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02 Nov 03 - 02:11 PM (#1046308) Subject: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis NanoWrimo is a contest to write a novel of 50,000 words in the month of November! The prize is to have actually done it. Bragging rights, as it were. Any mudcatters doing the challenge? |
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02 Nov 03 - 02:22 PM (#1046316) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Nigel Parsons Tempting, tempting.... Nigel |
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02 Nov 03 - 02:38 PM (#1046323) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: okthen Only another 49,998 to go then Nigel. |
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02 Nov 03 - 02:55 PM (#1046334) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Nigel Parsons No, the FAQ's say you can't repeat the same word 50,000 times! Actually you'd only need to repeat it 49,999 times Nigel |
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03 Nov 03 - 08:18 AM (#1046711) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Wow. I'm the only mudcatter stupid enough to do this? *Waaaaah* |
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19 Oct 04 - 10:08 PM (#1301228) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis It's that time of year again! I didn't make it last year, clocked in at only 8000 words. Hopefully this year will be better. I'm trying to get a few ideas in place before starting this time. Who else is up for it? |
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20 Oct 04 - 12:46 AM (#1301328) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: GUEST,SueB I had no idea! What a hoot! Thank you, thank you for bringing this to our attention. I'd say more, but I need to hold some words in reserve. |
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20 Oct 04 - 12:48 AM (#1301329) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Peace Not I. |
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22 Oct 04 - 12:24 PM (#1303983) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: GUEST,SueB Okay, Hesperis, I've thought hard about this, and I'm going to do it. I'm going to make it a trashy romance novel, with a narrator, in the style of the Lemony Snickett books, and an unhappy ending. My principal characters will be modeled on my border collie, (eager to please, rule bound, neurotic,) and on my Anatolian/Pyrenees cross, (a huge, gentle goodnatured lout who pleases himself, for whom rules are a conceptual conundrum.) Other characters will be based on my daughter's dog, (a slightly hyperactive funloving redhead,) my other dog (who is patient and good and sweet and needy and terrified of puppies,) and a whole slew of my other daughter's cats, (skanky males who don't groom themselves very well, sluttishly feral females who frequently abandon their young, a genderbending male we call Uncle Mom...) The rules say we can't start writing yet, so all I can do is plan - can't remember if we're allowed to have a written outline before the start date, do you know? BTW, I think Bobert should seriously consider putting together 50,000 words about his interesting Wes Ginny relatives and neighbors - why, the story of the fellow and his wife living in the half a doublewide trailer in the "electricuted birds" thread is sidesplittingly funny, and could easily be drawn out to 10,000 words all by itself. Bobert, if you're reading this, I challenge you! |
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22 Oct 04 - 01:02 PM (#1303996) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Bill D "It was a dark & storm night as I sat on top of my doghouse and..." hmmmm...tough! |
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22 Oct 04 - 02:27 PM (#1304058) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Building on that..."It was a pitch-black, can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face black, the darkest hour, midnight, of a raging, turbulent, wave-tossing night as I teetered atop my doghouse, clutching until my nails turned blue, watery-dead blue from the tight clench..the only thing keeping me from sliding of into the abyss of the dark and story night...":-) |
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22 Oct 04 - 02:32 PM (#1304064) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Forgot to say, Hesp, I'll try to do my best!!:-) |
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22 Oct 04 - 02:46 PM (#1304069) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Yay! More people! My nick is serpentgoddess at the site, send me a PM there. Yes, you're allowed to have an outline and even some notes - but the notes have to be notes, not chunks of the novel. I and my husband will be splitting a story between us at 50,000 words each so that we end up at more full-novel-length instead of novella-length. We also have a 10,000-word prologue, but we'll be ignoring that in the nanowrimo word count. It's a separate thing all by itself anyway so we can disregard it while writing the novel. |
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28 Oct 04 - 12:52 AM (#1309299) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: GUEST,SueB Sorry, haven't had time to check back before now, just want to say, BillD, I think you have what it takes! And thanks to katlaughing, if we find ourselves a few hundred words short here and there, we know what to do - start flinging in adjectives with wild abandon! Did I say wild abandon? I anticipate that I will become a regular Vesuvius of description, a font, no, a fountain, indeed, a regular gusher of extraneous verbiage. I shall spout, spew and vomit a veritable cornucopia of superfluous words, why, if necessary I shall let loose the sphincter of taste and discretion...well, I may draw the line at loosing the sphincter, but who knows, by Thanksgiving, how desperate I'll be... My plan is to reserve the Mudcat Cafe for a reward, so if I'm here in November, it's because I've passed some small or not so small milestone - either that, or I'm procrastinating...good luck, every one! |
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31 Oct 04 - 12:55 AM (#1311933) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Steve and I went to our local kickoff party. It was a lot of fun. I'm really excited about this... also rather nervous though. Ah, well, that's part of the fun... |
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02 Nov 04 - 04:04 PM (#1314463) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Got over 2000 words on the first day and am now sick. Brain is mush. 122 words today so far, because most of today has been spent sleeping. ACK! |
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02 Nov 04 - 05:30 PM (#1314539) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing I forgot! Two days almost gone. Don't know if I can pull this off this year or not. Sorry! |
