At the end of day one of nanowrimo I have 4241 words. I have “put words on paper” though much of it didn’t feel like writing. It was more this happened and then this happened and so on. By last night I was starting to feel more of the writing and I can see how you would edit and revise later. when you are concentrating on just getting the story down and racking up word count it’s difficult to zero in on a phrase or description. I hope I feel the writing more as I progress.
Though I’ve never participated, I see nanowrimo as a way for folks to see that they really can do it, they really can lay down some serious word count – completely demystifying that aspect of the business of longer writing. I’m convinced of that about you already: you have a number of story lines in your portfolio that, given the time to do so, could easily see their way into long-fiction. Stay hydrated this month and look for us all cheering you on at the mile markers.
1674 words today. I got a little stuck but I think I am past it. Total now 8703. I’m starting to know my character and to like him. I need to spend some time camped out in his thoughts and how he sees the world.
1361 tonight for a total of 10064 words. A little below the daily need but I will make up tomorrow waiting for Dale’s dr. appointment and over the weekend. Struggling a bit because I have to hurt a character I have a hard time with that.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by and leaving encouraging notes. It is wonderful to read when the little voice in my head tells me I have reached a new level of suckitude and that I will never finish. Tonight I managed 1872 words for a total of 11936. I hurt someone in my story, not just for the heck of it, but because it was necessary for my main character to move on. It still was something that I danced around trying not to do. Weird, huh? I’m off to sleep – 4 in the am was way too early for this girl to be up and moving and I’m feeling the pain now. Transplant check-up went fine though – everything looks good. Two weeks from today marks the 2 year kidney anniversary. Big push on my story planned for the weekend. Mister ThoughtWings has a cold but got some medicine today so hopefully tomorrow he will be recuperating in front of tv football and I can hole up in my cave and write guilt-free 🙂
Nanowrimo is no letting me access the website tonight. Maybe they are ashamed of my pathetic 850 words tonight 🙂 I’ll try to update word count in the morning.
20K at under the halfway mark, and – hopefully, for you – a full Thanksgiving week off: you’ll make it up Heartbreak Hill and beyond. Look for us all as you pass the water break stands along the route. We’re all there applauding. And playing kazoos in your honor, of course.
Not a full week so I am making a big push this weekend. I will cook with one hand and type with the other next week. The family may end up with sweet potato stuffing and turkey burgers – hopefully I wont cause food poisoning with my oh so divided attention. I am starting to need those water breaks and kazoos badly, the word stream wants to dry up. Thanks for the boost – I will stop procrastinating and get back to work – I’m at 21,908!!
I am at 26,084 words, just a little over the halfway mark. For the first time I started having serious doubts yesterday as to whether I had another 25000 words in me to finish this, doubts about why I even started it. Why did I start it? The best I can come up with is that life throws challenges at us and we have no choice in the matter. We deal with them the best we can and move on. Sometimes, I think it is important for us to choose a challenge and fight our way through it on our own terms and in our own way. So I will finish this. It will not win any literary contests but it will be mine and I will have chosen it and completed it, bar floods, tornadoes, and kidney transplants, it will have at least 50,000 words, a beginning, a middle, and a resolution. I have support from my wonderful husband and from a very good friend. Others have joined in the encouragement and ask how many words I have written. I. can. do. this.
Armpits stickysweat, cramping in the legs, keep on hydrating, girl: you’re on Heartbreak Hill. Can you hear the din of all of us waiting for you at the Finish Line? Rave on, girl: paschal
Thanks Paschal. I am tired of this story. I am bored with the characters. They are bored with me. I’m seeing the little Marvin the Martian character from Bugs Bunny marching across my computer screen, getting the death ray ready to vaporize the earth and all my characters with it. I know I will finish – I’m nearly there. It has been a learning experience. I have a better idea of the scope, of the problems with organization, of keeping things moving forward and yet understanding timing enough to know when to camp out for awhile. My weakness, as always, isn’t ideas. it’s mechanics. It’s knowing so many things. aaarg. Slams head on keyboard.
I see the latest numbers: Good Lord, you can see the finish line. That is very cool.
You’ve got something under your belt now that shows you that you can go the long distance, but reading your comments about the process clarified some of my problems with NaNoWriMo. Writing a novel is a marathon endeavor, but I don’t think it was ever meant to be done quickly. One of my challenges with the two novels I’ve written was to keep reminding myself that every page and every word counted. Sometimes, I’d get so excited about getting to that scene down the line, so much so that I wasn’t attending to the moments in front of me, on the very page where I was typing. Of course, if you’re not a linear/chronological writer, no problem, you just go and write whatever scene you want to write. In the longer fiction, though, I tend to be right on the same journey my characters are on, so our road trips are fairly linear, while also fairly slow and lazy, with lots of detours. The bats out of hell pace of Nanowrimo runs counter to that luxuriating time, and the fermenting time also gets cut way short.
All that notwithstanding, congratulations to you on doing it; I’m sure there are things that you’ll take away from the experience that will continue to shape the writer you are.
At the end of day one of nanowrimo I have 4241 words. I have “put words on paper” though much of it didn’t feel like writing. It was more this happened and then this happened and so on. By last night I was starting to feel more of the writing and I can see how you would edit and revise later. when you are concentrating on just getting the story down and racking up word count it’s difficult to zero in on a phrase or description. I hope I feel the writing more as I progress.
