NaNoWriMo

[Julianne Douglas]

Anyone from the forum doing NaNoWriMo this year? I just signed up and need some buddies. :)

[michellemoran]

Well, I have a month to produce the final, final edits for Cleo's Daughter. It's not exactly writing a book from scratch.... but the dates match!!!!

Good luck :]

[Divia]

So ya have to write a book in a month? :confused:

[Julianne Douglas]

The goal in order to "win" is to write 50,000 new words. I know that is completely impossible for me, given my responsibilities, so I'm shooting for 30,000 words. That breaks down to 1000 words (4 pages) a day, which MIGHT be doable. I'll only know if I try! I am such a painstakingly slow writer, I need to just try to crank something out to get the next book rolling. I've been rewriting the same 2400 words over and over for the last three weeks. It's time to move on. ;)

If you're interested, check out the NaNoWriMo website. I look at participating as a way to get and stay motivated, reinforce some good habits, and make some new friends. Hopefully some decent pages will come out of it, too.

[xiaotien]

julianne, i'm playing! and i'm skeered!!!

XIAOTIEN over there.

tho the nano site has been down
for a bit. =O
i hope it's not having a break down
before we are! =)

[EC2]

Friend of mine in my re-enactment society is intending to have his first go at writing for Nano-wrimo. In fact his first go at writing anything. 'Any tips?' he asked me at an event on Saturday. Since I am the world's greates procrastinator I wasn't very helpful - except to say edit the thing afterwards and that perhaps some notion of the main characters and a rough outline might not go amiss. I'm too slow for something like Nano, but I am in awe of those who go for it!

[Divia]

I may give this a go. I have a big idea cookin right now. Although thats part of my problem..too many ideas and I never stick with one. :cool:

[Alaric]

I have a friend who attempted to do it two or three years ago. He got to 25,000 odd words until stuff came up and he ran out of time. The good thing is that he's turned it into a complete novel of over 140,000 words since then and is hoping to get it published soonish. It's about a trio of train and bank robbers at the turn of the last century running up to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, I've read part of it and it's quite good.

[cordaella]

Anyone from the forum doing NaNoWriMo this year? I just signed up and need some buddies. :)

I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. I did it last year for the first time without any great hopes of reaching the goal, but I did - at about a quarter to midnight on 30 November. It seemed a not wholly ridiculous first draft at 4 am on 1 December but I've scarcely dared look at it since.

This year I've lengthened the odds against finishing in time by doing almost no preps beforehand and inadvertently arranging to be away for 8 days out of the 30. So far I have 6 characters, some background and almost no plot. And it starts in about 8 hours. Hmmm.

Having NaNo chums does help with motivation and morale. The site seems to be down at the mo but if anyone here wants to exchange NaNo links with me when it's up again, do get in touch.

Best of luck to everyone here who's taking part!

[Julianne Douglas]

Cindy--I added you to my buddy list--I hope you don't mind! I'm sure once you start writing, your nervousness will disappear. Writing a second book is scary, probably triply so if you're under contract (unfortunately, I wouldn't know about that :(). Just keep saying--I did it once, I can do it again, and better this time! That's my mantra.

[Julianne Douglas]

EC2--I'm a terribly slow writer, too, which I why I hope to jump start things a bit by participating in this. If I hoped to write 50,000 words, I'd be setting myself up for an "epic fail," as my teens like to say. I'll be happy if I even get 10,000 words down!

[Julianne Douglas]

Divia, give it a try! We can all be buddies and encourage each other. The site was very slow this morning, but you can always sign up tomorrow, or just do it unofficially. The goal is to get words on the page in a first pass without getting bogged down in editing.

Alaric--that's great that your friend actually produced a useable manuscript. I've heard good and bad things about what one winds up with at the end. I guess agents complain they get swamped with atrocious manuscripts in December--people never go back and edit before they send out their work! The site claims Sara Gruen wrote Water for Elephants for NaNo. That's definitely a success story!

Cordaella--I'm julianned over on the site. Please add me as a buddy and we can link up over there or run a progress thread here. Maybe people who aren't participating would rather we do it here so they can cheer us on from the sidelines!

[Julianne Douglas]

Sorry, Michelle, I didn't mean to skip you! It does sound like you have a similar task in front of you--best of luck as you tackle it! If we do run a NaNo thread here, please join in.

[xiaotien]

julianne, of course i wanted you to add
me! i'll add you, too! i bet you'll get to know
the stresses of writing under contract
soon enough!

i use nano for my own selfish reason--just
to establish a writing routine and getting over
whatever fear / inertia i may be experiencing.

and my mantra for november?

i am allowed to write utter poo.
i am allowed to write utter poo.

