It's been a long month, hasn't it folks? There's five days left as of this writing. Our families and pets are wondering who the stranger is that staggers from the kitchen to the computer, mumbling strage words under their breath; things like,"Only 500 more" or "Who cares if it's good prose, it's words on a page isn't it?"
Many of you are nearly at your goals; a few of you have reached them.
Some of you are, like me, wondering why on earth you tackled this insane project at the time of year when family members and work responsibilities scream louder than your characters, demanding attention every second of the day. Let me tell you why ANY word count is a winner in my eyes.
IF it wasn't for NaNoWriMo:
I would never have even started my novel.
I would not have met all the talented writers in our area who are as insanely passionate about writing as I am.
I would not have learned how to sit down and write every day even if I didn't want to.
I would not have learned how to appreciate the words that made it to the page, even if they weren't good and even if they didn't add up by the end of the week.
My word count isn't even close to the 50K required for recognition by NaNoWriMo but I am still thrilled to have begun writing a story that I have compassion for, that contains fully developed characters, and that holds promise for an intriguing plot and story line. It continues to evolve daily. My Muse and I practically purr when we're writing and I plan on seeing it through no matter how long it takes.
How about you? What have you learned these past few weeks about your writing process? Your story ideas? Your characters?
I'm about to pack up for today's (Sunday) write-in. Maybe I'll see you at the Raven Cafe. Good writing, everyone.
Jeannie
Co-ML for Prescott AZ
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Jeannie Leighton
First Time Script Frenzy 2008
NaNoWriMo ML, Prescott AZ
"We don't know who we are until we see what we can do." MARTHA GRIMES
50,022 / 50,000
Nov 25, 2007 - 18 15
Well, I've learned I can still write whilst healing from a concussion.
I've found that writing my way through business, tragedy, death, success, joy, is a pattern. I will enjoy reading this NaNo a few years from now and seeing how the car accident changed my style, if at all. Probably not which is why I'm bored. And if I'm bored I imagine a prospective audience would be as well. But if I'm that bored, I won't waste precious life space re-writing for publication.
The more years and books I write, the less talent I know I have. Yeah, that's the cliche, and I'm living it.
----------Antonia
author Writing is a Lonely Art
116,973 / 50,000
Nov 26, 2007 - 10 52
This month has been fantastic on the writing front. Things I have learned:
* I'm capable of more word count than I ever thought.
* Detailed planning and outlines really make a difference on being able to produce, so I should definitely keep doing it.
* I finally finished a novel first-draft that I'm really happy with that I think has a lot of potential.
* Exhaustion doesn't completely shut down my imagination. The imagination doesn't seem to need the same kind of fuel as my body does. ;)
* I'm not the only crazy writer in the area (it's nice to know I'm not alone).
* Cheesecake is a wonderful word count motivator ;)
Which reminds me, I don't have any left for November 30th. I get a piece at the end of the month, darn it! Another 50,000 words deserves SOMETHING! ;)
Julieann
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Julieann Dreamer
Creator/Writer/Artist of free webcomic "Dreamers Cove" - http://dreamerscovestudio.com/comic
Nano 2007 : The String Weavers: WON!