I don't know about anybody else, but that thing that holds me back from writing (even though I do it on a daily basis) is fear.
My fears change depending on where I'm at in my story, my biorhythms, whether I talked to a published friend, a overly critical relative, the weather, after I've just read the most mind blowing novel ever...
There seems to be no real rhyme or reason to them.
In order to get them out of the way and alleviate that stomach churning anxiety that inevitably accompanies being creative, I write them down before I start. This allows me to look at them and say, "Oh. Well, screw that!"
So this is the fear thread. Write 'em down... and then punch their lights out with 1,667 words.
----------
2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
40,048 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2009 - 07 03
I'm afraid of starting. Because I have no idea where to go. I have no idea where to start. And I got to figure that out by 12 tonight! :):) NO plot? No problem! :D
----------So many words, so precious little time.
ML Columbus, Ohio
33,006 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2009 - 20 21
I, too, am afraid of starting...because I have absolutely no idea what to write.
----------2007: The Severed Earth
2008: The Bloodied Land
http://holyshrineofjourney.com
http://zenfrodo.livejournal.com
3,274 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 05 16
I wasn't afraid of starting because I figured I had the whole first chapter pretty well planned out in my head.
Then I wrote the first sentence and panicked. I hadn't decided whether to write in first or third person, and neither one feels right!
So today I have a fear of getting halfway in and then deciding the point of view is wrong. And the way I write, it would be changing more than find/replace "I" to "she".
Ok back to it. (Because I'm using these forums to procrastinate making a decision on this...)
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 07 56
...I won’t get the voices right, that I won’t be good enough to get inside their heads.
...that the psychological subtlety that I long for is beyond my abilities.
...that this will take HOURS because I am the slowest typist on the planet and I don't have hours.
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 08 34
SOS - heeeeeeeeeeeeelp!!!!!!
Perhaps it's fear blocking the blood flow to my brain, but I don't know how to start. Can I begin writing on "Word" like I usually do and then figure out how to paste it in later? Or do I write in that little blue square I saw on the word-count info page? Duh...
Huge thanks to anyone on here who answers this beginner's question!!!!! (and for being willing to take time away from your own writing)
----------Patti Mallett
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 09 32
Patti--
You just type your story in "Word" as usual. When you are finished for the day , the hour, the session... just type in your word count in that little blue box at the top of all the pages and click "update." It has nothing to do with the writing. It has nothing to do with your "official winning word count." It's just a way of visually telling yourself (and everyone else who sees it on your author page) how far you've come. The official word count thing doesn't even start working until November 25th.
Don't worry! Just write!
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 12 19
Thanks SO much for your help!
One more thing...how do you count your words? Close counting or averaging/guessing? (Then when we upload them we all write like crazy to make up for our error?)
Well, I'd better get to flinging.
----------Patti Mallett
41,706 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 12 53
I'm afraid that the story in my head won't completely translate to paper (screen) and that I'll type a lot of words that really mean nothing in the end.
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 13 15
Patti--
I believe "Word" has a word count function. I'd just use that and enter in whatever it says.
i know that sometimes programs don't always agree on word counts though.
I use Apple's "Pages." I'm planning on just writing a little more just to cover my ass in case "the official counter" has a difference of opinion. I know on November 25th I can just start letting it count and I should get an idea then of how far off I am. Programs don't usually differ by that much, though.
I hope that helps. I don't know what you mean by "close counting or averaging/guessing"--not if you're using a computer anyways.
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 16 35
You are reeeeally kind to put up with me. I'll try to pay-it-back to someone next year. I have so much to learn. Had no idea Word has a counting function. (could have used that in the past!)
Now, I think this is my last question:
Must I keep the whole thing on one document, or can I open separate documents each workday, and eventually load them one-by-one? (which sounds like a total pain in the butt as I'm typing the question.) My "back-up system" is still in its packaging and the only type of back-up I use at this time is to print off my writing work as I go. (thus the need for separate documents, unless there is a way to only print off each day's work on the same document) Okay, that seems like another question. My bad.
sigh, I did have a nice writing session and trust that you did, also :>
----------Patti Mallett
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 1, 2009 - 18 25
I found the word count. Very helpful!
