NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo?FAIL!!I must say, I enjoyed following others and I also very much enjoyed the guest star "pep talks."Funniest thing? Now I'm itching to work on my story.How'd you do?

And this day, the last day of November, ends National Novel Writing Month. The usual goal for the month is a complete 50,000-word novel. For myself, I worked with the goal of 30,000 words. Totalling everything I have produced this month, discounting editing, blog posts, e-mails, work-related materials, and the like, I have completed the month with a total of 30,539 words, most of it comic book scr

Another NaNoWriMo Writing Desperation Suggestion:If there's any possible chance that you might be able to physically type enough words to reach your NaNoWriMo 50,000 word total by midnight tonight, I have a strong suggestion:Just write. Write anything. Write whatever comes into your head. Yes, you're supposed to be writing a novel, but let that sucker run right off the rails if that's the only thi

I've only got a little more than four thousand words to go and I have not been writing anything at all today. To make matters worse, I actually have this writing high going on right now and I can't write yet because I actually have work to do.The whole day was spent doing nothing but hanging out in the lab and reading The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs. I've not read a proper fantasy novel in a

Just when you thought that NaNoWriMo--National Novel Writing Month--was the worst thing you could possibly subject yourself to....What are you doing on September 5th, next year? More specifically, what are you doing the 5th, 6th, and 7th? Because I have a suggestion that makes NaNoWriMo look like a stroll through a lovely garden after a gentle rain shower.It's this: logo is this:Yes, a novel in

Last month, I posted a call for RPGBloggers to create a short story as part of NaNoWriMo. You can see the schedule below. So far it’s going really well and the story is turning out great. I can’t wait to see how it ends! November 9th - Part 1 November 16th - Part 2 November [...]

You're certainly not the only one out there slogging away at your typewriter every chance you get. Well, you know I'm in there with you, but it can help to know just how-not-alone you are, so let's take a field trip today and check out some of the others. Run, do not walk, to the Flickr site to see how others are faring. Here. I'll send you right over to the best spot: This used to happen to m

I've missed the last two days of blogging. No excuses, just tired.So anyway, I'm here at Geek Terminal, sharing a table with the Tech65 guys. I'm waiting for my MLs to turn up for the write in but my back is towards the door so I can see if they've come in yet. I have a bottle of Italian soda and basket of calamari rings to snack on while I write.I have my novel writing playlist on.All in all, I h

Another NaNoWriMo Writing Desperation Suggestion: You've probably reached the point in your story where the tension is high, the action is furious, and everyone's bickering, if not outright fighting. Either that, or you're slogging through a story that's much like a giant pile of oatmeal. At least, that's what my story feels like to me, right now. Anyway, I want to make another suggestion for s

Have you noticed how, as soon as you learn a new word or concept, you suddenly see it everywhere? The central metaphor in my NaNo story involves flocking, particularly the pursuit and cohesion of birds. So when my mother and sister visited last week, and I headed for the computer, I thought pursuit. When they settled in on either side of me, I thought cohesion.Over at NaNo headquarters, a particip

Write this at your own risk:"Mary Sue's legs walked over to the window. She held tightly to the cup of coffee in her hand and she wondered how she had gotten here. Everything had been so topsy-turvy lately. If she did not figure out who had written the black mail letter soon, she was sure she was going to go crazy. Just out of her mind. How could someone be so mean? How could they be so cruel whe

WARNING. BITCHY MODE: ONI've been staying away from the NaNoWriMo forums lately because of the overachievers. You know, the ones who write thousands and thousands of words a day and then they whine. "I wrote so little", "I can't write" and other various whining things. Also, it's depressing to see their word count going into the green already and I'm still stuck in the 30ks (ok, sure I have a lot

Seriously! It not only takes out a lot out of your grey matter, thinking and plotting the novel, it also tales out a lot out of your body too.Imagine this, you lug your laptop, which weighs about at least two kilos, around the island, then you type/write for hours on end. Wouldn't you develop something of an ache?I have back and shoulder pain, RSI on the right forefinger and metacarpal area, and s

