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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: National Novel Writing Month
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
This is an annual event that spans several different countries. The object is to start a novel on the first of November and accomplish putting 50,000 words in print by the end of the month.
I tried and failed to succeed two years ago, falling short by over 7000 words but my wife, Z, has some good ideas and will be participating actively while I am probably sitting on the sidelines. She is already a published author, having done quite a few reviews of young adult books for a scholarly journal. She is a high school English teacher and very much looking forward to "NaNoWriMo"!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
It is only fair to add that 50K would make for a very short novel indeed. One should not look to finish a work in one month; even professionals have difficulty doing that and the resulting books are usually written under the gun (a bio of Princess Diana ground out in time for her funeral, for example) and not very good. A good novel is not written, it's rewritten.
What you will get in NaNoWriMo is a good basis for the work; if it's not going to take off after you write 50k then the novel is stillborn and you should start anew. The pressure is great for getting you to just crank stuff out.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
The North East Loon got a book published which started life as a NaNoWriMo, but it went through many rewrites after that.
I am intending to do it this year, though I can't decide. I reached 17,000 words last year, and would like to continue and try to get to 67,000 words, but I'm not sure if that's in the spirit of the thing.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Spirit, pooh. This is not the Ten Commandments, eh? Anything you need to do to get it done is good. I would go for it, if you find NaNoWriMo helpful at all.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
I'm a many-times veteran of NaNoWriMo and I think I've said here before: if it's useful to you, do it in a way that works for you. When I'm at the phase in any writing project where I need 50,000 more words -- either to kick-start a new project, or push to the finish on an older one -- I'll do NaNo. I'm doing it this year because the current book is half done and taking forever, so I'm hoping the discipline of trying to reach my word count goal every day and checking in with others who are doing the same will help me get this very rough first draft finished. Nearly every book I've had published in the last 10 years has had a good chunk of it written during NaNoWriMo, so I'm a believer -- I just don't believe you have to follow "the rules" (why would you, as it's a program that runs entirely on the honour system?)
Some writer friends of mine eschew it completely, which of course is also fine -- if shooting for 50,000 words in November doesn't serve your overall writing goals, why bother?
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
In that spirit I am going to try for a poem a day, of any length or style. Idea being to then rewrite and refine those I pick out as worth persuing at the end of the month.
[ 23. October 2015, 20:54: Message edited by: Doublethink. ]
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Zeke
Ship's Inquirer
# 3271
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Posted
I am going to a local gathering for people who are doing NaNoWriMo next month. It's this evening, so I am looking forward to meeting some people and maybe getting inspired. I agree, 50K is a very short novel and I am not sure that what I have in mind is feasible, but it will be an interesting month. I have done all the recommended things, registered on the NaNo site and joined the Facebook group, so I hope I can change my usual routine in the evenings and sit at the computer instead.
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No longer the Bishop of Durham
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If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it? --Benjamin Franklin
Posts: 5259 | From: Deep in the American desert | Registered: Sep 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
It is astonishing how encouraging it is, to know that tons of people around you are working on the same thing.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I went to my first local event tonight! It was lots of fun!
Talking about my story really motivated me-- I really want people to meet my characters. I am gonna try to hit a meet once a week.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Keep up the good work, ladies and Godspeed. My wife was amazed when I told her she had to write 1667 words a day!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
That's a good rate of production, true. Under the spell of powerful inspiration I have written as many as 10,000 words in one day, but that is rare. I am happy if I can write a thousand words a day.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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agingjb
Shipmate
# 16555
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Posted
I've signed up, with the vague intention of a sustained verse narrative. We'll see.
I'd have to say that the forum software they use seems to make that of SoF look state of the art.
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Refraction Villanelles
Posts: 464 | From: Southern England | Registered: Jul 2011
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
My advice, if you want to crank wordage, is to be a plotter. Have as much plot laid out as you can in advance. Know before you set finger to keyboard that the work is going to begin in Hobbiton and go through Rivendell and the Mines of Moria before winding up at Mount Doom. Know who is going to be where doing what when.
Build the car, the engine, the seats. Then on November first you get behind the wheel, gun the engine, and fly down that highway. Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run!
And...if you are not a plotter? Then you hope that your Muse, sitting over there on Mount Parnassus, is doing all that work for you. Because on November first the pantsers, the seat of the pants writers, get into the car and turn the key, and see if she starts up.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
I had such illusions about how much of my other writing-related work and my real-life work I was going to get out of the way by tonight, so that I'd be free to focus intensely on NaNoWriMo starting at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Well, that wasn't quite how it worked out, but ... I'll still start, even though there will always be other things on my to-do list.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I am really lucky-- the kids I worked with on Friday gave my first chapter's material.
