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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 9, 2007 0:44:18 GMT -5
Hello, Major Jellybean. Are you receiving? Turn the thrusters on. We're standing by. There's no reply.  Okay, major tomfoolery aside, I officially hit the 1/4 mark... woot! But God, today and yesterday were just excruciating. It's funny how one scene can make you doubt and hate your entire premise, isn't it? At least I'm looking forward to the next scene; hopefully it'll come a lot easier than this one did. Are you guys going back and rereading any of what you wrote? I can't, because then I'll start to edit and all will be lost. But it's a pain... I've already forgotten my main character's last name twice. I'll be happy when the halfway mark is past. -D |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 10, 2007 22:52:51 GMT -5
Actually, the hardest part of posting an excerpt was that fact that I ended up skimming over the passage. That was all it took for the nagging voice in my head to start acting up. It took everything in me to post my excerpt without editing it.
Today, I'm pretty much playing catch-up. Yesterday was the first day of the month that I didn't write the necessary 1,666 words. I just didn't have it in me. I've managed to get about 2,000 words down so far without any real difficulty, so hopefully I can get back on track tonight with minimal hair-pulling-out-age.
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 11, 2007 2:00:40 GMT -5
1/3 of the way through! They were right about week 2, but having a scene I really wanted to write is helping. Sweet!
In terms of pitfalls, have you ever had a character who spontaneously starts talking with a British accent after the first few conversations? I'm going to have to add in something about him spending years living in London just to account for it. Whoops.
-D
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 11, 2007 21:55:23 GMT -5
Do any of you guys worry that your story isn't original enough? I know that when I'm done with mine, the enormity of it will no doubt make my novel its absolute own, but along, the way, I've had small arguments with myself about what to include, the argument being that something may be too much like something else. So far, I have compared certain elements of my novel (including what I've written so far and what I plan to write) to the following:
- the Song of Ice and Fire series
- the Most Dangerous Game (which I mentioned when I posted my excerpt), and
- the Little Shop of Horrors
Anyone else have similar issues?
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Post by Head Mutant on Nov 11, 2007 23:36:17 GMT -5
It's gonna suck. Don't compare. That's not the point.
The point is to write fast, write without burdening yourself with trying (in vain) to make it as great of a novel as [name of your favorite epic here]. When you're writing this fast, it's guaranteed not to be polished or even cohesive -- it's guaranteed to get you to pump out the words to actually finish the thing.
Afterwards, you can (and should) go back and rewrite it. Pick out the good parts and dispose of the rest. But any writer will tell you that a first draft is mostly garbage, so just don't fret about it. Knowing that it will suck gives you a special freedom to just not worry about polish and perfection.
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Post by pfrsue on Nov 12, 2007 9:16:02 GMT -5
Yep, J.'s right. It's all about the word count, baby. This is not the time to analyze your work. This is the time to write. When all is said and done, wait a month, then go back and read it over. You'll find a lot of old tires and rotten banana peels, but you'll also find at least a few diamonds. Just keep writing.
And Drew? My protagonist decided that he's fluent in seven languages. Uhm... I'm not. So anyone who knows conversational Norwegian, please contact me.
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Post by Head Mutant on Nov 12, 2007 10:40:15 GMT -5
Mønti Pythøn ik den Hølie Gräilen
Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?
See the løveli lakes
The wøndërful telephøne system
And mäni interesting furry animals
Including the majestik møøse
A Møøse once bit my sister...
No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst Nordfink"...
Oh wait... that's Swedish.
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Post by pfrsue on Nov 12, 2007 11:36:25 GMT -5
I fart in your general direction.
