Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Writing Group => Topic started by: Aen Elderberry on October 04, 2006, 01:22:00 PM
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Is any one else planning on doing this insane thing?
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
What EUOL said about it two years ago.
http://www.timewastersguide.com/view.php?id=897
Sign up Now!
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
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I suppose it's that time again. Despite "winning" the first two months I participated, I'm going to hold out this time. I don't need yet another manuscript I'm not working on to be in a rough draft form.
for the record, I also wrote (http://www.timewastersguide.com/view.php?id=891) about it that year (before EUOL did). and last year both Fell (http://www.timewastersguide.com/view.php?id=1189) and I (http://www.timewastersguide.com/view.php?id=1190) attempted to blog about our nano progress.
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"Writers have very high divorce rates, and very high alcoholism rates, for a reason." -EUOL
Yeah... since I ever came upon the thought of writing, nanoing and otherwise, I suppose I have begun to ingest more quantities of alcohol than I probably should. In fact, I'm thinking about making a drink right now, or if I should wait until I get up and have a few before work tonight....
But above those thoughts are the thoughts of writing. Right now I want to come up with a poem for the day. And I'm also dwelling on what kind of plot I should come up with for this years nano.
Years past I've not actually completed a nano. I hope, to God and everything else, that I can actually get more than 5K words finished. Maybe even 15K, or 10K at that. I've never been one for goals, as I've always found myself instead, worrying about other people and making sure that they're doing what they said they wanted to do.
But now, now I think this is my year. I've dedicated more time to myself than others, which might sound entirely conceited, but it's true. If I don't know me, than how will anyone else?
I do have some semblance of jealousy towards Brandon because of his published status. Of course, I may be a bit moreso than others around here, since, lets face it, you're all fair and good people who are wrapped up in your religions in one way or another (no offense).
However, it doesn't matter anymore; I've done away with these things and am taking a new spin. Watch out California, you're about to wish you DID seceed back in 2002!
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I would like to try it once i am more experienced...I'm just beginning to write.
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But that's the beauty of NaNoWriMo, you gain experience by doing it! ... via torture, of course, but you still gain experience.
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Humm...wonder what project I'll do this year.
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Well i guess i could give it a go. When is the dead line?
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last day of November.
You start November 1st then write every day for the rest of the month.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/modules/cjaycontent/index.php?id=2
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I am seriously considering this. So it just has to be a crappy 175 page story huh.. Does your story get rated? even though there are tens of thousands of entries.
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no 50,000 words.
And nope there's no rating on your story, just the sense of accomplishment. Again it's not about having others read what you write is about actually finishing a story from start to end which is something new authors have trouble with.
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there is a word counter that you must use to officially "win" but it's just on their web site, and the actual writing is never made available for viewing. I don't believe they even save a copy.
incidentally, i really encourage you to go for it. I'm not doing it this year, but the two years I did do it were very fulfilling.
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Alright I'm in. I'll probably do a rough fantasy book.
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I'll take a swing at it. I didn't make it my first year, but, I actually did eventually finish the book I worked on that time. I have an idea or two bouncing around my head for a sequel, so, hopefully, I will be able to get some of those onto paper this year.
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I'm thinking of doing it this year. I just have to get out of my latest funk. Moving home to California (again) completely sucked the creativity out of me, for some reason. But once I get adjusted, I'll be fine (I'm hoping).
By November, I think I'll have it worked out. This is a good year for me to do NaNoWriMo--I have to take it easy for the next while. Writing will keep me from going stir crazy. :P
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Speaking of plots and loops, I've come up with my plot and am ready to begin tackling this thing. I need these next few weeks to hurry by so I won't forget!
Hmm, sticky notes.
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Yeah, no cheating! >:( (At least, don't tell us about it.) ;)
My challenge will be to decide on one project for NaNo. I suffer from Writer's ADD--I tend to want to work on 10 things at once, when my creative juices are really flowing. And, I've had 7 really great novel ideas just in the last three months, all of which I've started pre-writing and mildly plotting (not to mention the previous 15 or so novels I've been working on since high school). So, I'm going to force myself to stick as much as possible to one novel for NaNoWriMo--I can't rule out short stories and picture books, though. I have to allow myself some variety, or I burn out.
