are about 50K. They're short. I've drafted a number of these short novels. I write short novels because I like to read short novels. I believe that the best novels are the ones the average reader can read in one sitting. In short, I don't think 50,000 words is too much to tackle, not for a seasoned writer nor a writer who has just picked up a pen for the first time.