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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 78
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Less than an hour to midnight, I may be a little excited. Massive men's conference this weekend at my work, which I'm attending, going to make getting those first few days in a challenge.
Here we go!
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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Just wrote 1947 words before work. Let's do this!!!
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 78
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only at 516 words this am, wow you're already ahead of the ball!
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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I am trying to stock up on my word count, LOL.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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2100 for day one. Going pretty well. I am, as usual, enjoying working in pen and paper. I think I will resist the temptation to start putting it into the computer until the month is up. I'm hand-counting words as I go. Makes a good time-waster.
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Joined: 10/20/2011
Posts: 350
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I wrote 622 words on the first day. Not bad in my opinion due to work and bowling. We've survived Day One, guys! Woo-hoo!
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 279
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I cranked out 4,119 words on day one while the kids were in school. That's going to have to make up for the 100 words I'll get done today because I have to go cover a show in another state. 
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 78
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Ended the day at 2,450, 50 short of my goal for the day. Got another 975 this morning but doing so in between conference notes. Looks like I'm playing catch up with some of you eager folk!
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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1623 for day two. 3723 in two days, so well on pace. Got kind of stymied over some pesky details so it took me most of the day to decide just to plough on through and worry about it later. Worked out fine, too. A lesson I need constantly to be leaning.
Day three coming up.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
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Someone in my local area has already written 25,300 words. That's both insane and emasculating. Only did a couple hundred today but was expected. Back up to the usual pace tomorrow I hope.
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Joined: 10/9/2013
Posts: 12
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Holy Schamoly! How does anyone crank out that many words that quickly??? I don't know if I should be envious or worried about them?
I have my little motivational mantra posted at my desk "Writing= Lucid Daydreaming". A little over 2200 words in and feeling good. It's 2200 words of escaping into my writing that I normally don't carve out daily.
 I'll just have to move into the slow lane to let the rest of you fast writers zip by me.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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25,000 in three days? I wonder if Jack Nicholson wrote his novel that fast in The Shining?
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 78
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8,500 words a day. his hobbies are listed as simply "video games" heh.
Keep plugging away folks, keep the momentum and ignore all the squigely red and green lines.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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1808 today. 7232 for four days. Coincidentally, that means my daily average is also 1808. This is almost certainly the most I've ever written in a four day span.
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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Atthys--that is awesome to hear you're producing more words in one 4-day period than you ever have.
And Maggie, slow and steady "wins" Nano, too!
Dan--25K already?!?! Does it bring out an edge of competition in you? 
It's all about doing it on your own terms. Let's just keep doing what we're doing! Sounds like we're all already getting a lot about of Nano. So cool!
Lucy
Book Country Community and Engagement Manager
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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Danielle--4K+ words in one day is no joke! You go, girl!
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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As of day six: 10,716
Holding true, averaging just above the all important 1,667. It says something about my character, I think, that I never write much more than I have to meet the deadline. It was the same way with the Summer Writing Club. I just kept plodding along, five or six hundred words a day. I'm a plodder, not a plotter.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
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Sorry Lucy, I only have 12,100 words so far. I will probably have 25,000 by next Tuesday but time will tell. Feeling a lot better so I should be easily able to get a good chunk of words in.
So fun to see what everybody is doing. It's encouraging and helps spur a competitive drive to get more words in.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
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Keep at it Atthys, certainly I know how it feels like it's a grind sometime. Some days are just easier to hit that daily target than others. By mid month you might even find yourself doing more than required!
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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'Preciate the encouragement, DC. In truth, I think I can do 50,000 words in 30 days. It's certainly eating up a lot of time, but it's mostly pretty enjoyable time. I just can't begin to see how some of you manage five or six thousand words in a day. It quite literally sounds like magic.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Currently at 14084. On target. Had an entirely unanticipated scene force itself into the narrative last night. A complete red herring, plot-wise, but it's good to mess with readers now and then. Wrote itself. A thousand words like a knife through butter/margarine blend.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Second half of the day more of a slog. A lot of it involved diary entries from a secondary characters, so I spent quite a while trying to zero in on her voice. Finished Day 9 at about 15,800 words. Still on track. Definitely eating up a lot of my day but I think the pace is forcing me to be more deeply immersed in the workings of the novel. That could be helpful as I work my way toward the beating heart of the thing.
