Some brief thoughts on why I think NaNoWriMo is terrific. The pretty lady in the article photo is not me, btw; she's Lani Diane Rich. I am not that pretty (and thanks, Kathleen.)
I also like that everyone who jumps in has to (sort of) live my writing life for a month. I get a lot more sympathy from people at the end of November every year.
Honestly, I just appreciate that people are writing novels, and talking about novels, and having fun trying to write novels all under the same banner: just because we can. That's the only thing that got me here, folks. Well, that and a skull like concrete.
My wordcount for the month of November to date is at this moment: 34,052. How are you NaNo'ers doing?
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34K words? That's bloody amazing! I'm at 7377, but I'm writing only a bit more than the minimum per day.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of myself for one thing: so far, no padding . . . although that battle between my chopstick-wielding protag and the creature in the sink didn't have to be all that long.
Wow! that's a haul on words. Right now I'm not doing nearly as well as I'd like to be, but when preparing to graduate sometimes homewrok has to come before writing. Now if only I could actually sit down and do my HW.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I'm currently hovering around the 3000 word mark, but I have a whole weekend ahead of me. And I'm stuck on dial up so the internet won't be a distraction.
7563 words, but I have a full time job AND a software business I run in the evenings. Nano means I can put non-essentials on the back burner for a month, but I couldn't do that 12 months a year without getting rid of something else - and I can't get rid of something else without enough income from writing. (I'm the only earner in my family, and we have two school age kids.)
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, we're selling the firm I work for and I'm planning to take at least 12 months off afterwards to see whether I can write two more Hal novels and make ends meet at the same time.
Wow...ok...I need to try harder. LOL
ReplyDeleteThis is my first NaNo but I'm at about 4k. If we could count all the words I've done on the stuff NaNo says is a no no I'd be up there. Suffice it to say that today and yesterday I finished setting up the full plot so I know exactly where I'm going!
Oh well at least I'm writing right?
This is my second year in NaNo. I'm at 7216 tonight. Not bad so far. Last year my hubby and friends talked me into it to distract me from my broken leg. This year? No broken leg - but lots of determination. I like my first novel so much, I'm trying to work it up to 100k; and even though it's only 7200 words young so far, I'm liking my second one, too. Very different type of story this year, though. Good luck to all my fellow NaNo'ers! :-)
ReplyDeleteI am really in owe at 34K. The little Hitler in me always told me that it's possible, but the next day I wrote zilch.
ReplyDeleteThis is my second Nano (shamed to say that on the same novel though) and I am at a measly 7k and struggling for every word. It does not help I've got a new kitten to bother me either.
I've tried a voice recognition software but to no avail. I'd love to hear your tips on how to train/use it best if possible :o).
Best Wishes,
Pencilone
Oh, shame on me to blame it on the kitten!
ReplyDeletePencilone
This cheetah is moving more like a tortoise this month. Maybe it will get better.
ReplyDeleteYou're off to a good start. Zette, as usual, has me picking up my jaw.
I've got 15k. It's certainly not 34k, but I'm writing faster - and more easily - than I have in my previous two Nanos, so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteYour word count amazes me. Also, that you can write that much that quickly and have it not suck. (I finished If Angels Burn yesterday... definitely didn't suck. Far from it. Now I must order the sequel.)
Wow, you're doing well, and so is everyone else who commented. Guys, you gotta remember, progress is progress. You can only do as much as you can do. One thing I've learned the hard way is you can't beat yourself up for your own wordcounts. Everyone is different and has different circumstances.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have been doing very well, better than any previous years. I think it's b/c one, I really love my story, and two, I found another time of day that works better all around (lunch at work) and I just discovered this three days ago. I've been writing seriously for almost 4 years and I never once considered it until circumstances forced me to find alternate times to write (second job, doctor's appts, commitments etc). So I'm almost to 9k and I'm just in awe of that. The two years before, one I got 50k 2 days early, which WAS great, and last year I couldn't fully participate due to another commitment but I was geeked about my 31k total. So, just focus on your own work and try not to compare yourself to others.
Really, you're all doing wonderfully. :)
Cheers,
EK
Okay, I'll 'fess up. I'm with you PBW. I have, so far, 34540 and I'll raise you a full time job. As for sleep? Well, who needs it?
ReplyDeleteAlright. I write between four and five k after work, then go for broke and do 10k on each day of the weekend. That's how you get a novel.
Oh, and having a spread sheet so you can watch your total grow, and the NaNo total shrink.
Warm fuzzies all round. I need to be at 40k by the end of the day, so I'll just get back to it.
I just thought about what I'd written and you have my heart-felt apologies, PBW.
ReplyDeleteA family is a full time job, and it was wrong of me to suggest otherwise.
Just thought I'd say so. Now, I'll go and stick my head in a bucket of water until my good sense returns.
No worries, Jaye. I used to balance writing with a day job, too, and I know how frustrating it is. True, being a mom and homemaker is full time work, but I don't run the risk of getting fired if I take a nap on the job, and my coworkers are adorable. :)
ReplyDeleteI've done NaNo. I'm not doing it this year because it's not the best way for me to write the current WIP. However, I'm right in there cheering on all the people I know who are NaNoing this month. Which is the point of this comment--GO! GO! GO! and stop reading weblogs and WRITE!! ;)
ReplyDeleteLinda
16005 as of last night, day 5 of NaNo. And here I thought I was doing so well. But it makes sense. I seem to be cranking out about 3000 words in 1.5 hours each day. Yesterday was a bit more because I did 2 pieces with a long break for family between. I'm just getting a feel for if I can do this with a family in tow in the future and the novel I'm writing is one that is really feuling me. I spent 9 months researching and planning it, writing character bios and outlines. Now it is pretty much just flowing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, NaNo is giving me a great idea of other things I would need to develop as a writer.
This is such a great exercise.
NaNo Newbie here.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting at 5177, but with a whole day in front of me and DVD's to entertain the kids, I'm hopeful.
Not that it really matters. I'm WRITING!!! And I'm WRITING WHAT I WANT TO WRITE (doesn't happen in a Creative Writing MA program very often--especially when they want Literary Fiction). My goal this month is to write every friggin day, come hell or high water, for at LEAST two hours. If I only have 30K at the end of the month, I've won.
Though the certificate and icon would be nice ...
Last year I did 93K for the NaNo month. This year I was going to shoot for 100K, but I also want to get my sailboat in the water before winter actually arrives here in NOLA so I'm spending a large amount of time on that. That means I've hardly broken 21K and it's already the 6th. Maybe after I get the interior painting done, I can hit the keyboard seriously.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing pretty good...my goal is 2K words a day, and I've been almost doubling that on some days, which is good, because there are days coming up where I won't be able to write at all.
ReplyDeleteSo yay! And congrats on your awesome word count!!!
Congrats on your progress so far. I haven't done a word count, per se, but I am at page 23. I guess that's decent for five days of work. :-)
ReplyDeletefs