Day 6: Celebration and Angst

Well, I don't feel angst, precisely, because after writing a whole new scene last night, while lying in bed I realized that it was the wrong scene entirely and I got the idea for a much more dramatic and appropriate one.

I'll simply write the new one today and save the old one (and its word count) for a better position in the story. If that never is found, I'll live. After all, vast amounts of what I have written so far are already on my mental chopping block.

As long as I find better substitutes for scenes I've written, I'm good.

My word count is on track to meet my goal of 30k by Monday. And I only need to do 3666 a day instead of the 5000 a day I thought I would need over the weekend when I set the goal.

And I've reached "the end" - now I have to go back and fill in the middle. Like, the entire middle of the story. I'm worried I either won't have any brilliant ideas or I will and they will take my story totally off-track. Not good when the end is already written.

I'm really happy with what I've done so far... especially since my meager outline ran out long ago.

At the beginning, my goal was just to stay ahead of the game, but I got so wrapped up in my story that I far exceeded my expectations. Now my short-term goal is to reach the half-way mark by the end of Week 1.

The first half has been easy for me, but it remains to be seen how the rest will go. The timeline of the novel still has three months left, so I'm hopeful that my characters will continue talking to me.

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.

Holy Blazing Pens, Batman! You guys are tearing up the turf! Angst, here, definitely angst. I started out with 4000 plus words the first day, but I haven't been keeping that up. Right now, it's all I can do to keep my chin above water.

And I'm unemployed. I have nothing to do all day but write, so I have no excuse. I should have been done with the novel by now.

2005 In Back of the North Wind WINNER!
2006 Leopard's Paw WINNER!
2007 The Old Straight Track (finished) WINNER!
2008 The Other Side of the Wall (finished) WINNER!
2009 Dark Inheritance

I wrote a boffo, angry scene, full of menace from the hero and angst from the heroine. And the word count just flew upward. Loving it.

And even as I am writing this, the idea has come to me for an additional, even more menacing scene. Good. Got to have conflict.

I just wrote a difficult chapter. My character was so happy, but as the omnicient narrator I knew something about her that she didn't yet realize about herself, and it was hard to see her so happy when she should have been quite otherwise. This fiction thing is weird! It kinda tore me up to write it. I wanted to tell her. But couldn't.

Today is a very good day for me, even though I've only written 1,000 words so far. I've exceeded my previous NaNo best (16,000 words) and am a third of the way through.

I'm doing a lot of writing out of sequence, but keeping it all in sequence. Just wrote a scenario that takes place close to the end of the novel because it suddenly came to life and I knew it was the right time to do it.

Whatever the words say, there's always more beneath.

My writing blog: Words on Top
http://wordsontop.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NaNo '09 - Gift of Blood: Beginnings and Endings
NaNo '10 - Gift of Blood: Michel (tentative)

TGIF and busy -- I need to get back to writing, but had a bit too much going on this morning...

... this weekend could be a problem as doing wood cutting....

sighhhhhhh

Amazing forward motion today so far (I'm at 13,656--that's over 2400 words today!) , but now I am going outside to play. I still have many bulbs to plant, and hunting season approaches.

There was a lot of angst around here half an hour ago when I found that the version of Word on my laptop was only a trial version and had suddenly locked itself, so I couldn't either edit my novel or copy and paste from the document into another one. I had to rake around for the only legal version of Word in the house and re-install it - grumbling to myself all the time about being stupid and wasting time. The really silly thing was that I had meant to write the novel on Wordpad and was so thrilled when I found I had a copy of Word on this machine as I didn't remember buying it - aargh!
Oh, well, no permanent damage done.... except to my blood pressure I suppose.

Sheila

2009: was 'Watching the Neighbourhood' - now 'Reunited!'
2008: (Winner!) A Place of Conflict
2007: (Winner!) Community
2006: (Winner!): Independence

Microsoft is the Evil Empire. Half the time when I get an "Important Update," it de-installs my Word and I have to reinstall it. And what I have to say about Adobe Reader 9 isn't fit to print. But I admit it; like a lot of people, I have perfectly adequate freeware from OpenOffice that I simply have never bothered to learn how to use. The devil you know, and all that...

I have dutifully backed up this novel (and all the others) onto a thumb drive, and onto a second computer. I suggest we all remember to keep doing the backups as a daily sign-off routine. You know: finish writing, tally the word count, back up the file, go on the NaNo site and crow. Rinse, repeat. Happy writing!

I'm definitely angst-ridden and have been for the entire six days. I'm behind and getting behinder (or...the faster I go, the behinder I get...an old saying my great-grandmother would often use). I write like crazy for about 20 minutes, then I'm stopped dead for hours. sigh.

cecilia_peartree - might I suggest google docs for backing up your document? http://docs.google.com/

I've had an angst-ridden day. It was supposed to be simple. Go out into the 70 degree weather, walk to the pharmacy, and get my prescription. I get there and find out that the doctor has screwed up my prescription AGAIN. This is something like the 6th or 7th time in a row. And they keep telling me that I picked up the prescription two months ago, and I keep telling them they never gave me the right description. Their stupid screwups could kill someone. I'm very seriously considering changing doctors. On top of everything else, I don't need this kind of stress.

