Author Topic: NaNoWriMo  (Read 16722 times)

RMD

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NaNoWriMo
« on: October 22, 2014, 10:33:22 AM »
Any other Mustachians else thinking about doing this?

I signed up and would like some company if anyone else is interested.  www.nanowrimo.org

Debated where to put this because it is kind of a challenge to write a novel in a month...and could be a good side hustle.  If i t needs moved, feel free!

kaetana

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2014, 03:58:32 PM »
I'm doing this, too! I have an idea and about the first five pages of a novel I've been intending to write for years, and I'm going to use NaNoWriMo to actually finish it next month. I'm dubious, because I've never written that much in a month, but I'm excited. I'm writing it mainly because I want to, but I do also intend to publish it on the Kindle after I'm finished.

I'm going to need to spend this weekend outlining the story and fleshing out the characters a bit more, because it's all still fuzzy in my head.

renaite

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2014, 04:39:05 PM »
I did Nano last year and it was a blast! I suggest following their twitter accounts for the inspiration sprints they do - I found those extremely helpful. Just write and write, don't worry if your plot doesn't make sense, and have fun! You'll have to let us know if you "win"  :-)


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tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2014, 04:45:46 PM »
Me! I'm prepping like mad.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2014, 05:18:59 PM »
I "won" for the first time last year. Not doing it this year, but good luck to those who are!

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2014, 01:21:10 AM »
I've been around this forum less because I've been clearing our work and planning for a new project, all in preparation for NaNoWriMo. I expect this to be a very productive month - for me it's less about the challenge number and more about ensuring that a large portion of time is dedicated to writing on a regular basis.

Wolf_Stache

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2014, 12:09:35 PM »
I'm planning to write 50K words, but I'm not signing up because of their requirement you work on a 'new' project. I'd rather finish up the novel that I started a few months ago.

I've been slowly building up my writing muscles by writing 30K words in Sept and Oct (started my novel and wrote a 20K word novella).

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2014, 03:31:43 PM »
They changed that requirement this year, I think. I'm continuing a project as well.

Johnez

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2014, 03:56:43 PM »
I've had a story brewing in my head for the past year waiting for NaNo, not sure I can flesh out 50k words-worth a shot though!

Wolf_Stache

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2014, 05:59:11 PM »
They changed that requirement this year, I think. I'm continuing a project as well.
Yeah, I swear in past years they said it needed to be a new project! So I'm signed up! Gamergrrl on the Nano site if you want to friend me.

twbird18

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2014, 06:58:06 PM »
I am joining in. I'm worried I won't finish in November because I'll change my mind about where the story should go but we will see. I definitely think I have an idea worth 50k words this year.


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MsRichLife

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2014, 07:08:41 PM »
I'd love to, but I'm supposed to be finishing up my thesis that month so no extra headspace for more writing. Good luck to everyone who's signed up! I look forward to hearing how you track along.

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #12 on: October 28, 2014, 01:41:52 AM »
Getting all my ducks in a row, since this is the last normal work week. I'll still have to work all my hours, but it shouldn't be bad overall - plenty of office time in which I should be able to write.

Torran

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #13 on: October 28, 2014, 05:28:07 AM »
Ooh yes, I'm prepping just now for November. Last year I managed only 22,000 words, but it was a really great exercise. Learned a lot about setting a pace and being disciplined enough to write everyday. I'm sort of cheating this year by starting where I left off last year, so adding another 50,000 words (hopefully) to the previous 22,000.

Looking forward to hearing how you all get on!

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #14 on: October 28, 2014, 05:33:38 AM »
I'm starting to worry a bit. I've got a lot of planning to do and not much time left. I think I can carve out several hours today. I'm writing a murder mystery (a 1930s cold case) and my current task is writing out the villain's storyline.

What's everyone working on? Care to share some genres or descriptions?

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #15 on: October 29, 2014, 02:07:42 AM »
I'm starting to worry a bit. I've got a lot of planning to do and not much time left. I think I can carve out several hours today. I'm writing a murder mystery (a 1930s cold case) and my current task is writing out the villain's storyline.