Question for everyone: when you have several ideas/projects that appeal to you, how do you decide which one to give top priority? The one that gets you the most excited? The one that seems the simplest? The one that is the most unusual?
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I cheat that way, I suppose. I try to take the ideas I have for other stories, and use them in whatever story I happen to be writing at the time. So, I would pick the story that is most original, or the story that you have the most material for, and run with it. Then, I see if I can't integrate the other ideas later on. I think that you will find that, even if the other ideas seem completely out of sync with the story you are writing, you will be able to use more of them than you might think.
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I've decided Chim, that I'm going to do some research. Anyone know of any good Ninja history/story books that I could buy from say amazon or somewheres?
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Secerets of the Samurai (http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Samurai-Survey-Martial-Feudal/dp/0785810730/sr=1-12/qid=1160262161/ref=sr_1_12/102-2041295-8398537?ie=UTF8&s=books) is a very good, but long, history/reference book dealing with the martial arts styles, culture and political climate of japan from about the 1500s through the 1800s. Â It reads like a text book though, so it may not be for you, but you'll be hard pressed to find a book more detailed and comprehensive as this one.
Not too much on Ninjas but despite their popularity in now-a-days they were quite rare and usually just rogue Samurai.
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Yeah, the lady in the bookstore told me they've had a sudden flood of pirate books (mostly childrens however) on the subject. Ninjas, not so much-so.
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So in the children's book corner of the age old pirates vs. ninja debate, pirates appear to be winning.
I don't know if research counts as cheating. It's okay in my book. ;D
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No, it's not cheating.
/me checks what he previously said.
Yep, I never said anything about cheating.
I find (or better, hope) that this will help create a more vivid picture for the landscape I intend to present in my nano.
And it's not just a children's debate. My friends and I constantly bicker over the awesomeness of ninjas and pirates on a daily/weekly basis. In fact, I'd say we waste plenty of time over this debacle. So, hmph.
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1) on cheating: the nano website specifically says that planning your NaNo is permitted. And I would actually encourage it.
2) on choosing: choose the best developed idea so you spend less time thinking about what's supposed to come next or how a character should react and more time writing. The more comprehensive you concept of the book's plot, characters, and themes, the larger percentage of your time will be sped writing instead of stumbling around in the dark
3) on ninjas: my research indicates that most ninja were peasants, which is why they didn't typically use swords. Samurai could get a sword, peasants couldn't.
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there is a word counter that you must use to officially "win" but it's just on their web site, and the actual writing is never made available for viewing. I don't believe they even save a copy.
incidentally, i really encourage you to go for it. I'm not doing it this year, but the two years I did do it were very fulfilling.
Speaking of a word counter, where did you and Fell get the ones that you used last year for the blogs?
Your pet rock was fulfulling?
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It's an excel file. let me dig it up, update it for this year, and I'll upload it
edit: erm.. it's on my flash drive. earliest this will happen is tomorrow.
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I think I'm writing a CRPG for this years Nano. Should be fun. Then I can program through December.
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It's an excel file. let me dig it up, update it for this year, and I'll upload it
edit: erm.. it's on my flash drive. earliest this will happen is tomorrow.
Okay, cool, thanks. Seeing as how I won't need it until November this delay is no problem.
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NaNoWriMo Report Card (http://www.thelemur.net/writing/nanowrimo-report-card.xls)
It's pretty self explanatory if you take the time to look at it. there are little notes for most of the fields to explain. I have a goal set for 2000 words a day, but that's adjustable. You need to do 1,667 if you write every single day.
Anyway, good luck and enjoy.
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Go Me! I signed up, and I've got a few ideas. I do have one big question though: do you think the whole talking sword thing is to overdone? Even for this?
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I think I'm writing a CRPG for this years Nano. Â Should be fun. Â Then I can program through December.
That's kind of what I did last year, I made a game during that time. Got most of it done but graphics and level design, also worked out bugs afterwords too.
