All right, everyone, we know who's doing really well and who's going above and beyond in the realm of NaNo this year here in Denver; we know the MLs, we know the non-official organizer-type people, we know the people who are making real wave with their novels so far...but what about the rest of you?!?
I know by this point in November I usually start feeling really burned out and kind of down on myself. The innner editor gets harder to repress as we approach the halfway mark, real life starts to rear its ugly head again and remind us that we have to, you know, do stuff other than write, and if I don't have someone cheering me on I tend to just want to curl up in a ball and cry. So here's the deal: you guys comment here and ask for a peop talk or congratulations or anything like that, and I'll get a personalized "Go get 'em!" encouragement cheer for you all. Still haven't broken 10K? We'll find something to cheer you on about. Haven't written in two days? We'll get you going again! Ready to shoot something small and fluffy because you made the mistake of trying to write 5K a day and you're almost at 50K but your frickin' plot hasn't started yet? We provide the small fluffy things! (...okay, fine, maybe that one's just me. Provide me with fluffy things, please? Otherwise I'll have to turn to my parakeets and that would be sad)
Okay! Ready, set, GO!
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2002: Untitled
2003-2006: WINNER (4 years)
2007: Embers of Espionage (WINNER!!! 100K!!!)
Character deaths: 32 (28 at once)
Romantic conflicts: 4
Remaining Sanity: 0% and falling
19,000 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2007 - 12 35
Hi everyone,
----------This is my first year and the real world reared up on me in the first week. Between family, school, and work I have had minimal time to write. Today I woke up with pink eye, so I am home and plan to get my homework done early and write as much as possible.
I am behind, but I have not quit.
I have been writing almost everyday even if I am only getting 200 words -
A free pep talk from a veteran or a NaNo genius would help!
Thanks,
Mary
Mary Music
112,253 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2007 - 13 01
Hey Mary!
My first year doing NaNo, I didn't even break 10,000 words until the end of the third week, and that was without real life stress! For everything you've had going on, almost 10K is a great place to be! And you're doing all the right things. Big congrats on being able to write every day, this is my sixth year doing this and I STILL have trouble making myself write every single day, even if it's just a few hundred words. So excellent work there! You're so on the right track. Don't let the NaNo goal get you down ^_^. Juuuuuust keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing, when we're behind what do we do? We write!
----------2002: Untitled
2003-2006: WINNER (4 years)
2007: Embers of Espionage (WINNER!!! 100K!!!)
Character deaths: 32 (28 at once)
Romantic conflicts: 4
Remaining Sanity: 0% and falling
50,205 / 50,000
Nov 16, 2007 - 03 56
slug-a-thon going on here. for the first time in my nano history, i failed to make 25,000 words in time. i think i was only 600 or so words off, but it's the mental defeat that is important. death in the family, loss of relationship, this month has just sucked. i am liking my story a leetle bit better, but still struggle with what to write every day....i'm way past ready to start arcing the story to the end. Chris Baty says words 49,999 and 50,000 shoud be "the" and "end", but i'm worried about running out of story before the word count gets me my pretty purple bar. last year i hit 72,000, so this is downright annoying and embarassing. I'm gonna shoot hard for the write a thon in arvada on saturday to help catch up but there will be days this week when i cannot write at all, which totally screws up t he word count again, even if i catch up. ohkay, i'll shut up now, enough whining. any words of wisdom from someone who hasn't written 234098203984 words yet? (Just kidding jupitar star, i want your wisdom also!)
sherrill
----------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
characters pregnant: none anymore!
cups of expresso downed: enough i have the shakes
ideas left for rest of novel: none, making it all up
current writing mood: hopeful!
Standard HTML:
112,253 / 50,000
Nov 16, 2007 - 15 24
Well, just for that... You will FAIL! >P
Er, I mean!
I guess year three tends to be the year of deaths in NaNo... all of my friends who do NaNo and I have had a death in the family during our third year, too. And it really, really messes with your rhythm and motivation, for sure. It doesn't mean anything bad about you if you can't reach yoru goal because of it, after all. *Hugs*
That being said, the fact that you have been plugging away at it still and are so close to being at benchmark right now (not like a day's worth of writing behind, but less than one thousand words, which is really impressive actually) is a real testament to your ability. And sometimes a day off is exactly what people need to jump start their story again, especially with other things going on in their lives that are messing with everything. When my grandfather died I actually had to take almost an entire week off from NaNo because I was so upset and because I had to travel across the country for the funeral, but when I came back and sat down at my laptop again, suddenly everything felt fresh again and I was able to write almost 20K in the space of two days. In fact, a lot of people advise taking some time off if you feel like you're really struggling with something , not just for NaNo but for anything in life if everything just gets overwhelming. So don't worry about those days you'll have to take off from writing this week. You've been plugging away with a story you weren't sure about in the midst of all this other chaos in your life, which is impressive as it is, and if you have the ability to do that, you'll have the ability to look at it again after some time off and make up those missed days easily, I have no doubt at all.!
----------2002: Untitled
2003-2006: WINNER (4 years)
2007: Embers of Espionage (WINNER!!! 100K!!!)
Character deaths: 32 (28 at once)
Romantic conflicts: 4
Remaining Sanity: 0% and falling
41,443 / 50,000
Nov 17, 2007 - 16 01
Arrrggghhhh!