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Joined: 10/9/2013
Posts: 12
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Atthys - I just read about an idea for character development. Describe what your character(s) would have in their pockets (I adapted it a bit, I have mostly women characters, so I substituted purse). It's an interesting way to generate your character's traits...especially the little hidden things that they try to keep secret.
As for Nano, well done. I am in awe of the amount of dedication and creativity that is happening from someone throwing out a challenge. Keep tapping those keys! Each word is one word closer to the goal.
Maggie
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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An interesting experiment, Maggie. Car keys, make-up, the severed finger of her latest victim, spare change... Actually, something like makeup might not occur to me (never wearing it myself). I'll have to remember to notice whether MC is wearing makeup or not next time I see her.
Thanks for the encouragement.
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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@Atthys--your list of MC's pocketed items is horrifying!
Lackluster word count this weekend for me --1418-- but I've managed to fit in 1547 before work and while I ate lunch today, so I am feeling okay about it.
They say NaNo week 2 is a tough one--anyone else feeling that way?
Lucy --edited by Lucy Silag on 11/11/2013, 2:21 PM--
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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You should see what's in her refrigerator.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 78
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Haha I love that MC advice. I should take the time to do the same exercise with my own. I don't think it would be anywhere as interesting as Atthys'.
Not a bad weekend, managed 3500. Another 2500+ today and going strong. Halfway point is only a day away! (21,500 total count now).
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Joined: 10/15/2013
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I am definitely feeling that week 2 is harder, but not because I'm bored of writing. After the beginning when you describe characters or settings and have that first initial drama that begins the story, it's hard to manufacture more tension, plot twists, etc. I am feeling stuck with what I want my characters to do. Should I have someone get injured? Fall in love with someone else? Discover something horrifying? Have an explosion? Or maybe just some naval-gazing, soul searching to give my character depth. Ugh, I hate when I get stuck and don't know where to go. One day I wrote only 700 words or so, and another day I got exactly 444 words, which isn't many but I like that number. I am still ahead of the goal but that only makes me lazier because then I think I can slide since I'm ahead by a few thousand words. I have to force myself to write every single day and not miss at all, or it would just be a downward momentum into giving up. Even if I write 5 words one day, I can check off that day as a day I wrote something.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
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I can relate to what you're saying imawake. The hardest part for me is plotting. I was aware before I began this ridiculous challenge that if I didn't have things mapped out, scene by scene, I'd soon bog down. (Even so, new scenes have presented themselves, others have withered to nothing. There have been many changes.) If you are really stuck, it might benefit you to not concern yourself with word count for a day and spend your time plotting out the rest of the book, scene by scene. The fixes might be easier than you think.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
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I think you might be right, Atthys Gage. I definitely suck at plotting. Like you, I am surprised that scenes do present themselves, but I want this to be a good story, not just something I finished but isn't interesting enough to publish. I think about books like The Hunger Games where I was riveted by the story and it didn't drag at all. Lately I've been listening to The Magician King on audio, and I can't help but feel like the author (Lev Grossman) has trouble with plotting himself. It has a choppiness to it, like maybe he was just manufacturing action to get enough material to make a book, but scenes do not flow together in an entirely cohesive way. There doesn't seem to be any overarching goal for the story. It's unsatisfying. I don't want people to start reading my book and then set it down because nothing drives them to finish it. My problem isn't that I can't think of what to do next. The problem is that there are several different directions I could go, and I can't choose which would be better. I marvel at somebody like J.K. Rowling who can just have a fully formed story come into her head, and then hold onto those wisps of smoke long enough to get it handwritten onto a napkin, for God's sake. I can be typing madly away and be in the middle of a sentence and then go blank. I want my future self to come to me and tell me what I wrote so I can stop struggling with it right now. And then also tell me the good news that I made a gazillion dollars on the movie rights!
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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There's a lot of emphasis on plot these days, and obviously a strong, active plot with lots of forward momentum is preferable to a lame plot that doesn't go anywhere. But there have been great writers for whom plot was secondary to the writing itself. Nabokov isn't exactly famous for memorable story lines (though he certainly had some), but his characters are unforgettable, and he was one of the great stylists of all time. Raymond Chandler's plots had holes you could've driven a '42 Packard through, but it just didn't matter because the writing was so compelling. So, yeah, get your ducks in a row, but it's the writing itself that matters. In narrative prose, the primary job of any sentence is to get the reader to read the next sentence. A great plot told in leaden, clumsy sentences isn't going to keep anyone reading.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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1710 today. It was a tough slog. Just past the 21,000 word mark on day 13. Okay. Holding the line but just barely. That translates into roughly 90 pages at an average of 240 words per page. At this rate I will hit 50 K on November 29th. One day to spare.