To perhaps pay back a little bit now I wanted to see if you have read the NanoWriMo Blog interview with Sam Van Haligren. It has interesting tips for our novel writing and is a fun read.
----------Patti Mallett
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 04 21
...everything I think I need to write is boring and I'm all wrong and how much description does one need anyways?
...I'm stuck writing the passive voice and there's nothing passive about two people who hate each other.
Everything I am about to write is really going to suck. I don't want it to suck.
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 09 17
Here is what works for me: I stop thinking and go spend time with my characters, writing down whatever it is they are doing, whether I like it or not, whether they go in the direction I might nudge them or not. (No one will ever know if I have written four pages of junk, or forty, for that matter, and I know that I will find pearls hidden in there.)
This is what I told myself this morning as I lay on the floor exercising: "Go in there and write the book YOU want to read and forget about everybody else. And don't forget to have fun."
I find that I am changing voice as I write. I have a problem with voice and have heard that some people just don't get it. This seems like a great way to figure out what works best. And nobody, me included, is looking over my shoulder to tell me I need to get it set one way or the other. This is my experiment and I love that my critical self has not been invited into this project. She is a hyper-critical pain-in-the-ass and i'm not missing her, not even the teeniest bit!
----------Patti Mallett
12,183 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 11 19
Patti -
If you are using Word, then you can keep everything in one document. As for printing out just what you did that day, you can either:
1. highlight everything you've written for the day and then click on File - Print - click the SELECTION button - print. The default is to print the entire document, but if you select(highlight) the words first, then change the default to "selection", that should only print what you tell it to print.
OR
2. At the start of each day, enter a page break. (Use the menus to add this or just hit enter until you get to the top of the next page.) Then when you go to print the document, just print the pages you wrote that day (changing it in the same area as the SELECTION option.) i.e., print pages 4-17.
Good luck!
----------...Jacquie...
2006: Maggie & Ethan v.1.0--FAIL
2008: Maggie & Ethan v.2.0--FAIL
2009: Maggie & Ethan v.3.0
"Writing is easy. You only need to stare at a piece of blank paper until a drop of blood forms on your forehead." - Douglas Adams
17,037 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 12 28
I am afraid of getting started because I may not make the 50,000 word count ...that makes sense right?
60,010 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 13 08
I'm not sure what I'm afraid of today. Feeling very jittery. Off to a good start yesterday, but can't even seem to open the file today. Maybe after dinner . . . .
~ Nita
----------------------------------------
Check out central Ohio's most complete listing of writing events: Write Now Newsletter
2004: Memorial
2008: The Dream
2009: The Dream (O.M.W.F.)
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 16 48
Wow! You are cooking, Uptown Girl! You are staying on task! Maggie and Ethan will make it this year! I'm sweating with the numbers I've added in. My butt is sore, too, although that is perhaps from too much snooping around at other NaNo'ers. I'm the only writer in my "gang" so love the interaction. Trying to get a shout-out from Switzerland. So much fun.
Thanks for the tips. I'll write that stuff down on one of these index cards piled up on my desk. There is so much to learn and, little-by-little, and with help, I'm getting there.
I'm laughing at your Douglas Adams quote. (There's got to be another blank card around here some place..............)
Best of luck to you, too!
----------Patti Mallett
11,111 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 16 57
Today, I'm afraid of falling behind on my story... I have to study for my math test, and this novel seems like a better idea that that, haha! But I'm stuck, so I'm going back and forth.
4,134 / 50,000
nov. 2, 2009 - 18 56
Today I'm afraid no matter how hard I try this story will never be as good on paper as it is in my head!
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 03 02
Today, I am afraid of a repeat of yesterday. Depression is NOT conducive to creativity.
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
3,274 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 06 14
...the huge amount of research needed to make this historical fiction piece even somewhat accurate.
