No, I wasn't digging out from the rubble. No, I wasn't without phone, light or motor car (any more than I usually am on the last one anyway). I was safe at home, watching terrible horror movies (some of which I couldn't even bother to finish... even if they did have Tom Savini and Tony Todd). I was prepping for NaNoWriMo.
Now, I wasn't prepping like most other people. I didn't sit down and flesh out my outlines like everyone else. No more character sketches. No more brain storming.
No, I prepped for NaNoWriMo by actually doing a little bit of NaNoing.
No, I didn't cheat and start my story. I started a new story, one with absolutely no direction. One without much more than a general concept, and I just started writing.
I haven't done that since I started brainstorming Eastgate. Every ounce of creative writing I've done has been dedicated attempts toward getting this story down and seeing where it goes. A part of me was wondering if that part of me that had written everything before.... the part that doesn't plan... would be able to get back in line and just crunch out words when the time demanded it.
That's the danger, I think, of forcing yourself to outline things. You risk getting out of practice of just writing by the seat of your pants.
Well, write by the seat of my pants I did. It didn't go too badly, if I do say so. The words came, slowly at first, and I just let them guide me the way I've done on just about every other piece I've done. It was like riding a bike- except without the wheels, or the bell, or the peddles.
In any event they both have a seat.
The results aren't finished, and remain something I'd like to come back to. I've been writing in a little journal, as opposed to at a computer, so that if I have some spare time away from a computer this month, I can always continue working on it without breaking the programming of "MS Word = 2k on Eastgate".
If you're wondering, the story is a fan fic. The first I think I've ever really written, save for an X-Files piece I did in the 6th grade. It's not about pre-established character, just a pre-established place - Silent Hill. The story and characters are completely new, but I think that the concept fits well into the tone of the games and the psychological aspects of it's horror.
Anyway, today is the first day of NaNoWriMo. That means tonight is going to be dedicated to the first 2k words. 3k if I can get myself that far (I always like to have a buffer in case I have a bad day, or have to take a day off for some reason).
I'll update tonight with my first word count.
Wish me luck, without saying the words good luck (old theater habits die hard).
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