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NaNoWriMo 2012
- Thread starter Phoenixsong
- Start date
Lorem Ipsum
Member
- Pronoun
- x
Kaithepokemontrainer
New member
I had a great idea for this and I'm going to do it(and possibly post the finished novel here). The story follows a 12 year old girl named Jennifer Rose
who takes her grandmother's golden heart shaped locket and discovers it gives the wearer the ability to go back in time. I would go into more detail but that would spoil everything.
who takes her grandmother's golden heart shaped locket and discovers it gives the wearer the ability to go back in time. I would go into more detail but that would spoil everything.
Minish
*
- Pronoun
- they
laughs harder my official word count is a thousand
Sandstone-Shadow
A chickadee in love with the sky
- Pronoun
- she/her
Finally got started on my NaNo project! (What else was I going to do, stuck in a three and a half hour line waiting to vote...) I'm about 2000 words in, which is a nice start for one day, but I'm about six days behind.
I'm feeling optimistic, though. According to the stats page (I love these stat pages so much!) I can finish on time if I write 2000 words a day. It might not happen every day, but I know that it's doable.
I really want to win this year (mostly I just really want to see my story finished). I'm having difficulty balancing my time, though; important things are happening in my classes and I can't afford to let them slip up so I have more time to write... does anyone have any tips for managing time during NaNo?
I'm feeling optimistic, though. According to the stats page (I love these stat pages so much!) I can finish on time if I write 2000 words a day. It might not happen every day, but I know that it's doable.
I really want to win this year (mostly I just really want to see my story finished). I'm having difficulty balancing my time, though; important things are happening in my classes and I can't afford to let them slip up so I have more time to write... does anyone have any tips for managing time during NaNo?
Equinoxe
has a BONE to pick with you
I'm surprised that I'm actually a bunch of words ahead and still churning out more! It's magical how the plot develops almost on its own: I'm constantly going 'Oh wow if I write it like this, then everything makes perfect sense' because my brain keeps coming up with good ways to make the whole thing more coherent.
I have a good feeling about this yes, though I can't help but wonder when I'll run into that inevitable 'I CAN'T GO ON ANYMORE' angstblock?
(hoping: never, expecting: next week)
Last night I wrote a sentence explaining how the main character sat on top of a pile of wooden planks. I started the next sentence with the name of the other character, but managed to typo it so that it turned into 'plank' instead (note: I'm writing in Finnish: lauta=plank, the other character's called Laura)
I chuckled a bit, so I thought I might share? I'm too easily amused.
Have any of you run into interesting typos while re-reading what you've written?
I have a good feeling about this yes, though I can't help but wonder when I'll run into that inevitable 'I CAN'T GO ON ANYMORE' angstblock?
(hoping: never, expecting: next week)
Last night I wrote a sentence explaining how the main character sat on top of a pile of wooden planks. I started the next sentence with the name of the other character, but managed to typo it so that it turned into 'plank' instead (note: I'm writing in Finnish: lauta=plank, the other character's called Laura)
I chuckled a bit, so I thought I might share? I'm too easily amused.
Have any of you run into interesting typos while re-reading what you've written?
Sandstone-Shadow
A chickadee in love with the sky
- Pronoun
- she/her
Instead of, "her heart skipped a beat," I once wrote, "her heart skipped a bear." Ironic because there were bears in the story. =P
PlagueMD
A pitiful chorus of kazoos
More than once I've accidentally referred to a Digimon character as a Pokemon. It's gotten to the point where, when I finish a day's writing, I'll quickly do a Search and Replace for the word "pokemon", just in case.
