Rut. Rut. Rut. Rut. Rut. Rut. Rut.

I like this plan. I was chugging along quite well until this past week, and all of a sudden the story isn't exciting, I don't know what to write next, and it feels less fun. So I think next week I will just try skipping to the good stuff and writing segments instead of worrying about writing anything resembling a coherent narrative with transitions and moving characters clearly through time and space. Maybe if I focus on some of the fun scenes it will re-energize me. I want to try Scrivener but I haven't made my way through the tutorial yet...

I discovered the playlists on Youtube. You can find them often in the suggestions with what you just lisened to. They often have a lot of the artist, and then some other stuff too. I would choose a playlist and sometimes play it over and over again while I write. They are the same each time, so I stop listening to the words, and just let it block everything else out.
A couple years ago was Bjork, the next year Phil Collins, and a Japanese music playlist (Japanese culture was an influence). I've yet to find this year's.

Totally unrelated, but I love your nano username :)

I CONCUR

I reconnect once I've finished my daily words.

I do this too. I LOVE the natural sounds playlists on youtube, the sound of waves gently crashing against the shore or a heavy rainfall is so relaxing. I do this for my university work, too, I even have hour long mp3s on my player :)

I listen to midnight syndicate- all instrumental. They are the creators of the "official d&d soundtrack." It may sound corny, but I found that on my husband's computer, and it is edgy and dramatic, just enough to keep you awake, but not distracting enough to take you away from your writing. There are also lots of random elements in it, like footsteps, muttered "chanting" in the background, even screams, laughing, weeping. It is great writing music! It is meant to be played in the background of dungeons and dragons games to try to keep players in character (always a futile effort), but it works much better for this!

I absolutely agree with disconnecting the internet. I usually don't even run music through the computer. I've started listening to CD's again. You're very right about the choice of music affecting the work. I've been listening to a handful of careful selected albums and it's made a big difference.

I second Bird by Bird. Who cares how good the words are when they come out? Everyone has shitty first drafts.

Love love love Bird by Bird - definitely a great one to read right now.

give your characters some flaws!!! that's what i had to do. its the only way to make them interesting really,who cares about a perfect person? we love people because they are manic, emotional, and full of imperfections. :)

Or, if you really want to write the other story, introduce those characters and have them take over everything. Then, after nano, edit that earlier part out and stick it somewhere else in case you need it again.

Try the "request a character" thread in the adoption agency. Fill out the profile thingumabob, and ask for a flaw or two, that really helped me see my MC in a new light. I really suck at thinking up flaws that fit my characters, so to have someone with a different perspective come up with a few instead, was Awesome.

Welcome to Week 2. :|

Rid yourself of all distractions and jump ahead in your novel -- write a scene you're really looking foreward to and set a timer for yourself. Try doing some word wars and you will get past it eventually.

I have that problem! What I do to get over it is just write, write, write. No natter how trite (unintentional rhyming) it may come out. Just write your story. Don't spend time trying to think of the most amazing way to describe how said character felt when said villain took everything... Or whatever. Once you slammed out a bunch of words at the end, go back and refine, delete, add, and have fun taking a thesaurus to the words that just don't sound right.

Also what I did to help understand my characters better is I literally wrote a monologue for each of them. From their point of view like they were telling me what's up with them.

Ex; My name is Joe. I was born, I live, I started this crazy thing called NaNo and I don't know what's going to happen... Blah blah ... Hopefully you have a better monologue than that.

Good luck!!!

Go on itunes. Set your playlist to either sad or happy. Whatever mood you're feeling like and write. That's what always gets me.

I am so with you! I have a note book that i carry around to write in but i just have not even had to urge to write. then typing i am like meh, To Tumblr, twitter, facebook. We need to find ways to bribe ourselves to write! I say coffee, candy, even sleep.

Try starting something fresh and unrelated?

Like set yourself a drabble "two pages where these two people talk about fishing" but the two in question have nothing to do with NaNoWriMo. That can help. (shrug)

25,000+ words, I think you are doing great!!!!! Unlike some of us who are falling behind. You've done great up to this point, it's a temporary middle-muddle event. Just hang in there.
:-)

Turn off the computer (or maybe just the monitor).

Create a playlist of songs that make you think of your story, your characters, etc. and let it randomize.

Pick up an old #2 pencil and write a scene on some notebook paper or, better, unlined printer paper or an old sketch pad which will give you more freedom to wriggle.

There are three reasons a different medium can help:
1. Typing looks nice on the computer; legible fonts, clean white background, and a spell checker that notifies you the instant something isn't up to par. This can break flow and make you feel like your rough draft needs to look as nice as the printing.

2. Switching to an offline medium makes it difficult to nit pick over your word count. Squiggling handwriting and uneven lines can make it difficult to even gauge where you're at. This is a positive thing because rather than pining and pushing after every individual word, you stop only when the scene finishes naturally or inspiration drifts off.

3. It's more difficult to erase your work when it's down on paper. I know, you still CAN erase things, and maybe that's for the better, but it's not nearly as easy or as tempting as the backspace bar.