Another NaNoWriMo Writing Desperation Suggestion: The Language Is A Virus Random Line Generator is a godsend. I highly recommend it. It doesn't actually generate sentences. It just gives you a string of words. However, if I'm stuck, I can skim the list of words and get a feeling of what might be missing, which often helps me keep writing."pink lemonade shining ferry twinkle ghostwhite starry for

NaNoWriMo is... going. I'm bleary-eyed, I'm tired, but I'm honestly surprised at all of the things that have seemingly appeared in the story. I suppose the subsconscious mind can get more out when the conscious mind is face-down in the kitchen in front of the kettle.Earplugs are helping me enormously. For some reason, I can type more when I can't hear myself type. Sometimes I listen to quiet jazz

19k words in and it's still not as easy as last year's novel. I've not written anything in third person for a long, long while and it's hard. I can do it, just that it's a lot harder than writing in first person.NaNoWriMo Statistics so far:Chapters: 10Number of characters killed: 2 villages full of people, 7 zombies, 1 horse, 1 immortal god person, 1 stupid jerk of a husbandAmount of coffee drunk:

Four chapters and 6332 words in and I'm stuck. The main characters have met. They won't do the horizontal mambo for a while yet, so what next? Ooohhh.. I got it! When in doubt, make zombies attack or kill someone or both! Besides that, I've been sitting on the floor since the first of November, writing my novel since I was displaced from my usual sitting area. My butt had grout lines embedded in t

My NaNoWriMo profileHelp yourself to a copy of the NanoRhino image!NaNoWriMo ends in

So here we are at Geek Terminal, with the NaNoWriMos for the Kick Off. We did the Pimp My Sentence prize giving. Some of the entries were really awesome.We did some broadcasting but then it got too chaotic.There was cake and many self bought drinks.I got my NaNoWriMo gear.There was a round robin story telling.There is still cake. Left over cake. Maybe I shall have some more. Or not.Still drinking

Well, I'm in. You should see the way other people prepare, what with outlines and character synopses, and 'adoptable' devices over at the official site. Luckily there are several coffee shops and lounges on site, and several tools for procrastination. But I thought I had better do some prep, so I came up with this synopsis:Does the first bird in a murmuration lead the others, or is it being chased

There I was, innocently collecting a few words for a possible story in November's NaNoWriMo, when all of a sudden the press seems to have grabbed most of them for its own story. Sometimes you just can't make it up.darknessamoralelitismbullingdonoligarchallegationpolitical toysretributionspinfundraiserpartyprinceinsoucianceclub rulespoisonboattavernOh wellTechnorati Tags: rashbre, taverna, agni, m

It’s almost November! You know what that means ...Nah, not the elections. More important than that, it’s National Novel Writing Month.NaNoWriMo calls to us all to connect with the writer within and write 50,000 words.Had an idea lurking forever that cries out to be shared with the world? Now’s your chance to get it out and let it shine. Can’t string a sentence together? No problem! T

Every year in October, while everyone else is out celebrating Halloween or working on parties or getting ready for Thanksgiving, I am at home getting myself prepared for the NaNoWriMo Challenge in November. That link will show you how to prepare for NaNoWriMo, but let me tell you a little bit about what NaNo is. Na - National No - Novel Wri - Writing Mo - Month. NaNoWriMo is National Novel

Every year in October, while everyone else is out celebrating Halloween or working on parties or getting ready for Thanksgiving, I am at home getting myself prepared for the NaNoWriMo Challenge in November. That link will show you how to prepare for NaNoWriMo, but let me tell you a little bit about what NaNo is.Na - NationalNo - NovelWri - WritingMo - Month.NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Mont

I can't believe so much time has passed since my last post. I guess that's what happens when you decide to participate in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month where the goal is to write 50,000 words in the thirty days of November.I've been writing and writing with some incredible results. On the last Monday my word count sat at just over 28,000 words and I wondered how I was ever going to make 50,000 by Friday when I thought that the most I could write in a day was 5,000 because that's the most I had ever written. And I'm not one for writing unneeded words just to accumulate them. I began NaNoWriMo to write a specific book, so the last thing I wanted was a bunk of junk I needed to wade through when I returned to edit.On Thurday, November 29, I did the amazing: write 9,256 words bringing me within range by 7,500 words win. And win I did.Many people say the last few thousand words just about sail in themselves, but I fought with every last one to get them down. Not because I was