I am only at 15,489 words today, and looking at the numbers I am supposed to be at 28,339 by the end of the day. So I am short 12,850--almost double of what I have actually written.
I knew term paper season was going to chew me up, but I didn't realize how badly. (I lost a whole two days and 4384 words to my Microeconomics paper. And I am not sure how much time and wordage to my Political Science paper which is still not done.) *Sigh*
Not only do I need to catch up, but I actually got to get ahead this coming week because I know the week after Thanksgiving is going to be such fun in a couple of my classes.
I am beginning to fear that I am not going to cross the finish line.
----------It drooled at me--I knew I was in trouble--cinder blocks normally don't drool.
http://morgandrake.blogspot.com/
112,253 / 50,000
Nov 18, 2007 - 18 32
Here's the biggest kept secret of NaNo... very, VERY few people finish their first year.
Le gasp! I know, everyone always hears the success stories, the "I made it sooo easily my first year but then struggled later" tales and whatnot... but that's because the people who don't finish rarely come back again, which just makes all the new first years feel like they're in the minority if they don't finish, which makes them never want to try again, which perpetuals the cycle, and... yeah.
I didn't finish my first year, either. And I didn't have a good reason to have not gotten there, either, just that I was getting ready to graduate from high school at the time. But while the goal of NaNo may be to reach 50,000 words in the space of 30 days, the point of it seems to be more to learn from the experience than anything. This is a writing exercise, after all, and if something happens so that you aren't able to finish, that's all right! I remember you saying you tried this over the summer, too, so maybe you should alter your goals a little bit; instead of focusing on hitting 50K, focus on beating our your highest wordcount from the summer try. Then once you've done that, maybe you'll find yourself closer to 50K than you though you'd be and it might be more manageable than you thought.
Besides, no one is ever ahead or exactly on track all of the time during NaNo. Things come up and we fall behind. But it's break now, so maybe if you just take a day for yourself and your novel, you might surprise yourself with how much you can write!
Keep on trying... it never hurts to try ^_^. And whatever my wordcounts look like after 6 years, my first year I didn't even make it to 18K, so you've almost got me beat there already!
----------2002: Untitled
2003-2006: WINNER (4 years)
2007: Embers of Espionage (WINNER!!! 100K!!!)
Character deaths: 32 (28 at once)
Romantic conflicts: 4
Remaining Sanity: 0% and falling
27,983 / 50,000
Nov 20, 2007 - 08 09
I really have wanted to try a Nano WriMo, but have signed up way to late this year. (Heh, I just sort of joined today). I will for sure do it next year because, well, I don't think I can crank out 50,000 words in ten days (or can I...?), but I am here to show support for everybody doing it this year. So for those of you who need an extra kick in the butt, I'm here! I want to see spectacular works from the lot of you, and I know they really truly will be spectacular!
I have faith in the Cattle Pen (that's what I call all my writting friends from beautiful Colorado) and I know you all will succeed beyond your wildest dreams. Mostly because you decided to give this a go, and that is something to be very proud about!
That is all
----------Just another heffer in the Cattle Pen.
41,443 / 50,000
Nov 21, 2007 - 14 20
Cattle Pen? I thought I left the cows behind when I left Brush Colorado. Maybe I need to figure a way to include a cow in my novel.
----------It drooled at me--I knew I was in trouble--cinder blocks normally don't drool.
http://morgandrake.blogspot.com/
50,205 / 50,000
Nov 21, 2007 - 21 26
okay, i'm stuck at 30,500 words...about a million days behind....and i'm heading out for the weekend to be with a friend who is getting a divorce....supposedly i'm going to get to write, but realistically....naaaaahhhhhhh....
do you think i can catch upp saturday night at the write in? please sprinkle magic fairy dust on my fingers.....
sherrill
----------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
characters pregnant: none anymore!
cups of expresso downed: enough i have the shakes
ideas left for rest of novel: none, making it all up
current writing mood: hopeful!
Standard HTML:
27,983 / 50,000
Nov 22, 2007 - 08 17
Would it help if there was increased pressure to write?
Jen puts on scared face.
Oh my God! MntnFemme, the world is coming to an end! The only way to stop the balls of fire from reigning down upon us is for you to finish your book. Please, Mntn, please don't let us down!
But if pressure isn't what feeds your muse, then take this into consideration...
You will do fine. Only having 30,500 words is nothing to be ashamed about. I like writing stories for the fun of it and the most mine ever got to was 21,000. You got 168% of that in just about three weeks. You're doing fine. And if you don't finish by the deadline, at least next year you'll know you can come this far so you'll go a little farther.
And now I shall sprinkle the dust for you. *does so*
----------Just another heffer in the Cattle Pen.
27,983 / 50,000
Nov 22, 2007 - 14 16
First off, sorry if no double posting is allowed. I wasn't sure whether it was or not so I thought I would risk it.
Anyhow, morgandrake PMed me saying I should write a 16,### novel so that I could still participate. I decided to take him up and for the past five hours I've been writing. I'm not at just under 9,000 words. I didn't think it was even possible and in my mind the end still isn't in sight because I know I have so much more story to divulge. Point is, I have just written a crapload of work, can somebody please pat me on the back?
----------Just another heffer in the Cattle Pen.