I'm at about 4500 words and my main character has started doing things. Doing things! Yesterday she named herself Sam. I don't even like the name Sam, but there it is on paper. Today she broke into her mother's house through a window, and when her mother came home and threatened to have her arrested, she didn't understand. It's her MOTHER's house, they're related, so how is that illegal? Obviously she's not very bright, and her name is SAM!
Isn't this supposed to happen in week 2?!?! Its way too early for this.
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8,194 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 17 57
If this was Facebook I would like this.
----------~Lone Writer~
46,133 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 18 22
hey, it's always good to start with a BANG! Do things. Awesome.
39,079 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 20 55
Hey, at least your characters are MOVING. Mine are dragging almost as much as their word count. I started at about 6300 this morning and wanted to make it 8K a lot faster tonight. If it hadn't been for my wonderful hubby I would have given up a couple of hours ago. Instead - I have 8513 words and I can taste 10K. Whew! Now if I could just get her from universe 1 to universe 2 in the next 1667 words. Wish me luck!
Hope everyone is enjoying this year's NaNo!
Lia
----------Liadona
aka Liadona Rau (SL)
2007 - yeah, epic fail, not even a title
2008 - "NOLA Bound"
2009 - "Her Sister's Gem
"Prince Griffin and the Dark Forest" (a children's book written in 1 day)
39,079 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 20 56
Hey, at least your characters are MOVING. Mine are dragging almost as much as their word count. I started at about 6300 this morning and wanted to make it 8K a lot faster tonight. If it hadn't been for my wonderful hubby I would have given up a couple of hours ago. Instead - I have 8513 words and I can taste 10K. Whew! Now if I could just get her from universe 1 to universe 2 in the next 1667 words. Wish me luck!
Hope everyone is enjoying this year's NaNo!
Lia
----------Liadona
aka Liadona Rau (SL)
2007 - yeah, epic fail, not even a title
2008 - "NOLA Bound"
2009 - "Her Sister's Gem
"Prince Griffin and the Dark Forest" (a children's book written in 1 day)
31,809 / 50,000
nov. 3, 2009 - 21 40
Hmmm...well, decide she picked that name for a reason. Is she a tomboy? Does she need to get into the mindset of a guy she likes? Or go more with the relationship between the mother and daughter. It sounds a little strained, is it because the daughter is acting out (like breaking into houses...) or because the mother fears she doesn't understand her anymore?
My characters are taking some weird turns too. I have a little 8 year old character who writes to God, and I just found out she writes her prayers to God because she's too embarrassed about her stutter. And I was like, WTF? When did you decide this? Just go with it :0)
----------2009: That's Where You'll Find Me (working title)
37,082 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 05 01
My Main Character is named QuewPea. He, and his rabbit Mr. Bunster, have just moved 100 feet across the hall in his apartment building, from a spacious 2-bedroom to a cramped 1-bedroom, to save on rent. He is now trying to wait patiently until the cable guy arrives to hook up the TV. Then at least he will have something to do.
All of this in 2,834 words. Boy, is this going slow. I'm already some 2,266 words behind just on the daily average.
At least Sam ( is her real name Samantha or something? Maybe you should ask? ) is going to see her mother. Did Sam lose her key or something? I would hate to think she broke in just to ransack the house. That sounds so ... so ... Criminal ... or something. Eeeww!
Anyway, keep going with the flow. Just remember ... you're the writer here. If Sam gets too out of line, write out her boyfriend until she starts behaving again. Or maybe let the glass cut she got while breaking in put her in the hospital until she grows up a little. It's up to you to keep her in line. Obviously, her mother isn't.
BeaJay -- The Wordsmith Wannabe
----------BeaJay -- The WordSmith Wannabe
2006 - "The Vision of Second Samuel"
2007 - "Second Samuel's Vision Revealed"
2008 - "Perry Normel fun with Liu Syd Dreaming"
2009 - "Winning by Way of Losing"
47,334 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 05 11
This may be one of the most adorable things I have ever read. This isn't a character, it is a PERSON, and one who I would love to meet.
----------Another new excerpt! This one is about faeries.
42,836 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 07 41
Argh... I'm writing for 2k a day, and I'm into the 6-7K point, with 8K done by today. I'm jumping back and forth between flashbacks and present time story, which is important to my plot, but I'm worried that nothing's happened yet. I'm still getting my character to the place where everything's going to happen, but I did set myself a goal that by 8000 words certain things need to already have happened.
So far so good, this is very exciting. Secondary characters just sort of materialized. The flashbacks all are of the protagonist's summer spent in a quiet shore town in NJ. I had no real description of my main character's friends that he travelled with, or the summer romantic interest (and reason he returns in present day), but little things suddenly materialized and traits just develop naturally.
I'm still absolutely self-conscious that what I'm writing is dreck and awful, though... but plowing through despite that. I really need to stop worrying about that until re-writes...
-----------Bryan
34,535 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 19 03
I don't really know about this. I started with a prologue and I've jumped the two protagonists together pretty quickly, in my opinion, and I've only just gotten over 5k. But every story is different. Look at The Hobbit. What's the first thing that happens? Bilbo has a meeting with Gandalf and then meets the Dwarves. No prologue. No drawn-out (well I suppose it could be looked at that way) introduction. Just...BAM. Story.
Every journey is different. Every road has different ruts and turns. But if they were all the same, where would the fun be in walking them?
----------A horse with no nose will never win close races.
16,492 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 19 58
A little backstory that's already written: Sam hates her mother. Her mom is bipolar which has lead to bordering psychosis over the years and she emotional abused Sam throughout her entire life. Sam tries to cope with the disease and understand that its the disease that makes her mother act this way, but she finally cut off all contact. Over the years her mother stole things from her to try to blackmail Sam into seeing her again. Sam had enough.
So yes, BeeJay, she was ransacking, or searching, for her stuff. It was her screwed up way of getting closure - quite fitting for a woman who has been screwed up her whole life! But now she has to deal with a possible arrest. Wohoo! More to write!
39,079 / 50,000
nov. 7, 2009 - 13 22
OK...still in universe 1, but get this.
At approximately word 12652 I found out that the governess of the main character and the father have been having an ongoing affair and at word 12665 that the governess is actually the mother, the main character has been raised by the father's wife as her own and so this EXPLAINS A LOT!!! Like why she has a sister who isn't documented in the family tree. Ummm, cause its on a different tree. WHOOPS!
Definitely interesting and might even get me to 13K tonight, hunh?
So - how is everyone else doing?
Lisa
----------Liadona
aka Liadona Rau (SL)
2007 - yeah, epic fail, not even a title
2008 - "NOLA Bound"
2009 - "Her Sister's Gem
"Prince Griffin and the Dark Forest" (a children's book written in 1 day)