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 12, 2007 14:53:50 GMT -5
Do any of you guys worry that your story isn't original enough? I know that when I'm done with mine, the enormity of it will no doubt make my novel its absolute own, but along, the way, I've had small arguments with myself about what to include, the argument being that something may be too much like something else. So far, I have compared certain elements of my novel (including what I've written so far and what I plan to write) to the following: - the Song of Ice and Fire series - the Most Dangerous Game (which I mentioned when I posted my excerpt), and - the Little Shop of Horrors Anyone else have similar issues? A bit, yeah. I'm pretty confident there's no major, direct ripoffs or anything, but there are some thematic similarities between one of my main characters and a comic book character I'm fond of. I also started rereading one of my favorite books at the beginning of the month in hopes it'd inspire me, but I had to stop because I was getting worried I'd start unconsciously borrowing jokes or even plot elements from it. Don't want that. Afterwards, you can (and should) go back and rewrite it. Pick out the good parts and dispose of the rest. But any writer will tell you that a first draft is mostly garbage, so just don't fret about it. Knowing that it will suck gives you a special freedom to just not worry about polish and perfection. True. I keep reminding myself to heed the words of Anne Lamott: [Crappy] first drafts. (Warning: mildly offensive language) And Drew? My protagonist decided that he's fluent in seven languages. Uhm... I'm not. So anyone who knows conversational Norwegian, please contact me. What a coincidence, one of my characters is a multi-linguist too. I can handle the French and my wife can maybe advise me in the Spanish, but I'm going to have to go to my sister-in-law for some Japanese and Chinese translation. Sadly, the whole of my knowledge of Norwegian consists of "lutefisk." I could probably pull off a convincing Viking war cry, but beyond that you're on your own. -D |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 15, 2007 0:32:23 GMT -5
Mønti Pythøn ik den Hølie Gräilen Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër? See the løveli lakes The wøndërful telephøne system And mäni interesting furry animals Including the majestik møøse A Møøse once bit my sister... No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst Nordfink"... Oh wait... that's Swedish. Haha I just noticed this post. So many "o"s with lines through them...that's dedication, dude. Anyway, one thing that I really like about my novel and my writing (especially compared to last year) is how much I've been able to write. My whole novel so far has been dedicated to establishing characters and the lay of the land, and there's a whole lot more of that that I want to get down. The main catalyst for the rest of the story is a long way off, and I have so many ideas for that part of the novel. I can definitely see this as being well over 50k words. And this is even more remarkable when you consider that my last day of writing last November was like pulling teeth, straining to fill up the word count. Hooray for improvement!  |
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Post by pfrsue on Nov 15, 2007 8:23:59 GMT -5
Way to go, Oogie! It's great to be so far along and not running out of things to write about. I'm actually starting to have to reach a little bit, but the ideas are still coming--even if a little more slowly--so I think I'll be okay on plot. I tried to hit it really hard over the past few days, but not with the success I hoped for. What I did manage to do is completely throw my neck out of whack. I don't know if it happened raking and bagging leaves the other day or just too much hunching over the keyboard. Probably a little of both. (Note to self: Chop down trees in back yard before next November.) It's very distracting though, and it really hurts! Yesterday, I did most of my writing into a spiral bound notebook while lying down with a hot pack. I only sat at the computer long enough to type in my notes, and even that was too much. Today, it doesn't feel any better, but the computer set up here at work is a little more comfortable. I'm sure the boss won't mind if I ignore the customers so I can work on my NaNoWriMo manuscript, right?  I'm really hoping this is just a minor glitch and isn't going to slow me down too much. I do NOT want to have to write the last half of this thing by hand. (The smell of linament is nice though and clears my sinuses beautifully.) Okay, enough whining. Back to work. Sue |
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 15, 2007 18:29:04 GMT -5
Ouch...that sucks, Sue. Get better! Then again, it's not like you can't afford to not write for a day or two. You're so friggin' ahead!  |
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 15, 2007 22:24:53 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that, Sue! But on the plus side, like Oogie said, at least you gave yourself some lead time.
In cheerier news- sweet, halfway through! And, wonder of wonder, I'm veeery slightly ahead of the game. Still want to get further ahead (I don't foresee Thanksgiving being conducive to getting any writing done), but it's better than I expected. One of these days I'll have to post a sample, but I'm afraid to go back and reread anything. Very, very afraid.
Oh well, giving myself a night off to get some sleep, so that's all for me tonight. Keep it up, guys!
-D
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Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 17, 2007 0:53:54 GMT -5
Hey, if Sue's just going to start making up numbers, I'm not playing anymore.
(Honestly, Sue- telling us about your horrible injury and then running up the score? That's just mean.)
-D
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Nov 17, 2007 11:03:04 GMT -5
Yeah, Sue, you're in no shape to write, what with your neck injury. Just lay down and take a break...a long break... please. |
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