Get Your Write On - The NaNoWriMo Thread

[justin]

I took a few days off work so that I could get a good head start on my writing :-)



I wanted to get up to 5,000 for the day, which I've managed. I'd done 6,006 at the last count.



Did anyone do any detailed outlining as preperation.



I did a bit, but then had a flash of inspiration as I started working on the story which totaly changed the plot of the story.

--

"There are some days that you just can't get rid of a bomb" - Batman: The Movie

[bowieinberlin]

I was struck by inspiration again, and am up to 4,217 for today.



Justin, I sort of did an outline that goes with my essay-style format. I really found this helpful, because I think I'd have given up already by now if I didn't have any clue what I was going to write.

When daddy comes home you always start a fight so the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights

[Big Dummy]

I've signed up, and I'm off!



Weeeee, this is fun. I get to write crap and not feel bad about it!

[Vogelscheuche]

Well, I managed 4383 Words on the 1st. That's more then twice the count I set as a goal per day.



Today I've written 0 so far, but I'm abaout to get started.

(AKA Insanity)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's always sudden", Tara

German Fanfiction

[Big Dummy]

Can I just say, this sucks! I am so frustrated with myself.



Okay, I'm a little ranty, but this is much harder than I thought. I'm writing complete and utter crap, and it's killing me to not be able to go back and edit and re-write...I'm also not sure that I get the way this is supposed to work. I write and write, and the idea is that I'm not supposed to go back and edit or anything, right? This is sort've stream-of-conscious stuff in a way? Cause I've only written 2 pages and already the story is filled with cliches and bad dialogue and, most importantly, holes. Big holes where I realize that maybe I should have introduced this character's name already cause now it would be awkward to do.



I'm so very lost.

[Vogelscheuche]

Hey Big Dummy!



Don't freak out. Just write along. And in December you can edit and make a story out of it *g*



This month only the word-count counts . It's not forbidden to go back and edit or change something, but it kills your time.



It's all about reaching 50k. HOW you do it.. thats up to you.



Vogelscheuche

(AKA Insanity)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's always sudden", Tara

German Fanfiction

[maudmac]

Hey, Big Dummy. I definitely feel your pain.



Despite the consensus among most wrimos that editing and re-writing during November is a mistake and sort of goes against the whole point of NaNo, I personally think that feeling like you can't edit or re-write while you're writing can be just as counterproductive as feeling like you must. Especially if it's really slowing you down right now.



One of my local fellow wrimos actually does edit every single thing she writes every day. She does her writing in the morning and then works on editing later in the day or in the evening. That's her daily writing routine. It's not holding her back at all. In fact, she seems to be doing very well, word-count-wise. And she seems to feel good about the end result.



So, if something like that would work for you, I say go for it. There's no kind of rule against editing - it's really just more of a suggestion. And it does help a lot of people, probably most, to let go of the desire to tweak and just sprint towards a finished rough draft.



Besides, the NaNo Police will not be knocking down your door if they find out you actually went back and edited something.



Whatever will get you to 50,000 words by the end of November with the minimum fuss and stress and angst - do it.

---

rain ain't gonna hurt me

[Washi]

I started mine today, cause ya'll inspired me to do it. Started a bit less than an hour ago, and got 1400+ words down. I should have a bit more than 3000 by the end of the night. Cheer for me!

Just wondering, is erotica a no-no?

-------------------



"See? I've mastered this tact crap." Anya in Tears Of The Goddess by Lisa



The course of love doesn’t always run smooth, especially for the neurotic and accident-prone. ~ LadyB



.:Dark-bliss.net :. .:Blink.Flash.Sparkle.:. .:My blog:. .:Blood and Ink:. .:Washi's 70s Site:.

Edited by: Washi  at: 11/5/04 6:28 pm

[Big Dummy]

Thanks for the helpful words. I've since calmed down, and am just writing, but allowing myself to be anal where I need to be and edit and re-write. I'm delving into a genre I've never done before, sort've sci-fi dark fantasy vampire-like stuff, and frankly I think I do romance fluff much better. But it is a chance to get out an idea that's been stewing in my brain for a while. So, write on!



And I'm finally at a little over 2,000 words. I've set a 2,000 word-per-day goal for myself. Whew!

[maudmac]

Erotica is a yes-yes! There's a whole forum at the NaNo board for romance and erotic fiction. Just about anything is okay. Erotica, fanfiction, pretty much whatever you think of as a novel.



Go Washi! I'm really glad you're doing this. Best of luck with your novel.

---

make some room now dig what you see

[justin]

I got off to something of a sprinting start during my first two days but then developed a muscle and have hardly done any writing since then.



I'm going to try to regain my momentum over the weekend. Also I've got some time of in a couple of weeks which should help me get back on track. So hopefully I won't have to pull a Paula Radcliffe.



To everyone else taking part, in the words of Richard Stallman



Happy Hacking

--

Homer Simpson: When will people learn, democracy just doesn't work.

