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Thanks. I guess I should report that I've been busting my brain the previous two days and am now up to 80k. And I'm still off work for today and tomorrow.... yeah, here comes 90k...
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Well, that's NaNo for done for another year (it being 10 pm here on the West Coast, I feel that I get to say this). I hope everyone who participated did well, accomplished what they wanted to and is proud of themselves for even trying. They kept telling me as a child that trying was the first step toward succeeding.
On a personal note, 30 days, 96,165 words according to the verification tool, not done yet but almost and OWWWWWWWWW, my brain. Anyone have a spare I can borrow while mine's about to be in the shop for most of December to recover, once I actually finish this beast?
Happy post-NaNo everyone, it's been a blast for my first time participating.
My "burst writing" as one NaNo writer of the weekly encouragement E-mail called it, got a good work out.
The last chapter needs a whole lot of fixing, the writing is a mess and the ending really was rushed. Actually, probably the whole thing needs a lot of fixing.
That final battle scene may look a bit like a couple of earlier ones too. Not to mention that that last couple of paragraphs are full of Tell. But I can add a some show later.
One more thing:
I can go back to my regular writing now, including finishing that New Mage novel and I've already started revising-kinda rewriting- that last chapter for this year's NaNo. I have a story to finish that got interrupted even though I'm not sure how to end it, and I have a story or two to revise for WotF and OTP. I may do E-publishing for this one since it will probably be under 65,000 words, but then again maybe YA.
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With this book I think I will do a trade off with another NaNo or two. I'm still need last years novel read through even though if I get going I may have one or two people to read last years novel. Hopefully I still have those one or two.
And speaking of titles how about No No NaNo Novel? Or No Nov, Novel for NaNo.
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Well, I'm just getting wound up into the second draft of my NaNo novel, though it feels more like first draft, take two, given how different the story and the telling of it is now. But so much better so far.
I've committed myself to essentially doing another NaNo, 30 days of writing with a goal at the end, in order to do it too. The goal is 75k, though, which means I need to write 2500 words per day to do that. What's interesting is I'm finding that, with the higher goal, I'm rising to it and beyond, just as I did with NaNo, and it's only slightly more stressful than the 1667 words for NaNo were. I started on the 15th of December, which makes January 14th my day of reckoning this time. I'm well started on it, though and infinitely happier with it already than I was with the first draft, so there's progress.
As with NaNo, I'm blogging about it regularly, partly to pat myself on the back and partly to keep me focused on the goal. Also, having to report progress to people who are reading and commenting (!) is incredibly motivating for me. I feel like I don't want to disappoint them by failing to live up to the goals I've set myself.
I'm also starting to develop a story and outline for that story that I think will be my June Camp NaNoWriMo Novel (or maybe the August Camp, depending on how my schedule looks). I already miss the word count widget they had, and find that spreadsheets aren't quite filling the void for some reason. Maybe it's that my tracking spreadsheet isn't public like the NaNo Word Count widget. *shrug*
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I've heard that some writers need a deadline to get them working. Sounds like you have a self imposed deadline there.
Go for it.
I've set a couple self imposed deadlines but not like that. Usually they involve months. Like last year, I wanted to write two novels, Nano turned it into three. I got two done. The third one was so close I should have finished it. I still haven't for some reason but more on that on the did you write on a novel thread.
So far no new goals like that for '12. But I want to get last years NaNo novel ready to send out or E-publish as the case might be. I could use a couple of more readers for that. Got seven chapters read through but that's, at most, half of it, when the group I was in faded away. I have two or three people who want to read it from scratch but I think as I said I could use a couple more. Which means I need to get back on the ball concerning that book.
Anyway back to the subject, a deadline or two would probably do me good.
Posts: 5289 | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
You're right, having a deadline, complete with regular goals seems to be the key that gets me writing regularly, partly because it gives me something to beat, as well as something to glory in achieving.
As for you needing a deadline or two, I find that it's all about actually deciding on a time frame and (this is the key for me) announcing it to other people that you wouldn't want to disappoint and who might help hold you accountable on it. Several friends read my blog (along with perfect strangers, which floors me that strangers care what I have to say in any genre other than fiction) and I know that if I say I'm going to do something and don't report back that I did it, they'll phone me and ask how that's going. So the announcing part is what really keeps me following it. If I tell no one I'm doing it, as I used to, then I find it's too easy to brush it aside or ignore it and not follow through. That leads to an utter lack of finishing anything, at least for me.
Just some thoughts for you to chew on in your own quests. As in anything in life, your mileage may vary.
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You have a point. I think I have done that a time or two but not for years... not including NaNo.
I could try it. I have some online friends who follow my blog but I don't know how many strangers read it sometimes, evidently, by the numbers, some people do. Well one or two of my followers I think are strangers come to think of it.
