Running Commentary. Hows it going?

Ah, the Air Race, we've been enjoying that pleasant droning for the last few days too.

Very unproductive weekend, and I've got so much on today i won't get very much done then either. But this evening I hope to catch up a bit. Had a bit of a plot crisis but got some good suggestions from the plot doctoring thread, so I'm back on track again. Now it's not the story that's slowing down, but just finding the time to put fingers to keyboard!

Hopefully the fact that everyone's been so quiet means we're doing well and will give those in Illinois a run for their money this year!

Um, not bragging but I went on a manic writing bent. I am up to 28,850. I think someone fed my muse something......
I might add the house is a disaster and the kids (teenagers) have gone elsewhere to forage for food. So all in all it's good. LOL

A rather smart person I know showed me how to make this month easier. This is what he said:

50,000 words in 30 days =
11667 words per week =
1667 words per day =
42 minutes writing at 40 words per minute!

Missing one day is easy to catch up; an extra minute per day in the time left

Missing a week means 5 hours to catch up!

DON'T EDIT AS YOU WRITE!

Story = Conflict + Action + Resolution

DON'T THINK - WRITE!!!!

I love his last line, 'don't think write'. That's how I am most of the time. LOL

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Just hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt............

I'm just keeping to my daily limit - 100 over one day, 100 under the next. (I always edit as the words are leaving my fingers, which slows me down a little but means less work later.)

So far I've written to the plot outline, although I did make a couple of changes. I like to keep things simple, so when I have four people in a group I'll find a reason for them to split up. Makes dialogue much easier, and it also gives me an excuse to write different viewpoints. Or perhaps one pair is doing something unimportant, so they can just rejoin the other characters when they're done.

In this case, instead of all four dropping into the middle of a forest and then making their way to civilisation, two are dropped at the destination and the other two have to trek.

Simon Haynes, programmer of yWriter
Author of the Hal Spacejock series
Also on Myspace!

I've been trying to beat my highest score every day... but I can't because yesterday, I wrote more than usual... so now I'm all peeved... I should cut out that chunk of the novel or something...

Wait, no.. that would be stupid. I'll just write a lot tonight... and every other night for the rest of November!

I iz teh Batman. I haz built-in pecs.

2007: Waddle 118K

I'm going at a nice pace. Due to exam study, however, theres no way I'll be able to go any faster, I reckon i'll be writing right up until the 30th

Woo! Signature!

Wow! The folks who are posting here are going well!
Well, I am also going quite nicely-- my characters are surprising me with their own personality twists, and a stream of conscience sequence turned out to pretty much sum up the relationship between my two MCs. Boo-wah! Take that, novel!

Amy

I'm pretty happy with how I'm going so far....getting up around 12,000 words. I'm doing it my usual way - the beginning is written, the end is written, now I'm just plugging the gaps inbetween....

Yeah, had a big catch-up day today, got over 4k done. I've never been one for consistency. XD

But I'm doing alright. Done a bit of planning as to where I'm going next, since I'm running out of unfinished scenes to write. So yeah. Looking good so far. :D

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"Do not meddle in the affairs of slashers, for you are cute and look good with other men!" - Unknown

Current Project:
The Glass House (NaNo 06)
Current: WC: 111,179
Current Status: Editing

I'm currently sitting at about 4,500 words. So about three days behind. But that count doesn't include my first two days writing because I had to write them on paper. (Hint for next year's nano -- make sure you know where your power cord for your laptop is BEFORE November starts).

I still don't know if I'll include those words in my final word count because right now they don't fit with everything else I've written since on the laptop. Or maybe my characters will let me know how it all connects together.

And that post-apocalyptic plan? Completely out the window! Seems my characters made a promise three years ago to all meet up and they're currently on the way to do so.

