How's everyone doing? I have heard that the second week is the hardest!! We have made it through these first few days so we can do this. It's only words. They won't kill us. Do any of you 'old timers' have advise or suggestions that can help us newbies (first timer) get through the second week? I had no story line when I started and only one character and a dog. I have followed my character to new and exciting places and have met interesting new characters and traveled fascinating terrain over these past few days. I can look forward to next week knowing that my character will take me deeper into unmarked territory. However any tricks to make the journey easier will be welcomed. Here's to more interesting words and creative sentences.
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57,000 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 05 18
I'm a newbie too, and I feel like the second week is going to be harder than the first. The adrenaline has worn off a little, and I'm having to slog through the middle part of my story, which involves setting up a lot of scenes for later conflicts, and it's surprisingly hard to do as I feel like I'm just describing stuff as an encyclopaedia would!
But I'm determined to keep pushing through! We can do it!
----------FINISHED!
Days taken: 17
Coffees consumed: 18
Green teas consumed: 22
Sanity: In there somewhere
Fingers: Aaargh!
42,616 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 07 30
I've run out of plot, pretty much. That usually happens much earlier so I'm still hopeful but it will only get harder from now on.
I don't know why a plot for a 50000 story never goes beyond 20000 words. Maybe I'm not cut out for novel writing.
----------My Blog
36,376 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 08 24
Also a newbie, and I definitely think the second week is going to be harder than the first. My characters took over and now my 3000 word, chapter by chapter, outline is almost completely outdated. I'm going to try and get through the next 10,000 or so words with what I have, and if it proves too hard I'm just going to go back and update the outline, because it really helped. Even if I don't stick to the chronological sequence exactly, all the events are there and I can just move them around to get the words flowing again, my MCs weren't supposed to kiss for at least another 3 chapters and now they've just slept together.
60,209 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 09 13
I'm using the method of "told my friends, gotta do this" to keep myself going. And I convinced a friend across the ocean to join up, and since he's currently jobless, he is going along at a massive pace. I'm trying to keep up with the word count even though I'm working full-time. He and I both know that if he was working, or if I wasn't, that I'd be ahead of him since I can type faster and enjoy writing more... but since it's not the case, I HAVE to get to 50k or I'd feel like a total failure. haha.
Surprisingly, I'm 21k words in (in a week! With full-time work where I can't type at work! OMGWTF right!) and my story is really just getting started properly. lol.
----------40,010 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2009 - 09 57
I was overly optimistic and didn't expect the second week to be so tough. Last night though I tried to sit and write and only managed about 500 words before throwing my toys out of my pram, burying my head in the sand and pretending I never chose to do this, because my plot started to move too darn fast and now all I can do is the most random filler to bump the word count up.
Thankfully this morning, I managed to pay attention to the advice I've been dishing out to others and learned to stop worrying about quality and love the quantity. So although only two weeks in, my story may have about as much coherency as a YouTube Poop video, I'm managing to remind myself that I'm not allowed to take this story as serious business.
Treating myself to a haircut and lemon drizzle cake this morning also helped :)
----------2006: So You've Fallen in Love - 1,477 words.
2007: Not-So-Lonely Road of Faith - 11,522 words.
2008: Faux - 13,366 words.
2009: The Coleridge Tape.
jayintheclouds.livejournal.com / twitter.com/jayintheclouds / facebook.com/onsentamago
32,049 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 00 20
I'm a newbie but I knew the second week was going to be tough. Saw my other half go through it last year - still did not expect my machine to pack up. It threw its toys out of the pram and I was staring at a suddenly blank screen saying it was going to sleep and there were 7000 words hidden away that I could not reach. Luckily for me other half must be descended from Heath Robinson. Identified problem - overheating - not because of the word rate unfortunately - and fixed it. Anybody else got a computer held to gether by a lump of 2 by 1 wood?
Totally impressed by the number of words that people are clocking up. I have got soooo much to do this week to catch up. I am filling the characters out nicely but the plot is grinding to a halt !!!!
Still the weather is co-operating and it is raining so reducing the temptation to go out.
14,025 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 07 37
Past two days have been rubbish, I finally got all my characters into one room (something I've been struggling to for since the first day) and my interest has dipped. Plus by the look of it I'm behind on my word-count as well... lame!
----------12,298 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 15 02
Well done everyone.
I'm plodding along but slightly worried my Plot will end at maybe 40,000 words. Might have to recycle characters. Have them killed only for them to come back to life.
If anyone's got tips to making a novel longer p/s advice.
----------Lady Yacht
Good luck Comrades - May the "Plots" be with you.
Tweet me me any useful info, while I'm out on Ocean blue.
http://twitter.com/LadyElenaUK
23,708 / 50,000
Nov 14, 2009 - 19 18
Week 2 was just awful for me. I didn't have time to write at all, because of university and I spent pretty much all day in the library every day. On the bright side, i just splurred out 5000 words in one go. So, since I am now only 10000 words behind and I've proven I can do half that in the space of about two hours, I think I can catch up. Week 3 will be better.
----------There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them. (George Orwell)
13,696 / 50,000
Nov 15, 2009 - 06 02
I'm so behind it's shocking, and I keep wondering if I can catch up!! Thing is I have enough plot to keep me going for ages but am struggling with despondency because I feel I now have a mountain to climb and am still on the first plateau while everyone else is way ahead... It's encouraging to hear you caught up so well in one session cap red... I'm hopefully gonna get more done today... Can I make it I wonder, is it even worth trying at this point in the game???
41,305 / 50,000
Nov 15, 2009 - 09 02
Poppet, you can definitely catch up. That was me, last year. After a smooth start the year previous, it was really depressing. In the end, though, the surge happened. Look at these amazing folk who today are 10K off the winning wordcount at what is barely the half-way line ... Don't know how they're doing it, but they prove it can be done.
I've been working hard to keep my nose in front of the daily expectation because guests are arriving next weekend (#*@£!~%!!!), and am panicking because I don't know how I'm going to justify my premise or get all the 'tales' told in the time, or conclude the damn thing and make it seem significant. It's a struggle to sublimate all that anxiety and let the fingers do the fretting, but you just gotta. Over the past three years I have found the pep-talks crucial - especially Chris's, and it's inspiring to know that real, live, royalty earning authors whom I read and revere, who made it seem so easy, go through the same inane self-flagellation at the same stages of the process.
Keep punching the keys.
----------Writers write. And when they’ve written, they write some more. ~ Jasper Fforde