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Post by pfrsue on Nov 3, 2007 20:29:29 GMT -5
*ahem* Last time I add YOU as a friend, missie. Oh, and I'm supposed to go back and re-read every post in a thread to see if anyone edited anything? Hmmm? Bah, I'm too old for that. However,"missie" might have been the nicest thing you've ever said to me! ;D Seriously though, I'll add you to my friends' list tomorrow, Drew. I don't know about the rest of ya'll, but it takes forever to download during peak hours. And thanks for the suggestions, guys. Food for thought. One of those might actually work! |
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 3, 2007 20:33:27 GMT -5
Oh, and I'm supposed to go back and re-read every post in a thread to see if anyone edited anything? Hmmm? Bah, I'm too old for that. Oh, see I just assumed it worked both ways- once I added you as a friend, I'd pop up as a friend on your account automatically. That's interesting that it doesn't work that way. And yeah, it's definitely been slow as anything trying to connect to the site... I haven't been able to access it at all for the last couple of hours. -D |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 3, 2007 21:21:45 GMT -5
I've been trying to get onto the site too. Trying and failing. I need to update my word count!  |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 4, 2007 18:53:24 GMT -5
Sue, I enjoyed reading your novel excerpt. Well done!  I'll post an excerpt...eventually... |
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Post by pfrsue on Nov 4, 2007 22:04:00 GMT -5
Sue, I enjoyed reading your novel excerpt. Well done! I'll post an excerpt...eventually... Hey thanks, man! It's really rough, and I'm about to jinx myself, but I'm really liking the plot that's starting to develop. I put it under the romance genre heading, but it's probably crossover fantasy or maybe mainstream fiction. Hard to say. Looking forward to seeing your excerpt! Sue |
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 5, 2007 1:04:40 GMT -5
So how has the going been for you guys so far? I'm off to bed after having just topped 6,000 words... I'll admit that it's been hard to keep a rhythm going, I keep starting and stopping. (On the plus side, I beat the two video games I've been playing, so that's two distractions out of the way.) I know I'm about 600 or so words under where I should be for this point in time, but right now I'll take it. From a couple of veterans like yourselves- do you find it gets easier as time goes on, or harder to keep cranking them out?
-D
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Post by Head Mutant on Nov 5, 2007 9:56:38 GMT -5
From last year and the experiences of what I read on the forums there, the first week is relatively easy compared to week two. Two is the stickler -- you're past the initial rush of the idea, and still have a long way to go.
It was very cool to feel yourself getting into the groove after a few weeks, tho, to the point where it wasn't as initimidating to pump out those 1667 words each day. My problem was always trying to think of the next step in the plot without it all collapsing.
Good luck guys! Wish I could be doing it with ya!
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Post by pfrsue on Nov 5, 2007 10:49:12 GMT -5
Yep, J. is absolutely correct. Last year, Chris Baty (the NaNo Honcho) sent out an email imploring everyone not to bail out during week two, because that's when EVERYONE gets stuck. He was right. By day 15, I hated what I was writing and I couldn't see a way forward. You get your second wind at week three though. It all gets better.
My disadvantage this year is that I'm (once again-*sigh*) stupidly digging myself into a historical well for my back story. This means that I'm having to run to Wiki a lot for dates and places and I just know it's going to bite me in the caboose when all is said and done and I need to verify facts and continuity. (Can't take the time to do that now though.) I've also had to interview the County Sheriff here for some information on departmental policy and procedure and radio vernacular. (*waves to the sheriff's wife. I know she lurks here!*) If I'd had a plot in advance, I could have researched in advance...but I didn't.
For the moment, I'm really loving my plot. I seem to get sucked into dialogue a lot, which is a failing of mine, but the story should get me out to 50k and hopefully beyond on the word count. Having done it last year, I know it can be done, and I know exactly what 50k looks like in a complete project, which gives me some context for knowing what scenes can go where and how long I've got to get from point A to B to C. That's an advantage that you new Wrimos don't have. Yet.
The best advice I can give at this juncture is to try very hard to go beyond the 1667 words a day, because you might very well run into a roadblock or even have a day when you don't have the time to sit down and write. You're much better off to be ahead of the pace than behind it. (Having said that, my word count is going to look a little crappy because I accidentally forgot to email myself a big chunk of text I did at work, and I'll have to wait a day or two before I add it now.)
Keep writing guys! Never give up! Never surrender!
Sue
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 5, 2007 16:09:32 GMT -5
Plot? Heh. Heh heh. Whatever you say, Novel Nazis. Meanwhile- holy eff, Sue. Productive day much?  -D |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 5, 2007 16:34:53 GMT -5
Meanwhile- holy eff, Sue. Productive day much? No kidding. My theory is that she's a writing robot of some sort. And I agree with trying to do more than 1667 words a day. Not just because it can give you a day off later on down the road, but also because it helps me get more comfortable with writing. Being even a little ahead in terms of word count makes it feel like you don't have to write as much to stay on track, so there's less pressure, which helps me write even more, because it doesn't take as long to reach the point where you aren't writing just to get your word count to where it should be, and you're just writing cause you have the ideas and you want to get them down. (EDIT: wow, that's a long sentence!  ) If that makes sense. If it doesn't, then just chalk it up to me wasting all my eloquence on my novel. |
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Post by pfrsue on Nov 5, 2007 17:51:48 GMT -5
Plot? Heh. Heh heh. Whatever you say, Novel Nazis. Well, I guess it's not completely mandatory, but I've found it helps if you have one. Eh, I drove out to work and retrieved what I had there. It wasn't all written today. I'm still anticipating hitting the wall spectacularly within the next week, so I'm getting everything down that I can, as fast as I can. Besides, I had a day off today. You're right Oogie. If you get ahead of the game, you do feel a lot less pressure and it's easier to actually enjoy what you're doing, as opposed to obsessing over what you haven't done. |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 5, 2007 19:46:44 GMT -5
Ok, I posted an excerpt. Keep in mind that in its proper context, it's not as derivative as it seems. (The Most Dangerous Game was the first thing that came to mind when I read it on its own.)
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 6, 2007 23:54:11 GMT -5
Hooray, I just broke 10,000!
Today was actually my toughest writing day. Not that I was short of ideas, but I just couldn't get myself to write. It could be that second week slump everyone talks about, but I have a feeling it was because this was the first day in a long time where I didn't read anything at all. I've been making an effort to read as much as I can, in the hopes that some of the talent will rub off on me when I write.
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Post by pfrsue on Nov 7, 2007 12:55:05 GMT -5
Hooray, I just broke 10,000! Congrats!!! I read your excerpt and I really like it, Oogie. It's an excellent opening with a good hook. Always a good thing when the reader wants to know what happens next, and I certainly do. (How about the rest of ya'll? Going to give us a sneak peek or what?) Did any of you guys read the pep talk email that just came out? I like the idea of writing ten words and then seeing if anything builds off of them. Anyone can do ten words, right? As expected, I'm a little stoppered up today too with the creativity. This is the time when I just need to start gutting it out, I guess. Oh well. |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 8, 2007 22:38:23 GMT -5
I'm glad you liked it, Sue!  And I'm curious about what everyone else is writing too. Especially Ms. Jellybean...she kinda disappeared, didn't she? Ground Control to Major Jellybean, your circuit's dead, there's something wrong. Can you hear me, Major Jellybean...? |
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And I'm curious about what everyone else is writing too. Especially Ms. Jellybean...she kinda disappeared, didn't she?