How Ready Are You?

scribofelidae
How Ready Are You?

11,823 / 50,000
Joined: Mar 25, 2008
Location: Sudbury
Posts: 38
Posted on:
Oct 27, 2009 - 06 38

It's T-4 days and counting before NaNoWriMo begins. Crazy, eh?

Just for fun, tell us how far along you are in your project!

1. Are you "pantsing" or "outlining" your novel?

"Pantsing" refers to writing the novel by the seat of your pants. Going to go in with a wing and a prayer, or do you have it all planned out?

2. For the outliners, how far along are you?

Do you have just the highlights set down or is it all mapped out?

3. Brand new project? Or working on something you've had cooking already?

No nit-picking and no judgement about whether it's in the spirit of NaNoWriMo's original rules. Some of us have started fresh, some for fun, and some have added to an existing work in progress. The big, fat 50,000 word mark is the benchmark!

4. Feel good? Are you excited?!?!

No time for second thoughts -- committed is committed! Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (alternate answer formats accepted!)

My answers?

Frankly, I'm getting nervous. I normally go into NaNoWriMo with some sort of outline but I am very far and away from anything definite. I don't even have names for my protagonists! One of these days I'll wise up and just write something set in the modern day to save myself some work, but my brain rarely ticks that way.

But I'm damned excited. I've only ever won NaNo once, and plan to do so again this year.

So, how ready am I? I'd give it a weak-kneed 4 out of 10.

How excited? I go to 11, baby!
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PerfectFallacy

23,229 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 23, 2009
Location: Sudbury Ontario, Canada!
Posts: 37
Posted on:
Oct 27, 2009 - 06 47

1. Half and Half I guess. I have some of the characters semi established, they're old friends of mine.. but the story itself keeps on changing everytime I think of it. @_@

3. Well brand new obviously. I thought of working on some of my other projects [Got a friend drawing me stuff for NE ^^] buut. I figured for my first try, random writting is better. XD

4. Still getting off the sick from this week end. But I feel good. SO GOOD. xD I can't wait.

excited..? I've caught myself almost starting to write several times now. XD rofl. Not good, ne? So I'd say at least 10, if not more!

Spweeeeee. I love the tension. XD

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Angélique Nolin ~
First year participating. ~
Wanna be Author/Musician!

RintaranGlowing Halo

53,634 / 50,000
Municipal Liaison
Joined: Oct 6, 2005
Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Posts: 102
Posted on:
Oct 27, 2009 - 08 24

1 / 2. I've outlined to a point, but its not so detailed that I'm bound to it. if i need to import ninjas just to keep pushing along so be it. Shouldn't need to though. :)

3. Brand new project that I started coming up with the rough of a couple months ago. It should be interesting and will be kicking off a trilogy if everything turns out.

4. In terms of preparedness, I'm going with a 6. For excitement I'm totally off the wall. That scale's so broke you can't even pick up the pieces and slap'm back together into something sensible.

C'mon November!

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Shawn Gray, OCT
Sudbury Municipal Liason
http://www.shawngray.ca

PiscesMuseGlowing Halo

54,743 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Aug 8, 2009
Location: Sudbury, ON!
Posts: 51
Posted on:
Oct 27, 2009 - 10 51

1& 2. A Little bit of both. I have characters but not all of them have names. And I have an outline to get me started, but then there is a point were I can't see past. Were I suggest that something might happen but my characters kind of raise their eyebrows first and say lets just get there first and then see.

3. When I first came upon NaNo I thought it would be a great oppotunity to finish a work in progress. But then I read the rules and felt guilty so I decided on a whole new project. Now I know there are loophollers. But I am very excited with the new project so the old one can just suck it. Plus well I would want to scrap it and start new (because I have issues with it) but can't bring myself to do that just yet.

4. I am about 90% committed. I have this 10% resistence that is stuck on reality. It says I should quite waisting time and get a second job with all that spare time I have (cause I kind of need the money, things are managable but very tight).

I am way way excited though.

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Book Minstrel: Books and Writing Aspirations Blog.
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SooGuy

19,969 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 26, 2008
Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Posts: 29
Posted on:
Oct 27, 2009 - 14 35

1) A little of column A and a little of column B. I had planned to have a lot more outlined, but time keeps on slipping away. I am hoping I can change this all before Sunday.

2) Outlining progress - I have a rough synopsis in mind and a general arc. I have a handful of characters, some of which may or not be necessary. Names of my MC and secondary characters keep changing daily. I am still researching things for world building and back story. I may have to put all of that on hold and work on outlining scenes. Ideally I would like to come up with 30 'scenes' to write (one for every day) whether or not they are 1,667 words long or not remains to be seen.

