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NaNoWriMo 2006

 
  

Page: 123(4)5

 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
09:40 / 10.11.06
Gave myself a day off yesterday (which I'd always planned to do- was going to Salisbury to meet my mum). Now I'm trying to get back into my routine.

Actually, that's a lie. Now I'm posting on Barbelith. Shouldn't be doing that yet.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
10:43 / 10.11.06
Yay, 18,000, and I got back into the swing of it better than I'd hoped.
 
 
Spaniel
10:49 / 10.11.06
You are the unstoppable machine!
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
09:33 / 11.11.06
w00t, 20,000!
 
 
Mistoffelees
09:52 / 11.11.06
Congratulations Stoatie!


I also crossed the 20k threshold last evening, and if I keep at it, I have the first half in the bag on monday. I still have to really convince myself to start writing. But once I´ve started it´s fun.
 
 
Sekhmet
21:34 / 12.11.06
Wow, you people are awesome!

I pounded out over 4,000 words last night, bringing my grand total to 10,737. Still woefully behind. However, I think I'm very close to surpassing my entire output from last year.
 
 
Liger Null
20:15 / 13.11.06
Don't feel bad Sekhmet. I'm only at 9,587.
 
 
Mistoffelees
21:17 / 13.11.06
If you have ca. 10.000 words by now, there´s still lots of time to get your 50.000 words! It´s roughly 2.300 words a day, that still sounds reasonable enough?

Today, I finally transferred all my characters to a fantasy world (the novel´s main stage), where I have no obligation to Earth´s physics laws or to logic. Very liberating!
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
01:59 / 14.11.06
My fairy tale retelling has picked up some random sword-and-sorcery elements, despite it's setting. Interesting.

I'm at 12,495 as it stands now, and after dinner I'm planning on forcing out 1500 or so words. If all goes well.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
12:12 / 14.11.06
YES!

I am over half-way through! Now I can start steering events towards their bloody and tragic conclusion without being worried that I'm still at the beginning!

(And I haven't even had to use my planned lengthy digression on the poetry of TS Eliot yet!)
 
 
Squirmelia
14:33 / 14.11.06
I'm behind. Still not quite reached 20,000 and contemplating giving up.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
15:02 / 14.11.06
Don't give up- you're doing a lot better than most people I know irl who are doing it. The only reason I'm keeping up with it so diligently is because I really don't relish the prospect of having to write like mad for a couple of days to make up, but that is all it would take. 20,000 isn't all that far behind, given that there are about 16 days left- 2,000 a day would easily get you clear, and allow for a day off.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
14:32 / 16.11.06
30,000. And my blank canvas hitman turns out to be a serial killer who's found a way to get paid for it. Who knew? Certainly not me...
 
 
Mistoffelees
18:04 / 16.11.06
Congratulations again, Stoat!

I also got to 30.000 words this evening. My heroines were doing saucy things in the town hall though (and had a dwarf watching), when they were supposed to not linger around and instead travel to the fantasy capital, where further plot awaits them.

Now that the second half of november and the third week of NaNoWriMo have started, Chris Baty suggests the goal is to reach the 30.000 words territory by the end of the third week. For people who are still behind he proposes two days in a row of writing 6.000 words each:

2.000 words each after breakfast, lunch and dinner in bursts of 30 minutes writing, ten minutes pause, etc. (30-10-30-10-30). I have no idea how doable this exercise is, though.

Something that surprised me is his proposal to finish the novel in november, even if you hit 50.000 midway. Apparently, many people that stop at 50.000, never finish their novel later on. In his opinion, it is better to fill in many parts later on and concentrate on getting down the whole story, while the characters are still fresh in the author´s mind.

He might be on to something here as far as my text is concerned, since my last three chapters were almost too good on the word count, and I will probably need more than 50.000 words to tell the whole story.
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
23:53 / 16.11.06
Well, fuck. Middle of writing the novel nd of course my lptop hs spsm nd now wht? There's no fucking "" key.

R(eh)ther: Well, fuck. Middle of writing the novel (eh)nd of course my l(eh)top h(eh) (eh) sp(eh)sm (eh)nd now wh(eh)t? There's no fucking "(eh)" key. I'm too f(eh)r long in this thing to r(eh)ndomly switch over to experiment(eh)l fiction. (Eh)nd I've never felt so C(eh)n(eh)di(eh)n. I b(eh)cked up my most import(eh)nt d(eh)t(eh) on the iPod (eh)nd (eh) memory stick/fl(eh)shdrive thing but you've GOT to be kidding me. Le(eh)st I c(eh)n use the memory stick in (eh)nother computer if need be.
 
 
Squirmelia
07:03 / 17.11.06
Sorry to hear about your laptop.

I still haven't quite reached halfway, but I think that will be doable tonight. Tomorrow, I am planning to go to a London NaNoWriMo meet, so hopefully that will spur me on to continue.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
13:31 / 17.11.06
32 and a half K!

I nearly didn't bother today, but once I started I ended up with two thousand words of filler *ahem* characterisation which has actually given me a few more ideas where it's all heading. Leastways, I know where it's all heading, but now I have a slightly better idea of how it's going to get there.

I think.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
14:35 / 19.11.06
36,500! Today sucked. I had two dogs fighting all the time I was trying to write, and the owner of one of them kept phoning me just as I was getting into the flow. So today's 2,000 was shit, but at least it was 2,000.

Funnily enough, now I've hit "save" on it, the dogs have both gone to sleep next to each other all cute and quiet like.
 
