BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Dec 10 - 10:16 PM

More, more! I like the visual detail. But what are the parameters???

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo 2011
From: Crowhugger
Date: 25 Oct 11 - 07:14 PM

Well, I got brave (or silly) and did sign up for this year's NaNoWriMo and I can't wait to get started! I've been thinking about it, mentally planning for a month two and while I don't have a plot yet, I have a good idea about who the core characters will be and the main location. In case I get stuck for what to write, my plan is to put a bunch of important life events each on a separate bit of paper and put them all in a hat; when I hit a wall I'll draw one at random and write that event into at least one of the characters' lives. One other thing I'll probably do ahead of time is to choose names for the main characters. Maybe I'll even set up an auto-correction for their initials (unless that's cheating, but it won't boost the word count, just change e.g. "jo" to "Joseph").

Okay, who else is up for it this year??

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 11 - 03:22 PM

I won't be signing up but I'll be watching this thread for others' progress. Seems like I remember katlaughing saying she won't have the time for NanoWriMo this year but I'll lay my bets on her being busy writing something else. I would love to read it!

Hmmmm. Still have a couple of days before the start- I'll have to start thinking. I like Crowhugger's method. It is only 30 days...

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Oct 11 - 03:39 PM

CH! I am so proud of you! Yes, that you are going for it this year. Good for you!

Ebbie, you're right, I've decided not to try it this year. I am working on getting WindWords out as an eBook (should be any day, now!) and then, Prairie Child, before the end of the year.

If yer game, I've got one I did a couple of years ago which I still need to edit, more, but would appreciate a reader's comments, too. It's the novel I based on my dad's oral history. Working title is "On Garfield Creek." My sisters read it and said they think there's at least 2, maybe 3 books in there!LOL...it was a lot of fun to "flesh" out my ancestors...lots of creative license. I thought I'd asked in a thread for readers but maybe that was Prairie Child. Anywho, if you really want to read it, Ebbie, please let me know and you will have my undying gratitude, though you already have that!**bg**

Thanks! Good luck to you, CH. Please keep us posted!

kat

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Ebbie
Date: 27 Oct 11 - 02:26 AM

I love reading things 'in progress', kat. Check your PMs.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Pep talk!
From: Crowhugger
Date: 27 Oct 11 - 03:37 PM

To everyone who is hesitating:

I too thought NaNoWriMo's 50,000 word target was an insurmountably HUGE project but when I did the math it came out looking pretty do-able. Kat is right, 1,667 words per day on average. If your fingers can stumble out 30 words per minute, that's not even one whole hour per day. Yes, that assumes no time is spent pondering the next word. So the rule for success in NaNo-land is, write down EVERYTHING now, edit later. As for finding that hour per day, some options include:

1. Get someone else to walk the dog for the month.
2. Record your TV shows for the month.
3. Skip your TV shows for the month; they'll come again on re-runs and you won't get bum blisters from doing catch-up watching.
4. Suspend your reading/quilting/knitting/woodworking hobby for the month. The break will give you renewed vigour when you get back to it.
5. Batch cook now, eat from the freezer in November. Most people spend at least 1 or 2 hours per day preparing food and cleaning up afterwards. Portion-freeze your month's sandwich meat. Every minute spent typing instead of sniffing the cold meat to see if it's still good will get you another 30 words closer to the goal!
6. Put the autoreply on your e-mail saying you'll answer in the 1st week of December. (How many hours per day do you read and answer email? Just for a laugh, maybe I'll word-count a week of my sent e-mails, although I'm already weaning myself in preparation for Nov. 1st.)
7. Use all the above tips in the first week so you can binge-write your 50k. Use the rest of November to gloat in this thread, in between icing your carpal tunnels.

Does it still seem impossible? One can always write half this year, half next year. No, you won't qualify for a certificate. But who cares? Just over thirteen months from now you'll still have a first draft of your novel.

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Oct 11 - 05:53 PM

That posting is 334 words by my Word count, CH.:-)

Ebbie, thanks! Just sent you a PM.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 27 Oct 11 - 07:27 PM

LOL and touché, kat!! Hmmm, maybe I can include a folk music forum in my novel, kill 2 birds with one writing stone. BTW, you noticed I did not suggest giving up Mudcat for NaNo, right?