[Julianne Douglas]

Cindy--I hope you don't mind my asking, but I'm curious how much writing you get done every day with your little ones. How often do they go to school? Do you have babysitters when they're home? Do you stay up late at night after they're in bed? I have two teens and a 3 year old, who goes to preschool for only nine hours a week. With all the driving and everyone underfoot, it's really hard to get work done. The older I get, the harder it is to stay up late. I'm getting really frustrated! I got my first novel almost completed before the little one was born and I had the entire day while the others were at school to write. It's been very hard switching back to constant mommy-time, writingwise.

[xiaotien]

*head explodes*

haha! just kidding, julianne. those
are great questions! i wrote after they
went to bed. for rough drafting, it was the
only way. i needed quiet and i needed zen.
often, i'd go over to starbucks--but that was
more for my one year / six drafts of revising!

when i began writing, my son was at home
with me and my daughter was in preschool
three mornings a week for 3 hours. but i did
no writing during that time because the munchkin
was at home. =) i did have a sitter but i usually
used those four hours to go to the gym--unless
i was sick. then i'd write.

so almost all my revising / writing was done
at night for a couple of hours at a time. it does
seem there is more activities the older they get
from school and social things! sweet pea just
started kindy and my son is in preschool 5 days
a week now for about 4 hours!

it'll be interesting to see how nano goes. because
the schedule is so different this time around and
what free time i'm allowed. i don't like writing so
much at night anymore, but i probably will still.
maybe only an hour or some. i'll stop by 10pm
so i can "relax" and watch an hour or so of tele
before bed.

good luck! the juggling isn't easy--but we can
do it!

[EC2]

My sons were 6 and 3 when my first book was accepted for publication, which meant I was writing it when they were 5 and 2. (I had other novels not accepted for publication of which 3 had been written in between childbirth!) I worked in the playroom. I worked while cooking dinner (10 minutes while the veg cooked). I worked when they had gone to bed. I didn't have any childcare - we couldn't afford it. I was going out to work in the evenings shelf-filling at the local supermarket to help make ends meet, and then staying at home with the boys during the day.
Somehow I managed it. I think I was bloody minded and made time for myself. I set myself a daily word target - not too difficult a one - and then I stuck to it come hell or high water. You just have to dig in and persevere.

[xiaotien]

EC, that is so inspiring. wow!
i could never work just snippets at a time...
but if that is all you have, then you just do it.

you rock! and deserve all your success!!

wow!

[Julianne Douglas]

Wow, EC, I admire your determination. I'm a famous one for finding excuses and wasting time. My husband keeps telling me that if you want something bad enough, you make it happen. I wish I were more like you!

Cindy, when the older ones were little, I would write at night. I wrote my entire 400 page Ph.D. dissertation when my two kids were under the age of 4, and somehow I survived. But I was what, fifteen years younger then! It's just so much harder to function the next day now if I stay up past midnight. But I'm gonna have to if I even hope to reach a reasonable goal for NaNo.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

[EC2]

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

You KNOW you can, you KNOW you can!:D
I have found that now mine are grown and I've reached my half century, I have more energy and can stay awake longer. I'm better now than I was in my thirties! But then these days I get more time in the day to process my own thoughts - I think that's part of it. When your head is filled with other people's needs and demands, it's essential to keep a part aside for yourself.

[Julianne Douglas]

See, I'm 45 and have a 3 year old. It will be a LONGGGGG time before I'll be able to disengage from others' needs and wants. :) I know I need to claim more time for myself. I'm just not very good at doing so.

I guess that's why I like writing so much. When I do get into the flow, I finally forget about everything else.

Off to carve pumpkins now!

[cw gortner]

Go for it, Julianne! Best of luck!

I'm too lazy right now but it sounds like a great motivator.

[Julianne Douglas]

Thanks, CW! I'll be happy to make headway into this next book.

[Anita Davison]

Anyone from the forum doing NaNoWriMo this year? I just signed up and need some buddies. :)


I have signed up Julianne and I have just posted my first words. Very disappointing is that their website is so busy, the widgets and the word verification count don't work, the 'Author Search' has been disabled so I can't add any buddies....

Not a great beginning, but my story is off to a cracking start - hope I feel the same way in a week!!!

Anita

[Julianne Douglas]

Wow, that's great that you've made a good beginning, Anita! I've yet to write a word today. I have a horrible cold and was up all night hacking. I hope to squeeze in some writing here and there during the day.

Are you starting a story completely from scratch, or continuing a new one?

We can buddy here instead of on the site, since it's so slow.