I've just gone over the 14K mark and I'm astounded with myself! This NaNo has been a real eye-opener for me as regards what being a writer really means. It means getting words down on the page, even if the first draft is not going to be fit for human perusal :)

I usually come in from work, groan at the thought of trying to get my daily goal of 1800 words churned out, but when I MAKE myself sit there and aim for that word count, something else takes over.

Sheer magic.

Years done NaNo: 2007
Years won NaNo: 2007

Hey Shamrock

You're an inspiration! I've only got to 5,086... losing momentum so early...

Robin

Yep my novel is going well. I think I planned it out well this year. Go me. *laughs* Planning isn't always my strong suite.

I think it has something to do with having the story told from five different points of view. Keeps me going forward.

My NaNo Blog

2005 § Red Rose Castle § 50,024
2006 § Solstice, Rose & Equinox § 51,628
2007 § The White Rose § 50,247

I have to admit that I am lucky enough to not have to work everyday. My massive burst of writing lasted from 6am until 11 pm. I barely moved from my computer, or should I say bed with laptop. Hard life huh? And I don't write from beginning to end, so as soon as I get an idea I write it out. That teans I have several unfinished chapters I can go back to later. Dialogue Is a great way to get your word count up. So are arguments between characters. A clash of wills will give heaps to work off.

I am managing at least 4-5000 words a day other than the manic outburst.

When this is all over I will have to get in a bulldozer to clean out the house though. LOL or maybe just light a fire..... Only kidding.

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Just hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt............

I've slowed down. Was very ahead, now starting to... drift. Although I've thought alot about whats going to happen and done some massive plotwork, the document itself has not really been added to substantially.

Well, I finally made a start last night.
I signed up just before midnight on the 31st and spent all of November 1st trying to decide which of two ideas to run with.

I was all set to start on November 2. Then I discovered I was expected to have a monthly newsletter I do, which I thought was due out on the 12th, done and posted by the 5th.
It was a monster this month, and it ate my entire weekend and half of Monday. I didn't have the energy to start my novel that night, and I had to work on Tuesday morning.

Yesterday (Tuesday 6) I sat down after work and realised I had 25 days left to crank out 50k. So, I'm operating on a 2000 a day target.

I finally got started last night, just before midnight, and only made a little over 1000 before I ran out of steam.
Fortunately, I don't have any other commitments to deal with today, so I plan to hit at least 4000 by tonight.
Hopefully, I'll get caught up in the evolution of my plot and run with it. It would be great to get a little further ahead while I have some extra time.

It does feel good to finally have something bigger than a 0 next to my name.

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one in that situation. I only started Tuesday night too. It's going to take a bit of catching up. 2000 words does not sound like much, but it took me almost 3 hour to write 2000 words. Then again, I do tend to rewrite a sentence 2 or 3 times before I'm happy with it.

Stop that! Bad koueihou! It's quantity, not quality, you know :)

I seem to have spent a lot of time at the keyboard today with little to show for it. I want to get up to my target by tomorrow, so that I can exceed it on the weekend and take the pressure off a little. Also we just bought a house (if everything goes to plan) and I'm realising I'd better start cleaning this place because otherwise it will be a nightmare when we move out. Oh, and we have a house inspection next week! Woohoo.

The last three days I've been programming instead of writing. (During the day, I mean. I've still been catching up later, but it's hard work!)

Still, the programming has been going well.

Simon Haynes, programmer of yWriter
Author of the Hal Spacejock series
Also on Myspace!

Well, if I ever want to be able to read it again I need to do all I can to make it umm... readable. I plan to do that by lading on the innuendos and gratuitous sex (even when there is no real need for it). Hmm... maybe I'll skip the gratuitous sex. It gets mighty uncomfortable to type with a laptop on your lap when you're writing that sort of stuff (for a male anyway). Argh! I've just wasted 15 minutes writing this post all because of my (habitual) need to edit my sentences 2-3 time! OK, more story less post.

PS Just calling me Eihou sounds better. Call me koueihou would be like calling John Smith, Johnsmith. So its Kou Eihou, surname firstname.