I did tally the word count from all my outgoing e-mails in the last 7 days. It's been a very slow e-mail week due to no chatting with my aunt and no between-meeting e-mail discussions for any of my volunteer work, both of which can make for LONG texts and suck up a LOT of composing and editing time! It came to 1,191 words in 22 e-mails; a couple were medium letter-length business e-mails but most were making rehearsal or meeting plans or were brief follow-ups to meetings. That 1,191 words is almost 3/4 of a November day's minimum quota; since I typically proofread and edit e-mail I could've done even more un-edited NaNo writing in the same amount of time.

I do expect my Mudcat posts to be shorter next month (excluding cut-and-pasted NaNoWriMo samplings).

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Songwronger
Date: 27 Oct 11 - 07:38 PM

I'm already working on a book(s). Good luck to those who do this thing.

I've found that after I get a few notes together for a story it really helps to assign character names. If you do that at your leisure you can pick just the right names and begin to think of the characters more clearly. Or at least I can.

Good luck.

Oh, and if I swap out a name later I sub one with the same syllabification, so the cadence of the prose remains the same.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 12:24 PM

I think so too Song. I like to try on the names for a couple of days or at least a few hours. Sometimes a name that seems at first a wrong fit will in fact help me explore or use a new aspect of that character.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 28 Oct 11 - 05:52 PM

"No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money."
Boswell: Life of Johnson

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 31 Oct 11 - 06:01 PM

Working title: Brownie
(definitely not a keeper-name)

Synopsis: About several neighbourhood children, their dogs, their families and the miscommunication that inevitably happens between species and generations. It will cost somebody their life.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 02:12 PM

No other takers this year, ey? I'll mostly be at nanowrimo dot com this month.
cul8r,
:-)
CH.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: CapriUni
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 03:09 PM

Back in May, I thought I'd made the positive decision Not to NaNo, this year. ...I just learned that writing is more fun for me when it's more leisurely.

But, at the end of the month, I'll be attending another annual event which will mean that I'll basically be stuck in a hotel room for four days with another person, and no personal space...

And when I woke up this morning, I realized that if nothing else, my NaNoWriMo books have always given me a psychological space to compensate (and the "mandatory" speed of the writing is really the foundation of that space).

So, now, I'm wondering if I should sign up, after all..

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 05:41 PM

Well I'm having a great time, Capri! I'd love to have your company on my NaNoVirgin escapade. You can keep this newbie on the ball.

So far so good. Not counting Mudcat posts and emails, I've written >1,500 words since I started on it this aft. Not the words per hour output I was hoping for but I'm having trouble switching off my internal editor!

Capri, when you say writing leisurely, what does that mean to you exactly? To me, leisurely is a method of writing that usually involves correcting and revising along the way. But I'm trying to approach NaNoWriMo differently, in the spirit they suggest, which is all about quantity, not at all quality. For me that's "Writing Down the Bones," right-brained, stream-of-consciousness writing. No internal editor, no fix-as-I-go writing, just write whatever's in my head yet hopefully express it through the characters I've chosen so that my month of rambling might fit into a unifying theme when I'm done.

To me, NaNoWriMo is definitely not about pressure writing. Pressure writing is
..having a deadline
..AND needing a certain article length
..AND having to be coherent.
It's so much not pressured when the product doesn't have to be coherent! So I'm aiming to leave logic and flow and rhythm and perfecting for the revisions. My only pressure is not to over-think while creating, to have the self-discipline to churn out everything and leve the sorting for next month.

The last time I wrote that way I scared myself somewhat silly with some of the shit that came out but it was really cool raw material to work with! Trust me though, if this time is anything like then, I'll think twice about posting it publicly *without* editing. When I'm more confident my word count will be sufficient (like when I have 35,000 words done by Nov 10th--wink) I'll tidy up a sample to post. Or use some of today's output which sadly is edited on the fly; as I said, my internal editor is very much alive and in gear today.

I've till gotta write several nearly 1,000 words to meet today's goal of 2,500 words! And there's also dinner and an extra quartet rehearsal to fit in before bed time as well. I'm aiming for more than the minimum average of 1,667 words per day: My a cappella quartet is in a contest mid-month so I'll lose 3 writing days to that, yikes! (I can't write/type on the 8 hour bus trip each way because I get nauseous, and the day of the contest itself is spoken for, of course.) Then on the 22nd I have a handbell performance for which I have to do some significant preparation, and on the 26th I have two handbell performances each in a different out of town location, which writes off that whole day!

