NaNoWriMo 2009

[ShiroiHikari]

NaNo intimidates me greatly. It took me years to get as far as I have in my story (about 50,000 words, actually) and I don't think I could get 50,000 more in a month even if I tried.

[ChristianKitsune]

*flails arms*
Waaahh I'm not sure I'll be able to write today.. D8> Gotta read 160 pages still..and I gotta drive back to school @_@ and I still got homework and...and...stuff..

Still, if I'm doing the math correctly 50,000 words and 30 days to do it that would be 1666 wprds a day!

I think I can do that...

Although... I wonder if I want to reach 50,000 words as much as I want to FINISH my story...

what do you guys think? Does the word count matter so much as the content and the desire to write?

[ich1990]

Well, I signed up (as ich1990), although the amount of stuff I have going on this month precludes any chance of my actually making it to 50k words. I am a glutton for punishment, I guess.

[Fish and Chips]

what do you guys think? Does the word count matter so much as the content and the desire to write?

Eh, the challenge is to complete a novel-length piece of writing in a month, so yes, the word count is important. If the story is your priority, that's fine, but you can't tell people you succeeded if you don't hit 50,000. Really though, a lot of serious minded writers will end up editing their stories down from that, so if you end your story and still have a couple thousand words to go, just do a really long epilogue, or kill of the cast in ridiculously extravagant ways, then after November cut that bit.

Hit the 3,000 word mark before getting sleepy and heading off to bed. Not bad for my first night. November 1st isn't even over yet.

[Ante Bellum]

I'm on NaNo as DaemonJaegerin. I didn't get much done yet, unfortunately.

[Mister Frodo]

I've got 1117 words so far. I'm hoping to get at least 2000 by the day's end. I'm a horrible procrastinator, but that's generally balanced out by my ability to write fairly quickly.

EDIT: I'm up to 2115 words. Not quite what I wanted to get, but I'm gonna call it a day, due to class tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to write as much tomorrow.

Good writing, everyone!

[ich1990]

2107 words.

Well that was fairly demoralizing. I had to write for nearly three solid hours to get that far. The perfectionist in me is my own worst enemy, it really kills my writing speed.

[Peanut]

I've got over 2000 words so far...that's around ten percent of what I wrote last year...in one day...go me!

[Animus Seed]

Yeah, ok, I'm in. 1,000 or so words down so far, question-marks still to go. (I don't think I'm going to submit to the whole 50,000-word paradigm.)

Everyone, keep your writing skills sharp, and always check the http://twitter.com/FakeAPStylebook for writing hints.

[Davidizer13]

I've got an idea of what I'm going to write; I'll start once I get back to my home computer, and we'll go from there.

[uc pseudonym]

Well, it seems as though I'm in too. My time constraints are nowhere near as bad as some of the people doing this, though I do have some things going on, so I figured I'd join. It's not so much for the challenge, but it might be fun to write along with everyone.

This is a new project, with new characters and inadequate planning. It took me a while to get started because I'm excessively worried that the thematic side of the novel is still half-baked. I feel pretty good about my first 7552 words, though, and with any luck I'll actually get some more time this evening.

2107 words.

Well that was fairly demoralizing. I had to write for nearly three solid hours to get that far. The perfectionist in me is my own worst enemy, it really kills my writing speed.

It might save you time in the long run, though. For some people it is good advice to sit down and finish something, if that is their struggle. But I generally find that it is worth the time to sit and think for as long as it takes to do the scene right.

[Tsukuyomi]

*Hugs* Yay, a wild UC appears \o.o/

Asdfjkl, I'm not even in the thousands yet >_>; I barely managed to get anything down right as Nano was starting Not because I couldn't think of anything, but outside interferences out side the internets D:<

I'm considering starting over altogether >_> Orz, maybe I'll just read what I have so far ( a couple hundred, so not too bad) and add stuff in where things can be added <__>

[Peanut]

[quote="Tsukuyomi (post: 1353857)"]*Hugs* Yay, a wild UC appears \o.o/

Asdfjkl, I'm not even in the thousands yet >_>]

The key, I've learned, is to just write. Plan's do help with some people (like me apparently...), but ultimately your goal isn't to write the greatest Novel ever but to write a Novel that meets the 50k word requirement. You can worry about quality later. So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is don't start over, just keep writing what you were writing. It'll take far less time to continue with that idea and just make things up then to come up with an entirely new idea and go from there.

[Tsukuyomi]

True true ^^ For some reason, I keep forgetting this 8( Thanks for the reminder <33

[Peanut]

Well, I've reached my goal for day 2. Though I may write more latter after I finish some more of my homework...

[ich1990]

Whew, I wrote just under two thousand words tonight. That puts me at 4050 total.

The bad news is that it took me nearly three hours again. The good news is that today's two thousand words are much, much better than yesterday's. I had to do a fair bit of research for this portion as well, which slowed me down.

It might save you time in the long run, though. For some people it is good advice to sit down and finish something, if that is their struggle. But I generally find that it is worth the time to sit and think for as long as it takes to do the scene right.

