I've been listening to WriMoRadio, the official podcasts of NaNoWriMo. People are giving their advice for making that 50,000 word count. I'd record mine, but I have laryngitis from a sinus infection. (Curse you, mulching leaves of autumn!)
My advice is to pay homage to your inner editor. But of course, you all know I do that. It's on the bottom of my blog: my running tally of words I need but can't remember, TECH I have to look up or make up, holes in the plot I need to go back and fill. And, for those days when a read scene escapes me, the holes I do go back and fill.
Today, I thought I'd post a few hole-riddled scenes from my novel, Discovery, so you could see what I mean. (Bookmark this, so you can say "I remember when..." after Discovery becomes the NYT's surprise best seller!)
(TECH--get some protocol from shuttle locking onto station for this Mathcing speed with ET--need to dock in sideways to not interfere with the engines-- the sisters are all belted down in a gyroscope-type flight deck with their feet facing toward aft since they are accelerating at just past 1 g.)
While Sr. Thomas attended to the details of docking, Srs. Rita and Ann stared out the viwescreen at the behemoth where they would serve for the next ?? months.
"It’s almost as big as the convent," Rita whispered.
"(TECH ColeCorp Hulkhualer II VASIRM engines capable of 1.5g constant acceleration, with dual Kayfarer hydrogen fusion drives for deceleration and emergency boost, kind of comm. gross volume: ) Two docking bays capable of holding 5 Esprit-class private yachts, each equipped with a (somekind of net--Minnownet) to assist in docking."
Sr. Thomas snorted. Edwina Thomas had offered the use of the magnetic arm to dock Basilica. However whenthey found out the relative size of the OLR ship and she learned of the inexperience of he crew in handling the equipment, they mutually agreed on her docking manually.
"200 life pods holding up to 12 persons each situated on each hull at 5 degree interverals. ?? foot hydroponics over ?? decks provides fresh produce and O2 (reclamation). Waste recycling system--describe of just name it? Sickbay equipped to handle everything short of transplant surgery; three stasis chambers for emergencies. Central (waiting) room with Hawkins/Jacobs 7 Gravity generator. Three story grand lobby. Fore viewing room beneath the main bridge, with additional viewing rooms on port and starboard. (big canyon in mars) 25,000 square foot day spa contains Olympic sized pool with retractable floor to double the depth for scuba and complete fitness center. Amusement deck contains an ampitheater with 950 capacity; a zero-g fun deck, virtual sports, the Nova Casino, and a 2-level variable g disco. Four ballrooms, two bars, five dining facilities, four public Laundromats, a library with a complete set of the Library of Sol (as of last year), plus 6,000 hardback prints, shopping mall. Stateroom vary from 1500-foot suites to single-bed cabins and house up to 700 crew and 1800 passenger, with kennel facilities for 24 approved spacefaring animals and weight/volume for 2-month cruises of the inner system. And only one chapel--multidenominational." Sr. Ann, of course, had memorized the tech specs ColeCorp had sent. Nonetheless, her eyes flickered with excitement over the ET’s hull.
Got to love writing about a ship you can't picture in your mind yet...or know how long they're staying. Wish ColeCorp would send ME the mission specs.
"How am I supposed to find time to do that?!" (who) protested. "Radell already has us working 10 hours getting the (TECH) running and I have kitchen duty, forced exercise and these lessons--"
"If you want to go out, you pass with 95 percent or better. However, we are already talking to Doctors Thoren and Radell about the schedule. You have three months to get your lab in order, but you cannot train in the suit until you pass the test. For today, however, we're simply going to learn to put it on and to assist each other in putting it on. Under most circumstances, you should have an experienced buddy to help you; however, everyone needs to be proficient, just in case."
(How's the suit go on?)
Or space suits without operating instructions. Then there're the great scenes I don't want to waste time setting up this month:
(Exploring around the ship. James and rita teamed up. Build a little tension earlier. Now he's on a private channel trying to talk to her about their relationship, and she’s none too happy. In a spot with several different small doors and a central area with (what would a lifeboat center have?) She has her back to the door, maybe scanning the area to record. James looking at something. He turns to her (perhaps as he was saying something esp. intimate/suggestive) and she steps back. )
The door opened behind her. She hadn't been leaning on it, yet somehow, her body had taken it for granted it was there, and in its absence, she overbalanced and fell back into a small room.
So there are some of the many warts in my manuscript. Next time, I'll share what I consider some of the gems.
NaNo Update:
As of Tues 18 Nov
Holes:24
Tech: 35
Word/phrase:85
Fixed: 14
Characters needing names: 7
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