Finding the WHEEE
My heroine and her buddies are snapping clues together like pieces of a puzzle and the big picture is slowly coming into focus. This is the part of a story I enjoy best, both as a writer and a reader. It’s the big “puzzling out” before the Aha Moment. So much fun!
Writing a book feels — emotionally at least — like climbing a mountain, but when I hit the final act it’s like sliding down that same mountain on my ass going WHEEE!
I’m very happy that I’ve reached the WHEEE point*, but it’s also true that Nanowrimo comes with ups and downs and not every day has felt so easy. Here’s a quick rundown on my last few weeks:
Nanowrimo: An Emotional Rollercoaster Made of Words
Day 1-3: Enthusiasm! My initial scenes feel tentative but good.
Day 4-6: Chugging along. Pacing myself.
Day 7-10: I HATE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE. I stop writing and procrastinate by baking cookies, watching the Great British Baking Show, and designing a custom 404 page for my website. When I return to my desk, I write a scene that makes my heart happy and then I LOVE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE.

Day 11-15: Treading water. Have I lost the thread of my story? I spend 3 days reviewing and strengthening earlier scenes until I catch back up to my furthest point.
Day 16-18: Speed spurt!
Day 19-20: My gosh. Things are happening in the story. They’re awesome things, but I haven’t properly laid the groundwork for these events, and therefore they lack continuity. I list out my missing subplots and shove them in where they belong. My book feels — at least temporarily — like Frankenstein’s monster, kinda stitched together.
Day 21-22: I’m over the hump and WE’RE SOLVING CRIMES, MOTHERF*CKERS! WHEEE! I can see to the end of the story, and I’m blasting out 3000+ words per day in a state of caffeinated bliss.
So far, so good! But I’ve got plenty left to to this week.
To my readers: By the end of this month, I’ll have two cruise ship mysteries ready to edit and publish. Woot!
To my nano buddies: We’ve got eight days left, friends. Pour some coffee, turn up the music, and let’s crank it!
*WHEEE point shouldn’t be confused with poo poo point, an unfortunately named hiking trail in my home state.
*My new heroine doesn’t approve of swearing, but clearly I’m not her. 😉
November 22, 2019 @ 5:20 pm
Jean MacDonald liked this article on twitter.com.
November 22, 2019 @ 6:11 pm
ktvand 🥄 liked this article on twitter.com.
November 22, 2019 @ 6:53 pm
@Cheri That is a great 404 page (and the second fun one announced on Micro.blog this week)! (I need to up my game 😮)
Glad to hear the writing is going well 👍
November 22, 2019 @ 10:28 pm
@smokey Thanks! Custom 404 pages are fun. 🙂
November 22, 2019 @ 11:05 pm
@Cheri 🛷🐴
November 22, 2019 @ 11:07 pm
@cn I had to think about that second emoji for a minute. Ha!
November 23, 2019 @ 5:47 am
Jason McFadden liked this article on twitter.com.
November 23, 2019 @ 2:30 pm
Happy to hear of your progress; I’m looking forward to reading your next cozy mysteries! I’ve been stickin with my NaNo writing. I only manage a few paragraphs each session, but it’s steady progress. I’m happy with my first NaNo event. Funny thing is, I triggered my wife into joining. She started late this month writing and is blazing through! Meanwhile, my day-job has me working extra long hours and sapping my energies. Oh well. I still get excited thinking about my story that’s now in motion. I don’t know all the details, but I’m headed toward certain events, which is exciting. Along the way, stuff happens that I didn’t plan. So I consider myself a planster. Anyways, thanks for letting me follow along with your progress. Keep it up, Cheri!
November 25, 2019 @ 10:53 am
Jason, I love that your wife is joining in! 🙂 And huzzah for being a planster – the best of both worlds.