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06 Nov 04 - 12:35 PM (#1318869) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Day 6, have almost 7000 now. Was hoping for more like 10000 but oh well. At least I'm feeling better... now I just have to write for 2-3 hours every day and I'll still get there! |
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10 Nov 04 - 02:37 PM (#1322651) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Hey, kat! Don't be sorry to try. I started a week late last year, only got 8790 words or so, and didn't finish. This year I've got 12,013 words as of last night. I'm a bit behind but still might get there. |
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16 Nov 04 - 10:43 PM (#1329442) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis 16,645 words. Definitely behind, definitely still writing though! I still might make the 50,000, maybe. Worth the try. Steve isn't doing so well in terms of wordcount but his story is awesome. Excerpt from my story here > |
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05 Oct 05 - 12:54 PM (#1576563) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis And it's a new nano next month! |
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05 Oct 05 - 01:51 PM (#1576615) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Amos Fifty thousand words is only roughly 100 pages. A real short novel. That's single spaced at a rule-of-thumb of 500/page. Double spaced, 200 pages at 250/page = 50,000. If you are well-oiled a page in four minutes is reasonable, but say an average of ten minutes even -- that would be 2000 minutes or 33.3 hours of typing. If you get in three hours a day, you have 90 hours available in November. DOesn't seem too hard. But that doesn't mean I am going to add it to my schedule! I have rocks to mortar. A |
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26 Oct 05 - 08:21 PM (#1591309) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Mortaring rocks for what? |
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26 Oct 05 - 09:38 PM (#1591362) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker i researched H Rider Haggard for my degree.. a real old victorian pro novelist.. i'm sure i remember that at his peak he disciplined himself to churn out 10,000 words per day |
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27 Oct 05 - 11:12 AM (#1591747) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: BaldEagle2 The Squadron Commander eyed his young flock of eager, yet niave, pilots and made his momentous announcement: "Gentlemen, we shall attack the bridges at San Diablo tomorrow night!" "Why tomorrow, Sir?" asked plucky Tom Snider, battle-hardened leader of Blue Flight. "Because tomorrow it will be a dark and stormy night." (und so weiter....) |
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03 Nov 05 - 12:28 PM (#1596566) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Well, going good so far. |
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04 Nov 05 - 10:48 AM (#1597314) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Perhaps... every other mudcatter doing nanowrimo has given up mudcat temporarily in order to increase their wordcount? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I am the only truly insane one here!!!!!!!!!!! |
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29 Oct 06 - 04:57 PM (#1871619) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing I have signed up for this year, thanks to CapriUni!! Really excited and ifnally have the energy for it! C'mon folks, come join in the fun! |
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29 Oct 06 - 05:25 PM (#1871631) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Bee-dubya-ell Heck, I'd give it a shot if it was held in January instead of November, but it's the peak of the outdoor art show season down here in Florida. Must make pottery, not a novel. In fact, I'm beating myself up for taking enough time out to write this message. |
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29 Oct 06 - 11:08 PM (#1871863) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Chip2447 Okay, I'm in... Chip2447 |
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31 Oct 06 - 05:23 PM (#1873337) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Yeah for you, Chip! B-dub..understood...but ya can't sell/make pottery 24/7, right? Gotta have an hour, maybe, for a bit of fun, too? Only 1667 words per day. All the same, glad to see you took the time to post.:-) |
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31 Oct 06 - 07:00 PM (#1873401) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Leadfingers Talk to my Family - I cant even manage letters to them ! 50,000 words would take me a lifetime !! |
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01 Nov 06 - 06:51 PM (#1874254) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis I'm not really trying this year... |
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12 Nov 06 - 08:12 PM (#1884277) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Hope all is well for you, sirepseh.:-) I am finding this very freeing...my inner editor is OFF and it is teaching me a new discipline, this writing when I have time, as it comes and, letting it go without thinking on whether it is a finished piece of writing or not. I love the email pep talks. Thanks for letting us know about this in earlier years. kat@20,150wordsandcounting |
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12 Nov 06 - 10:16 PM (#1884350) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Whooo! Go kat! I've been sick and in school, so whenever I'm not sick or at the doctor's trying to get documentation on why I'm sick... I'm doing homework. So, nanowrimo's not going well at all. *wry grin* |
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25 Nov 06 - 03:32 PM (#1893412) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Sorry to hear that, hesperis. I hope this coming year brings you an bug improvement in health and other circumstances; you deserve that and much more. Thansk for your support and for your initial thread about this moth, way back when. I have finished it! 50,580 words and it is done!! |
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25 Nov 06 - 10:14 PM (#1893651) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Wooohooo, go kat!!!!!!!!!!!!! *does the nanocomplete dance* I've given up on nanowrimo but am doing a lot of journaling. Well, a lot for me. Heh. |
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25 Nov 06 - 10:28 PM (#1893654) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Good for you, hesperis! That's a good way to not get all bottled up with waht's oging on, stuffing it down. When you journal, at least you have an outlet for a lot of it. Two years ago I was dying; there was no way I could even muster the strength to do much living, let alone writing. Things can change in wondrous ways. You hang in there and keep coming back to keep in touch, okay? Capri-Uni, how're you doing with your NaNo, this year? kat |
