For those of us who have started writing, it seems to be going well. We have 26 writers in our region who have posted a word count update since writing began November 1.
Based on the current stats for our region (United States :: Kansas :: Topeka) our total word count is 195,000, our average word count per writer is 4,431 and the donations sent in from our region total 555.00 so far. I hope to see all of those numbers getting much higher over the coming days and weeks!
Some of you may be waiting to update your word count on the nanowrimo site – but don’t keep us in suspense!
Some of you may not have started writing yet, but it’s not too late. If you start writing today, November 4th, you only need 6668 words to be caught up, or you need to average an extra 250 word a day for the rest of the month. Either way, you can still write your novel this November!
Our Current Topeka Top Ten Word Counts (as of noon on Wednesday 11-4)
(calculated using the Search tab, Author search, limited to Topeka region)
Gaelic Girl 15523
lysistrata 12281
tianne 11033
brad.allen 9163
steeter 8533
seliza78 7338
WholeHeart 6529
RomanTwilight 6505
Dragle 6326
sarahsmf 6021
letswrite 5928
Local and online Events in the next few days include
Caffeinate and Chat TONIGHT, Nov 4, 6pm at the Classic Bean. Come grab a bite to eat, chat with fellow writers and then head home full of caffeine and inspiration to help boost your word count.
Virtual Write In Thursday night 5pm-midnight and Saturday
From the comfort of your own computer, join us in the Topeka regional forums http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/1010169
or in our meebo chat room http://www.tscpl.org/programs/comments/chat_room/
and write your heart out!
Have you gotten stuck yet? Had a character hijack the story in a new direction? Are you dealing with the unexpected in your novel?
If you need new ideas or need to refocus, many of Topeka ML Maidenfine’s pre-writing links are great for in-the-midst-of-the-brainstorm help as well. Find them on her blog here: http://maidenfine.wordpress.com/category/writing/nanowrimo/
Email or nanomail me if you have any questions or need some extra encouragement, or give a shout in the forums to get help from your entire support-network of Topeka writers!
Lissa / lysistrata
p.s.
If you don’t read the Breaking News on the center of the nanowrimo.org site, you might have missed this gem from Chris Baty earlier this week---
There's an old folk saying that goes: Whenever you delete a sentence in your NaNoWriMo novel, a NaNoWriMo angel loses its wings and plummets, screaming, to the ground.
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Perhaps my entire novel can be written during hours and minutes that my toddler is sleeping. Perhaps not.
47,348 / 50,000
Nov 6, 2009 - 15 18
Hello my fellow writers! The weekend is upon us!
Mark your calendars – extra Caffeinate and Chat added for Wednesday Nov 11, 6-7 pm at Classic Bean, 21st and Fairlawn (note: this is Veteran’s Day, you might have the day off of work or school already!)
If you are on the 1,667 words a day plan for November, then today (Friday) is the 10K mark. By Monday, your word count goal at 15K. If you are close to a five-digit word count already, that is FABULOUS. If not, keep writing, in 10 minute bursts or 1 hour stretches, whatever works for you. Get support in the forums, email me or find me on Facebook, get a writing buddy and word war a few times, but keep writing!
THREE CRAZY IDEAS IF YOU ARE BEHIND/STUCK/UNINSPIRED/UNFOCUSED/DESPERATE
1.Change genres. Were you writing a CIS-spinoff? Add a magic genie. Working on a heartwarming romance? Kill someone off. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/books/review/Whitehead-t.html Read this witty satire article about genres from the New York Review of Books for inspiration, then make your switch. Obviously, don’t start over, just switch mid scene and keep writing the “new” story!
2. Boost your ratings and your word count with a celebrity guest star. Don’t waste more than 5 minutes researching, here is a link to the Time Magazine 100 most influential people www.time.com/time/time100. If your characters are boring you this weekend, it’s time to bring in a guest appearance. It’s up to you if Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel actually becomes a character or if instead you add a businessman with an uncanny similarity to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos!
3. HOW TO MAKE FOOD BRIBES Get a sticky-note and a snack. Write a word count goal (ex: 1400 words today, or 13000 words total) on the sticky and label your snack. When you reach your goal, your motivational snack awaits as a reward. Until then, it taunts you with illicit tastiness and proclaims the word count you must strive to reach!
And speaking of food bribes (did you hear that I gave out cookies at this week’s meeting?) at the grocery store last night, a GREAT SELECTION OF CHOCOLATE-BASED BRIBES jumped into my cart and will be available at upcoming Topeka Nanowrimo writing events for "motivational adoption"!!!
TOPEKA’S TOP WORD COUNTS
If you aren’t on this list, write more words! (also, you need to have Topeka set as your home region OR have Topeka typed as your location)
If you are on the list, find someone above you and challenge them, try to out-write them this weekend. Watch out for those below you, their word counts are on their way up!
Topeka’ s Top 25 Word Counts (from Friday afternoon)
1. plswriter 33761
2. Gaelic Girl 28453
3. tianne 17010
4. alf 15503
5. lysistrata 14231
6. brad.allen 13350
7. dustbunnygirl 13117
8. DMCole 12339
9. steeter 12198
10. gfeliu 12111
11. fripmix 11910
12. Milanminded 10805
13. WholeHeart 10296
14. fredwrite 10,111
15. RayH 10,101
16. Maidenfine 9503
17. sarahsmf 9077
18. squaresthesecond 9075
19. seliza78 9018
20. pomerantzmd 8610
21. Joekerh 8444
22. Dragle 8442
23. benowriter 8432
24. BrendaWilch 6790
25. wristmala 6604
Go write your novel. Make something odd happen. Make characters do surprising things. Something completely unlike themselves. Or exactly like themselves. Or mind-controlled by an evil alien who is nothing like anyone else ever on the face of the earth. Make characters fall in love, or sing karaoke, or jaywalk or go hand-gliding off cliffs. Have your characters celebrate “Talk Like a Pirate Day” or “Happy Hour” or “Easter” or an anniversary.
Write.
Then write some more.
Fondly,
----------Lissa
Perhaps my entire novel can be written during hours and minutes that my toddler is sleeping. Perhaps not.