Hey Eihou - seems you're struggling with the infamous 'inner editor'. I have the same problem, and am having to constantly force myself to ignore whatever it is that's bothering me with the lines I've just written and move on to the next bit. December (and beyond) is time to edit and rewrite.

I didn't manage to get up to the target I'd set myself yesterday, which was to get to 4000 and get back on top of my 2000 a day plan. (I only did a little over 1100 on my first day, and yesterday was my day 2). Not to worry - I DID get to 3200, which means that yesterday I achieved my basic 2000 a day aim. I just have to make up for the shortfall on day one somewhere along the line. Maybe I can catch up today.

I didn't get started yesterday till quite late at night, thanks to some unexpected interruptions. I had errands to run today, but I've already taken care of most of them. My plan is to grab some lunch after I post this, then get right back into it.

I found it so hard last night to pick up from where I left off. That first line just didn't want to come. Once I forced something out and got going, I was really getting into a flow. I stopped typing when the need for sleep took over - NOT because the flow of ideas had stopped. That's great, because it means I know exactly what I want to write for the first couple of lines today. I'm hoping that will make it easier for me to get back into a rhythm.

One of my characters, who was only supposed to make a brief appearance to introduce the events of my main storyline, has suddenly taken it into her head that she's far more important than that and needs a back story. So that's what I've been writing. The novel was originally intended to be about her children. Now I'm looking at a plot development that will make the story span three generations. Unless I skimp on detail, it's either going to be a very large book, or a trilogy of smaller ones. Either way, I can't see it being finished in November, even if I do hit my 50K.

My word count so far isn't very big, but what I have written has been done in a comparatively small amount of time. I'm looking forward to learning how much I might achieve given a good stretch of uninterrupted writing time.

Enough! Food first, then Novel. No more procrastinating.

Eihou - name explanation noted! Sorry.

I deliberately spent the whole day away from my novel today. I'm hoping it gives me an edge tonight, plus I got half the bathroom clean, took the baby to the park and cooked chocolate pudding for dessert. The chocolate pudding is, of course, essential for spurring me on. I may need another helping around 9pm when everyone else is in bed heh heh.

The first two weeks are a bit of a struggle for me, especially now, because of uni exams in subjects I'm not too keen on. But they'll be over in a week, so bring on the writing then!

A tip I've found that works for me, though, is to write as soon as you wake up. I keep my laptop by my bed, so before I even get out of it I hoist it up onto my lap and start writing. I can only get 400 words done before I have to get up, but I forsee after exams, I'll not be moving for a while. It works really well because while you're just waking up, you don't seem to *have* that inner editor. You just sit down, and write - things just flow.

@}-,-`-
We live for roses,
Yet we all dwell in the shade.
Sunlight fills our dreams.
@}-,-`-

I've only just started....eek!
I've written 220 words so far, and like them (ish). But now what!!!!?

Right, I am going to make a big dent in it tonight. It's so hard not to edit. I think I need to really try not to think of this as being anywhere near a decent story at the end. Just an exercise to see what's in my head.

Ok, going to try and right some more and get Perth's average word count up!

I'm a glutton for punishment. I wrote for the 24 Hour Play and Film festival at the weekend and thus wrote a MUSICAL from 7pm to 7am on saturday night, helping out sunday day then watching them perform it sunday night. I'm glad I did it, but I feel hungover and a bit sick (i didnt drink at all) from lack of sleep. I think todays novel writing activity is going to be minimal and I might get an early night.

On the upside, my creative output for November is going to be phenomenal.

I've spent more time making changes to yWriter3 than writing, but that's just another reason I enjoy Nano. (No, I can't start my daily words yet .. I'm still tweaking the program to write them in!)

I also spend a few hours writing myself a little text editor with a countdown word count. You put in how many words you want to write, and every few seconds it updates the status bar, showing how many to go. Great for little 500 word bursts + breaks!

Simon Haynes, programmer of yWriter
Author of the Hal Spacejock series
Also on Myspace!

