NaNoWriMo 2011!

FewFew

Antilles wrote: »

What's everyone's usernames so I can add you as writing buddies?

frankwhelan is me.

iguana wrote: »

I was there too, but I guess we didn't talk.:(

I'm at 9295 words, a bit disappointed with today but by the time I got home and walked the dogs again I felt too tired to even force myself to a thousand.

Ah, you mustn't have been in the late 20's grouping

Did you notice the weird way it ended up divided by age? Pretty funny in a social dynamic kinda way

iguana

Fewcifur wrote: »

Did you notice the weird way it ended up divided by age? Pretty funny in a social dynamic kinda way

I was with 30+ group.;)

Arlecchina

Nice to meet you, Fewcifer! I was the 'Ah, you wouldn't know my username, I'm a just a lurker' girl.

It was all a bit strange, but interesting and useful along with it. Next time I'll a) be better prepared to write like a lunatic on cue, and b) have a snappy blurb ready for those paralysing 'So, what's your novel about?' moments.

Boardsies need a Wildean carnation in their lapel or something.

FewFew

Arlecchina wrote: »

Nice to meet you, Fewcifer! I was the 'Ah, you wouldn't know my username, I'm a just a lurker' girl.

It was all a bit strange, but interesting and useful along with it. Next time I'll a) be better prepared to write like a lunatic on cue, and b) have a snappy blurb ready for those paralysing 'So, what's your novel about?' moments.

Boardsies need a Wildean carnation in their lapel or something.

I'm glad you didn't actually just say your username... it would have been a "so... do you spell that with a tripple X or... ?" It was a good laugh alright. Carnations at the ready for next time

Antilles

Hrm, what went on at this meet-up? Was it just sitting around chatting or was there writing, or...?

I might go to the next one, though I'd be a bit nervous about meeting boardsies who's work I've slated

Hrududu

I was at it too, also in Fewcifur's group.

There was general chat about what everyone was doing, then towards the end everyone did a couple of writing sprints for about 20 minutes each. Though I got there late so not sure how it started off.

It was interesting to see how people were going in different directions. Everyone that I spoke to seemed to be working on very different books. It was fun though.

FewFew

Those writing sprints were gas. Some people really got into it. Like, really really.

Antilles

I'm not free until weekend after next. Is that too late to start going to these meetups?

FewFew

Antilles wrote: »

I'm not free until weekend after next. Is that too late to start going to these meetups?

Ah just turn up whenever. They're very informal, really just an excuse to talk a bit about your book and to share the experience.

elbee

iguana wrote: »

I was with 30+ group.;)

Hey! I was in the same group and I'm 27 Let's just say I aspire to being 30+

FewFew

elbee wrote: »

Hey! I was in the same group and I'm 27 Let's just say I aspire to being 30+

Well you've just ruined our theories on the group dynamic. I haychoo! :mad:

:pac:

iguana

elbee wrote: »

Hey! I was in the same group and I'm 27 Let's just say I aspire to being 30+

I hadn't forgotten you. It's just that facts would have ruined the anecdote.:p

By the way, thanks for the Write or Die suggestion. It's great. I've started using it to write in small chunks of a few hundred words at a time and pretending it's a game. Like Tetris with letters.:cool:

elbee

iguana wrote: »

I hadn't forgotten you. It's just that facts would have ruined the anecdote.:p

By the way, thanks for the Write or Die suggestion. It's great. I've started using it to write in small chunks of a few hundred words at a time and pretending it's a game. Like Tetris with letters.:cool:

Glad you found it helpful, I love it. It's the game element I like too Good luck with Week 2!

Scarinae

Bit late in coming to this thread, but I’m doing it this year too! No boardsie meetups for me though as I live in London. Still, I thought I’d drop into the thread and say hi!

Antilles

Reached 15k words today, then spun on my chair a few times to celebrate. I fell off and hit my head really hard on the ground. Oww

FewFew

Fishie wrote: »

Bit late in coming to this thread, but I’m doing it this year too! No boardsie meetups for me though as I live in London. Still, I thought I’d drop into the thread and say hi!

Oh they're Nanowrimo meet-ups, there should be at least one in London too.

Blush_01

This has totally fallen by the wayside for me. Have had a lot of little stupid, time-consuming personal things going on over the past two weeks. Not too late to still win - going to push hard and see what I can do.

Hope everyone else is doing better than I am!

iguana

Passed the 25,000 mark today.

My hands hurt.

Antilles

It's intimidating having you on my buddy list, iguana!

FewFew

Blush_01 wrote: »

This has totally fallen by the wayside for me. Have had a lot of little stupid, time-consuming personal things going on over the past two weeks. Not too late to still win - going to push hard and see what I can do.

Hope everyone else is doing better than I am!