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28 Nov 06 - 10:18 AM (#1894635) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Stilly River Sage This begins to make sense. I visited Kat's link in the other thread and all I got was a site that had links to lots of book selling sites and book clubs. Not that I have time to write a novel in a month, let alone a year, but I wish I'd seen this thread earlier, I have a couple of folks I'd have sent the link to. I'll keep this in mind for next year (for them, not for me!) So now that these novels are written, what will you do with them? SRS |
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28 Nov 06 - 11:34 AM (#1894687) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing SRS, sorry about the links. They tell me the NaNoWriye (NaNoWriMoYear) is where the writers help one through the whole process of editing, finding a publisher/agent, etc. I will be looking at it and see how it goes. After the holidays, I plan to edit mine and probably publish it through my publishing company. I've got nine more ISBN numbers to use.:-) kat |
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28 Nov 06 - 12:08 PM (#1894712) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Drumshanty Hello (waving from the back) I didn't see this thread until today. I have about 4k words to go. Me and a friend are neck and neck and planning to paint Edinburgh red (well, a watery shade of pink) on Friday night if we both get done. It's been a great experience. I have always hankered to write and this switching the editor off and just writing has been, as Kat says, very liberating. I have no intentions of letting anyone see what I have done, but I do intend to edit it next month and perhaps look into taking writing a bit more seriously for a while. |
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28 Nov 06 - 12:11 PM (#1894713) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: McGrath of Harlow "bug improvement in health"... I like that. It could make for a whole new book... |
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28 Nov 06 - 12:32 PM (#1894739) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Donuel I never counted before. Is 50,000 a typical murder mystery paperback less than an inch thick? |
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28 Nov 06 - 12:34 PM (#1894741) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Donuel Won't most people just dust off the novels they did years ago? |
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28 Nov 06 - 12:41 PM (#1894751) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing LOL, McGrath! maybe that'll be my next plot! You can do it Drumshanty! Congrats! Donuel, the whole thing is on the honour system. I think most people who are really into it, the whole boilerplate thing, etc. do abide by the *rules*. The only one they have to answer to is themselves, really, so it's their loss if they cheat. |
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28 Nov 06 - 12:49 PM (#1894763) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Bee I've only just had a look at this thread. Interesting! I hope SueB really wrote her novel, her animal personalities would be hilarious - and a damn good way to devise a character, I would think...hmmm... ;-) |
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28 Nov 06 - 07:28 PM (#1895122) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Drumshanty Done. And it has to be said, I'm mighty pleased with myself... Now for some sleep. |
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28 Nov 06 - 07:36 PM (#1895128) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Whoo-hoo. Goodonya!!! |
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29 Nov 06 - 12:14 AM (#1895254) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Stilly River Sage Dickens would have loved this arrangement (as long as he could still get paid by the word). |
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29 Nov 06 - 09:03 PM (#1896087) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: hesperis Congrats, Drumshanty! I've over 14k now. Not going to make it to 50k by the end of tomorrow, but am just happy to not have 0. |
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30 Nov 06 - 07:56 PM (#1897036) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: GUEST,Cluin I'll start you off... Once upon a time there were five little bunny rabbits named Hopsy Flopsy, Plopsy, Wopsy, and Fuckass. Continue, continue... |
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30 Nov 06 - 09:35 PM (#1897098) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Just checked my page at NaNo. CapriUni has crossed the finish line. Way to go, CU!!!!! |
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19 Oct 08 - 01:45 AM (#2469658) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing CapriUni, sirepseh, either of you signed on for this year, 2008? I just decided to sign up for it, today! |
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19 Oct 08 - 05:37 AM (#2469735) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: GUEST,Volgadon I might give it another go. It is a terrific boost, because you get more done than you might otherwise. |
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15 Nov 08 - 10:48 PM (#2494892) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Volgadon, sorry I didn't see this before! Hope you are joining in! It is a terrific boost; the deadline really gets me motivated. Having said that, though, I am about 9500 words short of the halfway mark, halfway through the month! Maybe I can catch up more tomorrow. Today was only 1650 or so. I like this year's quote: "To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time." --Leonard Bernstein |
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15 Nov 08 - 11:00 PM (#2494897) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie You are amazing, kat. I would love to see the outcome! |
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16 Nov 08 - 12:15 AM (#2494916) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Thanks, Ebbie, I would, too!**GBG** |
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01 Nov 09 - 10:27 AM (#2757234) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Going to do it again this year, I *think*! Anyone else? Ebbie, I did get it done last year. It's only been edited once, so much more to go, but if you'd really like to read it....*sheepish ah shucks smile* please let me know. If not, no problem. My sisters said there's enough for 2-3 books in it, i their opnion, though they did enjoy it.:-) It'sthe victionalised version of my dad's family history. |
