Congrats to all of you who are writing so far. I'm proud of you! Isn't it nice to see those word counts go up? Isn't it strange to find your characters veering off into, well to put it lightly, unexpected directions? Isn't it cool to know you're actually doing it, working toward this amazing and fun goal?
I wanted to ask, most importantly, how does your novel make you feel so far? Is it what you've planned or hoped for? Does it rise above your expectations and give you a warm fuzzy feeling every time you sit down to add more to its novelly glory? Is it maybe going in another direction from what you hoped, or turning out to be some horrible, terrible monstrosity that haunts you in your nightmares but you find you have some eerie unnatural drive to keep writing anyway? (I myself am starting to view mine as the latter, but chocolate, hot tea, and a grumbled reminder that this is only the rough draft keep me going.)
Share how it's going for you this year so far! We're almost about to wrap up the first week already. How time flies when you're having fun! (And how it flies even faster when you have a deadline to make!)
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43,151 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 07 54
Overall, I am happy with the entire month so far.
We have the best region on the planet, and I swear I am not prejudiced in any way, shape or form! You guys rock! =)
Even though I haven't consumed much coffee at all this month, I'm still functioning pretty well. I'm exactly on target to where I wanted to be right now as far as word count goes. I have a definite 250 words that will hit the shredder in December, but out of 10k, that isn't so bad. My main earth girl character is AMAZING. I love her to pieces, even if she is a snarly pre-teen with a horrible 'tude! The main dragonfly-ish engineer guy isn't quite what I expected, it's okay. I wanted a more extraterrestrial voice for him. Instead, he sounds like an engineer. It works for him though, and I think the ethereal quality I was looking for will come in the form of a strong secondary character--the engineer's love interest, who is a butterfly-ish psychologist.
The muses always seem to know better than me what the characters should do and say, so I'm doing what I do every November--abandoning my preconceived notions, and letting the muses have their way. ;o)
Hope you all are having a great month! If things aren't going as well as you hoped, is there anything we can do to help?
Happy noveling!
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Cheri in Peoria
2004-2008 winner
34,188 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 08 22
It feels surreal to me to sit down and write every night, even just a couple of hours. The story is taking a life of it's own. I am trying to follow an outline I created Saturday evening and it seems to help guide me. I find myself pulling from my own feelings when I went through my divorce or some other event in my life to get that across in my characters emotions. I realize this is first draft so the descriptions are not all up to par. I stop myself from trying to delete and just keep going. Tell her story, she needs to tell her story.
I am getting a kick out of this! So glad I found the local writing group and grouchmuffin for sending out notifcations. My hat is tipping to you!
Lovina
10,621 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 09 51
Yes.
----------14,404 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 11 44
Wow, so this is my first time and I've convinced my siblings and my boyfriend and his brother to do this with me- and WOW is it just amazingly fun! We push each other to write more every day, I guess sort of turning it into a race against each other! We're all looking forward to the Write-In this Saturday!
These first few days have been just a whirl of fun- staying up late with my precious caffeine, watching my characters choose their own path, and telling my boyfriend my word count and watching his face as he realizes I'm beating him!
And hey, the four of us started a blog for the month about it, it's pretty cool (in my own humble opinion of course) and you're welcome to check it out if you'd like =) http://slomo-bex.blogspot.com/
Again, can't wait for the write-in and possibly meeting a few of you! wh00tface!
Bex
----------I fell through the cracks of a wardrobe door into the land of Oz, where I promptly lost myself in the candy cane forest looking for Excalibur- that legendary vorpal blade- so that I could slay Voldemort...
43,564 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 11 54
I am happy with the way things are going. It was tough to actually start, and still can be when I sit down for the first time each day to write. I have found though, that i'm not having a problem with getting enough words for reaching my word count goal, but my story isn't quite what i had in mind when i started.
I had thought to make my main characters journey touching yet comical and i've yet to find any comedy in my writing. Like Cheri, i too know of several hundred words, maybe even a chapter that will definitely hit the shredder in December.
The writing itself really feels good. I love the sense of accomplishment I feel when i've finished my goal for the day. Then I really feel like I can move on to something else. What is strange for me, a first timer, is letting the book take it's own course. I sort of thought i would have more control, I did do scene cards and an outline! But again ~ the book seems to be cruising in it's own direction.
Thanks just for being in the same boat everyone, that makes me feel warm & fuzzy when I start to wonder what the heck was I thinking!
Katherine
----------43,151 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 12 11
Love the blog idea where you all have your own separate areas in a single entry for the day. Thanks for sharing & keep up the good work--all 4 of you! =)
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Cheri in Peoria
2004-2008 winner
38,610 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 18 04
I'm REALLY excited about the turn this year's NaNo has taken! My novel this year has a very irregular format; it starts as a prequel to last year's, becomes a parallel novel to the events in the last one, and then becomes a sequel while touching on hidden details and events that happened but went unwritten during last year's NaNo.
I'm also really confident about my word count! When I started last year, I had a couple hundred words on the first day. As the month progressed, I was able to write more and more until I had been writing a consistent 4k/day. Since I'm starting off that way this year instead of working up to it, I'm really soaring through the events of my NaNo, which just makes me ecstatic!
----------What music do you listen to while writing your NaNo? HA! Who listens to music while writing? I prefer DEAD SILENCE when I kill of a character!
4,413 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 07 19
Ha I am on the confused side:) The story I've had kicking my head around for several months has gone into a complete wall and a wholly different thing is coming out, I mwan from the ground up different characters, plotlines, etc. I'm nt sure if i should let this story sit on backburner and try to bulldoze my way through the original or see if I can bring this one out instead.
2,733 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 07 29
Work sucks. After two months of down time, we suddenly got busy November 2nd! DUH! I haven't touched the "Novel" since Sunday the 1st. I'm not stuck, just working. I'm at work 7:15 AM to 7:15 PM most days. I'm working today so will miss out on the lock in. If it weren't for work, I'd be there. My hope is to feel like a human being long enough when I get home tonight, to get some more stuff down. I am working on the "outline" (Don't you laugh Gina!!" While I am at the scale, and making notes on directions, names and relationship trees.
My niece recently told me that the trick to procrastination, is to start procrastinating early enough to manage to get done just in time......
I should make that my banner.
Beth