Equinoxe
has a BONE to pick with you
@ Sandstone-Shadow: now I have a lovely image in my head; that of a heart hopping over a bear. Thank you. :P
@ PlagueMD: maybe you should use a text editor that has autocorrect options; you could have it always edit 'Pokemon' into 'Digimon' :D
And unsurprisingy, I've run into my first problem: I want to draw. I've been drawing all day and gotten a grand total of 107 words written. Gotta stop this now and write like a madman and only then I can get back to photoshoppin' augh
art, why are you doing this to me now instead of one of those 12715 hours on those previous months when I was bored and didn't have anything to do? why
Sometimes it's difficult to live with an artistic brain; I have a love/hate relationship with these sudden inspiration bursts :U
@ PlagueMD: maybe you should use a text editor that has autocorrect options; you could have it always edit 'Pokemon' into 'Digimon' :D
And unsurprisingy, I've run into my first problem: I want to draw. I've been drawing all day and gotten a grand total of 107 words written. Gotta stop this now and write like a madman and only then I can get back to photoshoppin' augh
art, why are you doing this to me now instead of one of those 12715 hours on those previous months when I was bored and didn't have anything to do? why
Sometimes it's difficult to live with an artistic brain; I have a love/hate relationship with these sudden inspiration bursts :U
Hiikaru
Run.
- Pronoun
- he
November 1 - 2032 words
November 2 - 2112 words
November 3 - 2034 words
November 4 - 2165 words
November 5 - 0!!! Quick, catch up!!!!!!!!
November 6 - 3101 words
November 7 - 3569?!!
I'm writing about someone who turns into a dragon. And... that's it. That's my whole plot. I'm having kind of a hard time getting anywhere else with it.
I'm really excited for everyone who's writing! All of you are trying super-hard even if you're behind, and that's really great! Don't forget that you win already, just for trying your best and going past how much you would have written outside of this! Go, go go go!
I'm really proud of myself for keeping up without writing past midnight so far this year, even though I keep starting at like 10:20 pm (okay, I wrote until two minutes past midnight *once*, oh no). I was really excited on the sixth because I was distracted and talking to people and paying attention to the election news and I still managed ~2500 in the two distracty hours! I got even more yesterday with the same amount of time and finished my three thousand goal early.
Anyone else can do that, too! I've been finding it helpful to keep track of how fast I write and racing. I'm trying to start out by doing a timed goal like "quick write a bunch of words before Mom and Dad get back" without worrying too much about the daily goal (or at least not worrying too much is the plan), and then checking how much I wrote. Then it's exciting because I can tangibly say "hey, I wrote this much this fast!!" and I know I can do that again if I try!
Start with a smaller goal to trick yourself into writing. Even if it's "okay, just write one word and then get back to this post" (okay I did that I got eight instead of one), then it helps! The very hardest part is just starting. Make a deal with yourself to sit there and stare at the page until you get at least one word out. It won't be just one, because you have to finish a sentence, but say it just has to be one. And then instead of a total word block you'll have a sentence! You can work from a sentence!
You can build up from small goals to de-rust yourself from writing (rust gathers really quick!! It does it while you're asleep!! Be careful!) until suddenly you can write a bit more, and a bit more... and then you're coming to meet your goal!
It's a lot easier to write once you've got a thousand or a couple thousand down, especially; you get this kind of momentum. It doesn't always happen, but you don't really stay stuck at the same plodding pace or just trapped staring at the screen as when you first start for the day. It's a good idea to schedule the writing time for earlier in the day so that when this happens you can keep writing for a while with the momentum instead of going to bed!
Also here's an article I found that could maybe help someone: http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-went-from-writing-2000-words-day.html
Plus, here's a link to Lemony Snicket's pep talk in case anyone forgot about it because it's really good: http://nanowrimo.org/pep/lemony-snicket
That's actually really cool that you can get six days behind and still have a really manageable goal like two thousand a day!! That means it's still super-definitely possible for anyone to catch up at this point! I mean theoretically you could catch up writing fifty thousand words on the last day but yikes. Two thousand is just a little more than the regular goal! You can do it!
Try and keep a record of how much time you're spending on things! It's really, really easy to get distracted and do other stuff besides what you're meant to be doing (like checking another tab "just for a second"), and you lose a lot of time that way, without feeling any better for the break because it doesn't even feel like one!
