Just drop a note in here to let us all know how it is going so far, have you crossed any barriers you thought were insurmountable? have you changed your plot? have you killed off you MC?
Just a thread for your thoughts so far!
For me... well, today I broke out my rewards scheme. Mini-toblerones. Yup, I bribe myself with chocolate! Every thousand words, I get a choccie, and you know what, it works!
I've been struggling since I have assignments due, and once I write them one of the last things I want to do is try and think creatively. I thought I was stuck today, so I headed to my favourite local cafe, broke out the notebook and pen and scribbled down a few things. Then I went and bought mini-toblerones!
And then tonight I've written almost 2k words that I didn't have this morning! And I don't hate them, which is always a nice bonus! And I can finally stop referring to my MC as 'the woman' and 'she' 'cause she has remembered her name!
And that's where I am now. How about the rest of you?
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3,051 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 04 54
I only just started today because I honestly forgot completely about NaNo until today :P
I managed to get 3000 words done today, and given the non-plot based angle my writing seems to be taking, I should be able to maintain that pace and finish off pretty well. Abandoning all pretenses at story, characterization and traditional methods for writing is doing wonders for my productivity. And none of it is mind-garbage used to pad it out either, which is awesome.
60,127 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 06 40
Not as good as I normally do :( I'm writing a novel in aid of a series I'm currently planning - 50k to find one of my characters' backstory. It's proving kind of impossible since he's the opposition - I usually write from the minds of the Sky Pirates, and here I am, trying to do my NaNo in that of the Enforcer who's out to capture and kill them, etc etc
He's incredibly stiff. He's boring. He does everything by the rules and I'm still so attached to my Sky Pirates that I just want to kick him. I'm just going to have to try harder to find a way to sympathise with him, I guess.
----------___
· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
52,387 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 07 45
I'm writing two NaNos, actually, and both are going extremely well.
My solo project, a traditional hero's quest story, is just waltzing out onto the page. I wrote a fairly long fairytale last year (not for NaNo! Just for something to do) so I suppose I'm just sliding right back into that mindset. Tomorrow, the hero, the human-turned-ogre and the witch are off to the Swamp of the Night Lily! Or is it the Swamp of the Giant Spiders... I haven't decided yet. Hah.
As for the joint project, it's swooping along in stops and starts as we each take our POV turns. My character's mind is so confused right now that it's making ME confused, and isn't that a fun experience. I ate an entire packet of minties and drained three bottles of water writing his three thousand words yesterday. Still, it got done, and I'm downright determined to get to the point where his head is clear again. So much easier to write a character, even in third person (limited of course), when they know what they're doing and why they're doing it.
Rewards scheme, huh? Currently my reward for writing is sleep, but I may just have to look into some form of chocolatey bribery. Mmm. Toblerones...
----------Check out my NaNo adventures at Blogspot or follow me on Twitter!
50,043 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 08 27
I'm well pleased with my start.
This year I'm going a somewhat random route to my plotting (see this post if you're interested http://shayne.powerlot.net/2009/09/08/mythic-and-nanowrimo-2009/ ) and tonight I had a bit of a light-turning-on moment.
You see, the point of Mythic is that the system springs little surprises on you that you don't expect. I got a few of them tonight and my story has turned right around. It's like reading someone else's book.
I love it.
My writing's still crap, but at least I'm having fun.
Oh, and Keladryie, my MC is becoming less like Locke at time goes on. Sorry.
----------Shayne Power
2009: Jericho Man (Superhero adventure)
Won in 2008 after less successful attempts in 2006 and 2007
41,800 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 12 15
I am catching up. My computer broke down on monday but it is fixed now. Fortunately I had everything on a memory stick so there was no danger of loosing words.
----------Now I want to get ahead in case life gets in the way.
www.knittedlacedesigns.net
http://Valerie41.etsy.com
32,136 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 12 35
Fortunately, I don't have the barriers of work, study or children. The only barriers holding me back are pain and an annoying habit of editing as I go. I feel like I could do more, but I can only work for half an hour at a time at the moment, until I can get my car on the road again (it's broken down like me), and can go get my back fixed next week. So I'm sticking to my daily quota for now and enjoying every minute of it. The other positive thing is that, since my brain is working at a screaming pace beyond my poor old broken down body, I'm hoping the ideas I'm developing now will carry me through the second week, which is supposed to be the hardest.
60,127 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 13 39
You just broke my heart :(
___
----------· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
___
· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
39,901 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 14 19
7606 words. I took a break last night to try and get my brain to focus again and get over my writer's block on chapter two. So far I have some kind of outline for the chapter, so that's good!
----------http://cupcake_writer.livejournal.com
2009: Welcome to Hell. A novel about Gods in high school.
2010: Thermals (tentaitive title). Steampunk. High adventure/fantasy of an all-female crew of airship pirates.