(Oh and look for me as Bunnywithanaxe on the Nano site.)
[ 31. October 2015, 20:23: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
The other tip, with NaNoWriMo only, is to be like Elsa in Frozen and Let It Go. Just pour it out, all the digressions, the discussions about whether Fluffy should be spayed this month or not, the characters wasting their time trekking through the fenlands east of Rohan in the pouring rain and quarreling with Gollum. Let them discuss for page after page the doctrine of the Transubstantiation or whether the Mets have their pitching game together this season or whether Donald Trump's hairpiece is acrylic or not. Cranking wordage is not necessarily cranking novel. You will either toss, prune, or modify most of this stuff. And you never know. The Muse is powerful; somewhere in and amongst all that Transubstantiation stuff may be the theme, the germ of the entire work.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
I am starting afresh and instead of continuing with last year's Victorian lesbian, I am writing about a different Victorian woman.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
I've completed/won 2 or 3 times, and participated other times. This time 'round, I've started and will participate as I can.
A few FWIW suggestions:
--For any kind of reference information, try Refdesk.com. I recommend using the sitemap to navigate. (Link in the leftmost column, under "Site Information.) It's amazing.
--There are all kinds of plot, character, name, etc. generators online--good if you like to write in response to prompts. I think one is called "Abulafia".
--Don't worry about grammar or spelling. Don't go back and edit. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SHOW THIS TO ANYONE!!! Word count and daring to write are all that matter.
--DO be wordy. Avoid contractions, if you can. (E.g., use "can not" instead of "can't".) Or, if you're using a word processor, you can always replace all the contractions with their long form, before you upload your work for word count.
--Basically, just about any way you can think of to increase your word count is ok, as long as it's pertinent. So song lyrics, passages of poetry or scripture, recipes, itineraries, etc. are ok.
--You can get ideas, help, and support on the NaNo forums.
--Try rewriting or adding to a fairy tale, Shakespeare, a favorite show or movie.
--Your story does NOT have to be good enough to publish, or share with anyone. You can rework it later. All you need to do this month is get words on a page.
--There are various rebel ways of doing Nano, and you can find such rebels on the forums. They may do non-fiction, poetry, comic books, rewrite something, etc.
--Do this for you. Don't judge yourself. This isn't schoolwork, so no grades. And have FUN!
ETA: Important: Save multiple copies of your work, every day. Set your word processor to automatically back up everything, and to auto-save every minute or so. Save extra copies to a different folder. If you have more than one e-mail account, upload your story and e-mail it from one account to the other. Use a USB drive. If you're writing by hand, then copy, scan, or photograph your work as often as you can.
[ 03. November 2015, 03:09: Message edited by: Golden Key ]
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Caught my first teacher cold of the school year last week. Three days achieving nothing but work and crashing. Day four I manage some words, and by today I feel I am writing at a pretty good pace.
I check my word count stats:
Daily average: 925
At this pace you will be done by: Dec 25.
Me: Oh HELL no.
Plus, I am jealous of Trudy's pie chart thingie and it motivates me to catch up. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I did figure out a way to compartmentalize one of the most difficult parts of the story, though and by tackling it section by section-- literally in terms of story, compart by compartment-- the words are coming easily
[ 08. November 2015, 04:51: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
The pie chart thing was entirely my attempt to motivate myself -- I do use the word count bar on the NaNo forums, but since I use Facebook a lot more than I use those forums, I wanted something big and obvious that would smack me in the face each time I opened Facebook. I find I'm very easily motivated by graphs and charts if they're made visual and I can see them frequently.
Don't be discouraged if you're behind at this point -- carving out a few segments of time when you can sit down and churn out a bunch of words can get you back on track fairly quickly at this stage in the game.
I'm doing well so far in terms of word count (14,000) but I find myself thinking as I type, "Well, a lot of this is going to go in the next round of edits -- is this whole chapter even necessary?" But I don't worry about that when writing a first draft. Also, I have a character who keeps dying and rising to life -- which suggests I'm writing fantasy, sci-fi or something very spiritual, but in fact it's quite straight historical fiction. I just can't decide at what point in the story this character dies, and sometimes I write scenes as if he's already long gone and then in the next scene he's there talking and playing the accordion. So, clearly some tidying up to be done there in edits, but there'll be plenty of time for that later.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Heh. Timeline issues are fun.