I'm in a similar situation. I'm about a week and a half behind where I should be, if not more.
Still think I can win though. It's in my journo bones to turn superhuman near deadlines!

iguana wrote: »

Passed the 25,000 mark today.

My hands hurt.

Damn you.

Blush_01

Fewcifur wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation. I'm about a week and a half behind where I should be, if not more.
Still think I can win though. It's in my journo bones to turn superhuman near deadlines!

It would help if I wasn't doing mental hours in work and the youth organisation I'm involved with, and had no other projects. But it wouldn't be my life if that was the case.

FewFew

Blush_01 wrote: »

It would help if I wasn't doing mental hours in work and the youth organisation I'm involved with, and had no other projects. But it wouldn't be my life if that was the case.

I hear ya, for the last while I've been doing a full time masters with a full time job. Thankfully the job is going bye-bye tomorrow, so I can be a poor starving student/writer again.

Hrududu

How are people getting on in week 2? I'm a little behind but not by much so I'm hoping to keep the momentum up.

I went to the meet up this week and there were a lot less people there.

Antilles

I've just over 20,000 words done. Hoping to hit 21,671 by the time I go to bed.

iguana

Ploughing along. Week 2 was great up until yesterday when I decided to take the dogs for an extra long walk with my husband and go for a mega-brunch in town. After shopping, an omelette and chips, guacamole, a bowl of Elephant and Castle chicken wings :nom: and a cup of the best hot chocolate I've found in Ireland and then another dog walk I was barley fit to write my own name last night.

I managed to squeeze out 1000 words but it was a real struggle and it didn't help that the scene I was writing just doesn't work. Too much is going on and I know that in my edit it will need to be divided into 3 or 4 scenes. Then last night I couldn't sleep as ideas about what's wrong with my book kept popping into my head and I didn't want to forget them. I had to get up this morning and write a couple of pages of notes.

I know it might look like I've loads done but I'm trying to stick to a schedule that will see me do 90k words by the end of the month as I'm barely a 3rd of the way through my planned story. And I'm frightened I'll lose my motivation when NaNo ends.

Antilles

I'm about 25% of the way through my story as of right now. The scene I just finished was possibly the most difficult thing I've ever had to write

I reckon the first draft will come in around 100,000, which means it will be December by the time that's done. Probably another 20k to be added after that in tidying loose story threads and adding depth to some characters, followed by losing about 30k to editing. I'm hoping to have something I can show to alpha readers by January.

elbee

iguana wrote: »

. . . and a cup of the best hot chocolate I've found in Ireland . . .

Good luck with the writing, but more importantly, where did you have the hot chocolate? Enquiring minds need to know!

I had a terrible Week 2, haven't written a word since last Tuesday due to a migraine and a head-bookcase interface scenario. This will be a week of frantic catching up and trying not to lose heart.

Hot chocolate might help

iguana

elbee wrote: »

Good luck with the writing, but more importantly, where did you have the hot chocolate? Enquiring minds need to know!

I had a terrible Week 2, haven't written a word since last Tuesday due to a migraine and a head-bookcase interface scenario. This will be a week of frantic catching up and trying not to lose heart.

Hot chocolate might help

Taste of Emilia on Liffey St, right by the ha'penny bridge. It's fantastic. I think they make it with real melted chocolate. It's a proper European texture, really thick and creamy. It takes them a good 5 minutes to make it and it's served piping hot. Sadly they serve it in dinky teacups so I'm always left wanting about 3 of them, but it really is delicious. If you get it take away I think you get a bigger serving.

Antilles

Woo, just hit 25k words. 50% done!

angie16ab

hit 40k words last night, but barely halfway through my story, reckon it will end up being around 90k or thereabouts... need to do as much as possible in november though, cos i know if i stop writing every day ill just keep putting it off and it will never get done :rolleyes:

Antilles

Me too, angie.

I was thinking about taking a break at the end of November, and editing what I'd written. But then I realised if I stop I might never get the motivation to come back to a half finished work, so even though I'll only be half way done by the end of NaNoWriMo, I'm going to do my best to keep writing 1667 words every day until it's done.

angie16ab

yeah, exactly! ive tried to write at least 2000 words a day but sometimes just dont have the time! im well ahead of the game in terms of the 50k challenge but as far as my novel goes, its nowhere near done!

iguana

angie16ab wrote: »

hit 40k words last night, but barely halfway through my story, reckon it will end up being around 90k or thereabouts... need to do as much as possible in november though, cos i know if i stop writing every day ill just keep putting it off and it will never get done :rolleyes:

That's exactly how I am. I know this draft is going to be 90-100k words and if I stop I'll probably never go back to it. I already have to try and wear metaphorical blinkers because if I think too far beyond the writing the thought of editing it is freaking me out. I'd say the edit will be about 4 times more work than the writing itself, at least. I already have several pages of notes about the changes that will need to be made.