Anyway, I haven't gotten to my novel all day. The doctor's office was supposed to call me back to tell me that they called in the RIGHT prescription. They never called, so I called them. They've decided that they're just going to let it go until Monday.

And now they're telling me that I'm supposed to have a doctor's visit to get my prescriptions every two months, but that's $150 a visit! And if I actually ask about a medical problem, they bill me for two visits. They know I'm unemployed. They just don't give a damn.

I need chocolate.

2005 In Back of the North Wind WINNER!
2006 Leopard's Paw WINNER!
2007 The Old Straight Track (finished) WINNER!
2008 The Other Side of the Wall (finished) WINNER!
2009 Dark Inheritance

I don't have any angst, even though my word count is not as high as most, but my inner editor is freaking out and bashing about the box I've put him in. I may have to let him out over lunch now and then. The banging, piteous whining and threats against my muse could prove distracting in the long run.

John Grisham once said he was thinking about giving up writing as it was "too easy." I'd bet 99.9% of all writers wanted to bitch-slap him at that point.

Zoo, I hope you get your doctors sorted, I can't imagine what it's like to have to pay just to get the prescription from the doctor, never mind the meds. Luckily, my current problems didn't surface till we returned to the UK.

I'm doing ok on my word count so far but seem to have lost the ability to write during the day. Maybe it's because I've still got my MC in this weird dream sequence but I have no desire to write before 10pm and am reaching my target for the day around 2 in the morning :-/ Maybe I should wake her up for a while.

On the plus side, the girl in the mirror showed up, at least I think that's who she is, and not what I expected. The joy of NaNo :-)

... and I can also recommend google docs. I save mine to there every night and if you find yourself away from your own computer you can continue your novel on another one as long as there's an internet connection.

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon!

I had some angst about 1pm when I realized I hadn't written a single word yet today. But the weather wasn't good for yardwork and I realized I had nothing better to do than write the rest of the day, so I did. 3924 words today. I hope I don't run out over the weekend.

Angst: Computer issues at work all week. Not connecting on network. Locking up. Slow to a crawl after a ton of maintenance to fix the first set of stuff. Fortunately I've been using my laptop to write and emailing installments to my email addresses (web mail) to back them up.

Celebration: When I'm dodging increasing amounts of chaos and sheer insanity it's often a sign I'm doing something right. Or in this case, doing something write. Also, I actually am more or less caught up. I'm running into my first block. Hope to work around it. Internal Editor says I'm really writing a longwinded outline "telling, not showing" I agree, but need to keep going.

About thumb drives? I suspect I'd inadvertently do what a friend did once: misplace it, or stick it in a jeans pocket and forget to take it out before putting them in the washing machine. (don't try this at home)

You have cut yourself a shape on the air -- Christopher Fry

Well, I feel like giving up altogether. Will you just look at that dreadful word count. And I've only added a poxy 500 since then, so I've not bothered to update it.

I'm really beginning to lose heart - maybe I'm not a writer, after all. And I was so pleased with my storyline to begin with. Ho hum.

I'm so cold, too cold to type. The boiler packed up at the end of August and, since my husbnd was made redundant 4 years ago, we've no money to fix it.

Sorry this is all a bit 'woe, woe and thrice woe' ish. Shouldn't bother folks with my problems, I know.
Best of luck to the rest of you.

Lynda
Trafalgar

Don't apologise for sharing your woes with us Trafalgar, we've all done, well lots of us have. It's easy to do on here and saves, in my case, boring friends to tears with yet another round of poor me.

Your word count is fine too, 600 or so words above target and if you get stuck just waffle for a while until the story re-emerges. Last year I took my MC on a shopping trip to Paris, this years is having rather a long strange dream which is just starting to turn into an important part of the story, maybe.

Just noticed your location. I hope your getting better weather than we are up in Scotland. It's not raining at the moment, first time it's stopped in about 4 days and the temperatures have been as low as 4 or 5 degrees some days!

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon!

Thanks, Cassandra. It's dry and relatively sunny down here - but that means it's cold too. I'm dreading it if it gets icy. Is it possible to type in woolly gloves, do you suppose? LOL.

Now I've got a nose bleed. Still , I've upped my word count a bit, so all is not lost. (Maniacal laughter from this side of the screen). What a shame writing this cr*p won't pay our bills. (Exit sobbing, stage left.)

Traf

Do you have an electric kettle or something else to boil water with? Some metal tins with a lid? Oven gloves? In that case you have DIY radiators/handwarmers. Boil water, fill tin with boiling water, put lid on tight. Put on oven gloves to move to room you want heated/desk. A couple of those will heat a small room for about two hours, but they also are wonderful handwarmers.

I symphatize, my boiler broke down too last week, beyond repair (why does this always happen in winter?) . Can't afford a new one. I've ordered ceramic wall radiators which don't need a boiler. The small ones draw less than 400 KWh. There are also ceramic electric heaters. They are not expensive and one is enough to heat up a small room fast. (Goes off to refill tins, lol!)

