So started in 2004 and my PC died the week before November and didn't get working until Mid-November. So after three weeks of marching my PC all over the state to get new parts and fix it. I got barely anything done.
2005, I burned out halfway through the month and sputtered out very quickly after that. Even pushing myself ending in the same response as lawn mowers on the first start try . . .mnah, nah, nah, nah . . . No. Didn't mater how I beat that horse it was dead.
2006, I was so hopeful. I had it all planned out, everything worked in my head. Had everything to set out, and ready. Stress from trying to finish JobCorps and deal with the NaNoWriMo group we had going there. Killed it again. Which irks me too no end, cause I really liked that story! I really liked it! Much head thumping on that one.
Then last year, I never signed up. I thought about, checked it out. Then decided that working Full time, swing shift with 20 hours of overtime every week. Along with crappy roommates was not something I wanted to deal with along with trying to finish.
I'm bound and determine to finish one this year. The fires are burning brightly, but I don't want the fires to die half way through the month. I need all the help I can get. Any suggestions to feed kindling to my muses. I feel really defeated here. So here's the question boiled down to base form. How do I not lose my plot halfway through or just give into stress or annoyance and throwing in the hat? My loose plan just includes alot spending most of the time I'm writing without distractions. Taking them off my PC for the month, keeping my only music and turning off my wifi adapter unless I have serious need of Wikipedia or something like that. Any more suggestions?
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5,029 / 50,000
oct. 13, 2008 - 04 16
My one suggestion would be to see if there is a local group of Wrimos you can hang out with during the month. I find that the write-ins energize me. They feed the well, and leave me excited about working on my story. I've also made great friends through Nano, which has been wonderful for my writing outside of November. :-)
----------Gyps
"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. " - Mark Twain
[url=http://dragcave.net/viewdragon/C8Iw][img]http://dragcave.net/image/C8Iw.gif[/img][/url]
56,883 / 50,000
oct. 13, 2008 - 04 58
Timed writing usually works really well to get me started again when I get stuck. Ten minutes seems to work best - just set a timer and keep your fingers moving (even if it's total crap) the whole time. (If it really is total crap and I can't stand the sight of it, I make the text gray italics and ignore it thereafter).
Also, try not to read what you've written - if what you've written is good, you'll feel like whatever you write next has to be just as good, which will slow you down at best and make you freeze up at worst; if it sucks, you'll be depressed about it and not want to write anything.
Most of all, though, just don't give up when you hit your doldrums. For me that's somewhere between 25K and 32K. I just force myself to make some progress every day. It doesn't have to be the magical 1,667 or whatever - sometimes I have a sick kid and getting 100 words is the best I can do. But just getting something down helps psychologically during those I-freakin'-hate-this-story days.
Good luck!
----------2007 - The Empress and the Inquisitor (won!)
2006 - The Raven and the Dragon -(won!)
2005 - The Wind and the Waves (March, won!)/ Vampire Pie (November, won!)
0 / 50,000
oct. 13, 2008 - 05 27
I agree with kestlebird, and add, when you get too stuck on a scene and really can't bring yourself to get through it just write something, anything, totally random to make the scene look vaguely finished (even if it winds up ending 'and the world exploded, the end.') and move on to the next scene. You can always come back to it after November. If things are feeling dull throw in something unexpected, there's always plenty of dares around, and some can actually work in your favour.
Turning off the internet can also be a good plan if you're easily distracted by it, I did it a time or two in my first year and it meant I atually hit my word count for the day earlier than I expected.
Pretty much, just keep at it, write at least something everyday, and you'll get there eventually!
52,427 / 50,000
oct. 13, 2008 - 09 06
I agree with the all the suggestions and your ideas but make an appointment with yourself to write a specific # of words. You need 1667 a day to make the 50,000 in 30 days. So, set a goal, make an appointment and lock the doors.
And just write, even if it seems what your are writing is not contributing. You can develop a character, describe the town, introduce an odd item. I added polar bears to my story last year, when I got stuck. It worked beautifully! And it made sense once the scene was written, but it didn't have to. It got me unblocked.
I also found a really great guide book that has loads of ideas in it. You can download it here: http://lazette.net/Free%20Stuff/NaNo.htm
Cruise the forums that deal with the issues you are having. There are a lot of experienced folks doing this. They done it for years. Some are already successful writers.
The key is you have to keep going even when it feels like crap, even when you feel like crap. Try getting ahead in the early days and then, when things begin to drag you have some wiggle room.
Good luck!
Oh, and don't call it a failure yet. You haven't even started! You can do it.
----------Dixiegirl
"May you be captured by a dozen ideas that you quickly convert to a good story."
2008:
80,196 / 50,000
oct. 13, 2008 - 09 42
Something else that I find very helpful is accountability. If you have someone who is wiling to bug you about your word count, not to let you sleep until you've gotten your words for the day, to be very disappointed if you fall behind or if you fail, you're more likely to do what you set out to do - because if you don't, you won't be the only one who is disappointed. And that someone can double as a cheerleader, to make you feel amazing about what you've done when you've done it.
It helps if this person is also doing NaNoWriMo, or at least is a fellow writer. Non-writers just tend not to understand the point of all this insanity, and can do more to discourage you than encourage. That is not always the case - as to all rules, there are exceptions to this one - but generally, you want someone who can share your writing highs and lows as only another writer can.
----------"A man can't be always defending the truth; there must be some time for him to feed on it." - C. S. Lewis