So I'd better get back to it now. I'm having a great time, wish you were here!

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 05:42 PM

yuck, pardon the lack of proof reading.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 07:07 PM

No worries! No proofreading allowed this month. Tell that Inner Editor to go sit in the corner with a dunce hat on and leave you alone! You've got a good start...keep going and you will get there!

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: CapriUni
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 07:11 PM

What I mean about leisurely writing:

writing a scene quickly, perhaps, telling my Internal Critic to to stuff it.

But then, taking a day, or an hour, or a week, to daydream the scene I'd just written: thinking about the emotional consequences for the characters, or maybe just imagining myself walking around in the landscape I've created, so I really get to know the characters and the place.

I've always thought of being a writer as being the lead scout of an adventure party: I run ahead a bit to see what's coming up the road, then I trot back to my characters, and get them up to speed.

And then, other times, it's like making a loaf of bread, and letting it rise in a warm quiet place for a while, before you shape the loaf and shove it in the oven.

The feeling of "OMG! I'm X-number of words behind schedule, I don't have time to ponder!" gets in the way of that, for me... Of the 5 times I've done NaNo, I've reached 50K words 4 times. But 30K of those have invariably left my main character brooding and being fearful and morose because he or she is afraid of what's outside the door, so they spend their whole story worrying about what went wrong in the past.

Of course, different writers have different psychological needs. I personally know some who use NaNo to write the first drafts of a novel they later sell, so...

I've gone back and forth on this all day. That annual event I mentioned above is actually a writing performance evening (writers reading their own works before an audience). And the deadline for submission is the 12th. Ideal maximum length for that is about 1,000 words. So as of about two hours ago, I decided to work on that, first.

And if That piece continues to spark my imagination, I'll use it as a starting point for my NaNovel...

So I've resigned on just now; my NaNo name is CapriUni, just like it is, here...

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 11:17 PM

Great, see you there! Mine's the same as here, too.

On the way home from quartet rehearsal tonight I suddenly remembered that writing in the present tense helps me shut off that evil editor. For some reason it changes what I dare to say.

From this afternoon, somewhat tidied up here's my first excerpt.

        Brownie's nose rippled left and right for what seemed to Kevin a very long time while he minded the dog from inside the screen door. The furnace kicked on. Kevin slowly pushed shut the inside door and started toward the heat vent under the kitchen window, sidling between a chair and the window sill to watch Brownie from there instead. It took him a few moments to get used to the metal slats of the heat vent digging into the soles of his soft, feet. Then he adjusted his pyjama legs to let the hot air balloon them. It tickled all the way up to his waist and warmed him all over.
        Kevin watched Brownie's nostrils flutter in the chilly morning air as the heat beneath him built up and the warm grate became hotter and hotter as knives against the soles of his feet, almost but not quite burning them. He shivered with the familiar sensations and shifted from foot to foot as he watched Brownie still sniffing but with his head cocked differently than a minute ago. From somewhere far away he heard Mother call from upstairs that it was time to come and get dressed. Kevin edged out of his vantage point and raced up to bedroom. Today was his birthday and felt very grown up now that he was eight years old.
        The sun was up and starting to warm the day but was still hidden from Brownie and the cats on the patio next door, hidden behind the line of roofs opposite the ones from which they had emerged.
        Brownie's nose quickly told him that the fast raccoons were now all safely up in their ancient maple tree and nearly inside the den high in the rotted fork. He heard fast raccon mother make two trips up the tree trunk with the recalcitrant kits who were not yet interested in the day's sleep. Her claws always sounded different with the weight of a kit gently dangling from her mouth. The family of slow raccoons were almost back under the garden shed in the second fenced yard to the north of the townhouses. It was about half the distance from Brownie's patio to the shed as it was to the ancient maple. Raccoon scent remained upon the air for several minutes but Brownie turned his attention to the squirrel scents and sounds. Two black ones were pestering a jay that was trying to nest in their Lombardy poplar. Still paused at the bush, the next scent he visited was the cat on the next door patio changing from curious to hunter. Probably the field mice, Brownie thought. The skunks had been out foraging but had not sprayed.
        From all around came the faint smell of gas and diesel exhaust mixed with the scent of damp earth and fresh budding leaves. He picked up a whiff of the last vestige of under-snow mildew. Weaving among those aromas Brownie found the scents of bicycle metals, the paint, tires, sprocket lube, seats and handle grips in varying states of wear and deterioration. There was the scent of crocuses from the big fenced yards to the south. From the uncounted townhouse yards came the thin aromas of concrete patio stones, lawn chairs and other furnishings upon them, none of which smelled of newness; nearly all the furnishing scents were accompanied by an accent of mildew or even algae—someone had let something stay very wet. He also found on the morning air the scent of mosses from along shady fence lines and between adjacent patio stones, and from the many weeds mixed into the lawns that were coming to life.

