Just over 12 days and less than 39,000 words to go. Oh, I can do it... I'll be completely exhausted and worn by the end, but I'll do it.
This year's novel is more of a challenge than I'd ever imagined. My characters are finally developing some, well, characteristics and personalities and my plot is starting to waver back towards normality, whatever that may be. I've been forcing myself to sit down every night and write for at least an hour, something I didn't think I'd actually have to do.
A friend of mine (hey, Kris!) brought up the topic of Nano in a class and the prof, a guy I've known for years, blew the idea of writing a novel in a month off. Sure, the method is a little weak, but I've said before that this crazy, hectic process is an exercise in determination. And I'm not taking it as seriously as some other people out there - this is, to me, just a month to experiment, to learn, to work out kinks with my writing.
Even if I don't finish this novel, I'm happy that I started it. I'm hoping it'll be a kick-start to my fledgling writing career... and if it's not, so be it. Not pinning all my hopes on this at all.
I've got two days off this week - in a row, again! - and 75% of Sunday and all day Monday, so lots of writing to be had, hopefully. I'm aiming to be around 35K by Monday night - somehow, with my erratic plot and very bad grammar/tense use, I'll be there.
Check out my novel here.
Almost mid-way...
In terms of the month, not the novel.
It's been pretty rough so far - mostly my fault, though. I've had a year to get ready for this month and I did nothing to prepare for it. I'm not a big fan of outlines and plotting ahead of time, and what I've done off the top of my head in the past has turned out reasonably... readable. But this 'novel' is going from bad to worse to not-so-bad to worse than ever.
I'm sitting at almost 7K, which leaves me with 18 days to crank out 43K. Not impossible, but it's going to be a challenge due to work and the fact that I'm losing interest in continuing with it. But - and this is so incredibly important I can't stress it enough - I'm going to finish this monstrosity by midnight on Nov. 30 because I have to.
This is more than a exercise in making deadlines or proving that I can write what may pass as a novel - this whole month is becoming a way for me to purge bad writing (and methods of writing) from my system and to get back into the motions of writing. Sure, pressuring myself to produce a 50K novel in a month may seem a bit extreme, but when you've gone a year between writing because you've put up a mental block, sometimes you need to have all the pressure in the world to be sitting on you to realize what you're doing right, wrong and what you shouldn't ever touch again with a 10ft pole.
On December 1, I'm going to print out my 'novel' and tuck it away with my other ones, and I'll likely only pull it out for a laugh or to share with friends who haven't been to my website. I'm also planning on reading a lot, and re-reading the books that I've enjoyed in the past. What I won't do is stop writing. I can't go another year without writing for no good reason - if I want to do this for a living, I have to practice, and that's what this month is - it's practice.
I'm going to try to figure out another backstory as to why I took my main character's parents away from them and how three old women came to live in their house overnight - believe me, it's way harder than it sounds, what with trying to keep it from sounding too teenager-y or sci-fi - and hopefully get a few hundred words plunked down before I hit the hay.
It's been pretty rough so far - mostly my fault, though. I've had a year to get ready for this month and I did nothing to prepare for it. I'm not a big fan of outlines and plotting ahead of time, and what I've done off the top of my head in the past has turned out reasonably... readable. But this 'novel' is going from bad to worse to not-so-bad to worse than ever.
I'm sitting at almost 7K, which leaves me with 18 days to crank out 43K. Not impossible, but it's going to be a challenge due to work and the fact that I'm losing interest in continuing with it. But - and this is so incredibly important I can't stress it enough - I'm going to finish this monstrosity by midnight on Nov. 30 because I have to.
This is more than a exercise in making deadlines or proving that I can write what may pass as a novel - this whole month is becoming a way for me to purge bad writing (and methods of writing) from my system and to get back into the motions of writing. Sure, pressuring myself to produce a 50K novel in a month may seem a bit extreme, but when you've gone a year between writing because you've put up a mental block, sometimes you need to have all the pressure in the world to be sitting on you to realize what you're doing right, wrong and what you shouldn't ever touch again with a 10ft pole.
On December 1, I'm going to print out my 'novel' and tuck it away with my other ones, and I'll likely only pull it out for a laugh or to share with friends who haven't been to my website. I'm also planning on reading a lot, and re-reading the books that I've enjoyed in the past. What I won't do is stop writing. I can't go another year without writing for no good reason - if I want to do this for a living, I have to practice, and that's what this month is - it's practice.