Sometimes, I like numbers better than words.
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Joined: 10/9/2013
Posts: 12
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I think I may have to start counting the words I write on paper, too. So far, I've been only counting the ones that make it to the jump-drive. I thought my competitive days were over, but sigh...I guess not as much as I had hoped.
It sounds like some of us are having some writing blues. Maybe it's time for some good old fashioned bribery. Tomorrow, it will be two weeks of tapping the keys for all of us. It's time to treat ourselves, don't you think? What's going to be your treat of choice?
Mine = Milano Candy Cane Cookies (if you haven't had them yet, they are heaven in a bag), a good Merlot, and some 'good for what ails ya' canoodling with my hubby.
M.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 62
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Yesterday I did exactly 1,667 and I had to force each word. I just couldn't flow for some reason. Not doing much better today, sadly.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 62
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Hi Maggie, your reward for writing for 2 weeks sounds perfect: sweets, alcohol, and sex. All I gave myself was a box of Raisinets. It was a 2-portion box and I downed the whole thing in 5 seconds, then felt sick for the next hour. I think I'm in the middle of serious self-pity. I am trying to plot my scenes chapter by chapter now, but it isn't my usual way of writing and I'm just stalled. I'll be lucky if I get my word quota done by midnight. Whine.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 78
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Yeah I know the feeling. Today was a bit of a slog and yestarday didn't happen. Thankfully got lots of buffer built up and tomorrow morning is going to be blitztastic.
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Joined: 10/9/2013
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Hahahaha- The Raisinette story is priceless...sorry about laughing AT you and your expense. But it was hysterical! I could picture the whole thing!
I've officially joined the slogfest. The words are coming like this.
I'm picturing my slogfest like the Tough Mudder of the running world. But the Tough Mudder is at least a little fun. You get to actually roll around in real mud, rather than just getting metaphorically stuck in it.
Slog or not, I'm still treating myself tonight. It just might unjam my jamminess...once can hope.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 62
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I've never heard of the Tough Mudder but it sounds cathartic. The only mud I'm rolling around in now is metaphorical. I don't mind you laughing at me since I have been kind of pathetic the past few days with my writing. I don't get to see my boyfriend until Sunday, since I'm house sitting for friends 2 hours away from home at the moment. Maybe that's when I'll be able to unjam my jamminess.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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I don't think I've logged in the last few days. I'm still on track. Barely. Yesterday was a long haul, but I think I may have worked through a sticky plot point. I'm not even trying to get ahead anymore. I'm just doggedly trying to hit 1667 and if I've still got some gas in the tank, I'm working ahead, trying to get the plot clearer. I'm pretty hopeful about the novel, but the plain damn fact is that it takes time and effort and I'm weary and sad for other reasons that have nothing to do with the writing. I fear that personal problems may force me to refocus my efforts for a while. I'm trying to use writing as a reason NOT to get bogged down in the latest family drama. Hope? Not so much. But in life, as in writing, sometimes just showing up can be the hardest part.
Good luck, all. Now I have to go to the dentist. Maybe I can get a page done while I'm waiting.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 62
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Hey A Gage,
Hang in there! I know how you feel. Personal problems really suck the creative juices away, don't they? I think my relationship is hanging by a thread and I might be forced to leave Florida and move back to Illinois where my family is. Breaking up is hard enough, but moving back to Illinois in WINTER is the worst thing ever. And more than my sadness at maybe losing a relationship, a relationship that really hasn't been working for months anyway, is that I kept thinking that I wouldn't be able to write my 1,667 words for the 2 days it would take me to drive across country. That is when I realized I was insane, because my word count should not the thing bothering me. I hope you get your situation sorted out, especially during the holidays. Either way, I'm behind you in spirit.
Isabell
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Thanks, Isabel. My thoughts are with you as well. I'm afraid that my situation may take years to really resolve itself. Obviously, I can't just wait for it to get better. I have to learn to deal with it on a day by day basis. But yes, it does suck my attention away from writing, and sucks the life out of me in general.