I'm tempted to do a Tactical RPG engine this month, or code a wizardry/ultima dungeon style game. Since I'm not much of a writer I don't care much about doing a story, I just try to get the game engine done and then as much of the graphics as I can.
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Go Me! Â I signed up, and I've got a few ideas. I do have one big question though: do you think the whole talking sword thing is to overdone? Even for this?
Definitely not for this.
if done well, i thing you could pull it off with a refined story too.
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It's pretty self explanatory if you take the time to look at it. there are little notes for most of the fields to explain. I have a goal set for 2000 words a day, but that's adjustable. You need to do 1,667 if you write every single day.
Anyway, good luck and enjoy.
Thanks! This will definitely help to keep me writing if I get down.
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NaNoWriMo Report Card (http://www.thelemur.net/writing/nanowrimo-report-card.xls)
I have a goal set for 2000 words a day, but that's adjustable. You need to do 1,667 if you write every single day.
I'm planning on writing Monday to Friday and using Saturday as my plotting / emergency catchup day. Then I'll sleep all day on Sunday to get ready for the next week.
My daily goal is 2300. I figure once I get going each day there won't be that much difference between writing 2300 or 1667.
I made a spreadsheet with my goals, daily and cumulative, with a chart showing goals vs. actual writing count.
I probably won't be much fun over Thanksgiving if I fall behind. But maybe I should schedule vacation days for November 29 and 30 now. Or maybe I'm taking this too seriously.
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I'm doing this again--I had a lot of luck with last year's story, and I've found that my stuff gets better every time.
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Hooray! Virginia's on board!
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I just signed up, due to an amazingly random idea. It's actually a good one too. Username is Kon, so add me if you want ;)
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I don't want to.
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I would, but am deathly afraid that I'll get a panic attack if I go on there and see people who actually write well. My story is simple: swords, souls of their own, dreamtime thing, bearers dying out ,they're dying out, oh no, etc. I actually have a large paper trail on it, but I'm not sure I could endure your criticisms. :-[ I actually decided to base it around a Japanese-Indianish Culture, beacause you only really [in my experience] seem to get talking swords in Arabian Nights and Western Stories.
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I'm doing this again--I had a lot of luck with last year's story, and I've found that my stuff gets better every time.
You promised me I could read last year's, but I still haven't seen it in my inbox.
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My username on the NaNoWriMo site is also Hauf.
Please add me as a "buddy" and harrass, heckle, and embarrass me if my word count drops behind.
(The NaNoWriMo site must be under heavy use right now. I can't get to it. So add me later. :)
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I'll be participating, too. My NaNoWriMo username is EricJamesStone.
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One hour before it begins. That means it's nearly time to eat, sleep, and breathe writing. Not that Brandon doesn't already :P
Edit: I'll be participating under the username FMP (ironically).
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Talk about procrastinating...but I finally signed up. I added Hauf and EJS as my buddies because I know your usernames. I don't know what other people's names are on the site, like SE and Gemm and KB. I'm not sure it matters, since I don't know how much I'll actually be using the site, but it's nice to have friends on there either way!
For my username, since Chimera was taken, I used my livejournal username (which no one seems to have): Zeliot. So that's the name you all can find me under at the NaNoWriMo site.
Good luck everyone! Tommorrow is Day One. ;D
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I'm MasterArchon30, for those who want to know. And, as Sherlock Holmes would say, "The game is afoot."
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End of day 1.
6680 words.
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Hoho! JP participates! I am know as Gemm on the forums/rest of the site. Pretty straight forward. Anywhos, just got back from friends and am prepared to head into this thing. Sleep? I think not.
Write!
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I've written 450 words so far. Since I need to write 1667 words a day to keep up, that means I only have 1217 left to go. Yeah! I'm on a roll. ::)
Well, at least my morale is still high. ;)
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I managed to write about 1300 words last night before I went to bed since I was gunning to start, and aprehensive about my ability to meet my daily goal. It looks like I shouldn't have been, so far.
Now back to writing for me.
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End of day 2. 12, 379 words.