What's everyone working on? Care to share some genres or descriptions?
I'll be writing an urban fantasy novel, trying to mix a serious plot with genre-savvy characters who have a decidedly modern outlook on things. Should be fun, and I'm familiar with all the characters and settings involved, so it should get my NaNoWriMo off to a good start.

Malaysia41

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #16 on: October 29, 2014, 02:48:51 AM »
I'm not participating, but I am writing every-day.  I'm a bit of an anti-joiner though.  Sort of like this guy:

http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/10/attention-nanowrimo-fans-no-one-cares-how-your-fing-novel-going

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #17 on: October 29, 2014, 07:02:25 AM »
I'm not participating, but I am writing every-day.  I'm a bit of an anti-joiner though.  Sort of like this guy:

http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/10/attention-nanowrimo-fans-no-one-cares-how-your-fing-novel-going

Yeah, that's why I don't talk about it with people who aren't doing it. Not fun for either of us. :)

Ian, sounds great! I'm jealous of your well-thought-out plans.

Wolf_Stache

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #18 on: October 29, 2014, 12:21:57 PM »
I'm working on an epic fantasy novel, the sequel to the first one that I published in September. It picks up where the first left off - in the first novel the heroes managed to stop a rebellion, but just barely. Now the city is picking up the pieces and the heroes have to deal with the root cause of the rebellion (the inequality between the two races) and deal with a new threat, a mage who is messing with the weather to sinister ends.

train_writer

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #19 on: October 29, 2014, 12:49:00 PM »
I am'warming-up' this week by writing 200 words pieces about randomly chosen sentences out of the news paper.

That amount needs to multiply by 8 x next week. Every day.

Happy Little Chipmunk

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #20 on: October 29, 2014, 11:35:58 PM »
My hat is off to you all. And to my 14 year old daughter...she's in it to win it this year!

Tomorrow she plans to clean like mad so she starts November with a calm and clean space.

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #21 on: October 30, 2014, 11:36:57 PM »
My time zone is ahead of many of yours, so for me this is the last day prior to NaNoWriMo. I'm pretty well set up for it, though I don't know when I'll report my daily progress.

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #22 on: October 31, 2014, 05:28:47 AM »
My hat is off to you all. And to my 14 year old daughter...she's in it to win it this year!

Tomorrow she plans to clean like mad so she starts November with a calm and clean space.

That's great! Let us know how she does?

Ian, I've got the last day jitters. I put in a marathon work session yesterday so I could take today off to finish up my outline.

Pooperman

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #23 on: October 31, 2014, 11:30:43 AM »
I thought about doing this in college, but I'[m horrible with deadlines! I did, however, write a draft to a novel in about 3 months (it'a about 60k words, likely to end up in the 75-100k area if I ever get around to it). Maybe next year I'll join this and finish up the revisions since everything post chapter 1 makes no sense and needs to be heavily edited or completely redone.

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #24 on: October 31, 2014, 06:29:14 PM »
November has started for me - I've been writing for a while and I'm just here to take a break. Let's do this!

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #25 on: October 31, 2014, 06:45:00 PM »
Ian, hope your first day is going well! I'm looking forward to getting started in the morning. I'm doing a "reverse NaNo", so my word count will start high at more than 3000 tomorrow. By mid-month it'll be down to 1700, then trailing off to just a couple of hundred by month's end.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2014, 07:17:11 PM by tmac »

perigee

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #26 on: November 01, 2014, 09:34:30 AM »
Happy NaNoWriMo everyone!

I crashed and burned at a camp session last year, but I'm ready to try this whole crazy process all over again! 

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #27 on: November 01, 2014, 05:45:00 PM »
Thanks for the encouragement, tmac.

Are we reporting our daily progress? I know some people enjoy that, but I feel mildly self-conscious about it. In any case, my November 1st is complete and I wrote 7017 words. Now back to writing...

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #28 on: November 01, 2014, 08:13:44 PM »
I stopped at 2376 today. Ended up burning a lot of time at a rare book store I found. That's the same as writing, right? ;)

Villanelle

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #29 on: November 02, 2014, 03:36:01 AM »
I've NaNo'd, and won!, several years, including last year.

