NaNoWriMo #2 Starting Your Story

Current Word Count: 1,257

NaNoWriMo has officially kicked off! That means I'll be spending a lot of this month doing my own NaNoWriMo project as well as trying to help with tips and strategies to keep you (and myself) on track.  That's always been the trickiest part for me.  If my word count for the day starts to get wacky, I start to get panicky and crazy.

So, we want that not to happen.  How do we do that?  Well, if you've already finished your Preparation, we can move on to NaNoWriMo #2 Starting Your Story!

Honestly, I find starting the actual story to be the most difficult part of writing a book.  I still struggle with balancing the right amount of action with exposition so it isn't too clunky and world-buildy.  I hate reading blocks of exposition, so it's always my goal not to write blocks of exposition.  And when you do have to world-build somewhat, that can actually be very, very difficult to do.

So, first thing: November has 30 days in it, and the goal is to write a 50,000 word (or more) novel.  If you do the math, that's only about 1,667 words a day.  A totally doable number.  That's like three pages double spaced.  And I don't double space when I'm writing novels, so it's even less scary.  We can do 1,667 words every day.  No problem.  (Also, if you hit that amount, but still want to write more, do it!  Just always strive for at least 1,667 a day.)

Alright, so actually starting your story.  Pull up whatever you like to use to write: Microsoft Word, Google Docs, actual paper, whatever you want!  Whatever works best for you, use it.  I like Word myself, so I've got my document opened and I formatted it as well so it does things I like for me.  Things like automatically indenting new paragraphs, using the line spacing I like, the font I like (I'm a classic Times New Roman kind of girl).  The point is, get yourself ready!

Now all that's left to do is start writing.  Check this link out if you want to read more on what I'll be writing about.

For my NaNoWriMo novel, it's been a little tricky to start writing.  Mostly because this is like... the second time I've tried to write this particular story.  So, it's all brand new, but I've started this story before in several different ways.  I started it last time with a cute opening scene between Faye and Tony that balanced action with exposition, but it has just a little bit too much exposition in it.  And it also didn't really capture the reader as much as I wanted it to.

So, this time, I decided to start it with a little bit more darkness.  I kicked it off with a flashback dream that helped start the reader off with curiosity.  I still put in some sweet flirting between Faye and Tony (because I can't leave that out if I tried), but at least it helps show that there is more going on there than just happy flirting all the time.

The biggest thing to remember when you're starting your story is literally just to keep writing.  Put something down.  If you don't like it, you can fix it later.  You can change it when you edit.  Or maybe you'll end up writing a completely different scene and rearrange the scenes.  Who knows?  But the point is, you have to start somewhere.  So, here's what I did to start my NaNoWriMo novel, Fins and Fangs.

Chapter One

A storm raged against the waves of the sea.  Though Atlantasia lay a mile below the surface, our waters were still being affected by the angered winds.  Or maybe it just felt that way because of the blows I was taking.  Another clap of thunder so far away, yet right here in this room, pummeling my skin.

This was one of the issues with being a quick-healing mermaid that I’d been discovering over the last year.  When the thunder stopped rolling, the bruises were gone before I could show them to anyone.  

Which meant I’d be subjected to more thunderstorms than any mermaid should ever have to endure.

Reliving these storms was the worst part about dreaming.  That was what this was.  A dream.  I knew it.  I lived on land now – far away from the storms, from Atlantasia, from everything I’d known for centuries.  Remembering these thundering booms against my flesh could only be a dream. 

But Poseidon help me if I wasn’t wrecked for days after each of these memories was brought back to the surface by these dreams from Hades. 

I tried to wake myself.  Usually just realizing this was a dream was enough to wake me from the torment.  Lights flashed outside the porthole window.  That was different.  Lightning never managed to break down into these depths. 

I shook and lashed out against the thundering hands that were upon me.  I tried to swim away, but the hands turned into dark tendrils, grabbing hold of me. 

“Faye,” they seethed.  “Wake up, Faye.”

“Leave me be!” I shouted out against them.

The voices changed from many to one singular, familiar voice.  “Faye, please.  Sirena, please wake up.”  

Startled, I woke up doused in my own sweat and with Tony’s secure arms around me.  Seated on my bed, he scrunched his face up with concern, worry tattooed across his eyes. 

As much as I typically wanted and wished for Tony to be this close to me, this was one of the rare times I wanted him far, far away.

Tony Raine had been my best friend for almost thirty years now – almost the entire time I’d lived on land.  And I’d fallen deeply in love with him the moment I saw his chocolate brown eyes.  Sometimes, I even thought he felt the same way about me.  But…  

Then I’d remember we could never be together.  He knew nothing of my past.  Nothing of the pain and agony I had suffered.  Of what I’d done.  All he knew were the lies I’d told him.  He thought I’d come to live at Dimwood because I wanted to experience new adventures.  He didn’t know it was a self-imposed exile.  That I could never return to the ocean.     

I sat up, shaking his arms off me.  “What are you doing here, Tony?” I asked, sounding far crankier than I had meant to.  “It’s the middle of the night.”

He nodded, his expression beginning to soften.  “Faye, you were screaming bloody murder in here.  I could hear the screams all the way from my room at the other end of the building, a floor up.  I thought something was wrong.  Are you alright?”

Momentarily grumbling to myself about giving him a key to my room, I tried to fake a smile. It was insincere, and I knew Tony would be able to tell, but I plastered it on anyway.  “I’m fine, Tony.  Just a nightmare.  Thank you for waking me though.”

“Of course.”  He gave me a curt nod before standing up from my bed.  “Though, I don’t mind staying with you until you fall back asleep.”

Poseidon bless this man.  But the last thing I needed was to re-enter the abyss of nightmares. 

Ripping the blankets away from my body, I quickly adjusted my oversized T-shirt to make sure I was all covered where I needed to be.  “I think I’m done sleeping for tonight,” I stated, standing up and brushing past Tony, headed towards my bathroom. 

“As far as I know, mers – unlike vampires – do in fact need sleep,” Tony reminded. 

It frustrated me that Tony was a more knowledgeable and persistent vampire than I often gave him credit for. 

I shut the bathroom door behind me, needing a moment to myself.  It had been a while since I’d had a nightmare that intense.  I sunk down to the floor, my back to the door, and stared up at the white tiles on the ceiling.  I needed to get dressed, to distract Tony, to be my usual happy, optimistic self. 

“Mers live to be 1,000 years old on average,” I called out.  “I’m sure I’ll catch up on my sleep at some point.”

“Faye,” he hesitantly started, the uneasiness clear in his normally very confident voice.  “You know you can speak with me about anything, yes?  I know from experience that talking about nightmares can have a calming effect.”

Not in my case. 

“I appreciate it, Tony.  But there’s nothing to talk about.  Everybody has nightmares.  There’s nothing to get your fangs in a twist about.”