With such hot weather yeaterday I couldn't get motivated. That and I had 2, yes, count them, 2 electricians at my house. I couldn't get one for moths them 2 showed up. One for my wobbly ceiling fan, the other for my aircon. Might explain why I was so figgin hot!

Then there were the fire engines which tore past sirens blaring. I get jittery at that sound. Living near a forest and all.

So due to all that I only wrote just over 1200 words. Ick. I might have to pull my finger out today. still no airconditioner today though. grrr.

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Just hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt............

My aircon is also dead. Given the heat up here yesterday, I just couldn't face the task of writing. So frustrating, when I'd finally hit my 12k target on Sunday night and then surged ahead a little. Got to 12, 332, in fact. I wanted to make it 14k by last night, but a measly 605 words was all I could manage to add. I'm on 12,937 now, which means I'm behind again. Need to try and catch up over the next couple of days.

There's a couple of things that might help. For one, it's cooler today. Still hot, but not so bad as to make writing impossible.
Also, the aircon guy came today. It's not fixed, but he's gone away to get the part that needs replacing and will most likely be back on Thursday. Meanwhile he's got it working sufficiently well to provide a teensy bit of relief. It's not letting enough water pump through fast enough for us to run it on a very high setting, but there's enough trickling in now that we're at least getting cool air puffing in on us instead of great howling gales of hot furnace blasts.

Oh - and just after I stopped typing last night, I had a major revelation about what one new character was doing nudging his way into my story. I worked out how he was connected to another minor (till last night) player in my plot, and that filled in her back-story for me. I suddenly saw that she was far more important than I realised and that her role is the pivotal point on which the whole thing turns.

What was really exciting was that I then had a string of minor 'eureka!' moments to follow. Identifying her role suddenly let a whole pile of puzzle pieces fall neatly into place, filling a gaping plot hole that had been bothering me, and making a lot more sense of most of what I've already written besides.

It was like I already knew sub-consciously what was really going on, but just hadn't put 2 & 2 together.
I was too tired and hot to go back to my computer, but I picked up a pen and an exercise book and started jotting. I now have five complete pages of new plot summary and character notes to work from. I'm really beginning to feel quite excited about where this is headed.

I haven't started my writing session today yet. I mostly write in the late afternoon and then again late at night.

My aim for today is to get to the 14K I should have hit yesterday, and then just to see how much more I can do beyond that.
I'm going to allow myself till Friday to catch up to my planned overall target. (That would be 22K by Friday night.)
Then I need to try and get ahead.
I have a birthday coming up and my daughter's graduation night and a bunch of other outings over the next week and a half. That's all going to cut into my writing time, so I'm hoping for a few good spurts to put me slightly ahead of target.

Wow Galeana, it sounds like you have hit a gold vein there. I hope it works out well.

Just to be a bearer of good news (no stonings please) I heard the weather is not about to change anytime soon. Ick ick ick.

Air con is still not fixed.

Oh but a diversion.... I was supposed to go out to lunch with one of our suppliers today but we couldn't go into the chosen resturant, apparently they were filming a movie in there. There were cameras and equipment everywhere. According to the guy who owns the shop next door, and a customer of ours, he said it was a Jackie Chan movie. Hmm I have my doubts but it was interesting all the same. Now I will be waiting to see what movie comes out with a scene in a Chinese BBQ resturant in downtown Northbridge.

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Just hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt............

Its probably something to do with the Northbridge Festival. My boyfriends one of the festival co-ordinators, I might ask him.

Agh! I've never written a forum note before . The computer is not my friend!
[I read Chris Baty's book and accidentally discovered NaNo just before November's kick off started.]

I've been trying to find how to get in touch with other local NaNos writers. Man, I love the idea that other fools are going through this same torment so close to home!

If you get this, here's my question:
If you get 10 000 words then find it's gone in the wrong direction should you go ahead anyway and end up writing the wrong novel?

Sava