If you're reading this, I finally got the nerve to click submit.
:-)

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: CapriUni
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 11:20 PM

CrowHugger -- what's your NaNoWriMo user name?

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: CapriUni
Date: 01 Nov 11 - 11:21 PM

Oops, we cross-posted

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 03 Nov 11 - 02:02 PM

5,147 words so far, woohoo!

Have done only minimal writing so far today; had to organize my thoughts about the characters. Hope to get at least 2,000 words done tonight but right now it's time to walk our very patient dogs who really do want to get their couple of hours by the creek! Then my quartet is dress-rehearsing our contest songs in front of friends just after suppertime. After that, more words. No TV today, that's for sure!
:-)

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 07 Nov 11 - 11:04 PM

Yee haw! Passed the 10,000 word mark today. A bit behind par, having been verrry sick yesterday, but no worries, I'll catch up. I think.
:-)

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Nov 11 - 12:15 AM

Go, go, go, CH!

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 08 Nov 11 - 01:40 AM

11,000+ words [big silly grin!!!] Now for some sleep.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Nov 11 - 03:48 PM

Hope you come up for air, soon, CH!

Colorado Matters, a program on Colorado Public Radio had a neat interview of a teacher and a couple of students who are participating in NaNoWriMo for Students this year. You may read about it and/or listen to it HERE. Pretty kewl!

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 22 Nov 11 - 12:31 AM

Gasp!

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 28 Nov 11 - 01:09 AM

And another gasp as I poke my head out from under for a short breather!

I'm now at 41,226 words, wooHOOO! Yes, that's nearly 4,000 behind but who cares, it's nothing compared to a few days ago when I was 10,000 behind. And I still like my story, and I'm still having fun! Glad to be doing it.

Back to word output that counts toward the project...

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Nov 11 - 10:00 AM

Heck, CH, you've got it...no problem...you're on the coasting in phase, now. Whoo-Hoo, ndeed!!

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Dec 11 - 12:05 AM

With more than half an hour to spare I validated > 50,000. Got to 50,292 before midnight local time. Yep, that's a self-satisfied little smile on my virtual face! But can someone please tell me, why the heck do I have butterflies in my tummy? Aren't I supposed to feel happy, giddy even, and relieved?

I suspect I'd feel a whole lot less anxious if I could just click 'delete'. End of responsibility. (No, I won't actually DO that; I still like the story, so far anyway.) I'm just not sure I like the responsibility of a half finished first draft. It kind of hollers, "finish me!"

Okay, now for sleep and rehearsals and performances galore. Such a busy handbell year, with regular gigs plus a couple of smaller, special purpose ensembles. And to a lesser extent for the quartet too getting the seasonal repertoire rolling. And of course gotta get the dogs to forgive and forget the short shrift they've been getting these last few weeks. I do wish NaNoWriMo was any other month than November (or December)! Back to Mudcat may have to wait a few more weeks.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Dec 11 - 12:17 AM

CONGRATULATIONS, CH!! Don't worry, it will be there whenever you are ready to work on it more. I know Nov. seems a crazy time, but somehow, for me, it adds that little extra oomph to let loose with abandon, no inner editor need apply for the whole month!

I am just about to publish my first NaNoWriMo novel from 2006. It will be an e-book, first, then paperback. 2008 and 2010 await.:-)

You ought to have some heavy tomes waiting for you in N.J., btw.

Well-done, you!

kat

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Dec 11 - 01:26 AM

That's so exciting, publishing your book!

Uh-oh, kat, either my mature memory syndrome or I'll blame it on the mad rush to write (and learn music and rehearse seemingly ad infinitum) -- I forgot to pm you, yes they arrived. Probably 2 weeks ago at least, kind of lost perspective about time the last month and will for most of this one too.

And now some sleep. Butterflies have settled a bit.

Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 09:04 PM

Who's up for NaNoWriMo 2012?

I'm going to finish what I started last year. Well that's the plan at least, lol.