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02 Nov 09 - 12:05 AM (#2757687) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie Well, I'm working on it- got over a thousand words today. I'll have to get cracking butI didn't get started until this afternoon... Didn't sign up with NanoWriMo, though, because the story I have in mind will probably be shorter than that. Unless I bring in other's stories too, in addition to the main protagonist. May do that. In Nana, etc, what is the outcome if you don't finish? Do you have to check in with them periodically? kat, as you know, I loved your Prairie Child- I'd love to read anything else of yours. |
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02 Nov 09 - 11:01 PM (#2758418) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Good for you, Ebbie! If you want to go for the whole shebang, it averages out to about 1666 words per day. I never do a set number; each day brings different opportunities of time in which to write, so I try to just roll with it. The MAIN thing is to TURN OFF YOUR INNER EDITOR! It is liberating. Editing is for December...do not worry about tenses, punctuation, etc. just get the words down on the paper, so to speak. Add in whatever you want!:-) NOTHING happens if you don't do the whole 50,000, except you won't get a winner's certificate suitable for framing and some other little icons and such on your page at nanowrimo. It's all just a challenge for your own self-satisfaction. You can paste in your novel in their official word counter as often as you like and the word count will show up on your page and beside your name. It's really fun to see the graph move along as you fill up the pages. You can also hook up with other participants in your area. I see there are 553 members in all of Alaska. if you join, look for "sagewalker.":-) I really appreciate your comments and support. Watch your email, darlin'! And, thanks! SRS asked how I was doing. I am just under 4000 words..it is the third book in my series. This one tells of how I met Rog and the times we had out on the Wyoming prairie on Rog's twenty-five acre mini-ranch with a bunch of critters and the kids. I need to really light a fire and get cracking or somesuch! Thanks for asking, Maggie! |
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03 Nov 09 - 06:49 PM (#2759002) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Slow going as Morgan was here most of the day. I did manage a few more words so I am just under one tenth of what I need at the end of the month.:-) More on my help thread. |
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03 Nov 09 - 10:44 PM (#2759106) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Managed a few more this evening, so I am over 5,000 and counting.:-) |
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04 Nov 09 - 08:57 PM (#2759821) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: maeve Get a-writing, little dogies. Write a novel or three, And I would read each one if 'twas up to me. maeve |
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04 Nov 09 - 09:22 PM (#2759829) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Write one yourself, darlin' and I would LOVE reading it! As if you have the time, I know.:-) Made it to 7,152 words this morning...almost one-tenth. |
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01 Nov 10 - 01:47 AM (#3020490) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing I must be crazy, but even years have been good ones for me on NaNoWriMo, so here goes...I have committed to the 50,000 word challenge and for once it will be a novel NOT based on my early childhood, nor my ancestors and , oddly enough, it will be in first person rather than y usual third. It will be based on a short story called Shadowhearts. As long as my Rog is laid up with a broken foot, I figure I might as well do something while he just sits here, working from home on his computer!:-) Not using the short story for a jump start, it's too compact, I've got the first 500 done...the writing officially starts at midnight for each region, will be in about 13 minutes for me..then to bed! |
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01 Nov 10 - 10:20 PM (#3021285) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Stilly River Sage Good luck with that, and move often enough that you don't cripple yourself hunched over the keyboard! SRS |
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01 Nov 10 - 10:37 PM (#3021293) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Thanks...LOL...I don't think there is any danger of that. As usual, I am having to write in snippets between everything else, this year it's playing taxi, etc. I did get 1700 done, today and to succeed I think, if I remember correctly, it's an average of 1665 or so per day. I told Morgan about it today. He wants to do it, also. They do have it for young writers, kindergarten up to 17 years of age with the kids setting their own word limits, so I guess he's going to do it. Get him on the right track!:-) |
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01 Nov 10 - 11:10 PM (#3021307) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Amergin I started on it for the first time today....I'll have to see where it takes me. |
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01 Nov 10 - 11:20 PM (#3021313) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Yea! Good for you, Nathan!! |
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02 Nov 10 - 03:19 AM (#3021369) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni I'm in again, this year (I skipped last year, due to burnout). As usual, I'm doing a fantasy (though each fantasy I've done, has been a different sort -- that's the great thing about the genre). As unusal, I've done more planning ahead then ever, and have actually come up with a list of specific plot points to cross off as my primary goal. I want to actually write a complete story, this year, instead of writing mostly a "first chapter" with a hastily-tacked-on resolution at the end. The website is clogged to the gills at the moment, but next week or so, when things calm down, I'll post a link to my story synopsis and novel excerpt ... if I have an excerpt I'm proud of by then. |
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02 Nov 10 - 10:46 AM (#3021600) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Kewl, CU!! I tried last year, but didn't know I was in the depths of depression until half-way through and gave up. The even numbered years have been good for me, so here's to this year! |
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05 Nov 10 - 02:59 PM (#3024479) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni Is anyone here who's doing NaNo planning on posting any of their Novel Info up on their site (you do that through the "My NaNoWriMo" menu)? Here's my profile page: CapriUni's NaNoWriMo If you click on the "Novel Info" tab, you'll see my "blurb," an a small excerpt from the end of my Prologue. |