It's important to know how long each thing is taking you so you can know how much time to set aside for it, and how much time is left for writing. You could 2000 in an hour if you write really, really fast, but that's going to be tricky, so figure out of you can get more time than that somehow. Don't forget, you don't actually have to put entire hours at a time on your schedule to write! Even if you just have two minutes before something else has to drag you away, that's two minutes where you could be writing! You could write sixty words in two minutes!!! Take advantage of every opening!
It can be a pain to write in a notebook when it's slower and you know you're behind, and that's a frustrating way to count words. But put some serious consideration into taking one with you, because that can be a huge boost to how many minutes you have for writing! You can sneak a few words during a lecture or if all your classwork is done and you're waiting patiently for the work slot to end, or during lunch, or on the bus or in the car to and from home, or at the grocery store - any spare minute you have where you wouldn't normally be able to write because you're away from the computer is suddenly full of possibility! And, excitingly, you don't even have to interrupt schoolwork time to take advantage of those spare minutes.
You'll have to type it up later, but there will be time for that after November.
If actually *writing* in a notebook is really hard or sometimes hard, you can also use the notebook to work on your plot. Jotting down scene descriptions or bits of dialogue you suddenly think of might not feel important, but having a really clear direction of where you want to go when you finally do get a chance to sit at the computer can help a lot!
And, do sprints! You can probably write a lot faster than you know! I can manage 500 in 15 minutes and I still do a lot of backspacing and glancing around the room, or pausing for a second to figure out another word. Sprints will tell you how much you can expect to do in x minutes, and that will help a lot toward figuring out how much time to put toward NaNoWriMo! You could even do schoolwork for a while, do a quick fifteen minute sprint, and then go back to your work. If you account for a few sprints in a day, you could meet your goal!!
School is really important, too, but you just need some pieces of time to write in, and pieces are manageable! You can do it! Keep trying hard!
I'm having that problem, too!
It could help to do something like "draw for an hour, then stop and write" and stick to that hour frame (or whatever it is - maybe fifteen minutes or half an hour or some other time might work better for you). Then you know you get a certain amount of time to draw and you're happy and feel like you got to have a break and do something fun, and that can make it a lot easier to write! (like, without constantly dragging along because you just want to quit and get back to drawing)
I did that last year with reading instead of drawing, so I'd read for an hour every day before settling down to write. I felt a lot better afterward from the break, and it started being such a regular thing that then reading put me in the mood to write! Some people suggest having a special hat or something that you only wear when writing so that when you put it on it tricks your body into thinking it's time to write - it's like that! Or like how brushing your teeth every night before bed tricks your body into getting sleepy. Routine can be a powerful force! Maybe you can take hold of some of that drawing energy to create one!
Also, are you sure it's really that mysterious that you feel like drawing right now? You've got two things at work here. One is that when you have to do something, everything but the something seems that much more exciting! Suddenly you want to clean your room or take out the trash or walk the dog - anything as long as its not the job. And then additionally, when you force yourself to work, especially on something creative, it puts your mind into a special "doing things" mode! If you rest and play video games all day, your body wants to keep doing that and it's hard to get up; but the opposite is true, too! You get into this kind of rhythm with getting things done and your body doesn't want to let go of that. Working causes a lot more inspiration than sitting around waiting! You have a special new daily work that you have to keep up with and it's hard and exciting! It only makes sense that the writing energy you're creating would spill over to give you some drawing energy!
Maybe thinking about it like that can clear up some of the whys (even if you still just want to why out of frustration) and give you ideas on what to do about it!
November 2 - 2112 words
November 3 - 2034 words
November 4 - 2165 words
November 5 - 0!!! Quick, catch up!!!!!!!!
November 6 - 3101 words
November 7 - 3569?!!
I'm writing about someone who turns into a dragon. And... that's it. That's my whole plot. I'm having kind of a hard time getting anywhere else with it.
