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I would agree on the yes. You are nuts. However, if you use those words that have been donated, you're only about 6650 behind... Totally doable.
Posts: 3420 | Registered: Jun 2002
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Just back from a write-in . . . 9001 total words, now. With lots of good materials to make more words on over the busy, overbooked, harried and hectic week. And only 4 days in! Yay! I'm averaging well over the 1667 a day to make the goal! *beams*
Three years ago it took me all month to get to 8000.
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I'm at 8,029. I'm averaging 2000 words a day, and never less than 1800, so I may even finish a few days early!
I'm trying to organize a write-in, but having never participated in one (and not knowing anyone who has), I'm wondering what usually goes on other than writing. Since I pulled together and pulled in the two dozen or so students who are all working on this at UGA, I feel rather obligated to put together some events.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I've got 6725, just over what I need for 4 days. As long as I sit down and push myself to write every day, I'm OK. I can do this. I've been able to turn off my inner editor so far and just write, and it's coming out.
Granted, I'm still dancing around at the beginning of the story looking for a break where I can slip in and move forward. I've told 3 separate beginnings so far, all of which are vital to the story. I just don't have the thing outlined enough to be able to fit them together on the fly.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Joldo, that's great! Staying ahead is good. Gives you flexibility if you need it.
From what I've read in the ML forum, yes, there's writing at the write-ins, but that's not necessarily all. The general advice is to have two areas - one for writing, one for conversation. That way, if someone needs plot help or some such, s/he can go to the conversation area and talk to whoever else is over there.
Another suggestion is to have a jar of plot ideas (or index cards, or whatever) for people to pull out a plot idea when/if they need one. Alternately, bring blank index cards and have people at the write in write down their suggestions for others to use and add to the pile.
Word wars. Timed events (15 minutes?) where everyone's quiet and writes like crazy. Whoever got the highest word count in that time period gets... I dunno, a Hallowe'en candy.
afr - yay! Good for you!
Can you work on the plot outline in any *cough* non-NaNo'ing spare time? If you have any?
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I'm trying to keep up with my goal, but I'm not getting the average word count I need.
I'm averaging about 1300 per day, but normally it's late at night before I'm forced to stop by exhaustion and the need to wake up in a scant few hours - so I'm not exactly sure about the quality of work.
I've popped up to 5429 words, and I need to write about 2900 today to catch up to where I should be.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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FlyingCow, even if you walk away from this with, say, 39,000 words written towards your novel in November, how, exactly, is this a bad thing? Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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It's not, but since my novel is more likely to be 80-100,000 words, I'd like to be more than half way done by Dec. 1st.
One of my biggest challenges has always been writing discipline, really - getting words on a page each day. I've always been a "clump" writer - blasting out 10,000-15,000 words in a day, then not writing for weeks.
While this worked great for freelance assignments where I had to write, say, 20,000 words in three weeks, it doesn't work so well for a novel. I have three started novels that all sit around 10-20k words or so, but I always peter out.
Normally that's because I waited so long between blasts of writing that I had to go back and reread what I had before continuing, which put me into a downward spiral of rewriting/editing.
NaNoWriMo has been great at getting my to persist, but I'm just not achieving the volume I want yet.
I'd like to clock around 2k words per day, on average - which is reasonable for me, I think. It's just finding the time.
Plus, I'm a very deadline-oriented person... so I'm really gunning for at least that 50k goal.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Can you work on the plot outline in any *cough* non-NaNo'ing spare time? If you have any?
An outline would be a nice thing, wouldn't it? I'm feeling like my story hasn't really found traction yet. But I have the worst time making an outline. I always have. Outlines and me don't jive too well for some reason. The best I've done for this story is an extended conversation between two people about one of the main characters. I figured out a fair amount of the story by writing that conversation. However, I'm still trying to get the story from point A to point B so I can take advantage of what I figured out. Meanwhile, I'm busy writing scene after scene.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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afr, I'm the same way. When I do make outlines, which is hardly ever, I never actually follow them, or I give up on the story because I feel like it has no room to grow.
On the other hand, it takes me a while to get going.