Good luck!

[xiaotien]

1632 in 80 minutes.

really slooow for me, but i finally
leapt! i wonder if i can increase my rough
drafting stamina? i never seem to last much
longer than an hour.

and i can revise for 5, no problem.

good luck to those nanoing!

[Julianne Douglas]

Wow, great job, Cindy! I don't think I could write that many words in 80 minutes if my life depended on it!

I've managed a bit here and there today, but I'm waiting for late tonight to get anything substantial done.

[xiaotien]

julianne, yeah, i'm pretty fast.
for nano 06, i did 1200 - 1600 words
in forty minute spurts.

this time will be interesting--i'm hoping
to break the forty minute thing. but maybe
that's just how i write...i hope not. well,
writing something is better than nothing! =)

have you written yet, julianne?

[Julianne Douglas]

Wow. That's all I can say! :eek:

No, I'm counting the minutes until my three yea-old goes to bed. It's way past time now, but he's having a pillow fight with dad and I hate to break it up....

[Julianne Douglas]

Woo-hoo! 769 new words in about 2 1/2 hours. That's on top of deciding what to cut, as I changed the direction of the chapter. I dropped from 2404 to 2054 words, but that's because I chopped out a large chunk that I'd written earlier and no longer worked. But I'm happy with the result, especially the amount of new material.

Thank goodness we get to turn the clocks back tonight. Off to enjoy that extra hour of sleep...

[Anita Davison]

Wow. That's all I can say! :eek:

No, I'm counting the minutes until my three year-old goes to bed. It's way past time now, but he's having a pillow fight with dad and I hate to break it up....

All bets are off Julianne - if you have one of those! I'm suprised you can even switch the laptop on wthout interruptions.

There are fifteen months between mine.

Me: Whaddya mean the pill isn't so effective just after birth?
Doctor: Because your hormones are all over the place
Me: NOW you're telling me???

Anyway, when mine were two and three, getting dressed in the morning was a major achievement.

You're a better woman than I am!
Anita

[cordaella]

Well done everyone who's made a good start on Day 1. I'm procrastinating for England at the moment :( and I don't even have small children to take care of.

Julianne - I'll add your NaNo name to my buddy list when it opens up again. Mine is araucaria.

[xiaotien]

i'm just keeping count by myself.

given up on nano site.

2004 words in 90 minutes today,
while the bubs napped. i'm proud of myself.
not as painful as yesterday.

hurrah!

lots of dialogue today, too!

[Julianne Douglas]

Great job, Cindy! You must be so "high" after the release of your beautiful cover that the words are just pouring off your pen.:)

Nothing yet for me today. Hey, the night's still young... (wish I were!).

I hope Anita and Cordaella had productive days. What about you, Divia? Did you decide to jump in? And Michelle, how are the edits going?

[xiaotien]

julianne, thank you! the cover is inspiring, that's
for certain. it is the background image on my laptop! =D

i hope you find some time to write.
i thought i'd write tonight, but i am lazy
and never seem to break the 1.5 hour barrier.
we'll see...perhaps i can work up to it!

good luck everyone!

[xiaotien]

almost 2k in words today.

i can't seem to last more than 1.5 to 2 hours.
gah!

[xiaotien]

copyedits for two days.
plan on writing again tomorrow.

no one else?

julianne?

[Julianne Douglas]

Didn't get much done the last two days, but today I'm smokin'! Just dropped baby off at preschool, so I've got a good two hours of writing ahead of me. Had some major plot revelations on the drive home, so I'd better go jot them down before i forget!

Have a good writing day, nanoers!

[michellemoran]

Good luck, Julianne!!!! I love those moments of inspiration :]

[Julianne Douglas]

Michelle, how are the revisions going?

[xiaotien]

awesome julianne!!

i wrote 1573 today in about two
hours with some research reading in between.
and i'm just drained. going any further would
be forcing it. but at least i wrote!

yes, how's revising going, michelle?

i want an ah-ha moment, too!

[michellemoran]

1573 is fantastic, Cindy!!!!

Revising is going well, actually! I'm working with a wonderful Greek/Roman historian on a particular plot line to make sure it withstands the historical accuracy test. The man is a research god, and now I'm buried under suggested readings!

[xiaotien]

thanks, michelle.

and your research sounds very exciting!!

[Catherine Delors]

Well, I listened to Julianne and signed up. So far the only NaNo thing I did was read a "pep talk" email telling me to be good, keep my nose to the grindstone and brush my teeth before I go to bed.