And of course there is here. That would add a few numbers.
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Oddly, all of the followers of my blog are strangers, ie people I don't know from real life or haven't know online for several years. That's why I get a shock every time I get a follower, that a stranger cares enough to want to make sure they see what I have to say when I blog about whatever (admittedly, it's usually about writing)
Of course, there's also the fact that my friends are all stranger than, well, fiction. But that's a whole other story right there.
In any case, give it a shot. Nothing to lose, right?
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Okay, have a set of goals I am making public.
I have this week off so I want to: Finish the revision of my WotF story and send it in, finish the New Mage novel, finished the rewrite of the half of the last chapter of Breaking Out, do five revisions of my mini stories, send out ten stories-three vial snail mail.
I will have some errands to run, and maybe a movie with my wife-if there is anything we both want to watch-, but it's something doable. One week starting tomorrow- Monday the 26.
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Yea, I finally finished New Mage, four moths late but I wrote "the end". Not sure how many words but I think it's less than the usual amount but that's okay. Personally I think it's my best novel. I still need to redo chapters two and three and revise it all but it's done.
Funny thing is that the world was inspired by Laura Anne Gilman but I think the character was inspired by C. E. Murphy and one or two other writers. In both cases I do mean inspired, I made the world and character my own with their own way of doing things and their own hurts etc. I didn't set out to do something inspired by them but that's the way it worked out. I don't mind as I said it's my own world.
I will count the words but I need to finish my next goal: getting my WotF story ready and sending it out.
As another writer would say where's my macho to celebrate?
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Okay finished rewriting the last two chapters for my Nano novel Breaking out. They are now publishable.
Of course now I have to revise the whole blasted thing but for the second time it's officially done. I don't think I will add that other chapter I thought about doing. I might do something with the idea as I revise but we shall see. Or save it for the next book with this MC.
It's now somewhere around 54,000 words. I imagine it will be under 60,000 by the time I'm done. So either try to sell it as a YA the traditional way or E-publish it.
Oh Cat Rambo had a special offer for Wrimbos: a special price for an editing .
Just sent off the last batch of feedback to someone on their NanoWriMo novel. I'll remind folks that this is the last week to do so if you want to take advantage of my editing offer for NaNoWriMo novels mentioned here: http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2011/12/06/nanowrimo-what-now/
Too bad I probably won't have mine ready to send it to her in time. I will need her regular editing if I E-publish it.
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Very much ow brain right now. In fact, I think my brain just went into some sort of protection program.
Yes, that means I'm done the second draft of Dark Mirror. 15 days, 74k words. Much ow brain. I realized I've been pulling 12-14 hour days since I started my vacation from paying work, between writing prep and actual writing (didn't subtract time for eating, doing dishes and the inevitable bathroom breaks, but you get the picture). Omg, why did I do this to myself? Oh, right, I couldn't not work on it. Really. I tried a few times, only to find my hands on my netbook again in 15 minutes, half hour tops. I'm going to try to take tomorrow off to rest, run a couple errands, then re-read it for New Years Eve and see what I think, other than that it's shorter than I anticipated. How did more happen in fewer words? I don't get that...
-Julie (totally sans brains at the moment)
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Very Good there Julie. Even though I must say that sounded pretty intelligent since you are without a brain at the moment. Maybe you should get a T-shirt that says "I let my mind wonder and it never came back".
But more more action with fewer words might be for two reasons. You're learning, even in a novel you can use too many words to describe action.
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Well, I've now hit the morning after, and I think my brain got the air it needed. It seems to be mostly present and accounted for.
My plan is to reread it soon (likely tomorrow, but possibly today if I do my usual bored and impatient) and see what I think. I honestly think the brevity of it is a matter of me learning that you don't have to describe everything down to the last fold of cloth. More happens in this draft, I'm certain of that, and I don't think I left out anything important, but again, we'll see what I think on reading through it.
After I've read it and checked spelling, grammar, think its ready to go, I'll be printing it out and sending it off to two test readers. The path from there will depend on what I get back for commentary.
In the meantime, the second book in this trilogy is starting to really bang on my head, demanding to be written...
-Julie
Ps-love the t-shirt idea
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posted
So start writing the second one. You don't want a headache and/or distraction from all that banging. Of you might wait 'till you reread it and check for nitpicks. But maybe you should let it sit longer than a day or two. A lot of writers wait a month at least.
Yeah, I know that's hard but if you start the second one it will distract you. Posts: 5289 | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
sadly, the second one isn't ready for actual draft yet, but I probably will be working on that as my next project, partly because I'm in the vein of that world already and partly because nothing else is ready for draft either.
As for letting it sit for more than a day or two, um, yeah, I have patience issues. It's an issue because I don't have any.
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