Strangely, the part I am having the easiest time writing at the moment involves some of the most difficult subject matter, and while I want to ride this out, I know I better jump ahead to a fun part some time before I lose my shit.
And Trudy, knowing accomplished authors such as yourself need to aggressively kick themselves in the butt is comforting.
[ 08. November 2015, 11:41: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
So far, I have managed to write nothing, I blaming the timing of the latest Assassin's Creed release.
[ 08. November 2015, 16:01: Message edited by: Doublethink. ]
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
It does not particularly matter how you do it, so long as in the end you get there. Some very famous writers were leap-ahead-to-the-good-stuff writers. Gone With the Wind was written that way -- Margaret Mitchell wrote all the key scenes (Rhett proposing to Scarlett and so on) in advance of everything else, and then connected it all up later.
I prefer to start at the first sentence and write straight through to the end, no skipping. If I skip there tends to be a hole that I have difficulty filling in later, like a donut. You have seen the cartoon of the physicist, who has an elaborate equation filling an entire blackboard. In the middle, connecting the two halves of the equation, is this in brackets: "A Miracle Happens Here." That's what I get into, unless I keep on the straight and narrow.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
Gone With the Wind was written that way -- Margaret Mitchell wrote all the key scenes (Rhett proposing to Scarlett and so on) in advance of everything else, and then connected it all up later.
This is more or less what I have been doing. I am definitely at the stage where I need to have some narrative to which I can attach my vignettes.
I just miss one of my leads, who kind of steals the show down the line, and am temporarily coping with this by imagining what I am writing now is a series of notes written to him by the other main character. But I want to play with his voice again. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
[ 08. November 2015, 19:27: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
As you possibly know, I am a pantser to the core. I live, for that moment when the character sits up on the laboratory table, the Tesla coils buzzing above him, and the cry goes up, "He's alive!" So if I were you I would immediately cozy up to that character and let him talk. Lean into the mike, dear. Talk to me! Take the story, my love, over hill, over dale, to galaxies long ago and realms far away -- but perhaps you are a more organized writer than I.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I intend to. Basically he's gonna be my reward for finishing the secion I am working on.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
I find that when I write out of sequence -- which I sometimes do -- if I write a scene that's far ahead in the story's timeline, by the time I later get to the point where that scene was supposed to occur, the bit I'd already written sometimes doesn't fit anymore. I find myself saying, "This character has developed in ways I didn't originally plan, and she would NEVER do what I have her doing in this scene" ... so I end up having to rewrite it anyway.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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VirginiaKneeling
Apprentice
# 18414
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Posted
I've wanted to do this for some time.....and wouldn't you know it, I have a rock and gem show scheduled smack in the middle of the month, which requires that the first week and a half be devoted to prep, and from the Thursday before Veterans' Day (travel there) to the Monday after (travel back) be devoted to it. For a couple of days afterward I'm to beat to even contemplate writing. Oh, I know, I could start early, but what's the fun in that when there's no one encouraging you?
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Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me..
Posts: 11 | From: Virginia, USA | Registered: May 2015
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
What I have found helpful is to have two quite separate documents. I have a Word document, which is the True Novel. This is the one with the word count, and which is written from the first sentence to the last, in order. All the stuff that spins into my brain that should go into chapter 20? Off into another document. I keep this second one in an entirely different format, over on Internet Typewriter, along with links to wiki pages about shipwrecks in the proper period, URLs for visual references, and so on. Over there is the compost heap, everything pitched in on top of itself. Whenever I need it back again, I go over there and root it out. Cut and paste moves it from Typewriter over to the Word document, and then it's real.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
My lovely bride is doing quite well: she has something in the neighbourhood of 11,000 words. Our daughter started just yesterday afternoon and she claimed to have over a thousand words.
The location of Z's novel is northern San Diego County, California. I am helping her out with place names and suggested background material as well as cars - thus far it is entertaining and very readable!
I lived there for parts of ten years so I know the area well.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Fineline
Shipmate
# 12143
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Posted
I am doing NaNoWriMo too, and I've done 14,425 words so far. 'No plot, no problem' seems to be the case for me!
Posts: 2375 | From: England | Registered: Dec 2006
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cattyish
Wuss in Boots
# 7829
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Posted
I'm playing at NaNoWriMo this year. I don't really have a plot, just a concept. It involves mountains and legends and annoying teenagers.
I've done completely out of order scenes identified by a time signature, linear historical fiction, futuristic science fiction, a prequel to MacBeth and I've written about running and genetically engineered werewolves in the past. It's all good fun.
I like the list of published NaNoWriMo novels.
