Anyone else hate their novels?

Personally, I am enjoying the way my characters are unfolding. I still don't know whether my "criminal" is actually guilty or innocent, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

In answer to your concern, though, here's a quote from http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano

Having read "No Plot No Problem" which details the NaNo process and it's history, I am content to write drivel when I need to this month. I can always fix it in the coming months. November is just making sure my story has a scaffold, even if I am writing pretty blind. By the 30th, I'm sure it will look like something!

Oh, that's okay. I know it's going to be bad.

Generally I'm a planner so this is very out of my comfort zone. Maybe that's a good thing. But hey, almost 1000 words flying blind. I'm feeling okay about this. :)

ML-in-disguise! (No, really.)

Well, every day, I'm writing a different disjointed scene that has nothing to do with the previous one (with a chapterish short story in there that I've wanted to write for a while. I did the first part of that this evening). I think I told a few people about it.

Either way, I've got, in a book, a list of just situations and brainstorm type sentences. One of the ones I've already done was, "Omens. The fire speaks (pyromancy). Tribe of Diviners. Oneiromancy (dream divination). Dreamweaver - omnipresent."

To tell the truth, it may not have been great, but I loved writing it. And, you see, I add to the list whenever I think of something new. I highly suggest doing something similar, and creating a short storyline from that. If, however, you want to go for a full plot, you can still use my method. Just make your thoughts into undisjointed scenes. =D

Good luck, anyway. Luck you wishing.

You'll do fine! Trust in yourself, and trust your characters. They'll lead you true! If you get stuck, throw in a roadblock (for them, not you) or a complication and go with it. Or, like Chandler famously did, just have someone with a gun kick down the door.

I love seat-of-the-pants writing (a lot of the Apocalypse Blog has been like that). Enjoy the ride!

Good luck! :)

~Mel
ML for Brisbane, Australia
Captain of the Purple Ninja Nightowls (of Death)

2007 - Queen of Diamonds
2008 - Shuriken
2009 - The Apocalypse Blog - the final installment

I'm lucky; I wasn't even going to do NaNo this year, then a potentially-roughly-novel-sized plot bunny that I adore hit me 2 days before the 1st, so I stuck it on hold and signed up again XD So I love my *concept*...but naturally I hate about half of what I've written so far. I think that's just part of the fun :P My favourite thing about NaNo is how it forces you to just leave the stuff you hate and keep going, however much it goes against the grain XD

I'm not writing blind this year, but I was the first time I did it years ago, and it was *so* much fun once I got past the whole terror bit ;D It makes it harder to not edit, but there's a special thrill to it, you know? :P

But yeah, definitely hate my novel right now :P Love and hate. Always :D

lol. I feel as if I should be the Queen of this topic. Just because all I've done since working out what I'm going to write is to bitch about it.
Well, that and hug Mel, of course. <3

I wanted something light and awesomeness. But as it turns out, I'm landed with another twisted serial murderer and a darker, murkier story than ever to write. x]
Ah!

Everything is now finally planned - albiet loosely - to the very end.
Including a very serious incorporation of my dare and one hell of a climax. Hopefully. <3

I really had no plan at all when I started this year, and so I've sort of muddled along making up the story essentially as I go. I had a main character loosely fleshed out pre-nano, and I kind of had theme - web 2.0 as applied to the real world, I had an idea for some technology I wanted to create but apart from that I've just mashed at the keyboard until something legible came out. The previous four years where I have participated I had a definite plan in mind, in some cases even written a chapter breakdown, but for whatever reason I decided to throw that all out and just write.

Hopefully by the end of this version of the novel I will have come to a decent end point which means I can go back to the start and work towards that in a less roundabout, cavalier manner.

I'm only at 1099 worlds and already I hate my book but if I skip to some of the scenes that are more fleshed out in my mind, I might be able to go on.

I have to admit, I LOVE my book. I mean, not the writing itself, but I'm just so chuffed that I'm actually writing it. Also, I'm writing the book of my heart this time around and I know people often end up hating their nano novels, so I'm determined not to sweat the little things and just to concentrate on 50k. I can fix the writing later. *handwave*

I usually like my WriMo novels, but I'm not liking the only novel I have planned out, so I may have to scratch that off the options list before I start it, because I already hate the idea xD

I like what I'm writing at the moment except that I ran out of plot at 25k. I've already killed off all my characters except four, how am I supposed to fill another 25k? x] Stupid characters getting themselves killed too quickly. And huh, I just realised that within 25k I managed to kill 21 characters. Interesting, I think that is where my problem lies...

(I ramble when I want to avoid my novel ;))

++

I love when that happens. :) That's part of the wonder of NaNo - the urge and excuse to finally get to writing that thing that has been niggling at the back of your brain for so long. No more waiting and planning and putting it off - finally *doing* it and seeing all that wonderful stuff finally taking on shape.

Good for you! Can't wait to read it. ;)

~Mel
ML for Brisbane, Australia
Captain of the Purple Ninja Nightowls (of Death)

2007 - Queen of Diamonds
2008 - Shuriken
2009 - The Apocalypse Blog - the final installment

I've enjoyed the process so far, which has been quite surprising. From day to day I have no idea what I'm going to write. Today's session was a bit of a struggle. The last year I worked on a manuscript which became terribly bogged down, and that has been abandoned to do the NaNo. What freedom from plot structures! What liberation from deep character analysis!
Too soon the dream will end and I will have to return to the excel spreadsheet.

I couldn't think of a better place to post this... BUT ZOMG I HAVE A PLAN FINALLY.
It's been loose in my head, but no longer. <3
I've discovered that I may be writing from the wrong POV, but that's an issue for December...