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08 Nov 10 - 10:31 PM (#3027267) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing I haven't decided whether I will or not, CU, but I sure did enjoy yours!! That's a great start and, as usual, superb writing. Amergin, how ya doing? I went to work with Rog, today, I'm driving him since he broke his foot. Took my laptop, had over another 1,000 words done, lickety-split, bumped some stupid key on the keyboard and lost them, just like that. I'm going to check for auto-save tomorrow. |
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09 Nov 10 - 12:11 AM (#3027315) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni Kat-- Grr. Argh. I Hate when that happens. I use OpenOffice (Share/freeware) and after I lost about 20 minutes of work, this summer, I set it up to autosave every five minutes (I still have to save it to make it permanant, but if my computer freezes, or the power goes out, the next time I load the program, it will restore up to the most recent autosave, in draft form. |
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09 Nov 10 - 01:04 AM (#3027319) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie Well, NanoWriMO is not in my sights this year although I am writing. One of these days I'm going to write a love story or something like that. Someday I want to write something just out of my own experience.I tend to write stories set in a specific time and place and there is always a great deal of research to be done. Anybody else have that trouble? Right now I'm well into a novel-length multi-faceted story set in the 1880s, set there specifically because it involves the everyday use of horses and since that is something I know a lot about (being brought up as I was) that part comes easy. However there is a lot about the 1880s I know very little about so the writing is slow going. Thank goodness for online research. I used to spend weeks in libraries. The working title for this 'book' is 'Ny Mane is Jeo', although later that will be just one chapter heading. |
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09 Nov 10 - 04:56 PM (#3027888) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing I don't think I like laptops very much. I am at work wiht Rog and just typed a long message to you, Ebbie, when it was eaten by hitting the wrong button! Arrgghhh! And, I was just telling you, CU, that I LOVE what you've put up about your novel. GREAT stuff, as always. I mostly came to report, I did manage to write AND save the next part of my novel and have passed the 10,000 word mark, though I know I am behind overall for daily average. I'll be back.:-) kat |
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09 Nov 10 - 11:02 PM (#3028079) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie Something amazing about you, kat, is your ability to focus on it. By the way, suppose your story is told in 40,000 words - do you then go back and pad another 10,000 words into it? Not that I've ever had that problem - I always write more than I can use! |
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09 Nov 10 - 11:30 PM (#3028085) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Thanks, Ebbie. It's the deadline, I think. I work really, really well with deadlines.:-) I never did my homework at night. I'd get up at 6a, get dressed, wash my hair, then do homework, in a rush, as I ate my breakfast. Must've driven my parents nuts, but I manage decent grades, so maybe not too much. I've never not had enough words, though I've only done this twice, successfully. (Last year, I didn't know I was so depressed when I tried to write about our ranch in WY. I had to quit because I kept crying every time I tried to write more. I made it to 20,000+ and that was it.) This year's may even go way over the 50,000. I'm not sure. I am only into the second day and it is supposed to take a year, but I am rethinking that! I meant to tell you, two years ago, when I did "On Garfield Creek," based on my dad's oral history, I did a lot of quick research and *met* several really neat people via the phone when I called about some salient points concerning the 1880s in Leadville, CO and elsewhere. When it gets published, I will send them each a copy with my thanks. When I am writing that way, I put in notes in CAPS to remind myself to check something, be it research, character's names form back up the novel, etc. It helps and I usually try to highlight it as I go along, so it is really noticeable. That way I am not getting bogged down with the details whilst writing on deadline. That's one of the things nanowrimo stresses...turning off the Inner Editor...December is for revisions, fact-checking, etc. It's very liberating, imo.:-) Interestingly enough, one of my now favourite authors (new to me this year) is Paulo Coelho, who said in an interview I read, that he writes his novels in a month and then takes a couple of years to edit and fine-tune them. Made me feel good to read that! Ebbie, I think you should write about what you know/remember/experienced. I am sure you have some great stories with unique insights. They say write what you know about...even in a novel elements of ourselves can creep in. I'd love to read any of your stuff. Thanks, again, kat |
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10 Nov 10 - 12:56 AM (#3028110) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie Thanks, kat. In a sense this story is something I am familiar with- I HAVE traveled with horses, have helped train them, have had them as my only means of locomtion, spent hours alone on them and with them. What I don't know about the 1880s, especially, is where railroads ran in which regions and when, I don't know the geography, terrain or climate of the region I'm writing about. Ha! I just realized that is somethign I can switch. I know the West Coast, especially Oregon, and I know northern Virginia and southern Michigan. Unbeknownst to them, they is goin' to move. :) Thanks, kat! |
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10 Nov 10 - 01:40 AM (#3028116) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni Ebbie (and Kat and others)-- NaNoWrimo's hompage has forums, and one of the message boards is dedicated to research, for questions like: "Where did the trains run, in the 1880s?" It's a bit like mudcat, except for random facts.. |
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15 Nov 10 - 09:51 PM (#3033133) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Thanks, CU. I'd seen that, but not until after I'd found out something I needed to know asap. Will keep it in mind, though. Ebbie, that sounds great! Just got over the 20,000 words line. Still behind a tad, say 5,000 words, but I will make it, I think. Life has been throwing up some nasty curves balls, but if I can snatch an hour or two here and there, I will get it done. Chris Baty's pep talk today was neat. I threw in a monkey wrench in my novel I didn't even know was going to happen until after I read his email. |
