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Author Topic: Writing: NaNoWriMo 2017  (Read 11235 times)

Kylara

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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #30 on: November 05, 2017, 11:56:43 am »
I am not sure if I hate or love that you shared this....

I am going to be signing up for the trial today (before I start my writing for the day), and I have all of NaNo to see how it turns out, but yeah, that sounds pretty crazy cool.

8764 and I haven't written yet today.  4thewords has absolutely made hitting my 2k writing goal easier.....well and doing journal style writing (as opposed to a traditional novel structure).  Am also working through a friend's 30 days to unsticking your magical practice, so everyday there is a journal prompt and activity and quote, which I am reflecting on.
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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #31 on: November 07, 2017, 02:33:23 am »
Welp, I'm definitely rebelling. Working on three different WIPs; basically going to get up every day and choose one to work on. Possibly two, as one of them is non-fic and it's easier for me to work on 2 wips in a day if one is fiction and one is non-fic. 

Day 6, I've stayed on track, even if been reporting late because my sleep schedule is all sorts of wacky. Managed to get 3,669 words done today in a series of sprints held on Twitter. They held it as the #NanoHouseCup and you reported your word counts with your Hogwarts house, so I was very motivated.

We didn't win (came in 2nd), but what's more important is that Gryffindor lost.  And this time no meddling headmaster to just magic in points because he has favourite students.  (This is a friendly rivalry; I'm only half-joking. My husband is a Gryffindor after all.)

Anyway, it was fun, and got my total word count to 12,640 today.
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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #32 on: November 07, 2017, 05:01:27 am »

Anyway, it was fun, and got my total word count to 12,640 today.

VERY well done. All I've managed to do is plink and edit shit I wrote last year.
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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #33 on: November 08, 2017, 01:18:15 am »
November is just a few weeks away and that means it's nearly time for National Novel Writing Month.

For those who aren't familiar with it, NaNoWriMo is a month long  frenzied challenge to write a 50,000 word novel (or other writing project if you're feeling rebellious). 

Time to give a shout-out if you're participating this year.  Tell us about your project and how long you've been partaking in the November madness.

Yeah, I'm trying to use it to finish my current novel. (I know Nano purism and all that. :p ) So I'm using the motivation and so far I've gotten out nearly 10k words. That's not terrific for day 7. On a good day I can belt out 4500 words.

It's a fantasy novel that I've been working on for 5 years and for about 10 years in terms of concepts.

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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #34 on: November 08, 2017, 06:20:24 am »
VERY well done. All I've managed to do is plink and edit shit I wrote last year.

Heh, thanks. We'll see how it goes. I've had several years of Nano where I've done really well in the beginning, sometimes hitting 25K before mid-month, and then I hit a wall and write nothing else for the rest of the month.

And hey, editing stuff you wrote last year is good. I often find doing editing harder than the original writing, so good on you for tackling it.
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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #35 on: November 08, 2017, 09:27:29 am »
Heh, thanks. We'll see how it goes. I've had several years of Nano where I've done really well in the beginning, sometimes hitting 25K before mid-month, and then I hit a wall and write nothing else for the rest of the month.

I am behind by several thousand words from where I'd like to be, but my actual real goal for Nano is writing every day, and so far I am doing that, so yay.

(And I do actually know what's happening in the next couple of chapters, so it should go fast if I can just convince myself to sit down and start writing earlier than 8:30pm. Which leaves limited time if one also really needs to be working on going to sleep around 10.)
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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #36 on: November 08, 2017, 09:39:45 am »
Yeah, I'm trying to use it to finish my current novel. (I know Nano purism and all that. :p ) So I'm using the motivation and so far I've gotten out nearly 10k words. That's not terrific for day 7. On a good day I can belt out 4500 words.

Fuck Nano purism.

I mean, I did it straight up last year.  This year I'm trying to make progress on the book I started last year, which has been snarled up in "How do I anything in 2017" and other issues.
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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #37 on: November 08, 2017, 11:07:37 am »
I am behind by several thousand words from where I'd like to be, but my actual real goal for Nano is writing every day, and so far I am doing that, so yay.

I did great the first day; so-so the second; a little bit the third...need I go on?

Relevant factoid: I worked 20 hours of overtime, plus 8 hours of straight time, between midnight Saturday morning and midnight Monday night.

My NaNo project was supposed to be taking a screenplay I wrote 20 years ago and putting it into a salable fiction manuscript format. While I haven't entirely abandoned that hope, I've got a couple more story ideas which are currently pressing me front and center...and I find it easier to express them as screenplays rather than novels. I think that, for the remainder of the month year decade, I will just go where The Spirit Moves and drop the NaNo rules down to a position of secondary importance....
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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #38 on: November 08, 2017, 05:43:10 pm »
I often find doing editing harder than the original writing, so good on you for tackling it.

I've been on track with posting material to my AO3 account every day ... and I hear you on the editing thing. I've been re-editing old fics before I post them, and man did I have some bad habits ( I probably still do). I never understood all that writing advice about cutting out adverbs until now.  :(
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RisingMoon

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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #39 on: November 09, 2017, 02:17:19 am »
Fuck Nano purism.

I mean, I did it straight up last year.  This year I'm trying to make progress on the book I started last year, which has been snarled up in "How do I anything in 2017" and other issues.