I'm really excited for everyone who's writing! All of you are trying super-hard even if you're behind, and that's really great! Don't forget that you win already, just for trying your best and going past how much you would have written outside of this! Go, go go go!
I'm really proud of myself for keeping up without writing past midnight so far this year, even though I keep starting at like 10:20 pm (okay, I wrote until two minutes past midnight *once*, oh no). I was really excited on the sixth because I was distracted and talking to people and paying attention to the election news and I still managed ~2500 in the two distracty hours! I got even more yesterday with the same amount of time and finished my three thousand goal early.
Anyone else can do that, too! I've been finding it helpful to keep track of how fast I write and racing. I'm trying to start out by doing a timed goal like "quick write a bunch of words before Mom and Dad get back" without worrying too much about the daily goal (or at least not worrying too much is the plan), and then checking how much I wrote. Then it's exciting because I can tangibly say "hey, I wrote this much this fast!!" and I know I can do that again if I try!
Start with a smaller goal to trick yourself into writing. Even if it's "okay, just write one word and then get back to this post" (okay I did that I got eight instead of one), then it helps! The very hardest part is just starting. Make a deal with yourself to sit there and stare at the page until you get at least one word out. It won't be just one, because you have to finish a sentence, but say it just has to be one. And then instead of a total word block you'll have a sentence! You can work from a sentence!
You can build up from small goals to de-rust yourself from writing (rust gathers really quick!! It does it while you're asleep!! Be careful!) until suddenly you can write a bit more, and a bit more... and then you're coming to meet your goal!
It's a lot easier to write once you've got a thousand or a couple thousand down, especially; you get this kind of momentum. It doesn't always happen, but you don't really stay stuck at the same plodding pace or just trapped staring at the screen as when you first start for the day. It's a good idea to schedule the writing time for earlier in the day so that when this happens you can keep writing for a while with the momentum instead of going to bed!
Also here's an article I found that could maybe help someone: http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-went-from-writing-2000-words-day.html
Plus, here's a link to Lemony Snicket's pep talk in case anyone forgot about it because it's really good: http://nanowrimo.org/pep/lemony-snicket
That's actually really cool that you can get six days behind and still have a really manageable goal like two thousand a day!! That means it's still super-definitely possible for anyone to catch up at this point! I mean theoretically you could catch up writing fifty thousand words on the last day but yikes. Two thousand is just a little more than the regular goal! You can do it!
Try and keep a record of how much time you're spending on things! It's really, really easy to get distracted and do other stuff besides what you're meant to be doing (like checking another tab "just for a second"), and you lose a lot of time that way, without feeling any better for the break because it doesn't even feel like one!
It's important to know how long each thing is taking you so you can know how much time to set aside for it, and how much time is left for writing. You could 2000 in an hour if you write really, really fast, but that's going to be tricky, so figure out of you can get more time than that somehow. Don't forget, you don't actually have to put entire hours at a time on your schedule to write! Even if you just have two minutes before something else has to drag you away, that's two minutes where you could be writing! You could write sixty words in two minutes!!! Take advantage of every opening!
It can be a pain to write in a notebook when it's slower and you know you're behind, and that's a frustrating way to count words. But put some serious consideration into taking one with you, because that can be a huge boost to how many minutes you have for writing! You can sneak a few words during a lecture or if all your classwork is done and you're waiting patiently for the work slot to end, or during lunch, or on the bus or in the car to and from home, or at the grocery store - any spare minute you have where you wouldn't normally be able to write because you're away from the computer is suddenly full of possibility! And, excitingly, you don't even have to interrupt schoolwork time to take advantage of those spare minutes.
You'll have to type it up later, but there will be time for that after November.
If actually *writing* in a notebook is really hard or sometimes hard, you can also use the notebook to work on your plot. Jotting down scene descriptions or bits of dialogue you suddenly think of might not feel important, but having a really clear direction of where you want to go when you finally do get a chance to sit at the computer can help a lot!