So how's it going, participants? I did not sign up for the program, but have set a goal of 1000 words a day, unofficially. I'm almost keeping up--My project involves one of my favorite characters from Shiva's Arms, Nela, the headstrong unmarriageable daughter of the Sambashivan clan. I am trying to find out the difference between what she believes she wants and what she actually wants. The subject is always desire, I suppose. Since Nela becomes a mathematician, I'm trying to pin down the way mathematicians talk. I'm going to get David Leavitt's The Indian Clerk, an account of the relationship between Hardy and Ramanujan. Research--I read at least one hundred books about or set in India while envisioning Shiva's Arms. Here we go again...

In case no one knows about it yet, I feel the need to point out that it is actually National Novel Writing Month (It should really be International, but whatever). I really should have said this before the month started, so if you wanted to you could join in, but I'm selfish like that, I didn't want you stealing my glory.I've wanted to do this for a few years, so this year, despite not being any more prepared, or with more time than any other year, I took the plunge and signed up at NaNoWriMo.org. Here's five reasons I shouldn't have done this:1. It's 1,666 words a day, the number of the beast!2. I hardly write in my blog.3. I don't have a plot.4. I'm as easily distracted as a chubber* at a buffet.5. I can't actually write.The basic premise is that you spew out 50,000 words in one month. I

In case no one knows about it yet, I feel the need to point out that it is actually National Novel Writing Month (It should really be International, but whatever). I really should have said this before the month started, so if you wanted to you could join in, but I'm selfish like that, I didn't want you stealing my glory.I've wanted to do this for a few years, so this year, despite not being any more prepared, or with more time than any other year, I took the plunge and signed up at NaNoWriMo.org. Here's five reasons I shouldn't have done this:1. It's 1,666 words a day, the number of the beast!2. I hardly write in my blog.3. I don't have a plot.4. I'm as easily distracted as a chubber* at a buffet.5. I can't actually write.The basic premise is that you spew out 50,000 words in one month. It is an incredibly rough first draft that you can then do whatever you want with. Even if that is storing it away and calling yourself a writer for the rest of your life, which is what I plan

***Scroll down for manic Monday***Here are some wall papers that I made for those of us who are doing NaNoWriMo... the calendar has the word counts for each day and was made by another NaNo'er (sorry I tried to find you name to give you credit!). All of the photos were taken by me.Click on the image to enlarge to it's full size, right click/save as.Enjoy! :D

Comic by Debbie Ridpath OhiFor more of her comics, visit http://www.willwriteforchocolate.com/

Welcome to Blog Your Blessings Sunday.I have three blessings to post today.1. IJ, now almost 13 years old, went hunting with his dad yesterday morning for youth weekend and he saw a buck. Jim said it was about 140 pounds, old and gray. Not many get to see or shoot one of those. IJ said he didn't shoot it because he didn't have a good shot and he thought he wasn't allowed to shoot a doe. But he regrets it.Jim and IJ are out again early today for another round and hope to see that deer. IJ says that this time if he sees the gray doe, he's going to shoot it. He has a good chance because the deer are bedding down on the bank just beyond our playground (the old llama pen extension).2. Apparently, deer isn't all IJ saw yesterday morning. Later that day, he came to us with a tick on his neck and another crawling up the front of his shirt. He freaked a little seeing how earlier in the week we had to dig one that had sunk itself deep into his hip.Then CJ found a tick crawling up her leg, s