That is true. I guess it depends on what goal one is aiming for, the 50k words in 30 days or a solid manuscript (for me, they appear to be mutually exclusive goals). I thought I was going for the 50k words, but I can't seem to "write with abandon". Perhaps that will change as I fall behind and the deadline gets closer.

Also, what is your name on NaNoWriMo, UC? I can't seem to find you under your usual tags.

[Peanut]

Three days down, three goals met. I'm now over the 10% mark and have done a surprisingly good job at keeping up pace so far. I would forge ahead but honestly, I've finished 2 of the 4 chapters that I've planned so far...so I really need to plan some more chapters before I can continue to forge ahead in my novel.

[Mister Frodo]

I managed to get to 5369 words tonight. I'm behind where I want to be word count-wise, but I'm still ahead on the daily 1667 count, so I feel okay about it. I do need to start working ahead; I'm going to be out of town for at least one weekend, and I've got several papers and final projects that are going to be due this month, so I'll need to start writing a bit more.

[uc pseudonym]

I need to do some name research, but because I dislike it I am procrastinating. So while the majority of the characters have names from Sanskrit, I have a Bob and a Bill running around. Also a character from Bobland.

That is true. I guess it depends on what goal one is aiming for, the 50k words in 30 days or a solid manuscript (for me, they appear to be mutually exclusive goals). I thought I was going for the 50k words, but I can't seem to "write with abandon". Perhaps that will change as I fall behind and the deadline gets closer.

I think either is a worthwhile goal, though obviously only the former is the NaNoWriMo challenge. I find that writing speed varies enormously based on the kind of scene it is and how well I have envisioned the plot. For me, that means that everything gets easier as the story nears the climax.

Also, what is your name on NaNoWriMo, UC? I can't seem to find you under your usual tags.

I used my other primary tag, sassygurl69.

I have not joined the site. As I recall, they have some nifty progress recorders but not much else, and I would just as soon use a basic word count. Apparently it also has more of a social networking aspect, from how other people are talking about it.

[Tsukuyomi]

*Runs to add sassygurl69* Haha, nice xDDD I'd laugh so hard if there was an actual member at Nano with that name xDDD;

Yay, I finally got free time \o.o/ I haven't gotten too far at all with Nano 8( I've been Nanoing here and there when I do get the chance, though ^^

[ich1990]

I need to do some name research, but because I dislike it I am procrastinating. So while the majority of the characters have names from Sanskrit, I have a Bob and a Bill running around. Also a character from Bobland.

I am extremely picky about names]I think either is a worthwhile goal, though obviously only the former is the NaNoWriMo challenge. I find that writing speed varies enormously based on the kind of scene it is and how well I have envisioned the plot. For me, that means that everything gets easier as the story nears the climax.[/quote]

I have been writing only one type of scene so far: dialogue. No matter how fast or slow I think I am writing, my speed averages out to 600 words an hour, which is maddeningly slow. I have a huge pile of ideas to get through, and the writing process is a serious bottleneck. I trust you are right, though, and that the process will become easier as I get towards the end. Hopefully, I will also have acquired better writing skills by then as well.

I used my other primary tag, sassygurl69.

I have not joined the site. As I recall, they have some nifty progress recorders but not much else, and I would just as soon use a basic word count. Apparently it also has more of a social networking aspect, from how other people are talking about it.

Hah, I can actually imagine you picking that name.

Yes, it is mostly a social network with a word counter. I have already been the recipient of several mass mailings which have requested my presence at local "write-ins". The forums are interesting at times, due to the sheer volume of crazy ideas that cycle through it. Other than that, however, the only compelling reason to join is the ability to easily see the word counts of all your friends at any given time. Oh, and there are graphs, which I appreciate.

[Fish and Chips]

Character naming conventions are one of my favorite things in fiction. I enjoy naming all my characters (often first, last, and on some rare occasions middle names), though I tend to prefer somewhat extravagant European or foreign sounding names, and sometimes names that aren't really names at all.

As for length vs. quality, for the purposes of NaNoWriMo I've learned to stick with the former. I have a strong vein of procrastination in me, especially combined with my habit to edit while I write. It's a simple question of whether I want to write a complete novel in five years, or in one year after a single, extensive, and possibly exhaustive rewrite.

Anyway,

Nearly 12,000 words as of posting, my plot is scrambled heavily (and not in the way I would have preferred), but I've gained leagues of understanding about some of my characters and the world they operate in, particularly a few who originally started as one-note concepts with a names attached. I think one 50,000 word junk novel never to be published is a fair exchange for legitimately interesting characters who can be transferred into more deserving rewrites in the immediate future.

[ich1990]

Total is 6955.

I am actually quite happy that I have been able to stay at par for the course.

Nearly 12,000 words as of posting, my plot is scrambled heavily (and not in the way I would have preferred), but I've gained leagues of understanding about some of my characters and the world they operate in, particularly a few who originally started as one-note concepts with a names attached. I think one 50,000 word junk novel never to be published is a fair exchange for legitimately interesting characters who can be transferred into more deserving rewrites in the immediate future.