And, do sprints! You can probably write a lot faster than you know! I can manage 500 in 15 minutes and I still do a lot of backspacing and glancing around the room, or pausing for a second to figure out another word. Sprints will tell you how much you can expect to do in x minutes, and that will help a lot toward figuring out how much time to put toward NaNoWriMo! You could even do schoolwork for a while, do a quick fifteen minute sprint, and then go back to your work. If you account for a few sprints in a day, you could meet your goal!!
School is really important, too, but you just need some pieces of time to write in, and pieces are manageable! You can do it! Keep trying hard!
I'm having that problem, too!
It could help to do something like "draw for an hour, then stop and write" and stick to that hour frame (or whatever it is - maybe fifteen minutes or half an hour or some other time might work better for you). Then you know you get a certain amount of time to draw and you're happy and feel like you got to have a break and do something fun, and that can make it a lot easier to write! (like, without constantly dragging along because you just want to quit and get back to drawing)
I did that last year with reading instead of drawing, so I'd read for an hour every day before settling down to write. I felt a lot better afterward from the break, and it started being such a regular thing that then reading put me in the mood to write! Some people suggest having a special hat or something that you only wear when writing so that when you put it on it tricks your body into thinking it's time to write - it's like that! Or like how brushing your teeth every night before bed tricks your body into getting sleepy. Routine can be a powerful force! Maybe you can take hold of some of that drawing energy to create one!
Also, are you sure it's really that mysterious that you feel like drawing right now? You've got two things at work here. One is that when you have to do something, everything but the something seems that much more exciting! Suddenly you want to clean your room or take out the trash or walk the dog - anything as long as its not the job. And then additionally, when you force yourself to work, especially on something creative, it puts your mind into a special "doing things" mode! If you rest and play video games all day, your body wants to keep doing that and it's hard to get up; but the opposite is true, too! You get into this kind of rhythm with getting things done and your body doesn't want to let go of that. Working causes a lot more inspiration than sitting around waiting! You have a special new daily work that you have to keep up with and it's hard and exciting! It only makes sense that the writing energy you're creating would spill over to give you some drawing energy!
Maybe thinking about it like that can clear up some of the whys (even if you still just want to why out of frustration) and give you ideas on what to do about it!
Equinoxe
has a BONE to pick with you
Wow that was a pretty neat and meaningful post! That 'hat trick' seems interesting enough and it might actually work for me, I gotta see if I can find something fitting at home tomorrow O:
I'm going to keep all those those things in mind.
I managed to accidentally hype myself back to writing with a walk outside, because my bad mood turned into a 'wow look at that bumpy snow that's lit by the orange lights there and looks mysterious and hey wait it reminds me of a weird desert' and then an idea struck me (my dragon world is mostly desert) and then I hurried back and wrote a moonlight desert scene that's gonna appear a bit later in the story.
After that, continuing from where I left off was a lot easier (I also found some words that I thought had mysteriously disappeared; I'd forgotten to retrieve the latest version of the file from my USB stick, hurr).
Your advice is still really good - even though I happened to get back in the writing mood before coming here to read it - and will probably be of use later this month, so a big thank you! C:
If you want any help with coming up with ideas for your story, I could try to help! My story has dragons in it too :D
I'm going to keep all those those things in mind.
I managed to accidentally hype myself back to writing with a walk outside, because my bad mood turned into a 'wow look at that bumpy snow that's lit by the orange lights there and looks mysterious and hey wait it reminds me of a weird desert' and then an idea struck me (my dragon world is mostly desert) and then I hurried back and wrote a moonlight desert scene that's gonna appear a bit later in the story.
After that, continuing from where I left off was a lot easier (I also found some words that I thought had mysteriously disappeared; I'd forgotten to retrieve the latest version of the file from my USB stick, hurr).
Your advice is still really good - even though I happened to get back in the writing mood before coming here to read it - and will probably be of use later this month, so a big thank you! C:
If you want any help with coming up with ideas for your story, I could try to help! My story has dragons in it too :D
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