40,076 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 14 49
I am just hanging there, grateful to manage my daily quota, well, a tiny bit over. Since I decided to go rebel this year and do locations/worldbuilding for my last year nano, I've decided for a good measure to put in writing a story I had in mind for a few years, a painful story that stemmed from my experience on jury duty. I remember coming back home, so stressed, and my husband seeing me just said "why don't you write a story about it?" It took me few years but I think I can manage now, it's like walking on burning coals, must be done fast or there will be pain, and nano is the perfect vehicle for fast.
So many things are happening this month in Alice, it feels like conspiracy. There is new yoga teacher in town and she is offering morning practice in botanic gardens twice a week from 6:30 till 8:00, Dzogchen Rinpoche is coming with a talk on the nature of gain and loss, I have a meeting after work today with the charity I am involved with... and then there's work, and my rec leave status is -1 (minus one) so no help there. If it wasn't for my netbook and writing during lunch breaks hidden in a meeting room, I would be doooooomed.
But writing goes ok, and between lunch breaks, where I usually manage about 1000 words, and the evenings, after everything else is done, i manage to keep up. It won't be my most spectacular nano :-( but I wanted to be here, and I am here, and it feels good.
Chocolate every 1000 words sounds like a brilliant idea - though my vice is anything gooey and caramel - I'd go for Mars bars!!!
50,046 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 18 01
I am about to run out of chocolate and I really a good nights sleep :(
I'm working on two things. One claims to be a historical fantasy YA that bears less resemblance to my original plot idea with every day of writing and the other is odd little modern day ghost story
that I annoy the others in the chat withthat I am writing for fun and don't expect to finish because it bears less resemblance to my original plot idea with every day of writing.While writing two at once might seem weird or difficult, I am hoping the first one comes in under 50K so it will be a nice length after a rewrite so the ghost story is mostly to take up the slack. I found a side benefit though -- they are quite different stories in setting (1830s vs 2009), tone (dark & miserable vs fun) and POV (first, adolescent male vs third, adult female) so when I get tired off one, I can shift gears and do something different.
----------Years done: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years won: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years didn't think it a good idea in October : 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
39,901 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 18 10
I GOT MY MUSE BACK :DDDDDD
Just past 8000 words and right on schedule!
----------http://cupcake_writer.livejournal.com
2009: Welcome to Hell. A novel about Gods in high school.
2010: Thermals (tentaitive title). Steampunk. High adventure/fantasy of an all-female crew of airship pirates.
34,273 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 19 45
Man I'm going not so good. This is the first day I've had free this month and I haven't written a word. Hopefully I'll feel a little more like it later.
32,136 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 19 55
Just a tip for anyone who can't think of names for their characters, try picking up a cheap book of baby names somewhere. I never go anywhere without my nifty little pocket sized book of baby names that I picked up for 20c at a secondhand bookshop. It comes in handy for those writing fantasy too. Just pick any name at random and change a couple of letters, or make an anagram out of it. Alternatively, you can just close your eyes and hit a series of random keys. If you don't like the name Vranxilschnot for an antagonist, you can always change it later. (Hmm, I wonder if anybody's ever come up with the name Qwerty for a character yet) Have fun, everybody.
Chris
45,013 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 20 07
It sounds like most people are travelling well with it. Wow! TWO novels?? I take my hat off to you! Also to those of you in regular employment ... I have to write as inspiration strikes, otherwise it's gone forever!
I'm happy with my word count so far, although I'm struggling with a cast of thousands of characters it seems. And I have a horrible feeling I am going to run out of plot!
I love the idea of rewards for each 1K though ... chocolate is definitely inspiring. :)
Happy writing, all!
Delion.
50,046 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 21 16
What does he do when he's not on the job?
----------Years done: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years won: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years didn't think it a good idea in October : 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
50,187 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 22 08
It looks like Jenny Craig and the local dentist are going to be doing very well out of Nanowrimo :)
----------"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
"Come, we shall have some fun now!" thought Alice. "I'm glad they've begun asking riddles. I believe I can guess that," she added aloud. - L. Carroll
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50,046 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 22 37
Hey, I've been eating across the five food groups (milk, sugar, caffeine, noodles & toasted ham & cheese sandwiches).
----------Years done: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years won: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years didn't think it a good idea in October : 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
47,012 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 23 04
Horrible. I'm 1500 words behind my daily quota. With the constantly shifting work shifts, I cant find a good day to sit down and just write. The good thing is that I seem to be compensating for it every second day.
With my trusty glass of bourbon at hand. All I can do is write like a mad person with a plan.
----------"The world didn't end with a whimper. It ended in a sea of screams, blood and torn flesh. It would have been delicious if it wasn't so sickening."
- Excerpt from "The Bloody Long Walk" (NaNoWriMo 2009)
19,611 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 23 09
Wow, some great word counts people.
I'm pretty well on track for the 50k but not to finish the novel which I'd hoped this time round.
I only plotted the first quarter just to get the idea of what the story was but of course, it's changed heaps and now I'm rewriting it as I go from scene to scene. I need that for rewriting.