I'm very bad at motivating myself to do something I don't actually have to do if I don't have something to spur me along. I'm trying to push myself to finish this draft completely but I'm lucky in that I have enough free time. Though my dogs are pissed off and are trying to kill my laptop.

FewFew

elbee wrote: »

Good luck with the writing, but more importantly, where did you have the hot chocolate? Enquiring minds need to know!

This was the most urgent question alright. Now I know. Shall have to try this choc asap.


Ugh. I think I'm going to scrap my Nanowrimo dreams. Haven't had a chance to do any writing for the last few days. Way way way off target, and in contrast to most of you guys, I'm beginning to think my idea was at the short story stage when I launched. I need a few arcs to generate enough content for the 50k.

tadcan

I'm using this month to get back into writing. Quickly knew I wouldn't make the word count, but keep going with the spirit of the month to get a start on the project.

iguana

YEEHAW!!! JUST HIT 50K!!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D



I am so happy! I know I'm only about half way done but I'm still delighted with myself. Even just hitting the nano winner amount feels like a huge achievement. I had 0 confidence starting this that I'd do 50k, never mind do it in less than 2/3rds of the time. I don't care if self praise is no praise, I'm very proud of myself.

I've also found out some interesting things about me as writer.
1. I write more and faster when I'm writing happy scenes, they just flow out of me.
2. I find miserable sections a tough slog.
3. It is not a good idea to write a break-up scene as my husband comes home from work. I borrow a lot of emotion from our worst arguments and am in a rancid mood with him when he comes in. (If you are reading this I am sorry for Tuesday sweetheart! )
4. And one of my worst fears came true, I can not write a sex scene without imagining my parents reading it and discussing it afterwards.:(:o

Oh well, still so happy. I need to remind myself I still have loads more to do.

Antilles

Well done iguana!!!

I'm hoping to hit 30k tonight before bed.

iguana

Antilles wrote: »

Well done iguana!!!

I'm hoping to hit 30k tonight before bed.

Good luck!:)

pickarooney

Go for 75k by the end of the month!

Blush_01

Yeah, totally not happening. Been putting in 60 hour weeks at work and doing my other stuff after - bed before 2am is an achievement these days, and that's without doing any writing. But have a new job, and might set myself the challenge for January instead.

Well done to everyone who's getting there. I'll be your cheerleader.

swordofislam

I have done 12,500 regard that as an achievement.
Cannot find a balance between overcritical and utter ****e.

angie16ab

got to my 50,000 words yesterday still have around 30,000 to go before im finished my story though :rolleyes:

Hrududu

Laziness has meant I've fallen behind. I need to write about 5000 words a day until the end of this month to make it. I'm still optimistic about getting there. This is the most I've ever written and I'm still a little surprised that I've written the amount I have and that the plot is still holding together.

iguana

I've been really sick the last 3 days so haven't written anything. I've given myself a new deadline to complete the book. It's my 33rd birthday on the 7th of next month so I'm going to try to have the whole draft finished while I'm 32.

FewFew

Hrududu wrote: »

Laziness has meant I've fallen behind. I need to write about 5000 words a day until the end of this month to make it. I'm still optimistic about getting there. This is the most I've ever written and I'm still a little surprised that I've written the amount I have and that the plot is still holding together.

Hardcore it, you'll get there!

I, on the other hand, am officially tapping out of this mo'fo. All of my college deadlines seem to have come at once, so a last minute sprint isn't going to happen. Dang.

Antilles

Bam! 50,054 words as of a few moments ago.

Tragically, I'm less than half way finished the story.

swordofislam

25,000 words. None of them usable. I tried to turn of my inner critic but what I have written is rubbish. It is nearly gibberish.

iguana

I got to just shy of 65k, which I'm a bit disappointed with. I'm on tablets that are making me feel pretty crap and my attention span is shot to pieces so I'm just managing short bursts of writing and completely losing my train of thought whenever I get distracted. Which is often at the moment. Both from having other things to do and feeling unwell.

Still though, more or less 65k in a month isn't bad going. I've just finished a part of the book that was starting to feel insurmountable and I think I'm on the last third (or even quarter) of the book, so hopefully it will be downhill from here.

There is even a line or two in there that I don't hate. All in all it's been a great experience.

Hrududu

50,256 and I'm frickin' delighted. I left a hefty portion of it until the last few days and was sure I wouldn't reach the 50k mark.

The draft is rough and there are so many things to change and polish, but Lord that was a fun month. The one thing I was worried about was being able to write something of any length. I was convinced I'd get to 5000 words and be all "The End."

So yeah, learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed it.