I hadn't mentally committed to this yea,r but I sat down yesterday, figuring writing is never a bad thing.  And I ended up at a but over 6000 words!  I'm 10% finished, on day 1. 

Malaysia41

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #30 on: November 02, 2014, 03:57:07 AM »
I've NaNo'd, and won!, several years, including last year.

I hadn't mentally committed to this yea,r but I sat down yesterday, figuring writing is never a bad thing.  And I ended up at a but over 6000 words!  I'm 10% finished, on day 1.

Did any of your NaNo efforts turn into published goods?

Villanelle

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #31 on: November 02, 2014, 07:19:10 AM »
I've NaNo'd, and won!, several years, including last year.

I hadn't mentally committed to this yea,r but I sat down yesterday, figuring writing is never a bad thing.  And I ended up at a but over 6000 words!  I'm 10% finished, on day 1.

Did any of your NaNo efforts turn into published goods?

Err... I must admit that I've never actually finished one, to the point where I felt it was submission-ready.  I like writing a lot more than I like editing.  That said, this year's project is a second in a series (with last year's being the first).  If I self-publish, I want at least 3, as that seems to be the formula for success.  Once I finish NaNo, I am going to decide which of the two is more complete and my goal is to truly finish it by next November.  That January, I'll be living in San Diego, where I attended an excellent Writers conference a few years back.  I'd love to go back, completed work in hand, and schedule some critiques and meetings with agents, which that conference offers, so it's good incentive to get something finished and polished by then.

But really, mostly I write as a hobby.  Of course it would be cool to be published and to make a few bucks at it, and I sometimes have that dream.  But that's not the reason I write. 

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #32 on: November 02, 2014, 01:04:33 PM »
Reached my goal today, so I'm at 4911 now. My main character has been poisoned, but she's recovered well. So that's good.

kaetana

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #33 on: November 02, 2014, 04:24:09 PM »
I've started, but I'm only a few pages in! I haven't officially joined on the site, because I don't really want a word count. Instead, I'd like to write every day for an hour. If I can do that for the whole month, I'll be very happy! I totally forgot about it over the weekend, so today will be the first day I will be doing it... hopefully!

Wolf_Stache

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #34 on: November 02, 2014, 04:50:04 PM »
Doing much better today, at least managed to catch up to the point where I'm *at* the word count where I feel comfortable

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #35 on: November 03, 2014, 03:49:23 AM »
Day 2 = 8872. Now I just have to survive the work week...

Villanelle

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #36 on: November 03, 2014, 06:22:17 AM »
Finished day 2 with 10,825.  The tracker on the NaNo website tells me that at this pace, I'll be done November 10th!  I could write a trilogy in November!

Really though, I am sure things will slow.  In fact, it's 2 pm and I've written nothing today, and I have some travel later in the month where I am guaranteed no writing at all for 4 days.  But I'm feeling pretty darn good about my chances of "winning" again this year!

Yesterday, I hade that weird writer experience where I was writing a scene, with a general direction in mind, but the characters took over and something entirely different ended up happening. I love the scene, but it changes my plot somewhat significantly (on a micro level, at least) and I'm not sure how to get back to where I need everyone to be.

And last night, I read myself to sleep with Publishing For Beginners: What First-Time Authors Need to Know., which was available free a few days ago on Amazon.

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #37 on: November 04, 2014, 05:01:51 AM »
Monday I only managed 5935 because work sucks (if only there was a forum about that). Today has been even worse, but we'll see how much I can finish before I turn in.

tmac

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #38 on: November 04, 2014, 06:31:33 AM »
I had a total fail yesterday. Work completely blew up, it took all day to deal with, and I had no mental energy left to write in the evening. After I get some household things done this morning, I'm going to try to spend the day writing.

FunkyStickman

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #39 on: November 04, 2014, 08:27:13 AM »
I won once a few years ago, ended up self-publishing it. Probably not going to "win" this year, but if I get some time to write on current projects, I'll be happy.

I used www.writeordie.com to finish the last one.