The fact that I sometimes get an idea and can't even get through the sentence without looking something up is not really how I envisioned this project going.
For example, I want to write a sentence about their mother, and then the thought process starts: Their mother worked in a factory during WWII, but after the war the women lost their jobs because the men came home. But could she have kept hers if she was a war widow? How would she earn money for the family? And wait, did they get pensions or anything from the military to replace their dead husbands' income?
And then there's the lingo: did they use shortened terms for things like "bike" and "plane" back then, or only say "bicycle" and "airplane"? Did they go to the movies, the cinema, or the theater?
I try to not worry about it, knowing I can go back and fix details later, but some things are more pivotal to the way the plot develops and need to be answered right away. (Thank God for the Internet!) And some of the things I find actually help me add to the story, like discovering an air show was held in town that year. But it all takes so much time!
So my fear for this entire month is of getting bogged down in finding answers to my odd historical questions, and constantly losing the flow of my writing...which so far has been happening about every 400 words. :P
40,048 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 06 26
Just keep in mind this is NaNoWriMo. Everyone's going to suck. Right now I know I just wrote an entire scene of dialogue and I hate when I do that. In fact at the end of nano there is a thread dedicated to how much we suck caled "Nanoisms" where we talk about the things that we write that just make no sense. Etc.
Enjoy your sucking. It shows you where your strenths are and where your weaknesses are. Write those down in a book and work on them in the offseason withs ome other writing projects that don't have a harried time limit.
----------So many words, so precious little time.
ML Columbus, Ohio
40,048 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 06 29
Asterisks. Make it up. Then put an asterisk to remind yourself that you just made it up and to look it up later. Or make footnotes or what have you. Just keep writing.
----------So many words, so precious little time.
ML Columbus, Ohio
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 06 44
What's the goal? We can't get there if we don't know where we're going. (Though I've tried many times.)
Is it "getting it right" or is it "the 50,000 word count"? If it is somewhere in the middle, then what is the goal?
Just because we are afraid of something doesn't mean we have to act like we are. Who wants to join me in being very brave today? (Hey, who threw that tomato??)
----------Patti Mallett
44,810 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 06 48
Great advice about the asterisks (and for teaching me how to spell it). Thanks!!! Sometimes it's the simple things that help the most!
----------Patti Mallett
3,725 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 23 52
Today I am afraid of what I've gotten myself into, I literally started this yesterday and I'm so behind. I'm almost at 3,000, which is a lot for me. I'm used to writing short stories, and this is so out of my comfort zone. I don't know if I'll win, but at this point I'm hoping for the very very best.
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 04 48
Today I am afraid of... me. I am afraid that I am incapable of the consistency and staying power necessary to do something this big. Yesterday was great. I did well. I wrote 2,700 words and made up a little detail that is still giving me the giggles.
And today none of that matters... because now I have to do it again! And my track record with stuff I want to do for myself is not impressive. Another 1,667 words seems so far away...
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
50,374 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 12 20
Today I am afraid of... my lack of revising my last WIP during this time and how I'm going to be querying it in December instead of right now. And worrying that agents will see 50K in the query and assume it's an unedited NaNo book.
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 06 14
Today I am afraid of what happens next. Up until now I had a plan. I have an outline of sorts. But it occurred to me yesterday that there was... something missing in my story, and I'm still not sure what it is exactly. So those 1,667 words are looming large.
My stomach is all queasy, I'm breathing shallow, and my nerves are all firing at once. All this to-do over writing into the unknown!
Fear sucks.
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure
69,250 / 50,000
nov. 7, 2009 - 05 03
Today I am afraid that my imagination has taken a vacation. I'm really tired today. Really tired. (Bad night.)
I can't seem to focus on anything. This is bad. This is the time I have available today and I'm starting to panic. Panic is not conducive to creativity.
I want to finish Act 1 today and I can't seem to put my mind in my story. At all. $#*@!
----------2009: The Cell
"It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself."
-Chris in the Morning from Northern Exposure