[Washi]

I bored myself to tears last night. Got 2712 words down. Or something like that. But, 2712 words of the most boring story ever. I'm gonna use this as a solution to my insomnia.

Thanks Maudmac!

-------------------



"See? I've mastered this tact crap." Anya in Tears Of The Goddess by Lisa



The course of love doesn’t always run smooth, especially for the neurotic and accident-prone. ~ LadyB



.:Dark-bliss.net :. .:Blink.Flash.Sparkle.:. .:My blog:. .:Blood and Ink:. .:Washi's 70s Site:.

[beautifultrgdy]

Woot! Signed up and started counting words! 9,653 words so far - maybe, just maybe I'll make the 50,000 mark.... This is very theraputic.... Although, does nothing for improving my spelling.



Take care all and let me know how you're doin'! Much love and best wishes:

Jessica

Adia I'm empty since you left me...

[Vogelscheuche]

Hey fellow Nano-Kittens!



First week is over...

Anyone hit the wall yet?

Anyone reached 50K yet?



How are you doing so far?



I reached 15k last night and I'm in a very optimistic mood to finish in time.



What about you?



Vogelscheuche

(AKA Insanity)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's always sudden", Tara

German Fanfiction

[hin768]

This is my first Nano.



I started writing with no plot whatso evr and only a vague idea for one character. I just hoped it would all come together once I started.





Now I am 6000 words in, still struggling to figure out exactky what the plot is . but I'm really quite proud of myself, I though I would have given up by now (gives self pat on the back)



now I just have to get on top of my word count.

[justin]

We're just coming up to halfway through the month. How is everyone else doing?



I just passed the 25,000 word mark

--

Homer Simpson: When will people learn, democracy just doesn't work.

[StrangeQuark]

Trouble building word-count? Here are some ways to help the creative juices flow...



So, you didn't enter the project with a definite plot in-mind... No big deal. A lot of pros just spill whatever they can for the first draft and then turn it into a coherent story later. Here's a few ways that they do it:



1) Write SCENES. The scenes don't have to connect to each other just yet. If you think that you can place your character(s) in a stuation and record their reaction(s) to it, then you have the makings of a scene. Scenes are really just mini-stories, afterall.



2) Make your characters special, and you'll be more motivated to write about them. Not just special to you, but special to everyone. Make them robust and proactive, pepper them with little quirks that give them a clear uniqueness, give them tragic or fatal flaws. Interview them if you have trouble...



["Abi, what's the most shameful thing you've ever done?"



"I shoplifted when I was thirteen."



"There must be more to it than that... Lots of people have shoplifted in their adolescence."



"It was just a stupid thing. My friend Jeanine and I were in Zed-Mart and she swiped a lipstick. I took one too, and we got caught."



"I assume your parents were pretty upset, Abi..."



"They never found out. The security guy called Jeanine's mother, and her older sister answered. She played it off real legit, pretending to be her mom. She talked the guy into letting us go."



"Did you walk away from the store?"



"Heck no! We bolted. A car almost ran me over in the parking lot because we weren't looking where we were going. I can still smell the smoke from the screeching tires... Every time I smell that, my heart speeds up, and I remember..."]



A simple exercise that gives us a scene idea, character info, and even some conflict for coming scenes... Will Abi go back to the store? Will her parents ever find out? Would they care, or are they just drug-addled reprobates?



See what I mean? I hope so.



3) Always look for conflict. Your characters have needs and wants-- just like real people. Make sure that they have a tough time realzing and achieving them-- again, just like real people. Conflict is the gasoline (petrol) for your story-engine. The greater the conflict, the more scenes you'll be able to dream-up, and the greater the payoff -- both for the reader and the writer-- when they're resolved or redirected.



Good luck Kittens!



-SQ



P.S. Just for hahas... I once wrote 36,000 words in five hours-- An wound-up keeping most of them



If I can do it, anyone can

[Vogelscheuche]

YES!!!! 50K!!!



At 3:20 a.m. local time I passed the 50k - line!!!



I did it!!! YAY! Go me!!!! I feel so extremely happy.



But my story isn't finished yet,so I'll write on. But I DID IT!!!!







Vogelscheuche

(AKA Insanity)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's always sudden", Tara

German Fanfiction

[BytrSuite]

Wow, Vogelscheuche, that was pretty quick. Congratulations!

________
Bender: Y'know, I was God once.
God: Yes I saw. You were doing well until everyone died.

[maudmac]

God, Vogelscheuche, that was quick. You must have five billion words by now. I'm jealous.



How's everyone else doing? I just crossed the finish line and I have a bit more writing to wrap the story up. It's not going to be much more than the 50,000 words, but I can certainly flesh some parts out some time down the road, if need be.



I had about three different crises over the last 4 weeks that made me want to throw in the towel and toss my novel into the trash and tear my hair out. But I kicked my ass and got it finished. Yay!



I hope everyone else is having good success.



Being a novelist is pretty damn cool, isn't it? Oh, yeah. Definitely.