 
Mistoffelees
19:32 / 19.11.06
I was at a NaNoWriMo meet yesterday. It was all quite underwhelming. Seven people, me and two others being first-time nanos with practically no fiction writing experience. The others being layman writers, going to classes and meetings, where they were reading to each other.
Two were saying, how close the characters got to them, and how they wouldn´t be surprised, if they called, and one even said, she felt as if they were invading her private space and she had to push them back. Except for one of them, all sounded quite confident of finishing, and one woman was only ca. 7.000 shy of the finish line.

And I had my first phase of not writing the last week, and didn´t write for three days. I made up for it today, and if I go back to 2.000 a day, I can finish as intended a few days before the deadline.
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
05:43 / 20.11.06
I'm afraid mine might extend beyond the month mark but I'm up for the challenge. My short fiction lately has been slipping but this novel is providing me with vigour. Definitely going to rework for a second draft once I'm done, though.

Query: are people focusing attention on one particular viewpoint character or is there a preference for bigger casts of central characters, and p-of-v shifting between them? As it stands the whole thing's from one character's perspective but I'm debating changing that when I finish this and start Draft #2.
 
 
Mistoffelees
07:42 / 20.11.06
I´ve got six characters, and am shifting between them. There are two couples and two loners, and they have four different locations and motivations. The last week I got stuck on one of the couples, but I hope to get them to the other couple tomorrow or today, and then it should be much more fun writing again.

That probably stopped me from writing for a couple of days, that for several chapters, I could only write about the journey of one group, while four other characters were demanding their further development.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
12:57 / 20.11.06
I've got three storylines going- two involve the main character, but one is in the past, and the third involves the guy who's tracking him down to kill him.

It's proving quite handy- if I get stuck on one I can go to another (though I'm trying to rotate them in sequence), and I'll find myself writing something in one section which can be expanded upon in another.

38,500 now... this time tomorrow I hope to have broken forty.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
13:47 / 21.11.06
w00t

40,000! This is looking less hopeless as time goes on.
 
 
Squirmelia
20:22 / 21.11.06
I'm feeling more optimistic now too (and am wearing a NaNoWriMo tattoo and a NaNoWriMo t-shirt.) Reached 30,000 today after writing 3000 today and 3000 yesterday.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
20:26 / 21.11.06
Hooray!
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
21:47 / 21.11.06
I've got to go take care of a sick accomplice tonight, so it's doubtful I'll get much written. I'll try and scribble a couple pages out while I'm on the bus, maybe.
 
 
Mistoffelees
08:27 / 22.11.06
Week Four

It´s the last week of NaNoWriMo. The good thing about it is it´s nine days long.

I´ve just read the week four chapter in Chris Baty´s book and it´s not very inspiring. There are his supposed to be witty remarks and about half his suggestions are for people who´ve already crossed or are close to the finish line (for example writing the last chapters on paper for a more sensual experience).

The only comment that made sense is to get to 35.000 soon (luckily I managed that yesterday). The rest include such platitudes as checking notes for forgotten ideas, writing about the weather and taking care of overstrained eyes and limbs from writing so much.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
12:51 / 22.11.06
Just managed to lose about 800 words, which was a bit shit. But I think the rewritten ones may have been better.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
13:23 / 22.11.06
Is anyone else finding their characters refusing to behave in the way they're supposed to? Mine was supposed to be about a crazy religious cult, but they've all been so reasonable it's turned into a pleasant religious community instead. I've had to introduce some Hell's Angels just to make the plot happen.
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
19:53 / 22.11.06
My main character seems to forget about her murderous rage at various points and I have to find some way of bringing it up again. I think I'm spending too much time in her head, though.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
20:26 / 22.11.06
I'm actually feeling really guilty about the fact that my not-so-crazy religious people are all scheduled to die a horrible fiery death in about four days' time. And I can't write around that, cos the entire plot of the story follows on from it- they're already dead as chapter 1 starts.
 
 
Mistoffelees
19:05 / 25.11.06
Since today, it is possible to win this year´s NaNoWriMo contest:

"Word Count Validator

Up until November 25th, this area contained a run-of-the-mill word-count updater. Now it's become your portal to victory. If you upload a manuscript that is 50,000 words or more, you will be logged as an official NaNoWriMo winner, and will be sent to a special page to collect your winner's certificate and web icons."



The last week I haven´t done much writing. It took me nine days to get from 30.000 to 40.000 today. But although my Inner Sloth just wants to waste time in a non-productive way, I managed to write 3.000 words today! And I still have lots of plot to write about. So if I can manage to just sit down and write my 2.000 words each day, I will actually finish this. Even those 40.000 words are a lot for me (I have never written such a huge block of fiction before), and as I remembered back to the beginning of this endeavour today; I think it´s amazing, that it´s been less than four weeks now. I might even buy a printer so I can hold my masterpiece in my quivering hands and rub it against my heaving bosom!

And what´s up with our other Barbeloid Authors? Are you still hanging on? Remember, we still got more than five days to make it, it still is manageable for most of us (especially with tomorrow being a sunday).

So tell us all about your current status, please.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
15:05 / 26.11.06
I'm a couple of hundred words shy of 45k, so all being well I should hit the big fifty before the month's end. (I gave myself two days off for my birthday, but my birthday ended up lasting three days and I was in no state to write anything at all yesterday).
 
 
autran
08:49 / 27.11.06
I only have 34,794 words done but I do have the week off work. If only I wasn't lazy...
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
11:11 / 27.11.06
Nearly 47k now... my ending's going to suck but I don't really care anymore. It's going to be a little rushed. Yeah, sure I could just keep going, hit the 50k and not finish the story yet, but I'm dreaming of typing THE END before the 30th.
 
  

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