----------2007 - just over 50k - win
60,127 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 23 32
What does he do when he's not on the job?
Exercises, re-reads reports he wrote at work, or studies.
He's incredibly BLAH.
SKY PIRATES FOR THE WIN.
___
----------· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
___
· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
50,046 / 50,000
nov. 4, 2009 - 23 52
He's incredibly BLAH.
No wonder! Give the poor guy a hobby.
----------Years done: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years won: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Years didn't think it a good idea in October : 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
9,650 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 01 02
Wanted to add to Chris' great hint for finding names ... I also look up "most popular name" sites for the year when my protagonist was born.
27,943 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 01 18
I churned out just over 1000 words during three successive word wars this afternoon - 45 minutes of writing in total. Went from being behind about 3000 words to being within 1200 words of where I need to be to remain on track. :D And the night's still young yet!
I've also got a bribery system going - I've wanted a Wii console for well over a year now, and so to aid myself in finally getting it I'm putting aside $10 for every 1000 words. And it's working nicely - I now have $70 toward my new toy. Provided I make it to 50K within November, I'll have enough money for the console and Wii Fit, and still have enough cash leftover for something special. :D
----------50,043 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 01 54
I'm using an out of print RPG product called the Everyone Everywhere List. It's basically just a big pile of lists (numbered 1 to 100) of different names from different places and cultures.
I'm finding it very useful.
There is a pdf floating around the net. I can't give you a link right now, but if you want it and can't find it, send me a NaNoMail and I'll email a copy to anyone who wants a look.
----------Shayne Power
2009: Jericho Man (Superhero adventure)
Won in 2008 after less successful attempts in 2006 and 2007
60,127 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 03 27
He's incredibly BLAH.
No wonder! Give the poor guy a hobby.
His point is to be an Enforcer though :( He's a guard, his goal is to be the best Enforcer there ever was, etc etc He's boring because that's how he's supposed to be :\
Luckily I'm only writing this to get to know him better, not in the mind of keeping it as a book ;)
Things'll get more interesting when the Sky Pirates really start to mess things up, and when love interest Laith shows him how annoying/boring/cruel he really is.
It's just getting there that's the harder part.
___
----------· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
___
· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
239,200 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 04 16
Well... I'm a little over halfway in writing the first book. As you can imagine, tiredness is creeping up on me.
I think I'll sleep in tomorrow, then eye off my reward - a 1TB external hard drive I am dying to play with - before getting on with the book.
----------Do or do not; there is no try. Yoda
http://www.scribd.com/JayePatrick
42,144 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 06 16
I find myself sitting around all day procrastinating and its not til about 11pm that I start sitting down to write. I'm a little annoyed that uploading my days wordcount after midnight puts it in tomorrow's goal, but I try to be ahead of it by the time I go to bed anyway.
10k in, intro done, now for the real stuff.
----------NaNo '06 - School Town - 52K
NaNo '07 - Mediev (Part 1) - 23K (Got RSI, had to withdraw)
NaNo '09 - Hindsight - Here's hoping
47,012 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 07 24
Finally caught up with my daily quota. 9631 words. I could have surpassed 10k words but that involved starting a new scene in the chapter. Not something I want to do at 2 in the morning.
The bad new is that I'm trying very hard not to hate one of my MC's for being overly dramatic. Hopefully, she'll grow up a little by the next chapter.
----------"The world didn't end with a whimper. It ended in a sea of screams, blood and torn flesh. It would have been delicious if it wasn't so sickening."
- Excerpt from "The Bloody Long Walk" (NaNoWriMo 2009)
74,648 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 16 40
He's incredibly BLAH.
No wonder! Give the poor guy a hobby.
His point is to be an Enforcer though :( He's a guard, his goal is to be the best Enforcer there ever was, etc etc He's boring because that's how he's supposed to be :\
Luckily I'm only writing this to get to know him better, not in the mind of keeping it as a book ;)
Things'll get more interesting when the Sky Pirates really start to mess things up, and when love interest Laith shows him how annoying/boring/cruel he really is.
It's just getting there that's the harder part.
___
· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
How did you go with figuring out your Enforcer ranks?
----------"Find the next word. Write it down. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat." - Neil Gaiman
60,127 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 18 38
He's incredibly BLAH.
No wonder! Give the poor guy a hobby.
His point is to be an Enforcer though :( He's a guard, his goal is to be the best Enforcer there ever was, etc etc He's boring because that's how he's supposed to be :\
Luckily I'm only writing this to get to know him better, not in the mind of keeping it as a book ;)
Things'll get more interesting when the Sky Pirates really start to mess things up, and when love interest Laith shows him how annoying/boring/cruel he really is.
It's just getting there that's the harder part.
How did you go with figuring out your Enforcer ranks?
Ha, totally didn't, having made any progress on that at all :\
___
----------· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!
___
· Katharine
· ML of Elsewhere Australia
· Elsewhere Australia has a Twitter!