---

make some room now dig what you see

[justin]

well done Vogelscheuche and Maudmac. I finished this evening, though my story will need a lot of work before it can be considered finished.



Good luck to everyone else

--

Homer Simpson: When will people learn, democracy just doesn't work.

[Vogelscheuche]

Hey Hey!!!



Congrats to all fellow Kittens who made it!!!



Beeing a novelist is pretty darn cool!!!



But my story is still not finished .



First I was lazy and then another project came along. But I hope to finish my story in december and MAYBE (it still has to be edited and translated) I'll post it here. I'm not sure yet if the story is worth to be a Kitten-story....





Vogelscheuche

(AKA Insanity)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's always sudden", Tara

German Fanfiction

[hidden watson]

I did it in 9 days. I'm so hyper I can't sit still and am at a loss at that I should do.

------

quiet thoughts

[justin]

It's less than a month till NaNoWrimo 2005

who's going to be doing this year?

[watty]

I went over to register and found out that one of the servers got crushed under the weight of novelist-wannabes. How ironic.

Will I do it this year? I dunno. Writer-me has changed so much in the last 12 months, I have actual writing commitments now and not an invisible free spirit like last year. I'm also extremely blocked. The 'easy' option is to write something for Pens, even update my in-progress fic (hey, wouldn't it be nice if I can write 50,000 words for Lamplight? Wait, that's against nano rules, right). But I want my nano to be non-ff and I'll only turn to ff as a last resort. So, how do you nano-kittens out there find inspiration?

[justin]

AT risk of sounding like I'm boasting my problem is having too many ideas for stories and not having enough time to write them all. So most of the ideas languish unloved and unwritten.

As for inspiration it's mainly a matter of looking at events around you and thinking "how can I turn this into a story"?

For NaNoWriMo this year I'm going to write a sequel to the story I wrote in 2003 - The Race For Alpha Centauri (which is in progress on The Inward Eye). Basically RFAC is going to end with something of a bombshell and the sequel will be about the consequences of that event.

[ambersagoddess]

My brother Chris (robotguru) and I were nanowrimoing last year or the year before I don't much remember.

It was quite fun, though I slacked the first week or so and never got around to finnishing it.

My problem is coming up with a good idea.

Though, I think I have a few this year:

(no name as of yet) A woman gets released from prison after 9 years. The story follows her through her general life, atempting to get back into the swing of things, dealing with her past.

(The Anatomy Of A Beast) A comedy of sorts about a bed hopper who's friends are worried for her.

(Take it Like A Man ) The trials and tribulations of a struggling transboi.

There are others, but those are the three most predominant ones.

The top two have a start done, but unfortunatly they're both done in screenwritting format. Fantastic.

The thrid one of course, comes from a more personal place. I figure that'd add more drive to it. Dunno though.

Yeah, so...that's it. Gotta get in touch with Chris for his opinion on stuff.

Would love other opinions if you've got them.

Good luck to everyone, NaNoWriMo starts in less then a month, get ready guys!

-Rei

[robotguru]

I have a few ideas, among them WT crossovers so that i might actually post a complete fic All depends on how uni treats me though. Last year's...i still haven't got round to finishing that so the planned sequel is off

[vix84]

I'm planning to participate in NaNoWriMo this year for the first time. Each year I forget about its existence and only remember about it once it has already started. Today, I went to sign up before my annual forgetting, and discovered that it has crashed. Damn! I'll have to make a note to do it when it's back up.

watson, I think you should do it this year despite your commitments. Maybe the pressure of the month time-frame will inspire you. Have you done it before?

My main motivation is the idea of forcing myself to reach a word limit and have to expel words, regardless of whether they're any good. When I have time at my disposal, I tend to edit obsessively and end up deleting half of what I write. I'm not fussed about my genre or plot (uh oh, maybe I should be...), all I want is to be writing continuously and quickly for a deadline. Weird, I guess.

Maybe the kittens who do take part in it this year could get together (IM or something) and keep each other motivated. If anyone is interested, let me know. We can sip virtual cocktails as we write.

[maudmac]

It's so liberating to have only one real concern - word count. Especially if you tend to do a lot of editing as you write. That has to go out the window for NaNo, because there's just no time for it. The first time I did NaNo was the first time I'd ever successfully silenced my inner editor/critic and just written for the joy of telling a story.

This'll be my third NaNo. I am more pressed for time this year than I was in the past two years, but I'm confident I can make it work. It's surprising how quickly you can whip out three thousand words when you allow yourself total freedom from criticism.

The NaNo board should be back up Tuesday or Wednesday. New people, I encourage everyone to go check out your regional forum when the board's back. There you'll find people in your area and you'll have your own forum to talk about your local stuff and your Municipal Liaison(s) should be organizing at least a couple meetings in your area throughout November.

And, of course, Kitten WriMos will be here if you have any questions or need to cry or vent or rejoice or whatever tickles your fancy.

Link for anyone wanting to know more: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

ETA: I just checked and the forums are working fine for me. I was able to log in and have had no trouble so far.