Anyway, I officially hate my novel about 1,000,000 times less.
And apparently being on my high horse makes me exaggerate 1,000,000 times more than I usually would.
...
=)

Everything is now finally planned - albiet loosely - to the very end.
Including a very serious incorporation of my dare and one hell of a climax. Hopefully. <3

I must admit, so far my novel's really quite boring. And, of course, the writing sucks. But I'm going to stick it out with the hopes that it'll turn more interesting soon. I have a loose plot line, but no real plans on how I'm going to get from here to there.

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and screaming,'WOO HOO what a ride!'"

Yup, to the point of not starting till day 5!
And now I'm making up for lost time, or trying to. None of the 3 intros I had worked out grabbed me, so I've decided to work on the prologue, which is finally coming along spiffilly. Hopefully that'll carry over into the main story!

Gah.

Yup, to the point of not starting till day 5!
And now I'm making up for lost time, or trying to. None of the 3 intros I had worked out grabbed me, so I've decided to work on the prologue, which is finally coming along spiffilly. Hopefully that'll carry over into the main story!

Gah.

Yeh absolutely - that's why I'm doing Nano! It's such an amazing feeling to be free to explore something new. That feeling of unrestrained first writing when you meet your characters for the first time. I'm so determined to write this novel in 30 days and prove to myself that it can be done. I've been trying to write another novel for gosh...7 years...

Susan Bonaci
www.findingacorns.com

I love my story, and I'm beginning to think it will bloody kill me.
My characters just... violate all my comfort zones. The only ones they haven't gotten to (yet) are writing the death of a child, or the death of one half of a close, lasting romantic relationship.
My murderer won't be a sociopath. He's a schitzophrenic, or possibly psychotic (hasn't told me yet).
He also informs me he's killed before the story starts, which is news.
My main character is an effeminite man. An effeminite, dominant man. And he has just informed me that he is, in fact, certainly not gay.
My other main character is a strong, rather masculine woman; she's been claiming that for a while now, but I've been hoping she would be male. Yet, she ain't.
Oh, and she's Maori.
And a cop.
And straight.
So... many... things... I... don't... know... or... understand...
People look out tomorrow - especially kiwis. Sorry. ><

Everything is now finally planned - albiet loosely - to the very end.
Including a very serious incorporation of my dare and one hell of a climax. Hopefully. <3

I don't hate it yet... but I think I may be starting to strongly dislike it...

Whip cracking ML - Defender of the 50K mark...

You can email me... yes you!!!!
My email is: jordan.lee@live.com.au

I don't promise to reply but I will promise to at least read it before I delete it... ;p

i like the way that mine sounds in my head...

i just don't like the way that it's coming out on my laptop screen.

hitthepavement.wordpress.com - my australian music podcast

The only thing that I hate is the fact that once again, my word count seems to be going in the wrong direction XD

I was at work and came up with a waaaaayy better arc for one of my novels. But realised that this meant I had to remove around.... 3-4K words. T__T

I just have to think about the fact that it should be good when it's finished XD

Number of Coffees: 8
Number of Teas: 19
Number of Meals Missed: 7
Number of Central Characters Killed: None... Yet... MWAHAHAHAHA

I still love my idea. It's the actual content thus far that sucks. Ah well. It'll improve with editing. Later. Not now. MUST NOT EDIT YET. MUST NOT.

OK, getting dangerously close to hating my novel. Yuck yuck yuck. Almost falling sleep reading back the most recent writing. It's that boring. Dull dull prose, characters are ready to come after me with sticks and stones, plot going in the most predictable direction. Yes, it's the journey not the destination, and that's what I'm most worried about.
I guess it's a case of "Welcome to the Almost-Halfway Point."

Finally posted an excerpt of my novel into my profile.

I am starting to really enjoy my characters. Even missing them while I am at work. Talking to my daughter I realised I need a much bigger payoff at the end than what I have planned and I don't know what it might be. I am about to have the first character (minor off screen character) killed. Maybe this will help me set the tone by how I deal with it.

I wouldn't say I hate my novel but I am developing stress every time I think about it when I am away from it, which is a lot as I am trying to work at a writing job separate from the novel. My main problem is I already have 3 dead bodies and don't know myself who the murderer is.
I have anxiety about getting to the end and still not having a murderer. Also I have so many suspects I need a map of characters to sort them out. The story is told through the eyes of my female detective so I guess these are her stresses and her problems but I am so into it, they seem like mine. AAAAAAAAHH!!!
Jessica

Jessica Syme

I think my word count speaks for itself really *grins* But yeah, I'm really struggling with my novel. I can seen the scenes unfolding in my head and they look really cool (yay for thinking in pictures) but the words are just BLAH! It doesn't help that I want to bash my protaginist's head into a wall every time he opens his mouth or thinks...

As Always
Wiggy
"Truth may not set you free but used correctly can sure confuse the hell out of your enemise" Anita Blake (Laurell K Hamilton)

Meh, I'm reaching that stage. Add to the fact that I started late and am woefully behind...sigh.

2009: The Mermaid Tower
2008: Saltwater Orphee V. 2.0
2005: The Archivist in Crystal
2004: Abeyance
2003: Saltwater Orphee V. 1.0

I'm finally at the point where I think mine's lacking proper conflict, it's just muddled, it could be utilising some new ideas I've just had *tonight* - which means rewriting from the third chapter - and it just generally feels lackluster and doesn't have much to offer. I don't *hate* it... but I want to start again.