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1,147 for me, which isn't bad considering how swamped I've been these last few days. Homework is the coolest.
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Yesterday I wrote 1,570. I've written 200 so far today. So I'm still close to being on schedule, if I keep it up. I'm doing it in small increments, since my attention span is like nil.
And I have to keep reminding myself to just write and not worry about whether it's fabulous prose or not. When I do that, I tend to stop and edit and analyze and throw off my writing groove. None of that! I'll edit it in December, when I actually have a novel.
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I thought I was going to totally fail, but I did 1900 words yesterday and I've done 2000 words today so far.
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I thought so too, but so far I've written exactly 4124 words. I still need to write about a thousand more to keep up with my daily goal, but overall I was suprised at how easy it was, as well as how many words I can pump out in an hour (about 1100). However I've gotten a little less enthusiastic about on of my characters position right now, so that could pose some problems in the future.
I just hope I'll be able to pull even with JP. :)
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JP, you're disgusting. Amazing, but disgusting. ;D
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Okay, So for the end of today my count is 6586 words. I'm on a roll. 8)
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End of Day 3: 14000. Didn't do much today. My friend is beating me at 20k. I can easily put on 6k tomorrow and another 10k on Sunday, though.
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Wow, JP, you've totally left me in the dust. However, I'm on track with my personal goal (to do the bare minimum), so I can't complain.
End of Day 2 (yesterday): 3772 words.
Today I need to get my total word count to 5001. (I'm doing 1667 words a day.)
Hey, has anyone else had this happen? When I let the NaNoWriMo do the Word Count for me, it was 1,000 words less than what I got. Strange.
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Hey, has anyone else had this happen? When I let the NaNoWriMo do the Word Count for me, it was 1,000 words less than what I got. Strange.
It means you're cheating! CHEATER! ;)
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Yeah, I am going to have to really dig in next week, because this weekend I am going home, which means that I will be away from my computer the whole time, pretty much. On Sunday night I might be able to catch up a bit, but until then, I'm at a standstill.
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Hey, this is Kuntrey_Pilgrim, can't 'member my password, ans so until I get home and change it, this is the new me! Anyway, I've only gotten to 2000 words so far!
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I started writing way late today, and it really showed to start off with. I still managed to finish it off with 10,003 words though. I am immensly pleased with how this is going so far.
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I haven't started yet today, but I finished last night with 19k.
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You know JP, I think that if I coulld stand to write for more than three hours a day I could catch up to you, but sadly I am unable to do so. I guess I'll have to settle for biting at your heels.
Edit: Final wordcount for tonight is 18,900 words.
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Faster Master NaNo Writer's (FMP's) excerpt is great!
Read an excerpt from Of Dance and Magic at http://www.nanowrimo.org/userinfo.php?uid=132570
Hope you don't mind me sharing this.
I need to find an appropriate excerpt to post.
I hope everyone is having fun.
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lol, no problem, I just hope no one thinks that what my novel actually reads like. ;)
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Riveting! I wish I could write like that. ;DHow DO you do it? Anyway, several all-nighters later, I'm pushing 9,000. :) I think that, after Exams, I'm gonna have to glue myself to a chair. :-/
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I fell behind over the weekend, so yesterday was a catch-up day. And I did it! I'm at 9,420 words. So, by the end of today, I'll be a fifth of the way to the goal. Woo-hoo! Go me.
Hey Kuntrey--what's your NaNo name? I'll add you as a buddy. I've added everyone in this thread who indicated their NaNo name. It's fun to see where people are at in their word counts! Keep up the good work, everyone.
Oh and SE--thank you so much for sharing your NaNoWriMo score card. I'm using it and it totally helps me keep track. And I love that it does the math for me. It's awesome! You should patent it or something. ;)
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I didn't make it. I just updated it to the current year.
The credits are at the bottom.
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Well, I guess you're still cool.
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11am, Day 8. 25 thousand words, and the halfway point.
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I didn't get any writing done yesterday, so now I'm behind. Tonight and tomorrow I should have some time for catch up. Here's hoping it goes well!