I had been doing something like 500 words per day (terrible, I know). One day, I had a conversation between characters come to mind at a weird time and I ended up writing it out on scratch computer paper. I typed it up later and discovered I had written over 800 words without breaking a sweat. That's peanuts to some people, but for me it's significant improvement. The fact that it didn't FEEL like a struggle made all the difference in the world.

my rut is this: go on to mail, fb then pandora.
tumbs up the song playing and go check the procrastination station
look at the nanotoons
write a lot. after song is done looke at next song. thumbs up/down depending.
look at what ive written. rewrite. update word count. stare at the screen blankly, coming up with a name.
write a few more words.
get kicked off.
repeat next time I get on

I try to think of this a little like homework, and promise myself a treat if I reach my word goal for the day and an extra treat if I get past it. Maybe your Internet surfings should be your treat. I, too, have encountered the 'I really WANT to write, but just can't get the words out' thing, and upon closer examination, have actually found the cause to be what I call "chronological thinking." I get all wrapped up in making my story go from beginning to end and then I get totally stuck when I reach a point in the story I'm just not that interested in writing. I have taken to writing only 'scenes' in the story, so that I'm essentially only writing the 'meat' and leaving the boring veggies at the edge of the plate for last. It seems to help.

FYI if you happen to be an iPad user, Write or Die has an app out now, and there is another fantastic app by DenVog called 'Index Card' that is great for the 'scene writing' method I talked about. Scrivener is also VERY cool if stick with a laptop or desktop.

My last suggestion--and then I promise to let you go away and write--is to grab a pen and paper and go old school. If you're not on the computer, you can't use any of those nifty trinkets and toys. However, DO NOT transcribe your own work. It'll make you incredibly susceptible to editing. Go find an unsuspecting friend or family member to transcribe for you and keep you abreast of the word count.

Happy writing!

I change the backgroud of my word document to different colors every once in a while so i don't get bored of looking at something that is so plain. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesnt, but its worth a try.

It really helps me to have something really unexpected happen in the book that has nothing to do with the storyline. I haven't hit that point this year, but last year, (as morbid as this is) the main character beat something to death with a shovel (I believe it was suggested by someone to me then when I was in a rut myself). Again, I know it's dark, but sometimes, it can be just what your brain needs to reboot itself: just a mild distraction from the main story to do something fun/weird/morbid, then back to the point with a fresher outlook.

One thing I've found that works well for me is to open up a separate document and write something else over there. For example, if I'm stuck on a scene where my MC is just kind of sitting around with some friends and I can't think of what I want them to say, I open another word document and work a little on that exciting fast-paced aerial battle to the death that comes in later, or maybe write down a few lines that I want to include somewhere later in the novel. That way, you're still adding to your story, just not in chronological order. when it comes time for whatever little gemstone you've been polishing in that separate document to be used, just copy and paste it into place, and tada! back on track with your riveting plot. or if your wanting a little break but are really jonsing for some words and dont have any plot bunnies hiding off in the distance, pick a page, a FULL page, you've already written and add 1-3 words to every sentence on that page. your average page will have about 4-8 paragraphs on it, the average paragraph is 100 words. Theres 400-2400 words right there, and as you add and edit, you may find some tiny detail you added subconsiously that can be a major M Night Shamalan plot twist later. And as many other people have suggested, WriteOrDie really comes in handy. Set it on something low at first, maybe 100 words in 10 minutes. Then, as you start to get more ideas forming, up the level until you're typing away furiously until you reach your daily 1667 (or more if like me, you're behind). Hope this helps!

oh cycles, how I despise thee.
mine pretty much goes:
write 100 words
go on tumblr for an hour
have mental conversation with my characters in which they yell at me for not writing
tumblr.
write.
check word count
update word count
tumblr

Try getting away from your computer and writing free hand. That might help

I give myself little challenges, just something a little quirky, and then when I meet that challenge, I will reward myself by going to google+ or twitter or even to another site.

You have plenty of padding. Stop. Before you start your next session, disable your internet. I know, it is a big step and on the laptop I am using now, I am not sure how to do it. But if twitter is taking you away from such a well done word count, feed twitter to the shoulder vulture.

Sally

I am having a hard time with time. Every time I can get to the keyboard, i feel like the story writes itself.. But with work and life happening around me, I often am falling asleep by the time I can get a minute to write.

The next day off.....

figure out your most productive time of day. Mine, for example, is at 8am and 7 pm and if I'm really moving then I can work through the midnight hour.

My biggest issue is time. Working full time takes away a lot of time from writing.

Good Luck!

I find myself writing a scene or two as a memory of a character or a past event that I mentioned. It gets me writing again and back into the head of my character and helps me understand where they are coming from.

Don't be afraid to change POV or a scene or a chapter or a WC. Heck, sometimes I'll write in poetry for a while to get my head back into what I am writing. Also, change the place you write. I started sitting in my bed instead of at my desk and I find I reach my goal much quicker.

Just experiment.

Just sit your little self down and start your engine. Promise yourself fifteen minutes and don't quit regardless of earthquake or flood. Then keep going and stop when you DON't want to. Always stop in the flow or words and you'll condition yourself to want more. If you quit when you're stuck, you'll always do just that.

Take two characters to a park setting. Describe all the scents, sounds and vibrations of the park. Then get the two into a major argument. Have them show their anger in body language. Get in all the details!

Then move them to a cafe to make up and add tastes and textures. Describe the crumbs on the plate and raisins in the muffin.

Just do it!

I was stuck and checking twitter, email, etc instead of writing. Then I found @NaNoWordSprints. It has been a lifesaver. There are short term challenges. Write about glitter getting everywhere. Add a spork to your story. Write about someone misunderstanding something the read. Each sprint is 5, 10, 15, sometimes 20 minutes and trying to include the challenge is a lot of fun. I had just started writing a character with irrational fear when the challenge was to use the word-marshmallow-. I mow have a guy who caused an accident running into the street because someone asked for cocoa with marshmallow at cafe where he was eating lunch. If checking twitter is cutting into your writing time, be sure to follow @nanoWordSprints