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15 Nov 10 - 10:48 PM (#3033162) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger I don't know how I missed this thread all these years. This would be so much fun to do next year; I think it's a bit late for me to start this year. So I'll cheer. Great going everyone, keep the output flowing! Did any 'catters post excerpts yet besides CapriUni? Great stuff, CU, I really enjoyed it! |
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16 Nov 10 - 11:23 AM (#3033559) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Stilly River Sage A little humor that turned up in my Twitter feed today. SRS |
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16 Nov 10 - 02:23 PM (#3033721) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing LOL, that is so true, SRS, thanks! Crowhugger, it would be great if you did this, too! I haven't posted anything from this year's novel, yet, but here is an unedited excerpt from Prairie Child which I wrote in 2006 for Nanowrimo: CLick HERE. |
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16 Nov 10 - 03:12 PM (#3033764) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie First draft snippets from Ny Mane is Jeo: The sky was darkening rapidly when they had finished eating and rolled out their blankets. George dug in one of her bags and fished out a small comb. This is celluloid, she said with a hint of pride. I don't want to lose it. She gave several swipes through her ragged hair then held it out to him. Here, boy, she said. Might as well see what you can do. You are a pitiful sight, for sure. Imitating her actions, he applied the comb to his mop but it got stuck immediately. She helped him unentangle it. You know, boy, she said conversationally. We could cut that in a blessed minute. I'll show you what I do for my hair. She stepped back to her saddle, dug in the bag that hung always from the saddle horn, and extracted a large, well worn knife. With her left hand she swept up her hair to the top of her head then took the knife to it. The knife was sharp and cut through the strands readily. She let it fall and there was a perfect fit, short in front and longer in back, kept well away from her face. You want me to do that to your hair? After it is shorter, you can comb it. He nodded hesitantly. His grimace was a question and she answered, No, it doesn't hurt a bit. Here, sit down here, David, just to steady you. This won't take but a minute. The boy sat obediently and held rigidly still. She grasped the tangle of his hair and applied the knife to the roots. It came off in great bunches; she laid each dirty handful in a pile. When she was done, it was jagged but his hair was much thinner and most of the snarls were gone. Picking up her comb she started combing from the tips of each strand and worked her way upward. From time to time she picked up the knife and cut out a clotted mass. Ten minutes later she was done and he raised his hand in wonderment, feeling his head. He gave her a tentative smile and she ruffled his hair. See? It's more civilized, for sure. Now, pick up your cut off hair and let's burn it, throw it in the embers. No point in letting some witch or a hoo haw or a sorcer get ahold of it. He flashed her a startled look and she nodded grimly. But no problems, she said. We'll get rid of it good. ******************************** Someday when you grow up you'll find yourself a girl and get married. Don't shake your head at me, boy. It's the usual thing. And don't worry about not talking. Lots of women would like their man not to say a word. After the I Do, that is. He raised an expressive eyebrow and she expanded. That's when the preacher asks you Do you take this woman to be your awful wedded wife and you say, I do. Now, I don't know, she said conversationally , why he calls the woman 'awful', I expect it actually means that it is full of awe. Anyway, everybody promises the same thing, so no problems. ************************************ Can you read? She looked over at him. He shook his head mutely. Well, I declare. Humph. That would have made your life easier, I expect. On 'tother hand I've never been much for book learning myself. Just about everything I know I learned from what I have seen and what I have thought of by myself. Still it would have made your life easier, no doubt about it. Everybody should know how to read. She looked at him again. The boy's tan face had turned a dull red and his eyes flashed at her with hurt pride and resentment. Well, I declare. And that's all I will say about that." |
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16 Nov 10 - 03:28 PM (#3033774) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Great characters and dialogue, Ebbie! I want to read more...very intriguing AND funny..."aweful wife." LOL |
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26 Nov 10 - 11:09 PM (#3041220) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing CU, Amergin, howya doin'? I just got past 36,000. It's all downhill from here. LOL! |
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27 Nov 10 - 01:53 AM (#3041256) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: mousethief I'm at 40,400. I think I actually know how I'm going to wrap things up, too! What I don't want to do is to have all the loose ends neatly tied up, and be 3000 words short! |
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27 Nov 10 - 03:10 AM (#3041272) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Fantastic, mousetheif! I am sure you can keep that Inner Editor at bay long enough to get plenty more...you are well on your way! |
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27 Nov 10 - 11:52 PM (#3041788) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: mousethief 50,272 words in 28 days. |
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27 Nov 10 - 11:55 PM (#3041789) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: mousethief Or, well, 27 days. Oopsies. |
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28 Nov 10 - 03:34 AM (#3041830) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie Congratulations, Mousethief! Was this the first draft and now begins the fun part? How about sharing? |
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28 Nov 10 - 03:37 AM (#3041831) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity From: hesperis Date: 03 Nov 03 - 08:18 AM Wow. I'm the only mudcatter stupid enough to do this? *Waaaaah* We would....but we're all too busy writing on the Mudcat Forum! GfS |
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28 Nov 10 - 11:44 AM (#3042018) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Me, too, mousethief, though my novel is not done, I have well surpassed the 50,000 word goal! |
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28 Nov 10 - 07:31 PM (#3042382) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie You two are amazing. |