I can't give up now! >:( (<--that's a determined face, not an angry face)
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Back on track. I'm at like 17,500. My goal is to reach 25,000 by Nov. 15--the halfway point halfway through the month. That means I'm going to have to push myself a couple days, but I can do it.
I'm finding NaNoWriMo challenging but fun. How's everybody else doing?
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Not too good actually, I seem to have ran right into a brick wall, but I'm going to try and make up for it tommorrow and several days to come after that.
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Term Exams are over, I have a 5 day weekend in which I have no responsibilities, and I've hit a total brick wall. :'( I have no inspiration whatsoever. :'( :'( I've gotten up to 16,000, and the story feels like it's almost finished. I'm not sure I'll be able to go through with the rest of the story, much less show it to people.
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Term Exams are over, I have a 5 day weekend in which I have no responsibilities, and I've hit a total brick wall. :'( I have no inspiration whatsoever. :'( :'( Â I've gotten up to 16,000, and the story feels like it's almost finished. I'm not sure I'll be able to go through with the rest of the story, much less show it to people.
That was my problem on Sunday--I started thinking too much about my story and became convinced that it was horrible and I should give up because it would never be worth reading. I talked about it with MsFish and she pointed out that this was "the middle of the book blues." When the story is no longer new and exciting and the writing is starting to get tough, it's easy to get discouraged.
This is what I ended up having to say to myself (maybe it will help you): Don't write for anyone but yourself. Don't worry about it being bad. Just let it be awful. You can always go back later and fix it. The important thing is to Not Stop Writing.
Unfortunately, my "middle of the book blues" seriously set me back. But, as long as I keep writing, I'm proud of myself.
As far as your story being over, you can always add conflict. That's whatever I do when I'm starting to get bored. Think of something that would annoy or challenge my characters, and make it happen.
So don't give up! Hope this helps. :)
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My friend finished his first nano in 9 days. He is now working on his second one. I am wanting to cut him up into tiny pieces and feed him to dogs. Bwah. =P
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I don't blame you. :P
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I signed up. Don't know how far I'll get, seeing as how I just did it. Eh. It'll be a good exercise in insanity.
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I got to 30,003 last night, which brings me officially back on schedule
Edit: Actually, on schedule would have been 30,006, so technically, I'm still three words behind it.
Speaking of which, is it just me, or did Spriggan say that that there could potentially be a forum award for finishing NaNoWriMo?
Finally, is this the first non-Spriggan post on the new forum?
Edit2: Nevermind, Entropy got it, I missed it because his name is Spriggan right now. But on the other hand, "first non-Spriggan post" is still true, so I can still go around saying that I was the first non-Spriggan poster, without technically being lying.
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Speaking of which, is it just me, or did Spriggan say that that there could potentially be a forum award for finishing NaNoWriMo?
I did, read about it here
http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=4982.0
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Cool, I'll finally be more than a peasant . . . just 15,000 words to go.
I'm finding that there are all kinds of unexpected rewards to doing NaNoWriMo. But the one I read this morning in "No Plot? No Problem!" (by Chris Baty) looks most intriguing: "One fringe benefit of wiring a book is being seen by those around you in the new, vastly sexier light of your novelist status." (p. 151)
Could this be true? And if so, is this the Real reason so many people are doing NaNoWriMo?
(Just 15,000 words more. . . I wonder what my wife will think?)
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I would have to go with yes. Yes, it is.
The past year I didn't finished, I just complained about not being able to finish and being a crappy writer. This year however, I'm just gonna tell the ladies that I finished a novel. Then, they will adore me and swoon to my body (because I'm awesome like that). Finally, I know why I haven't finished a nano, but that's a discussion for another time.
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My two main goals for the last week of NaNoWriMo:
1) Finish the novel - not just get the word count but have the story finish.
2) Adjust my life so that the daily writing sessions can be a regular part of my day. Part of the idea of NaNoWriMo is to ignore regular life, to neglect nearly everything but writing. I want to practice balancing everything so that in December I can keep writing WITHOUT neglecting everything else.