2008: Lapis Lazuli (historical fiction) - WON! (57K)
2009: Vicit Vim Virtus (historical fiction)

Angst. Well, it has happened to me. I've lost a little over 1000 words somehow. I have been typing on my son's 10 year old laptop and uploading to my e-mail whenever I could get to a wi-fi spot. I hit the save button several times during a writing session. Made up word count yesterday from the day before and was up to snuff. Uploaded it late yesterday. Came to my desktop today and downloaded my last e-mail. At least 1000 words were missing!!!!

Trying not to panic I thought maybe I had wrote the last bit yesterday then forgot ot up-load it. So went to the library just now, and those words aren't on my lap top either!!!! So I'm feeling rather anxious right now. This means I am close to 3000 words behind today. And I had some good stuff going. I hope I can recreate it. But I don't know if I have it in me to get that many words today.

Old lap top is going to the recycling center. I am just going to write on my desktop now which means if I want to escape and write someplace else it's good old pen and paper then transcribe it later.. Wish me luck. I really need it now.

I really feel for those of you also without heat. I bought a pair of knit fingerless gloves. You can type with them, but they keep your hands fairly warm. It's been fairly warm here for the past couple of days. I was out in shirtsleeves yesterday. But walking aroound to and from the pharmacy (and getting nothing but grief for my trouble) gave me big painful blisters on the bottoms of both feet. And this being November, the warm weather won't last. I'm hoping to get some raking done today, though.

(And now I've got a cat stomping across the keyboard trying to get at my chicken sandwich.)

I felt so tired and defeated last night that I just went to bed, so my word count is dreadful. Hopefully, I can get back whatever oomph I started out with.

2005 In Back of the North Wind WINNER!
2006 Leopard's Paw WINNER!
2007 The Old Straight Track (finished) WINNER!
2008 The Other Side of the Wall (finished) WINNER!
2009 Dark Inheritance

This is the forum for me!
While I was daunted at first by the outrageous word counts (!) I felt heartened by the posts.
I'm guessing all nanowrimos have *something* to overcome to get the writing done...it's just nice to hear people with similar gripes to mine. :-)
Hang in there, fellow "Over 50s" ... we can do it!
Cheers,
Danielle
aka Miramar
PS
and up until today I have battled: having no plot, losing steam, too tired to write, disheartened, keyboard acting up, and confusion.
However, my strategy for word count is not to look at the goal numbers (that is a thought-killer) but just type and type, and every now and then look and say to myself "wow, look how much I typed." Simplistic, but works for me.
Oh, and having started the contest with piles of dishes and piles of laundry, and piles of bookkeeping and bills to pay... those piles are still in place!

Aargh! It's almost suppertime. I've written about 3500 words today and not a single word is for the novel. My doomed to die semi-hero has taken over my life and everything I've written today is for the backstory sequel he's demanding.

I don't know if I have enough energy left to even do the minimum 1667.

Is that punishment for thinking I had it made, getting so far ahead?

Whatever the words say, there's always more beneath.

My writing blog: Words on Top
http://wordsontop.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NaNo '09 - Gift of Blood: Beginnings and Endings
NaNo '10 - Gift of Blood: Michel (tentative)

Catana, I say count it. Call it a prologue or something.

2005 In Back of the North Wind WINNER!
2006 Leopard's Paw WINNER!
2007 The Old Straight Track (finished) WINNER!
2008 The Other Side of the Wall (finished) WINNER!
2009 Dark Inheritance

I have to keep reminding myself that this is NOT intended to be the final novel, that it doesn't matter if my POV is screwed up at times, nor does it matter if the sequence of events is in the exact order it should be. Just pound the damned keyboard!!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. (that's my inner Polar Bear giving me strength LOL).

I did it! I did it! Thanks, zookeeper, for the suggestion, but I alread have a prologue. Besides, the point of view is completely different for the two novels.

Anyway... I was sure I was burned out for the day, but I got a second wind and pounded out another 2200 NaNo words.

I'm just incredibly amazed that I'm almost half way to 50,000. There's no feeling like it!
I'm floating on a cloud of words.

Whatever the words say, there's always more beneath.

My writing blog: Words on Top
http://wordsontop.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NaNo '09 - Gift of Blood: Beginnings and Endings
NaNo '10 - Gift of Blood: Michel (tentative)

Well done, Catana. Good for you. Can you send some of that drive and perseverance over here to the right side of the Pond, please, where I desperately need it . LOL.

Today is Remembrance Sunday over here, so I'm off to church in ten minutes. Mind you I shall probably be working on my plot all the way through the sermon - mentally, of course!.

Trafalgar

Is that like Veterans Day here? It's on November 11, but I think we're celebrating it Monday.

I had a surge of writing and put in some more mileage tonight. I stayed up longer than I really wanted to, but hey, it's Nano. And for the time I'm writing furiously, I'm not thinking about all the crises I have to face.

And my characters are finally talking about taking some action. After 27 pages, the story is finally beginning.

2005 In Back of the North Wind WINNER!
2006 Leopard's Paw WINNER!
2007 The Old Straight Track (finished) WINNER!
2008 The Other Side of the Wall (finished) WINNER!
2009 Dark Inheritance