Yeah, that's what I feel as well. In fact i wrote a short story and threw that at my word count too. I figure if it helps me, that's the important part, right? I've been working on my novel for 5 years.

Kylara

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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #40 on: November 09, 2017, 08:31:37 am »
Fuck Nano purism.

I mean, I did it straight up last year.  This year I'm trying to make progress on the book I started last year, which has been snarled up in "How do I anything in 2017" and other issues.

I completely agree.  I view NaNo as a challenge to myself, and for me, it's all about growing my writing in a new way.  Sometimes I pick based on what I want to write, and sometimes I pick something that is a real stretch for me.  My personal goal is always on the word count, so 40k words in November (just for my NaNo project, I don't actually count the other stuff I write..but that is just me!)

That is why I don't feel bad AT all about doing a journal project this year.  Some of my words have been me writing about how I need to get words on the page!  It has been a REALLY intense couple of years for me, writing wise, and I needed a bit of a writing reboot.  I needed to re-discover why I love writing, and do some personal work.  So journaling it is!  And, not only am I completely not stressing about NaNo, I am actually really looking forward to writing every day.
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Kylara

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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #41 on: November 09, 2017, 08:35:50 am »
I am behind by several thousand words from where I'd like to be, but my actual real goal for Nano is writing every day, and so far I am doing that, so yay.

(And I do actually know what's happening in the next couple of chapters, so it should go fast if I can just convince myself to sit down and start writing earlier than 8:30pm. Which leaves limited time if one also really needs to be working on going to sleep around 10.)

Way to go!  Writing every day can definitely be a challenge, but it can also be so worth it.

I feel you on finding time to write...I got busy yesterday (with a freelance job and other non-NaNo writing and errands), so didn't sit down to write until 9:40...and whew, I felt like I was racing a clock (I also need to be in bed by 10 or I'll be cranky the next day).  I ran a bit over, but son was still in the bathroom (we only have one) so I kept writing until he was out and just made my personal goal for the day!

I actually have two daily goals this hear.  My proper goal and my "ugh, so much to do, I just can't" goal.  My proper goal is always 2k words a day, but this year I am absolutely writing something every day!  Even if it is just one paragraph about how much other junk I have to do and why that means I can't write.  I am also following along with someone's 30 day challenge they are doing on Patreon, so as long as she posts a prompt every day, I want to answer it in my daily writing.  But ultimately, writing something every day is going to happen....one way or another!
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RisingMoon

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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #42 on: November 09, 2017, 02:03:24 pm »
I completely agree.  I view NaNo as a challenge to myself, and for me, it's all about growing my writing in a new way.  Sometimes I pick based on what I want to write, and sometimes I pick something that is a real stretch for me.  My personal goal is always on the word count, so 40k words in November (just for my NaNo project, I don't actually count the other stuff I write..but that is just me!)

That is why I don't feel bad AT all about doing a journal project this year.  Some of my words have been me writing about how I need to get words on the page!  It has been a REALLY intense couple of years for me, writing wise, and I needed a bit of a writing reboot.  I needed to re-discover why I love writing, and do some personal work.  So journaling it is!  And, not only am I completely not stressing about NaNo, I am actually really looking forward to writing every day.

My problem is not stressing out. I miss a day or two and then I feel like, "Ah, crud, I need to write like 5000 words. Not happening."

Kylara

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Re: NaNoWriMo 2017
« Reply #43 on: November 10, 2017, 08:54:22 am »
My problem is not stressing out. I miss a day or two and then I feel like, "Ah, crud, I need to write like 5000 words. Not happening."

It can be disheartening, for sure, when you look at the 'average words to finish on time" after missing a day or two.

I don't know if it will help, but when I get behind, I work on things that come easily to me.  I was really struggling last year, writing out a story background for a RPG game I was going to run.  It was probably my most ambitious RPG setup, I had 30 characters, most of whom had very unique childhoods (because they were almost all mixed-race in a world where that didn't happen until this generation), so I had to describe their look, their characteristics, their background...and then get them on the ship that was to be the home base.

Turns out that was way too much to manage in that amount of time, so I completely changed how I was writing.  Instead of sticking to the story format, I went with a more traditional game-book format, so each character had their own entry, and while I still explained how they all met and worked together, I stopped trying to do it in a narrative.  Since my ultimate goal with this project was to have the characters all 'real' in my head so I could run a game with them, it was just fine to do it this way, and helped me get more words written.

Other years, I have gotten really firm with myself about the 'no editing' thing, when I was behind and needed to get words on the page.  Which is especially hard for me as I tend to not go back and edit my work after I am done, so part of me always thinks that if I don't get it right as I'm writing it, then it will be wrong forever.

I also let myself explore random avenues, when I either need more words or feel blocked by my story.  I've had NaNo's that spent days (and thousands of words) describing what people were wearing, what they packed in their bags, what they bought from the store or what they were eating for dinner. 

And finally...it's a challenge for you!  So you pick what your 'win' means...if your ultimate goal is to finish your novel, then every word you write is one step closer to that.  Keep a soft daily goal, of whatever works for you, and let the bigger goal go.  Just focus on each day, on getting to that daily goal.  Sometimes, you may be inspired and might write a little more, and that's great!  Some days you might be super busy, not mentally there or just too tired to write much (if at all), and while that can suck, the best thing you can do is try your best to let it go.  Start back up the next day, and don't worry about the missed day. 
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