Posts: 3420 | Registered: Jun 2002
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If I were to have outlined LotR before writing it, it would have been along the lines of:
"Get ring from Bilbo Take ring to elves Group chosen to take ring to be destroyed Fight in mines Meet with more elves Party breaks up in three, etc, etc"
I like to have anchor points. I really don't know how my characters will get from point a to point b sometimes, but it's fun finding out.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I don't outline, but I've got a good idea of what all my characters want and it's driving them along right now. Except, of course, for my main character--he's buffeted by others' desires, for the moment.
I also discovered when I start getting bored with the prose, I gotta add in things. Like fire arrows and hobos. It works quite well.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I folded and created an outline much like FlyingCow's, kind of anchor points for the story. It felt good to at least know the direction of events. It also allowed me to jot down all the different threads I need to follow as the novel wears on. There's a lot going on, and somehow it's going to have to tie together. What I mapped out is only part 1 of the story I have in my head, but it's probably going to take all of my 50,000 words to tell it. I wonder if this is how Robert Jordan got started.
But yay! I broke the 10 grand mark with 10,072 words. I'm on track with the word count, but without much of a cushion. Writing late at night is definitely not my prime time, but it's the only time I have.
My POV just got shot at with arrows and discovered a power he has in the forest. I meant him to have that power, but I didn't know when he was going to discover it. Cool.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I broke 25k earlier today. Okay, I'm now at over 26k, but the 25k one was the big marker.
afr, congrats for beating 10k, and it's cool about your character discovering his power.
My female MC is now an emancipated child at 11, official and everything with a magical brand on her forearm. Which makes other major plot points work out so well. I didn't know she was going to be legally emancipated until it happened. My male MC is a crossdresser. Okay, it's to hide from seriously bad people, but still...
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I'm at about half of where I should be, but I am starting to wean myself from my need to hit the internet and look up every detail as I go. I'm doing more to just write. If I can keep that up, I'm calling it a victory.
I don't think I could work with ya'lls outlines. I have a spreadsheet of all the scenes I need to hit that I work from. That leaves me free to figure out how to get the narrative or dialog to move towards the goal.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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AR, when I hit a point where research is needed, I do something like <<<<<<<<<<<<RESEARCH: How large would that deer be and how difficult to drag it to the camp? And how? By the hind legs? Oh, and how much do sled dogs eat in a day anyway?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> And then move on. The note's there, so the inner editor is satisfied and I can move on without being nagged by it. And the <<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>> make it show up all nice and obvious when I do edits or a quick scan-through. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I've been zoning out and writing 3000 words at a stretch. It's been fun.
I don't have any outline. I have a plan of my characters and what they want. That's it. I'm letting them drive.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Wrote nary a word on Wednesday or Thursday, and I'm unlikely to find time tonight, either.
Tomorrow morning I drive to Maryland to visit with my sister and see my nephew in a play, and Sunday I drive back to NJ. Hopefully I'll have some time Sunday to put words down, but schedules keep intruding.
I'm also starting to be a little bothered by the fact that my characters have so little.... character. They don't really have distinct personalities so much. I need to start working on that moving forward.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I'm only at 6,000 but I've got a three-day weekend. Even with a half hour out visiting the Korean, Vietnam, and (if I can find it) WWII memorials, I should have plenty of time for writing and laundry.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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I missed writing yesterday and am trying to get back on track. I'm only a half a day behind.
FlyingCow, turn off your internal editor! I'm getting the same thoughts now and then, but I'm only able to keep going because I promise myself I'll go back once I get the 50,000 words written. If I start feeling like I'm going the wrong direction with something, I start a new scene and move on from there. I know it's stuff you've heard and done before, but it helps having someone remind you now and then, doesn't it? Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I think I've finally decided to go the YA route with this one. It's starting to feel more and more that way, so I'm going to give in.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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So I pretty much started two days ago... a third of the way through. Guess who's not gonna finish for the third year running Oh well, this novel feels much less forced than they have in the past, I'm just sorta writing when I feel like it and writing whatever the hell wanders through my mind. I have no idea where it's going to go, I'm guessing science fiction cause that's what I always write, but it might not even be that. Here it is, if anyone wants to take a look:
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I don't think I'll make it either Alcon, but writing when you feel like it is certainly a much less stressful (if also less productive) method.