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29 Nov 10 - 12:44 AM (#3042507) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: mousethief It's got a lot of work to be done. The plot needs tightening in several places, the inconsistencies are outrageous, and all the dialogue sounds like me! But here's the opening two paragraphs. My master got in rather late this morning, reeking of sushi and Chanel No 5. He went straight to bed, didn't pet the dog, didn't feed the goldfish, didn't lock the door even. I couldn't tell from his demeanor if he'd had a successful or unsuccessful evening. But apparently he was tired. He's been seeing this one particular lady, a rich widow with a broad neck. He rarely marries his marks: he isn't the kind to fall in love, and it doesn't require marriage to bite. But I'm being rude. I should introduce myself. My name is Fang, and I'm a Kuvasz. My master is a vampire. I don't know when I first discovered he was a vampire. The fact that he never goes out in the daytime was a clue. That he never cooks with garlic. That he has a scrapbook by his bed with cut-out photos of women's necks from magazine necklace advertisements. But I think it was the subscription to VQ that finally tipped the scales. |
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29 Nov 10 - 01:52 PM (#3042913) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger LOL, mousethief, and big congratulations! Let me say that I'm in awe of all you. The high word count people for achieving that, the lower word count writers for achieving that and for keeping at it. Impressive. Well Kat if i'm gonna do this next year I'll want to put a moratorium on performing during December because of all the music-learning and deadline-oriented rehearsing and that typically fills every waking moment each November. I've hardly seen my husband & dogs for the last 2 weeks, never mind my computer. It's been fun spreading the word about it though, and I noticed there is lots of local support in my area. Go, go, go, folks, less than a day and a half left! |
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29 Nov 10 - 03:53 PM (#3043023) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing I hope you DO, CH!! You'd be surprised at how much you can get done in between everything else. When you turn off that inner editor things just spew out and there ya go, before you know it you've done a thousand, and then another thousand. One thing it has taught me is I am really motivated by a deadline!**bg** Mousethief..you've got my attention! Great set up! Here's the opening of this year's effort called "Shadowhearts. It needs lots of editing, too, but at least there is something to edit, eh?:-) I don't remember anything about Uncle Lewis except vague references to his being a bit eccentric, reclusive, and having loads of money. I was about to find out just how much as I was the only recipient listed in his will...well, as long as I met certain stipulations. I was certainly interested. My varied careers always had great starts then I lost interest. By contrast, the stuff I did for free...listen and give intuitive advice, empathise and get nice feedback, make jewellery and give it away, all held my attention and I love doing it. Now, maybe, if old Uncle Lewis really had been that rich, I might be able to do those things and not worry about how I was going to pay the rent and feed myself and Sasheen...she's my chocolate point Siamese who assists me in my work with folks. She "vets" them, in an unobtrusive way...letting me know with a look, a blink of the eye, a tail swish if they were to be trusted or not. Of course, I have my own "feelers" out...watching and listening for negative vibes or some underhanded, not truthful dealings. Between the two of us, we have a pretty good track record when it comes to clients. They are all given to freely, but those who can almost always offer a little love offering or a trade in kind of goods, most often fresh veggies when in season and sometimes a stash of jewellery supplies, old beads, necklaces and the like with which I could make new items. I tried selling my jewellery once or twice but it never worked. You see, I design with the specific person in mind, so the Stone People communicate to me just how they want to be placed in a design...whatever resonates the best for that person. Often-times I'll put something together and think it's just right, when I get a feeling, see new patterns in my head and bingo! The "stones" have "spoken" and I rearrange the design to something much better which I never would have thought of. I love doing it, but I wish it paid the bills better. I was sitting in the lawyer's office, no cats allowed, so I was on my own whilst studying him and his decor. Sturdy, solid old-fashioned desk of oak polished to a warm and old honey gold...glassed-in bookshelves filled with uniform looking leather bound tomes with alphabetic and numbered bindings, plus a couple of shelves of non-conformist books, not as large, but still with that old library look and smell, even through the glass. I was interested to note the man did not match his fossilised references. Perhaps there used to be an "& son" on the door which now read, "John Laurence, Attorney at Law" and he'd inherited the library. About five ten if my guess was right, as he sat in a comfortable looking old leather desk chair. He had a mass of unruly hair, slightly silver around the edges with leftover reddish hues to match a few freckles across his nose. His eyes were almost almond shaped, a hint of something different than the Queen Boadicea red hair connections, and a frank, open sort of blue...they were warm and friendly now, but I wouldn't want to cross swords with him in a court room or anywhere else for that matter. There was an edge to him I could sense...all my bells were going off..."warning, warning Will Robinson" just like that robot in Lost in Space. He had on a GQ looking suit with an unexpected cotton chambray shirt, open-necked, no tie, maybe he wasn't as tight-assed as he seemed. "As I was saying, Miss Kitteredge, Mr. Dunosh set some unusual parameters pursuant to your receipt of his full estate. Are you aware of his net worth?" I vaguely shook my head, "Not a clue. Mum and Dad almost never spoke of him. I heard he had loads but never how much." "How much do you know about your Uncle, then?" |
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30 Nov 10 - 12:22 AM (#3043305) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie That's a fun beginning, kat! (I'm not too much into vampires and zombies, MT, but I like your writing) |
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30 Nov 10 - 12:28 AM (#3043307) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: LadyJean I've been working on a novel since January, trying to keep up my confidence, which gets harder by the day. I don't think it's bad. But I don't write for myself, I want to publish, and I know that's a bear. If and when this latest work is finished it will be the third novel I've written. The other two never saw print. Well, I'll keep my hopes up. Note there are plenty of crooks out there who will try to separate you from your money when you go looking for a publisher. The rule to remember is "They pay you, you DON'T pay them!" But keep your confidence up. Have you ever read Norah Roberts? If she can get published so can you. |
