I'm discontinuing Franco and Jack because the reasons to stop outweigh the reasons to continue writing it. Such a big talk, this, but kindly excuse the mistake of a rookie who is still trying to learn. Honestly, I'm embarrassed for writing such an entry promising myself that I will complete a novel in 30 days. It's the classic cockiness of an ignorant who thinks he knows everything—or I'd like to think that it's just a result of an overeager, misguided kiddo who got too excited doing an engaging activity that he spilled the beans way too early.
Why continue?
1. In terms of word count and commitment, I'm doing excellently.
Word count: 13,604 in 7 days (20,287 including Character Profiles, Outline, Summaries, etc.)
Needless to say, I'm on fire in terms of writing prose, dialogues, and ideas. That a solid reason to continue. At this rate, I'm going to have written 50,000 words when Nov. 27 strikes. One can only wonder what kind of reason would overweigh this.
2. Franco and Jack is still a good idea at the end of the day.
The story has two perspectives: a man's and a dog's—and the dog thinks and speaks like a dog. It is set in the streets of Metro Manila. In effect, it discusses cultures, traditions, and habits that are unique in Filipinos. Heck, I even termed the paresan na nasa motor "sidecar eatery," not having the slightest idea on what it is actually called in English.
3. It's freaking fun writing it—especially the parts where I break the 4th wall.
If there's anything that came out almost perfect in what I have written, it's the comedic parts. If you're interested, kindly message me and I'll send you a copy. Please note that it's only my first draft.
Caveat: Jack is adorable.
"Oh, so ya think your work is great, yeah? Why discontinue, then?"
1. It's not a novel; it's a series of short stories.
Even if I didn't include the other four reasons why I decided to discontinue, this reason alone would still be enough. It's in the title itself: The Street Adventures of Franco and Jack. There's no plot; it's a series of short stories in which Franco learns a valuable lesson every end of an arc. Eventually, he will decide to come back home because of these lessons. Have you noticed that it is all about Franco? I will expand this in #2 and #4.
2. It got too personal—the protagonist has become me and my ideologies.
It's a given that a writer will sooner or later connect himself to his characters, but there are limitations. The moment that made me think about whether I should continue or not is the scene where a central character tells a story about her parents. The scene is clearly about that character. Franco's response? My ideologies. The transition is so absurd that the story is not even about anarchism nor anti-capitalism. I even tried to force the story to have anarchism elements, but it turned out to be more ridiculous.
3. Not even my friend Edith could make a novel without a plot have a plot.
4. Jack's (the dog) character and the fact that he has a perspective makes no sense.
In my defense, the story was going to be about Franco AND Jack. But then, reason #2 happened. Jack has a past, by the way, but like Franco's situation, it doesn't have a plot. Think of it this way: they both had painful pasts, but the present isn't connected to them in terms of cause and effect. They just... realize that the present moment is better than what happened in the past.
Jack was supposed to have a story, but it was clear right after Chapter 1 that the story is going to be about Franco. The only thing salvageable about Jack having a perspective is that it is hilarious.
——
With all that being said, I didn't feel the same way as I did when I had scrapped my past unfinished novels. I had given up on them either because their ideas were out of my league or I simply couldn't generate ideas any longer; Franco and Jack, however, has a lot of potential. This is the first time in my writing endeavor that I believe that my idea is worth exploring further, both because it is within my mental grasp and because writing comedy is natural for me. It is just that my approach has been wrong from the get-go.
Let me correct what I wrote on the last entry:
The Street Adventures of Franco and Jack (UNFINISHED)
Participating in NaNoWriMo has been fun, challenging, and exhausting. I'll develop my craft even further until I can finally write what I can call a finished novel.
Pain in Wisdom. Wisdom in Pain.
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