Posts: 3420 | Registered: Jun 2002
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I feel like I can't commit to anything until I finish my thesis. But everyone else writing has inspired me to do some non work related writing. 2000 words so far. Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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We were out of town for the last four days, so no writing done - I don't travel well, I get sick, I end up in massive amounts of pain, we're occupied by lots of other things going on, yada yada yada.
And I caught tonsillitis. In what remains of a chunk of tonsil that the surgeon left behind. Because I lived in that much of a horse-pucky town when I had my tonsils out.
So. Tomorrow, I resume the road to, er, well, I can't think if anything alliteration-wise, and nothing rhymes. That sucks. Onwards and upwards, ho! then?
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Ok, I wrote very little this weekend, and I lost my lead. Still, I'm not falling behind.
Today I have to do laundry, so I guess I'll take my laptop to the laundry room and totally zone out typing.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Got back in the groove a bit today. Managed 2100 words or so, and I'd keep going but I'm exhausted and need to be up in 6 hours.
I now need to average about 2500 words per day if I'm going to reach 50,000.
On the days I've actually written, I've averaged about 1450 per day... though I had a few off days, so I'm currently averaging about 700.
I hope to hit 10k by tomorrow evening. I'm about to start a large and tense fight scene between my MC, a group of caravan guards, and a great beast that has attacked in the night. Should be a blast.
Okay, off to sleep now.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Even though I have a helpful outline, I'm finding myself slogging through scenes where I have no idea what's going on. Now one of my secondary characters is going to fall in love with the girl my main character was supposed to fall in love with. The nerve!
I am about to jump over to the next part that actually advances the plot, though. I can see things bogging down if I don't.
But hey, I'll pass 20,000 words tonight!
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I passed 9000 - and I hope to hit around 11000 tonight. Have to go out with my boss after work, though, so I don't know how much time I'll have.
Tomorrow should be a good day, though. Hoping to cap 14000 or so. Still pretty far behind the curve, unfortunately.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I liked the comment in one of the support emails that you should write at least ten words per day.
Even if you can't get any real volume down, just writing ten words will keep the story in the front of your mind - it will mean you thought about it enough, and got back into the scene enough, to put down a sentence.
I never thought about it that way before, but it's an invaluable tip, I think.
Just that has made signing up with the site worthwhile.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I should hit 25,000 tonight, or be close. Yay!
Finally the story's going somewhere. I've got some action going. One of my characters is going to escape the enemy camp with the person who captured him, and the other is headed to overthrow a government. They're On The Way Somewhere, when before they were just muddling around.
If I looked back, which I'm not going to, I'd see that I haven't included much justification for any of it. It's there, inside the characters' heads, but I haven't brought it out. But that's a job for the revisions.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Haven't written anything in days, word count is 3345, yet I'm optimistic. I've got at least double my word count for any previous year and the month isn't over yet.
Optimistic or so tired I can't get in touch with reality - it's a toss-up.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Oh, I'm definitely still in. Haven't written much in several days - the inlaws came to town, and when that happens, it throws my schedule completely out of whack, and I end up doing more stuff cuz, you know, it's the inlaws, so I also end up in more pain...
Add to that that I really need to develop the curriculum for the school/college - it's vital to the plot - and that's had me in headaches. *sigh*
I whine, I complain, but tomorrow, I write again. Oh, and I'm sitting at 37k+
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I'm technically still in it, but I have no hope of reaching 50,000 words.
I'm at just under 9,500 currently. My new goal for the month is to hit 15,000. If I can keep that pace up, I'll maybe be able to finish this novel in about 7 months or so. Time will tell.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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19,000 here... but I'm a two-timer already so I HAVE to hit 50k again. thanksgiving break game of catch-up, anyone?
Posts: 6 | Registered: Jan 2007
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I'm struggling to flesh out a longish short story will probably end up being around 10,000-14,000 words. And that seems like a lot to me. I only have three scenes/sections out of 8 somewhat written.
It's probably because I am in the bad habit of revising while I write -- and when I come back to the project I tend to revise what I've already written before moving on to a new stuff.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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