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01 Dec 10 - 10:16 PM (#3044596) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger More, more! I like the visual detail. But what are the parameters??? |
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25 Oct 11 - 07:14 PM (#3244797) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo 2011 From: Crowhugger 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?? |
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26 Oct 11 - 03:22 PM (#3245195) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie 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... |
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26 Oct 11 - 03:39 PM (#3245205) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing 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 |
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27 Oct 11 - 02:26 AM (#3245394) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Ebbie I love reading things 'in progress', kat. Check your PMs. |
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27 Oct 11 - 03:37 PM (#3245755) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Pep talk! From: Crowhugger 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. :-) |
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27 Oct 11 - 05:53 PM (#3245843) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing That posting is 334 words by my Word count, CH.:-) Ebbie, thanks! Just sent you a PM. |
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27 Oct 11 - 07:27 PM (#3245888) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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). |
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27 Oct 11 - 07:38 PM (#3245897) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Songwronger 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. |
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28 Oct 11 - 12:24 PM (#3246147) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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. |
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28 Oct 11 - 05:52 PM (#3246326) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: dick greenhaus "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money." Boswell: Life of Johnson |
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31 Oct 11 - 06:01 PM (#3247936) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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. |
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01 Nov 11 - 02:12 PM (#3248616) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger No other takers this year, ey? I'll mostly be at nanowrimo dot com this month. cul8r, :-) CH. |
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01 Nov 11 - 03:09 PM (#3248667) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni 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.. |
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01 Nov 11 - 05:41 PM (#3248768) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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! |
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01 Nov 11 - 05:42 PM (#3248769) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger yuck, pardon the lack of proof reading. |
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01 Nov 11 - 07:07 PM (#3248815) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing 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! |
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01 Nov 11 - 07:11 PM (#3248819) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni 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... |
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01 Nov 11 - 11:17 PM (#3248918) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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. :-) |
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01 Nov 11 - 11:20 PM (#3248921) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni CrowHugger -- what's your NaNoWriMo user name? |
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01 Nov 11 - 11:21 PM (#3248922) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: CapriUni Oops, we cross-posted |
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03 Nov 11 - 02:02 PM (#3249785) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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! :-) |
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07 Nov 11 - 11:04 PM (#3252567) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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. :-) |
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08 Nov 11 - 12:15 AM (#3252587) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Go, go, go, CH! |
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08 Nov 11 - 01:40 AM (#3252601) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 11,000+ words [big silly grin!!!] Now for some sleep. |
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13 Nov 11 - 03:48 PM (#3256375) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing 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! |
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22 Nov 11 - 12:31 AM (#3261301) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger Gasp! |
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28 Nov 11 - 01:09 AM (#3264547) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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... |
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28 Nov 11 - 10:00 AM (#3264774) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing Heck, CH, you've got it...no problem...you're on the coasting in phase, now. Whoo-Hoo, ndeed!! |
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01 Dec 11 - 12:05 AM (#3266478) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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. |
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01 Dec 11 - 12:17 AM (#3266484) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: katlaughing 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 |
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01 Dec 11 - 01:26 AM (#3266499) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger 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. |
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04 Oct 12 - 09:04 PM (#3414562) Subject: RE: BS: NanoWriMo - Anyone up for it? From: Crowhugger Who's up for NaNoWriMo 2012? I'm going to finish what I started last year. Well that's the plan at least, lol. |