I am happy to report that as of today, I have 2,274 words. Yes, out of 50,000. Yes, I realize that’s really only a tad over what should be my daily goal. Yes, I said I was happy. Sheesh!
I’m happy because even though my writing muscles have atrophied somewhat, I am pleased to see they still work. My sole reason for doing this was to start writing again. I haven’t attempted anything more than a few paragraphs in about four years, so 2,274 words is a terrific start. It’s been much easier than I hoped, when I have been able to sit down to work on this project, to be carried away by the story, and I’m doing a good job of not revising myself too much as I go.
Over the top with the pep talk, the happy-happy joy-joy? Okay. Let’s get serious.
I’ve had this idea for about five years. Very simply, it revolves around a missing girl, and the way her disappearance affects the people in the town. Problem: any number of really well-written novels based on this very idea already exist (and the ones I’ve read are watching over my shoulder). But it’s what I have at the moment, and the idea continues to plague me, no matter how I try to move on to anything else. So, in addition to getting my writing muscles back in shape, I’m hoping I can exorcise this idea and maybe get on to something else.
I started with this idea as a short story, but I very consciously decided that even though I am using at least one of the characters from that story, I am not using any of the previous material. Everything’s from scratch. What surprised me, though, when I sat down to write was that instead of sort of recreating from memory what used to be there on the page (I have a tendency to write the same thing over and over, which might be one reason I never get anywhere), all of the sudden I was there, in a new place, with the missing girl. Before, she was mostly all background–an image on a security video, a picture on a poster or flier announcing her disappearance, a school picture flashed on the evening news–but now she’s here in my draft, flesh and blood (her name is Melissa, by the way) and there are things going on I never suspected.
And now her captor, Eddie, is also part of the story, also more than an image on a security video, and I am not sure what to do with him. I get the feeling he’s not all bad, that he’s confused. I know, I know…that sounds strange. Anyone who carries off a twelve-year-old girl must be bad, right? Oh boy. Looks like that’s part of what I have to find out about this particular story. It’ll have to wait a bit, though, because I’ve started a chapter with someone else now. The weekend looks promising!
P.S. I’d like to give a special “Welcome” to NaNoWriMo participants visiting from Andrea’s site. I am definitely inspired by everyone’s progress!
The Evening Reader 
Congrats! I think it’s great that you’ve started writing again. Winning the NaNo word count isn’t as important as just writing and having fun.
Also, I think your story idea sounds very interesting. i have never read a book about a missing girl…okay, I have read one. But it is completely different from what you’ve described. Good luck with it.
It sounds like you have perfectly good reasons to be happy! Hooray for writing, and good luck!
Congratulations on flexing those writing muscles! The first time I did NaNoWriMo, I was amazed at the way my story continued to evolve as I continued writing. Having never written more than a blog post, I had no idea what to expect from trying to write a novel. But the act of writing seemed to spawn more writing, so the plot and characters kept growing almost magically and out of my control sometimes. It was a great experience!
Good luck with your novel in progress!
Thanks very much for your words of encouragement! I am excited to be doing this, just to get back in the swing of things. 🙂