Day 30: Writing the End


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I’ve stopped blogging before writing, not sure why. I wrote some notes in my word count document about “blog this,” but then ended up not doing it. I’m cruising to the last day of Nanowrimo with 1,600 words to go, right on schedule. Last night I dedicated to writing, then watched my DVR collection, and worked on some craft Christmas gifts. Not sure why, but I was longing for those activities. The final days have been hard writing work. I realized that I did have the first Darcy proposal way too soon and back-filled, then inserted a chapter, and as yet have not read through the skiing chapter to check for plot point consistency. The argument they have during the proposal is almost verbatim from Austen- without the old-speak. Every little phrase in the end of a novel is important because you have to think of every little phrase preceding it and see if it works. Kind of like an avalanche, the ball is bigger and harder to maneuver, but you have a lot more steam because the characters are more whole, with motivations and interests of their own. I notice that I don’t have to motivate to write, it’s whirling in my head almost all the time and it’s almost a relief to sit down and let it work itself out on paper. As well as having a deadline, and I love deadlines, and knowing that I don’t have to write for at least a month after tomorrow.

Shopping at Trader Joe’s the other night talking to my 8-year-old niece, she asked me if the main characters had kissed yet. I told her no. She asked if they got married in the end, I said, “No, they just realize they like each other and want to spend time together.” She’s a Berkeley kid so she’ll probably understand that perhaps, to a degree, oh who am I kidding, not at all! She wants me to write a serial, and the next one has something to do with oranges. She doesn’t even like Austen, but I think it’s cool that she’s made an opinion about a seminal author, and can argue with me about it. She reads about everything else, so I’m not worried that she’s discounted one author.

I’m kind of like her too, I had my mother telling me all the time how amazing Austen was, and I just didn’t understand why, from all reports and appearances. I was fifteen, when, in a fit of boredom (which is what motivated almost all of my adventurous reading), I took my mom’s Modern Library Austen collection to bed, and stayed up all night. I read Sense & Sensibility first, then the next day read Pride and Prejudice. What nobody had told me is that her books are SHORT and FUNNY. Sure, ye olde English, but far more approachable than anyone tells you. I think that experienced fueled me to take more random books off the shelf and give them a try.

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