3) Brand new project. My previous two attempts at NaNo were something I had been either working (Guardian Angel) or an idea that I had simmering for a long time (Timeframe: The Halifax Explosion). I wasn't successful at either of those NaNos, so this time something new.

4) I feel good and excited although I am still nervous about making enough time to fit in a daily word count. Work is a bit crazy right now and threatening to get more frenetic. November is always busy at home (my daughter's birthday is in November). I am going to do my best to stay motivated and let the words flow.

I am determined to make the third time the charm for winning NaNoWrimo this year. My secret weapon is going to be the November 30th ALL DAY WRITE IN if all else fails.

mythheart

25,257 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 21, 2009
Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Posts: 12
Posted on:
Oct 27, 2009 - 17 16

1/2. Some of either. I've got my basic plot thought out, and my mains pretty well formed. Everything else I'll be doing as it comes to me. I always try and let stories write themselves.

3. I'm writing on an idea that's been pottering away in my mind for months now. Just never got up the motivation to work on it. Thank you NaNoWriMo!

4. Two words: Oh Yeah! I'm finding it hard to keep my fingers occupied these days, they just want to write so much. November can't come fast enough for me now.

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"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits." ~Eden Phillpots

"Pick up a pen and fight a war for the right to dream." ~Live

dontkickmycane

28,276 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 24, 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 8
Posted on:
Oct 29, 2009 - 09 59

scribofelidae wrote:
It's T-4 days and counting before NaNoWriMo begins. Crazy, eh?

Just for fun, tell us how far along you are in your project!

1. Are you "pantsing" or "outlining" your novel?

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool pantser. No point changing that now!

2. For the outliners, how far along are you?

Since I'm not an outliner, there's really nothing to say here. I might sit and stare at a blank page for a while on that first day...

3. Brand new project? Or working on something you've had cooking already?

No idea. I might excersise my option to work on a few shorts. I've not even really thought about what I want to write yet.

4. Feel good? Are you excited?!?!

Ugh. I'm less sure I'll make the goal this year. last year, I at least had a starting place....

My answers?

Frankly, I'm getting nervous. I normally go into NaNoWriMo with some sort of outline but I am very far and away from anything definite. I don't even have names for my protagonists! One of these days I'll wise up and just write something set in the modern day to save myself some work, but my brain rarely ticks that way.

But I'm damned excited. I've only ever won NaNo once, and plan to do so again this year.

So, how ready am I? I'd give it a weak-kneed 4 out of 10.

4? You're in good shape compared to me, dude!

Jaime Samms/dontkickmycane

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Jaime Samms/dontkickmycane

R. Salazar

23,626 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 12, 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 11
Posted on:
Oct 29, 2009 - 11 33

First of all, good questions; they got me thinking I ought to give my brain a good kick to see if it'll start up anytime in the next three days...

1. and 2.
My outline is a painting--literally.
It was part of a multimedia art project I did last year, involving large doses of Salvador Dali and the dismemberment of a few clocks (which is actually a little more difficult than it would seem).

3.
The idea isn't exactly new, but I hadn't thought of writing it as a novel before... it was basically a visual exploration of the question "what is Time?"
And then, the other day, while admonishing a short story that refused to be written, I happened on my painting. Somehow, unwritten characters have a remarkable ability to fuse with acrylic paint; one of mine proved this, and promptly declared "THIS is your novel." It's still working itself out.

4.
I won't go with a number on the excitement factor; i think it might suffice to say that I've gotten to the point of jumping up and down like a hyperactive three year old every time I hear the word "November"....
As for being ready? One look at my list of school assignments puts that number into negatives. It comes down to a question, though: when a novel and a 30%-of-grade essay collide on a battlefield, which will I be cheering for?

--Rebecca

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--R. Salazar

AuraBeth

32,451 / 50,000
Official Participant
Joined: Oct 28, 2008
Location: Sudbury
Posts: 22
Posted on:
Oct 31, 2009 - 22 55

1. Since I seem to have lost all of my outlines (!!!!) I will apparently be pantsing it again. Then again it worked last year so if it ain't broke... (how many grammar nazi's just twitched?)

2.I HAD the first act mapped out scene by scene and most of the rest figured out... See #1.

3. It was going to be a sequel to last years nano, probably... I'll update in about an hour when I've started writing.

4. Felling pretty good abou.... OH GOD IT"S 2 HOURS INTO THE 1st AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED I'M DOOMED TO FAILURE! My excitement level is somewhere in the ionosphere.

Let's do this thing.

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One of the joys of travel is visiting new towns and meeting new people. -G. Khan

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