Have any of you had success with number 2? Do you have any pointers for me?
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Just a reminder to all you NaNoWriMo people, make sure to post you totals here and PM me about reaching the goal by December 7th (Thursday) if you want the snazzy award for 2006.
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That award is really nifty.
Makes me almost want to try writing a 50k word novel tonight.
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I'm a NaNoWriMo winner! (You're supposed to brag about winning, aren't you?) I'll post my final word count after tomorrow. I need to write a conclusion to my novel tonight.
Chris Baty said:
"One fringe benefit of writing a book is being seen by those around you in the new, vastly sexier light of your novelist status."
I'm not sure if I feel any different but these before and after pictures have me wondering.
Last Friday before winning NaNoWriMo:
http://www.blaskan.nu/Bilder/marty_feldman.jpg
Monday morning I woke up and looked like this:
http://www.supanet.com/media/00/05/59/bondmen_connery210.jpg
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Congrats, Hauf. So does this mean we'll be seeing some regular submissions from you in writing group? Which novel did you choose to write, by the way?
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Just a reminder to all you NaNoWriMo people, make sure to post you totals here and PM me about reaching the goal by December 7th (Thursday) if you want the snazzy award for 2006.
60584 words
http://www.nanowrimo.org/userinfo.php?uid=128744
Hey, I win an award!
Thanks, Parker. It was all new. And as expected it's a total mess. It needs major work. And it might not be worth the effort. But I must say NaNoWriMo has given me some confidence that I lacked previously.
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I didn't make it this year. But, I did write 20,000+ words that I wouldn't have written otherwise. And, considering what's being going on in my life, that is quite an accomplishment. Plus, I really enjoy what I've written and think I can actually finish this novel. So, I'm proud of myself.
My goal for next month is to write another 20,000 words. Taking everything into account, including my health and temperment, I think that is a challenging yet attainable goal. Plus, I did it once, so I know I can do it again. By then I should be 2/3 done with my novel. Then, if I write another 20,000 words in January, I should have a finished novel by February. Yay!
Hauf--I'm not exactly sure how to incorporate writing into normal life, except to set aside writing time everyday or every week--some set time that you sit down and write. Even if you don't feel like it. Even if you have writer's block and hate your characters. Then, eventually, you'll train your mind and body to expect this "writing time" and it will come. That's what I'm trying to do, at least. And it's working, for the most part.
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So only 2 people completed NaNo this year? Remember, if you did to let me know because I'll be handing out the awards this week.
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I finished NaNoWriMo on the 28th if I'm remembering correctly. Say, does anyone know why FMP just gave up on day six or so? It's pretty weird, considering that he was already two-fifths finished.
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Congrats to our winners:
Hauf
Lighting Eater
JP
You should have your award and Fell point for winning in your profile now!
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My goal for next month is to write another 20,000 words. Taking everything into account, including my health and temperment, I think that is a challenging yet attainable goal. Plus, I did it once, so I know I can do it again.
I just hit the 20,000 word mark today. Woo hoo! Go me!!! ;D
That goal certainly turned out to be attainable. Perhaps not challenging enough. I'm going to have to up it. But, I have to factor in that Christmas is coming up, and that the holidays will allow less time for writing. I don't want to sacrifice family time for writing time, especially since I already achieved my goal.
So now I have 40,000 words on the novel I started with NaNoWriMo. Yay! I'm at least half done, and very excited. :D
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So now I have 40,000 words on the novel I started with NaNoWriMo. Yay! I'm at least half done, and very excited. :D
Way to go. If you keep that up you'll be much better off than the ones that only write in November. :)
You should have signed up for NaNoWriQua (National Novel Writing Quarter) instead.
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If that doesn't exist, maybe we should start it up. ;)
I am happy that I've been able to incorporate more writing time into my schedule. Of course, my schedule right now is decidedly lax (doctor's orders). The trick will be when I'm back in school or working or both to still be able to write 1,000 words a day. I may need to cut that down. But I think I'd like to try to devote at least 2 hours to writing everyday, no matter what is going on in my life. Then I can definitely keep this up.