NaNo Day 4- Reporting Day 3

I hit 15,002 last night before heading off to bed but NaNo's site was down so I had to wait till this morning to put in my new word count total. But all in all I feel good about where I am. Plus, I'm starting to get more into the story better.

Since I started writing on the 1st, I had felt set apart from my characters, until Wes fell over the tree stump last night and hit his head on the porch steps in the dark at Melody's grandmother's. LOL Yes, I hate to admit it, but I enjoyed his spill and the gash on his head and him getting knocked unconscious. Yes, I enjoyed it because it was unexpected. I was flying by the seat of my pants on that one. I have a plot, but not all my scenes figured out, so I just went with it last night to see where it would go. It was the perfect opportunity for Melody to HAVE to interact with Wes- especially since she's been running from him for years, avoiding him. Then she had to care for him.

It was a perfect surprise to me, that's for sure. And since having written 3 other novels, I've come to expect that after a certain point, my characters will take the lead, show me what they want to happen, what should happen and lead me toward the end we "all" know will come. I love when they come to "life" for me, point me in the right direction, surprise me with good twists and turns in the story.

Last year my main character Royce did that and often. There were several turns in the story that came out that I never planned, never intended, but once it was written I realized just what a difference it made to feel as though he was standing over my shoulder, telling me his story, whispering in my ear...In some ways it's reminiscent of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

I love that movie- The ghost of a sea captain, telling this woman his story she she can write it and have it published. It's wonderfully fanciful. In the process, she falls in love with him and eventually he leaves her and she lives the rest of her life believing he'd only been a dream, until the final scene where she dies...and the captain comes back to get her.

In some ways it quite the same when I'm writing, though my characters are the ones telling me their story and yes, I do fall in love with them, though for me, they are like my children, growing and living through me onto the written page.

Well, that would be it for me for today. I need to pull that file up and get my booty in gear for another day of NaNo'ing. Have a great Sunday and WRITE ON!

15,002K/50,000K