Though I’ve never participated, I see nanowrimo as a way for folks to see that they really can do it, they really can lay down some serious word count – completely demystifying that aspect of the business of longer writing. I’m convinced of that about you already: you have a number of story lines in your portfolio that, given the time to do so, could easily see their way into long-fiction. Stay hydrated this month and look for us all cheering you on at the mile markers.
thank professor P – only about 900 words tonight but I figured it would be slower going during the week. I’m pushing through it!
1046 words tonight – total of 5287. Time to sleep – the time change has my sleeping confused.
1740 words tonight – total 7027. It was good. a lot of it just flowed out. I’m not going to go back and read it yet. I have mushy brains!
1674 words today. I got a little stuck but I think I am past it. Total now 8703. I’m starting to know my character and to like him. I need to spend some time camped out in his thoughts and how he sees the world.
1361 tonight for a total of 10064 words. A little below the daily need but I will make up tomorrow waiting for Dale’s dr. appointment and over the weekend. Struggling a bit because I have to hurt a character I have a hard time with that.
Keep Going, you are doing so well.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by and leaving encouraging notes. It is wonderful to read when the little voice in my head tells me I have reached a new level of suckitude and that I will never finish. Tonight I managed 1872 words for a total of 11936. I hurt someone in my story, not just for the heck of it, but because it was necessary for my main character to move on. It still was something that I danced around trying not to do. Weird, huh? I’m off to sleep – 4 in the am was way too early for this girl to be up and moving and I’m feeling the pain now. Transplant check-up went fine though – everything looks good. Two weeks from today marks the 2 year kidney anniversary. Big push on my story planned for the weekend. Mister ThoughtWings has a cold but got some medicine today so hopefully tomorrow he will be recuperating in front of tv football and I can hole up in my cave and write guilt-free 🙂
Nanowrimo is no letting me access the website tonight. Maybe they are ashamed of my pathetic 850 words tonight 🙂 I’ll try to update word count in the morning.
20K at under the halfway mark, and – hopefully, for you – a full Thanksgiving week off: you’ll make it up Heartbreak Hill and beyond. Look for us all as you pass the water break stands along the route. We’re all there applauding. And playing kazoos in your honor, of course.
Not a full week so I am making a big push this weekend. I will cook with one hand and type with the other next week. The family may end up with sweet potato stuffing and turkey burgers – hopefully I wont cause food poisoning with my oh so divided attention. I am starting to need those water breaks and kazoos badly, the word stream wants to dry up. Thanks for the boost – I will stop procrastinating and get back to work – I’m at 21,908!!
I am at 26,084 words, just a little over the halfway mark. For the first time I started having serious doubts yesterday as to whether I had another 25000 words in me to finish this, doubts about why I even started it. Why did I start it? The best I can come up with is that life throws challenges at us and we have no choice in the matter. We deal with them the best we can and move on. Sometimes, I think it is important for us to choose a challenge and fight our way through it on our own terms and in our own way. So I will finish this. It will not win any literary contests but it will be mine and I will have chosen it and completed it, bar floods, tornadoes, and kidney transplants, it will have at least 50,000 words, a beginning, a middle, and a resolution. I have support from my wonderful husband and from a very good friend. Others have joined in the encouragement and ask how many words I have written. I. can. do. this.
Armpits stickysweat, cramping in the legs, keep on hydrating, girl: you’re on Heartbreak Hill. Can you hear the din of all of us waiting for you at the Finish Line? Rave on, girl: paschal
Thanks Paschal. I am tired of this story. I am bored with the characters. They are bored with me. I’m seeing the little Marvin the Martian character from Bugs Bunny marching across my computer screen, getting the death ray ready to vaporize the earth and all my characters with it. I know I will finish – I’m nearly there. It has been a learning experience. I have a better idea of the scope, of the problems with organization, of keeping things moving forward and yet understanding timing enough to know when to camp out for awhile. My weakness, as always, isn’t ideas. it’s mechanics. It’s knowing so many things. aaarg. Slams head on keyboard.
I see the latest numbers: Good Lord, you can see the finish line. That is very cool.
You’ve got something under your belt now that shows you that you can go the long distance, but reading your comments about the process clarified some of my problems with NaNoWriMo. Writing a novel is a marathon endeavor, but I don’t think it was ever meant to be done quickly. One of my challenges with the two novels I’ve written was to keep reminding myself that every page and every word counted. Sometimes, I’d get so excited about getting to that scene down the line, so much so that I wasn’t attending to the moments in front of me, on the very page where I was typing. Of course, if you’re not a linear/chronological writer, no problem, you just go and write whatever scene you want to write. In the longer fiction, though, I tend to be right on the same journey my characters are on, so our road trips are fairly linear, while also fairly slow and lazy, with lots of detours. The bats out of hell pace of Nanowrimo runs counter to that luxuriating time, and the fermenting time also gets cut way short.
All that notwithstanding, congratulations to you on doing it; I’m sure there are things that you’ll take away from the experience that will continue to shape the writer you are.
I see you is a winner! And ahead of time at that! Besos for all your fine (and grueling) running! I’d say much ice cream is in order.
Congrats on winning. I was so pleased to see the finish line and it’s great to see others who finished as well.