This, I am sorry to say, hasn't helped with my Book 3. It is still there, very much alive, but the right angle of attack (attack is the right word) is elusive. First person? Third person? Which POV? I am plunging again in The Hound of the Baskervilles for inspiration, and reading Pierre Bayard's (so far totally uninspired) take on it.

So no, I won't write 50,000 words this month, at least not on my novel (I have this nice legal brief to attend to.) 30,000 words would be a tremendous achievement, Julianne. We're all cheering for you! :)

[xiaotien]

i wrote 1468 in 70 minutes today.
very sloooow, but i'm writing! and on
a saturday, even tho i'm tired.

there's lots of social stuff going on this
month--not to mention debut novel stuff--
so it's tough. but i've got nearly 9k in words.
and that's 9k more than i had 8 days ago.
so HURRAH! =D

[Julianne Douglas]

Keep cheering for me, Catherine, because at the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to hit 20,000 words. But, as Cindy says, that will be 20,000 more than I had when I started! Good luck to you, too.

Wow, Cindy, you amaze me. Congrats on making such great progress.

My new Macbook is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so soon I won't have any more excuses....

Happy writing to all!

[xiaotien]

julianne, congrats on the new macbook!

i was really down on myself today for not writing.
my mom is coming tomorrow for my sweet pea's 5th
bday and i know i probably won't have time to write
in the next two days...

so i managed 483 words just now in 20 minutes.
and feel a little bit redeemed.

good luck to everyone writing!

i just broke 9k in words.

[Anita Davison]

Having NaNo chums does help with motivation and morale. The site seems to be down at the mo but if anyone here wants to exchange NaNo links with me when it's up again, do get in touch.

Best of luck to everyone here who's taking part!

Cordaella - The site seems to be back up again - can I add you as a buddy with Julianne? What's your usernameon the Nano Site - they don't give any clues?

Anita

[Julianne Douglas]

My new Macbook came yesterday and hubby got it up and running! What a dream! (both the hubby and the computer ;)) Been writing all morning, and little one has been quite accomodating today. He's actually fallen asleep for a nap, so I still have a good hour or so ahead of me.

Happy writing, nanoers!

Anita, I got your message on the Nano site and answered you there.

[Catherine Delors]

Julianne, congratulations on the 20,000 words, the macbook, the hubby... You're on a roll. :)

[Anita Davison]

My new Macbook came yesterday and hubby got it up and running! What a dream! (both the hubby and the computer ;))

I remember the days when I thought getting a new dress was cool - I got a Sony E-Reader for my birthday last month and I was over the moon.
{Not that hubby was happy - If yu think I am buying you something tat means yo'll spend even more timestaring at a screen...] But he caved!!:):):)

Anita

[Anita Davison]

My new Macbook came yesterday and hubby got it up and running! What a dream! (both the hubby and the computer ;))

I remember the days when I thought getting a new dress was cool - I got a Sony E-Reader for my birthday last month and I was over the moon.
[Not that hubby was happy - If you think I'm buying you something that means you'll spend even more time staring at a screen...] But he caved!! :):):)

Anita

[Julianne Douglas]

Only 2400 words, Catherine--I wish it were 20,000!

How is your drafting going? Have you settled on a voice/perspective yet?

[Julianne Douglas]

Anita, my husband is in love with all things Mac. I think he's more excited about the laptop than I am. You should have seen him raving about the elegant packaging, of all things!

I'll have to enjoy the computer while I can--my daughter has already laid claim to it when she goes off to college next fall. I'll be demoted to the freed-up desktop in her room. :eek:

[xiaotien]

yes! congrats, julianne!!

wow!

i wrote 1600 words in about an hour
and finally broke 10k! i am aiming for
20k by 11/30. 25k if i'm ambitious...

[xiaotien]

1800 in 80 minutes.

and i'm done for today!

[Julianne Douglas]

Awesome, Cindy! You'll have book two completed in no time. I'm psyched cause I'm up to 2889 words total. Gonna try to hit 3000 before I stop tonight.

ETA: WOOHOO! 3541 words! That's 900 words in one day. Chapter One is done.

[xiaotien]

congrats, julianne!

i wrote 1136 in about an hour then took
a bloody nap. i was so unmotivated. =(
action scene tomorrow, and i hope it perks
me up!! but i'll have to do it during my son's
nap time--i should have an hour--which is all
i need!

i'm at 13600 words.

[xiaotien]

just a little over 1k in 50 minutes
today. am proud that i'm forging forward!! =)

[xiaotien]

1300 words in 60 minutes today.
my best session yet. it felt sooo good!
i was writing from my bad guy's pov,
and i like him a lot. he intrigues me.

yay!

i'm just under 17k. so keeping well
with my 1k a day so far!!!