That is an interesting way to look at it. Perhaps just focusing on the plot or the characters (but not both) and going for 50k would be a solid compromise between the two extremes of quality versus quantity.

My plot was pretty much destroyed when my characters started doing things on their own, and with a daily quota to meet, I can't make them stop acting out. I think Saturday will have to be my plot outline re-write day. If the outline doesn't go well, perhaps I will save working on the plot for after NaNoWriMo.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I've got 8,500-odd words. I went to a local write-in last night and shelled out 2000 words in a couple hours, which was pretty sweet compared to my normal speed of writing We even did a word war to see who could write the most words in ten minutes, and I won at 598. My secret to success: Just grab a character and do some random barely-related introspection! It totally works! Anyway, I would have thought more would've happened by the time I reached 8,000, but I haven't even finished introducing all my characters yet. Admittedly, I have a lot of characters, but still.

Going a lot better than I was expecting! ^_^

[Tsukuyomi]

*Poke Poke* o_o

I got a late start with not really alot of time to write/type, but I did manage to get 1,000 something 8D I also decided just to start over ^^; I know the idea of Nano is to write write write, but I kept getting stuck and this one flows better ^___^

[Fish and Chips]

Neeh, today was necessarily my weakest one this month. Two extensive papers, one due in the morning and one at night, totaling about 20 pages of research and massive sleep deprivation. Plus a bibliography for another class, boy oh boy. Still, managed to type out about a thousand words or so, but compared to my usual progress this year it's a drop. Fortunately, I prepared in advance.

And tomorrow is Friday. I should be able to make up for everything after lunch.

That is an interesting way to look at it. Perhaps just focusing on the plot or the characters (but not both) and going for 50k would be a solid compromise between the two extremes of quality versus quantity.

It wasn't a concession I made comfortably at first, but one of the main reasons my novel writing attempts last year crashed and burned so hard was because I tried to maintain rigid perfectionism to both my plot and characters, sacrificing actual writing for editing and deleting mass passages. My steamrolling success this year is probably due entirely to my being more flexible and less officious.

Also, despite my original sentiments of having multiple protagonists in my story, one protagonist in particular seems to be becoming the most so. Not that I mind too much, since I've grown fond of her since writing her narrated chapter.

[Peanut]

The past few days...they have been horrible in terms of me writing this thing...well, looks like I will be writing 4K plus tonight...fun times...

[mechana2015]

I hit 9,000 last night... so I'm on track pretty well.

[uc pseudonym]

Today was the first time I had to go back and edit a scene because I realized things weren't going to work out. I do not enjoy this, especially because I am trying to press forward. So I spent a while doing better planning than before and now I'll just have to hope that my novel outline is actually a novel-sized story. Perhaps now progress will be faster.

Character naming conventions are one of my favorite things in fiction. I enjoy naming all my characters (often first, last, and on some rare occasions middle names), though I tend to prefer somewhat extravagant European or foreign sounding names, and sometimes names that aren't really names at all.

It's interesting to hear from someone on the opposite side of this. Meanwhile I have still not changed Bobland, even though I probably don't need to do any more research for a country name.

My plot was pretty much destroyed when my characters started doing things on their own, and with a daily quota to meet, I can't make them stop acting out.

Would you care to say more about that specifically when you have the opportunity? I have read more than a few authors say similar things and always wondered if it is a difference in writing style, or just a manner of speaking.

[ich1990]

Would you care to say more about that specifically when you have the opportunity? I have read more than a few authors say similar things and always wondered if it is a difference in writing style, or just a manner of speaking.

Well part of it is simply me appealing to the romantic idea that the author doesn't write a novel, the novel writes the author. Having never written a substantial amount of fiction before, I felt the need to try out that cliche.

But the cliche isn't all of it, I really have gotten to point where my characters no longer behave the way I intended. It is not really an arcane mystery, but simply myself following a different writing path than I originally intended.

One of my characters, for instance, I had intended to be a one-shot side character who drifts through a few pages, says a few humorous things, then is never seen again. It started out as planned, the character moved into the story and started into his diatribe on schedule. When I was in the middle of the speech, however, I found it would be much more funny if another character throws in a few lines of his own. Thus, a full fledged argument sprang into my mind and, being short on words for the night, I went with it.

Of course, I had to figure out a little bit of the back story for this character, given that he plays a fairly large role in this part of the book. Now that my one-shot character has a sizable role and a fairly well elucidated past, I find that I can use him in other portions of my book --scenes that I never intended to include him in originally-- both to add humor and words. Before I know it, my novel has be hijacked by a one-shot character who is getting more screen time than my main.

With the ever present desire to make it to my word quota (and get a reasonable amount of sleep), I have been unable to go back and tweak things to make him less important. Therefore, he remains a central figure, and now I have to find a way to work the plot around him.

So, yes, writing style differences.