So, it's NaNoWriMo day two. I really really wish I could tell you that my novel is off to a great start.I really wish I could tell you it was off to any kind of start.But...I haven't written a single word. I haven't even opened a new Word document. I don't even know what I'm writing about. I wish I could take the novel I started last year, the one I had to abandon when my computer crashed. I really like that one, and I would love to finish it. But that would be cheating.Maybe I could just wait until day 11 or so--that's when the laptop died last year--and take up my last year's novel from then.Maybe?Nah, still cheating. Tempting, but cheating.This is the third year I have done NaNoWriMo. The first year I was newly pregnant with Bek and spent most of November sleeping. The second year--well, you know. So this year I am determined to finish my 50,000-word novel, if it kills me.And considering the fact that each November the housework goes undone for a month, if the writing doesn'

I'm now at 4576 words for Nanowrimo.org. Here's is an excerpt from today's writing:One morning I was getting ready for school when my new foster mother came in and said we were going to the doctor that day instead of going to school. My new foster sister, Rhonda was coming along for something called, “Moral Support.” I was confused as to why she would need to go to the doctor for help with her morals. I asked her, “Don't you need to see a psychiatrist for that?” Rhonda & Rhoda laughed all the way to the doctor's office. I wondered if they were as crazy as my Jewel.You can read the rest of today's writing at http://mezamashii.blogspot.com/

Tap Tap Tap… No, those aren’t students furiously cranking out a 5-page thesis the day before it’s due; it’s much worse than that. It’s the NaNoWriMo’s doing a crazy, insane writing project.  The Goal: writing 50,000 words in 30 days! Every November, at various bookstores and coffee shops around Albuquerque, a dozen or so people will be gathered around their laptop or writing pad writing at a frenzied pace.     Killing the inner editor There’s no time to ponder; this is all about speed. Just get the words down. Is it garbage? Who knows, you don’t have time to go back and read it– just keep writing.     It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly. So far, over 440 fools have affliated for this year’s NaNoWriMo in New Mexico. November 1st is kick-off. A group is meeting at the Uptown Borders around 7:00. Saturday, November 3r

If you are doing Nanowrimo this year, add me as your buddy. Thanks!

So I've been meaning to write a book since I was, oh I don't know, seven or so. Always with the excuses though. First it was not understanding basic sentence structure, then puberty, then self-doubt, then marriage and the myriad of distractions that come with.In the meantime? People were stealing my ideas. Yup. Pretty shocking, eh? My brilliant idea of writing a Choose Your Own Adventure style book for an adult audience? Something fabulously thought provoking and inspiring? Stolen. Multiple times even. Although some authors' interpretation of "adult" differed from mine. Ahem.So I signed up for NaNoWriMo. No people, I'm not making this up. That's what it's called.Not only am I going to write my first book, I'm going to do so in a month. However, I'm also going to join the NaNoBloMo movement. Which consists of blogging every single day for a month. I figure I can pull this off because there's nothing to say the daily blog posts have a minimum word requirement. I figure two word

***Scroll down for Wordless Wednesday***Well, I'm taking the plunge :D I have an idea for a book that was inspired by writing snippets for 3 Word Wednesday. I stopped writing for the usual reasons, I chickened out. I am trying to get over my "fear of failure" (you know, the one that my mother bludgeoned me over the head with any chance she got), and so this is my way of kicking Fear Of Failure right in the junk ;)Wish me luck!It's only 50,000 words, no big deal right? Here is my profile page if you would like to be my writing buddy there at the NaNoWriMo headquarters.Anybody want to talk the plunge with me?

After a week or so of deliberation I have decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month in November. Inspired by StrugglingWriter who is also participating and swung in no small way by the involvement of a certain fantasy writer I occasionally blog about. The idea is simple, the best ones usually are, you have one month - November - to write a full first draft of no less than 50,000 words by midnight of 30th November in whatever time-zone you’re located. As I have a bit of time off work that month as well as two long flights I thought I’d give it a go. This of course also puts pressure on me to finish Priest as soon as possible. Another good thing. And of course I also need to get G to read “This hard land” in a bid to help me decide if I can do anything with that particular turkey. So that will be me, in November, drinking far too much coffee and pounding away at my keyboard - no change there then. I think I have an idea lined up…I hope I have

I'm stuck on about 6500 words. I'm supposed to be at around 25000 tonight. Needless to say I'm behind. I'm down, but not out. As they say in sports, it's still mathematically possible. But it doesn't look good...