I really don't want to lose my momentum. I feel like the writing itself is going pretty well, but it's not easy to focus when your head keeps getting spun around. Ugh. I hope your situation improves, and if you do have to drive cross country, maybe you can get some sort of voice recorder. At least you could take some notes, maybe hash out some plot snares.
Either way, good luck.
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Joined: 10/9/2013
Posts: 12
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Atthys Gage,
I am very sorry. Sending good vibes your way. Lord knows we all need them time and time again. My Nano month has been speckled by some downs. Being a mom with two kiddos on the spectrum, we have such moments on a fairly consistent and sometimes cyclical basis. Fall being one of them. Falling into Fall isn't the easiest on my youngest. And when it aint easy on him, it aint easy on any of us. But we hang in there and keep at it.
In times of hardness, my aunt has the best saying, "There are far better people than me, that have it far worse." She's right. She gave me this advice years ago. It was her loving version of a swift- but loving- kick in the ass. Not to kick you in your keester. Heck, I don't even know you. But, I thought the saying might help a little during those tougher times of life.
Maggie
Ps- And now you all know why my Nano word accumulation is on the smallish side.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Doldrums. Becalmed. Two slow days – 1258 yesterday, 900 (so far) today. Hoping to up that a bit this evening. But at day fifteen I have passed 25,000 words, so i'm trying to cut myself some slack. It is getting harder, not because of the material but because I've got bad attitude. Hoping I can turn that around because I have got no safety margin any more.
Cheers. Hope you are all happy with what you're doing.
Atthys
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 62
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I have the same problem. I did 300 words yesterday, and 200 the day before (I think). I found myself stuck and was forced to go back and fix a major plot problem from the very beginning of my story. I can't move forward and add more words until I fix all these holes. It's a pain and will ruin the amount of words I can do today too. I am at 29,000, so I'm a little ahead of par, but losing my edge. If I let myself get below par I know I'll start to panic. I've started gorging on chocolate. A sure sign that I'm stressed.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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1,648 for the day. 28,832 for the month. On track but no room for slacking. It was a pretty good day working on a difficult, tent-pole scene. I thought it would take four or five pages max, but I think it's going to be twice that long. At any rate, I think I've cleared the doldrums. I'm definitely moving forward.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Above average day: 1,724 words. Feeling pretty good about it. I think this novel will be a little shorter than what I first imagined, maybe not much more than 50,000 (I'm determined that it be at least 50 K. I think the story deserves at least that much.) Anyway, 13 days to go, 1500 words per day. Today, I'm sure I can do it. Tomorrow, who knows?
Any one else out there?
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 62
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I'm proud of you for soldiering on even though you didn't feel like it. Your word count is excellent! I haven't made par for the last week, but I finally fixed some problems with my story and hopefully will get my count back up. This story feels shorter than what I usually write too, but I want it to be longer than 50K. I guess we'll see.
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Joined: 6/7/2011
Posts: 467
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Thanks. I did 1790 yesterday, so I'm cruising pretty good, but I have to admit, I'm having some trepidation about one of the plot turns at the end, credibility-wise, and I've spent all morning trying to decide whether to have something else happen instead, or stick with the original and see if I can make it more credible by some wordish wizardry. So this may not be a productive day count-wise. Probably I should just keep soldiering forth and not worry about it (after all, people make odd choices all the time. The trick is selling the emotional impetus behind the action.) Anyway, plots are overrated.
As far as the accomplishment of writing 50 k words in a month, it's actually helping me, I think, keeping me a little distracted from things I don't want to think about and can't do anything about anyway.
Today I get into a scene between protag and her love interest, which should actually be kind of charming and sweet and fun to write (I'm a sucker for urbane dialogue). The last light scene before the book veers into madness and gloom. Heh, heh, heh.
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 62
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I just wrote a sweet, light scene myself that will now dissolve into doom and gloom and general mayhem. Oh, how I love being the puppet master of my characters; BwahahaHAA!
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Joined: 10/15/2013
Posts: 78
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This is proving a far more difficult task this time around than it did before. I started off great but am barely keeping par now. Its dialogue. I can crunch out blocks of text no problem but dialogue just takes so much time! Grr, chatty bunch of people.
Only got 1200 in today but it was enough to get me to 33,358 which is slightly above par. Here's hoping for a productive tomorrow.
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