Cattyish, friend to a published NaNoWriMo author or two. Or is it three?
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...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Posts: 1794 | From: Scotland | Registered: Jul 2004
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
My wife is too busy writing to post. She should have 14,000 word by lunchtime...
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I intend to. Basically he's gonna be my reward for finishing the secion I am working on.
See below. This is why I love this character, he constantly says awesome shit like this.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Liopleurodon
Mighty sea creature
# 4836
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Posted
I'm a little late to the SoF nano party, but I'm fully immersed in nano hell. If anyone wishes to buddy me up I'm MightyBitey.
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Our God is an awesome God. Much better than that ridiculous God that Desert Bluffs has. - Welcome to Night Vale
Posts: 1921 | From: Lurking under the ship | Registered: Aug 2003
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Every month for me is NaNoWriMo, but I will report that today the WIP (Work in Progress, a knitting term) stands at 26K. I began before Halloween, but not much before.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I am behind, but had to take break today.
Here is my quandary-- I write really well when I have coffee. Like, really, really well- the prose flies from my fingertips. But if I drink coffee I simply don't sleep. So, tonight is about sleep. tomorrow-- and the weekend-- is all about catchup.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Z must write 1889 words everyday in order to stay on track: she have 16,000 and change now!
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Amorya
Ship's tame galoot
# 2652
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
My advice, if you want to crank wordage, is to be a plotter. Have as much plot laid out as you can in advance. Know before you set finger to keyboard that the work is going to begin in Hobbiton and go through Rivendell and the Mines of Moria before winding up at Mount Doom. Know who is going to be where doing what when.
I only decided to do it on Nov 2nd. But then I spent a week plotting. Ended up with a bunch of character vignettes, a 2000 word synopsis, and a list of scenes and expected word count for each.
I now need to write 2400 words a day, but that's surprisingly attainable. I broke 10k yesterday!
Posts: 2383 | From: Coventry | Registered: Apr 2002
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Amorya
Ship's tame galoot
# 2652
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Posted
BTW, my username is Amy Worrall if anyone wants to buddy me.
Posts: 2383 | From: Coventry | Registered: Apr 2002
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
I hit 25K last night. I'm not going to get anything done this weekend because I have to spend all weekend organizing/chaperoning a youth activity at church, so I wanted to push ahead to reach the halfway mark in advance. Normal writing progress should resume on Monday!
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
The balance between enabling chemical substances and health/sleep/weight gain is always a difficult one. I need glucose and caffeine to write. One cup of coffee a day in the morning is about right for the latter. But sugar is more variable. If I am cranking 10K a day I need brain food, in quantity. I have found that chocolate-dipped marshmallows go straight to the cerebral cortex. But it plays merry hob with everything else. I gained ten pounds, in the two years that I wrote a time-travel trilogy. Every writer I have mentioned this to, however, says it is quite worth it and they would happily do the same.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Amorya:
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
My advice, if you want to crank wordage, is to be a plotter. Have as much plot laid out as you can in advance. Know before you set finger to keyboard that the work is going to begin in Hobbiton and go through Rivendell and the Mines of Moria before winding up at Mount Doom. Know who is going to be where doing what when.
I only decided to do it on Nov 2nd. But then I spent a week plotting. Ended up with a bunch of character vignettes, a 2000 word synopsis, and a list of scenes and expected word count for each.
I now need to write 2400 words a day, but that's surprisingly attainable. I broke 10k yesterday!
I have this thing where I know exactly what the characters are going to do, in what sequence, but I have to flesh out why they do it, what leads up to it, etc.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
I have almost managed to catch up with myself, in terms of a nucleus poem for each day. Going to give it some more time today.
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I have this thing where I know exactly what the characters are going to do, in what sequence, but I have to flesh out why they do it, what leads up to it, etc.
Isn't that where the problems come in?
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Fineline
Shipmate
# 12143
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Posted
I have no plot at all, and I've done 27,000 words so far. I'm writing about myself as a fictional version of me, meeting the various characters I've created over the years, when I make up stories and characters in my head, and my conversations with them. It's incredibly fun, and they say some unexpected things.
Posts: 2375 | From: England | Registered: Dec 2006
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
That sounds interesting!
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Fineline
Shipmate
# 12143
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Posted
Yes, it's interesting, and weird, and a little bit exhausting! And ridiculously meta.
Posts: 2375 | From: England | Registered: Dec 2006
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Honestly it sounds like something that would be a blast to read.
Drinking coffee and trying motivate self! Speak, oh Gentle Muse...
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
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