Hi Everyone,
Well this is my first year doing NaNoWriMo and I have to say I had a blast doing it. I managed to hit the 50K+ mark with my novel and plan on finishing the book (I just don't feel like it's complete yet). That being said I thought I'd share with you some things I learned doing this.
First some background on my novel or you might not get my list here. My book is about a Serial Killer in San Diego. His first victim was killed accidentally but he got all hot and bothered when she died and then started to intentionally kill people. He'd pick them up in bars, get them in bed and then kill them by making it look like a suicide....yes I need help, and if any of you know a great psychologist please forward me their number as I now know I have issues and need to get them dealt with...LOL.
Anyways, 5 things I learned during NaNoWriMo 2007.
1- I have a VERY vivid imagination, or I am psychotic and need therapy and just don't know it.
2- There is no good way to describe the human sex organs, and when you're trying to write a love scene (or twenty, cause my killer is a sexual deviant) there are only so many ways you can say words like Penis, Vagina, penetration, the act of having sex etc. Those of you that read this will probably fill my inbox with variations I'm sure, but remember anything you send me, I've probably already used because of my vivid imagination. And No, I'm will not put in my book that they "Did the Horizontal Hula" okay!
3- Making yourself write everyday sucks, but at the same time is rewarding. There have been a few days over since November 10th when I started this that I've said "I'm not writing today, I don't feel like it" and you know what happened? I ended up writing 5000+ words on those days because like a dumbass I watched some Biography channel and some bio about a serial killer inspired me to write something in my book about my guy and how his dog pissed on his leg when he was a kid so he killed the dog with a spork (Just kidding, he didn't kill a dog...no dogs were harmed in the writing of my book).
4- DO NOT expect to have any meaningful conversations with your signifigant other during NaNoWriMo either. It's impossible, EVERYTHING turns into a conversation about the book. They'll ask you if you took out the trash and you're answer will be something like "Well, I had him clean the room after he killed her and stuffed her body into the clothes hamper honey, isn't that good enough?"
5- YOU WILL DREAM ABOUT YOUR BOOK. I kid you not. I dreamt quite a few of the things my serial killer/Sexual Psycho ends up doing in the book.
So that's what I've learned...exciting No? Yeah I know it's not, but humor me.
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60,710 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2007 - 21 16
I wrote a fantasy, that (as of this instant) is still untitled. I set a goal this year to get 60,000 words, 'cause I'd won the last two years, and I wanted a challenge. I just hit that goal this evening. The book probably has a paragraph or two left before the rewritings start.
I managed to separate the writing from the rest of life pretty easily. I posted the "End of the one-day novelist" poster on my door at work, and wrote my word count there everyday. Only the people in the know, knew what the number means. I wrote in the car on a trip (while my wife drove), I wrote on the train to/from work (40 minutes each way). The train was my most productive time (not always the mornings).
I was inspired by some pictures I'd seen, and used the people in the pictures in the book, after inventing backstory, goals, etc. I wrote a *lot* of notes before I started: character "who I am" pages, a very complete time line, starting way before the story, and ending afterward, and including things I didn't write about, but still happened. I had racial histories, places, a one-sentence summary, a list of problems with the plot, and etc. I wrote almost 8500 words of notes and documentation before I started the novel. I'm totally in favor of this approach now. I sometimes had trouble figuring out how to say something, but never what I had to write next. If I got hung-up with a character, I switched scenes to the bad guys to see what they were doing. And I always knew.
This was a great year. Can't wait until the next one.
52,258 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 12 58
I learned that I can write a novel on the computer. I've been writing stories for over 20 years, but always long-hand in Mead Comp books. I just think pen and paper is more natural and easier, for me. But because of the time limit and word count validator, I had to use my laptop and surprisingly, the words came out! If nothing else, that was worth all the pain right there!
50,290 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2007 - 16 45
* I re-discovered that my stories spin WAY out of control, and that next time I want to write a short novel, I should plan a short story. And if I want write a short story, I should probably plan a poem. A really short poem.
* Getting in the habit for a month of writing 50,000 words no matter what can set up bad grammatical habits and a tendency to ramble in my stories, and I need to look out for that.
* I can write something I'm proud of, even when I'm frustrated, stymied, and at a dead end.
* I need to get a printer.
20,686 / 50,000
Dec 5, 2007 - 08 43
Mwalker wrote:
If I got hung-up with a character, I switched scenes to the bad guys to see what they were doing. And I always knew.
I love this! always switch to the bad guys because they're really running the show.
& I faltered at 20K words this year because I really needed background information and belief in my story to move forward. Perhaps next year I'll use October as research & roadmap month.
Ultimately, I learned that I was writing a story I wanted to *read* but not necessarily write. There is a difference there.