Wolf_Stache

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #40 on: November 04, 2014, 10:55:19 AM »
I had a total fail yesterday. Work completely blew up, it took all day to deal with, and I had no mental energy left to write in the evening. After I get some household things done this morning, I'm going to try to spend the day writing.

Same here. Only got about 200 words written.

Villanelle

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #41 on: November 05, 2014, 09:55:26 AM »
It's 6 pm on day 5 and I am at 18,336.  Hoping to get to 20,000 today, but that might be pushing it. 

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #42 on: November 05, 2014, 02:57:42 PM »
Sorry to those of you having rough days.

Mine wasn't great, but I can't complain. 5735.

It's 6 pm on day 5 and I am at 18,336.  Hoping to get to 20,000 today, but that might be pushing it.
Every time I see your totals I think it's how much you're writing per day for a second...

Happy Little Chipmunk

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #43 on: November 05, 2014, 10:20:55 PM »
The kiddo is off to a slow start, but things are looking up. She left her notes somewhere and therefore felt that she had failed before she began, so she didn't begin.

So the spouse and I rolled eyes at her tonight and with great good humor she pounded out 1,300 words. And then bounced around telling us that we could tell people that she has started.

She's turning into quite an interesting critter.


Villanelle

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #44 on: November 07, 2014, 08:43:51 AM »
22,770.  Yesterday I made very slow progress, given how long I worked on the project.  (About 2700 words yesterday, but I spent hours.)  I writing a historical, so I did a bunch of research.  (e.g. Can I have a character use the phrase "his stock had risen?--> Of to research the history of idioms, and when that failed, confirmed the date that the London stock market was started and figured he can be a trend setter, since it isn't truly historical fiction.)

I also did some moving around of scenes and added in some scenes or left myself notes to Add a scene about XXX here". I cant' say enough about how great the Scrivener software is for this sort of thing.  If you don't have it and you are at all serious about writing (even just mostly as a hobby, like me), I can't recommend it enough. I believe there is a discount for NaNo participants/winners.

It's almost 5 pm for me and I haven't written a single word.  Since the end of my month is pretty busy, I am trying to get to 2000 words every day. 


Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #45 on: November 08, 2014, 04:31:40 PM »
Haven't been here in a few days - too busy writing.

Day 5: 8455
Day 6: 10760
Day 7: 5466
Day 8: 7382
Day 9: in progress

Malaysia41

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #46 on: November 08, 2014, 07:49:36 PM »
Haven't been here in a few days - too busy writing.

Day 5: 8455
Day 6: 10760
Day 7: 5466
Day 8: 7382
Day 9: in progress

Wait, what?  Those are your daily word counts?  You wrote over 10k words on day #6 alone?  Wowzers. 2k is a big day for me.

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #47 on: November 09, 2014, 06:14:17 PM »
Yes, those are daily word counts. I'm fairly fast and I have the entire story planned in considerable detail. Bear in mind my job and living situation let me spend 4+ hours writing every day, so that adds up quickly.

Day nine I managed 7486. I'm set up for the next section, but Monday morning looks rough.

Wolf_Stache

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #48 on: November 10, 2014, 02:38:23 PM »
Haven't been here in a few days - too busy writing.

Day 5: 8455
Day 6: 10760
Day 7: 5466
Day 8: 7382
Day 9: in progress

I know, same here. Three K is a lot for me, but I generally only have an hour or two a day to write. Although now that I got behind last week (company in town and then a convention all weekend) I have to write between 2 and 3 k a day at this point to finish on time.

Wait, what?  Those are your daily word counts?  You wrote over 10k words on day #6 alone?  Wowzers. 2k is a big day for me.

Ian

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Re: NaNoWriMo
« Reply #49 on: November 15, 2014, 11:57:31 PM »
Nobody has posted for five days, it seems. How are you all doing?

Thursday and Friday I had most of the day free (one of the perks of my job). On Thursday I wrote 12399 ramping up to the finale and on Friday I finished the book with 11914 more. The climax/denouement are always easy for me unless I've screwed something up.

Saturday was my truly impressive day: zero words.

My break is over, though, so I'm back to writing with a new project today.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!