Plotting...is it as scary as it seems?

So, every writer has their own habits that work for them.  Some people work in the morning.  Some are night owls.  Some can't work unless they've had their cup of coffee or their favorite music playing in the background.  Writers tend to be rather fickle creatures.  Don't believe me?  Try watching one work sometime.  One issue we tend to debate is whether it is better to have a strict plot that you stick to or if it's better to go with what you come up with in the moment kind of thing.  Well, I have always been one of those people that decided okay, here are my characters, add some magical element and a vague idea of where the last chapter would lead and then I embarked on the journey.  And those have been very long roads.  I worked on a book called Thunderstorm for about 3 years before I called it complete, and then spent the next 6 trying to rewrite the dang thing before someone wiser than me suggested I shelve it.  (Shelving that novel is a story for a post of its own.)  As you can see, that method took me about 9 years to no avail.  I had a few side projects, but I never finished any of them.  So, considering my 9 year and counting record, I have made some pretty far reaching goals for Susceptible.  And that means that I'm going to have to change up my game.
I am switching from my free-spirited ways to a more organized plotter.  However, I am writing myself a reminder on all my notes that everything is FLEXIBLE!!!  I am one of those people that struggles--okay freaks might be a better word--when things don't go according to plan.  So, flexibility and reminding myself to still embrace those moments when my muse decides to dump on me.  (Look for a post in the near future where we delve into the identity of this muse of mine.  Its strange ways are beginning to intrigue me.)  Anyway, I started my plotting today and it almost made me giddy to have the basic flow for 7 or 8 chapters ahead of where I am currently working.  The mysterious middle section of my novel that's been looming over my head began to take form and made my NaNo goals seem attainable.   I won't have to waste several days trying to figure out what the heck is going to happen next that will lead us to that ultimate goal of the awesome conclusion.  The beginning, middle and end must contain equal parts awesome sauce ( and yes Ali, that phrase was used just for you) with maybe a slightly larger heap of awesome at the end.  The middle is the meat.  It must not be neglected.  We'll see how my muse and I handle this new idea of plotting.  Stay tuned to find out. :-)

NaNoWriMo and Other Writerly Goals

Today marks two weeks until the start of NaNoWriMo.  For those of you who don't know, that is writerly speak for all us writers go nuts during the month of November and try to write 50,000 words which equates to about 175 pages.  They titled this madness National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.  So the goal is to write a minimum of 1,666 words a day.  Right now I get between 500 and 1,500 on the days I actually write so this is gonna be a stretch.  But this is all part of the larger plan to finish Susceptible by the end of the year.  Currently, I am at about 18,000 words or 60 pages.  Yeah, pray I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.  So now is the time to get my brain stuck in plotting overdrive.  My muse seems to hang out in the shower so I should be squeaky clean for the next month or so (don't worry, that kinda creeps me out too).  If you see me in the month of November, ask me about my word count for the day and if I haven't reached 1,666, tell me to get my butt back to work.  I will create a page for Susceptible that I will try to keep updated with my current word and page count so you can all hold me to my far reaching goals.  And please hold me to them.  I tend to rebel against myself more than others.  If all goes well, I'll be looking for beta readers by the beginning of 2013!

Starting Out

I was going to start out with some touchy feely story about how and why I started writing and the awesome things that it does for me.  I may still get to that, but writing 101: start out with something that will grab your readers attention.  So here goes...if I can't catch anyone's attention with a teaser from the book I'm working on, then I'm doomed anyway, right?  This is from my young adult pranormal/fantasy romance novel currently entitled Susceptible.
   
     Every decision I've ever made has had to have the government's seal of approval from the food I eat to who I'm allowed to marry.  That's what happens when you live in a society that's so ruled by fear they're driven to the desire for genocide.  But what happens when the creatures they fear most come knocking at our door and prove to be smarter than we gave them credit for?  Chaos breaks loose and for once in my life I'm given the opportunity to choose for myself.  But will I choose the poster boy for everything my government desires, who would do anything to protect me?  Or will I choose the new guy who likes to draw out my inner rebel I never knew existed?