Where I am: 5801 words Where I should be (by midnight tonight): 10000 words Wow, what a crazy week it's been. But I can already see why people do this. If there's a 10K in town, people come out in droves, even though 99.9% of them know that they will not be competing for first place. In many races I've been involved in, the winner has already finished the race before many have even crossed the starting line. With absolutely no chance of winning, why do people still participate? To reach a personal goal, to brag to their friends that they did it, and for the unexpected rewards you get from being a part of something bigger than yourself. While this all makes perfect sense in the world of athletics, it has not translated to the arts. I think most everyone deep down has a desire to paint or sew or write. But for whatever reason, we feel like it's something best left to the "pros", whoever that is. And when those of us who are blessed (or stubborn!) enough follow through and

No, this isn't some warmed over Mork from Ork saying. This is one of the more ridiculous and interesting creative endeavors you could ever embark on. And when I say "ridiculous", I don't mean "bizarre" (although this is a bit out there). I mean you will invite the ridicule of your friends and close relations. And guess what? I'm seriously considering it. What exactly is "it"? It's National Novel Writing Month, of course. And what is National Novel Writing Month, you ask? Well, you sign up at their website, then you write a 175 page (50,000 word) novel during the month of November. You have exactly that long to complete it. Besides an exercise in masochism (non-sexual, I can assure you!) of the extreme sort, this could be a good way to overcome writer's block and crank out that "crappy first draft" so many of those creativity experts go on and on about. I think in the case of my non-writing, internal editing, Gemini self, it could be the only way you would ever see me c

Happy Friday all! My condolences to those of you living in the Buffalo area. But hey, maybe if you're home for a snow day you'll be able to get some writing done! Although I suppose it will have to be with pen and paper with no power! Eric has a great pre-NaNoWriMo post over at Quantum Storytelling: "Cooking Up Some Creative Constraints.” Angela Booth also has some NaNoWriMo QuickStart posts to help participants get ready. Check "em out here. I have entered NaNoWriMo this year - my first time. My user name is Nienke. Who else is going for it this year?

Last year, probably around this time, a couple of sentences popped into my head, and I knew that these would form the opening lines of my first attempt at National Novel Writing Month. The sentences were as follows:Angelique was thin in a way that resembled tall. Her husband, Laszlo, was short in a way that resembled broad.I had no title in mind, nor did I have a premise. All I had was two sentences. I was confident that they constituted a fine start. True to the spirit of the exercise, I did not commit those sentences to paper (nor did I type them into a computer, nor did I utter them aloud) until November 1. And that's where my journey began.I am plagued by a terrible memory, and so I knew that there was a high likelihood that by the time November 1 rolled around, I might well forget those sentences. They might be superseded by something better (or by something worse). Or I might just start NaNoWriMo with a blank mind, having to manufacture a whole new start when November began.But

CONGRATULATIONS to those who made 50k during November! You ROCK!I didn't make the finish line for NaNoWriMo. However, it was very successful for me and I've learned much.Here are some of the things I've learned:1. Any writing is better than no writing.2. I can find time to write.3. I get gut rot from too much coffee.4. Writing 50,000 words in one month is hard!5. Once I get into the groove of my story, and I write regularly, the story stays with me and I think about it all the time.6. First drafts can, and usually do, suck.7. You can't rewrite or improve a blank page.8. It's fun to watch word count go up.9. (one I already knew) The online writing community is very supportive. Thank you - you know who you are.10. Hey, maybe I CAN write a book!!What have you learned?

I came across an interesting journal of one persons account of the national novel writing month or nanowrimo. The object is to write a novel no matter how haphazardly in one month (it starts in november this year). The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. The nanowrimo website states that:'Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.'It does appeal to me.... but i just don't think i'll have time in November, i'll have just started an intensive masters course in biological surveying... not the ideal time to write a novel, but there's always next year.Anyway, if anyone wants to read the account of writing a nanowrimo novel it's here.