I'm going to try to figure out another backstory as to why I took my main character's parents away from them and how three old women came to live in their house overnight - believe me, it's way harder than it sounds, what with trying to keep it from sounding too teenager-y or sci-fi - and hopefully get a few hundred words plunked down before I hit the hay.
Two days off...
Tons of writing to be done. I'm aiming for 20,000 by the end of the weekend. That's only 14,900 +/- from where I'm at right now.
I have all day tomorrow - with the exception of the half hour or so I'll spend helping my sister give our dog a bath - and most of Friday - with the exception of lunch with my mom and a visit to the vet with our dog - to write.
And come hell or high water, I'm writing. I don't get two days in a row off very often and I'm going to use them as best I can.
This is how sad my life is - two days off back in the day would mean a party or two... these days, I want to spend them resuscitating my novel.
Sigh.
I have all day tomorrow - with the exception of the half hour or so I'll spend helping my sister give our dog a bath - and most of Friday - with the exception of lunch with my mom and a visit to the vet with our dog - to write.
And come hell or high water, I'm writing. I don't get two days in a row off very often and I'm going to use them as best I can.
This is how sad my life is - two days off back in the day would mean a party or two... these days, I want to spend them resuscitating my novel.
Sigh.
A wee bit premature...
I think I can salvage what I've done to this point.
I'd completely overlooked the fact that this isn't going to be anywhere near a good, readable novel at this point.
That's what March is for.
Back to the grind - aiming for another 2K tonight.
Update Check out what I've done on my website - not quite 2K words, but it's something, right?
I'd completely overlooked the fact that this isn't going to be anywhere near a good, readable novel at this point.
That's what March is for.
Back to the grind - aiming for another 2K tonight.
Update Check out what I've done on my website - not quite 2K words, but it's something, right?
Sink that puppy
No, not real puppies.
After a weekend of consideration, I'm killing what I've done for this year's Nano.
But - and I'm surprised at myself for this one - I'm going to start anew this afternoon. I'll likely keep the same characters (at least Merk and Nannie) but the lives they were leading were just not what I had in mind at all and I couldn't forsee going anywhere good with them.
I'm going to keep what I've done up to this point on my website - both to give myself encouragement and to show that yes, I can write as much shit as anyone else.
I'm going to try to do a brief - ultra brief, really - outline as to what I want to do and where I want to go. I think I'm going to try to swing back to my comfy home of slightly-dystopic fiction from the world of mainstream fiction I was aiming for.
After a weekend of consideration, I'm killing what I've done for this year's Nano.
But - and I'm surprised at myself for this one - I'm going to start anew this afternoon. I'll likely keep the same characters (at least Merk and Nannie) but the lives they were leading were just not what I had in mind at all and I couldn't forsee going anywhere good with them.
I'm going to keep what I've done up to this point on my website - both to give myself encouragement and to show that yes, I can write as much shit as anyone else.
I'm going to try to do a brief - ultra brief, really - outline as to what I want to do and where I want to go. I think I'm going to try to swing back to my comfy home of slightly-dystopic fiction from the world of mainstream fiction I was aiming for.
Sigh
Well, I've done it. I've mangled my novel almost beyond salvagability (if that's even a word).
I don't know where I went wrong, but I'm further off the path I wanted to be on than I was before I started today.
When I started today, I thought to myself, 'Hey, you should do a bit of backstory work here.' And I did. And what's resulted is bad, bad, bad. I was talking to a friend about it and described it to him as having dug a small hole with what I'd written earlier this week and with what I've done today, I'm so far into this hole that I can't see out.
He did come up with an interesting suggestion, though. Stop with these characters right now and start with a whole new set. Eventually, merge them. I may not go that way exactly, but I'm still looking for a place to set the three Macbeth witch-like women somewhere, so maybe finishing up the backstory on the Baley clan and then moving on to the witches might be the way to go. See, at some point, and I really don't know when I'm going to reach this point, I plan on bringing the witches directly into the Baley children's world (they won't be children at that point, but young-ish adults). How to get there may be the problem.
What I'm seriously considering is something I don't do often - plotting the rest of the novel out just to see how, and if, I can get back on track. It'll be a challenge, and I don't have much time to do it, but I'll think about it tomorrow while I'm flipping eggs and buttering toast at work.
Check out what I've done so far at my website.
I don't know where I went wrong, but I'm further off the path I wanted to be on than I was before I started today.
When I started today, I thought to myself, 'Hey, you should do a bit of backstory work here.' And I did. And what's resulted is bad, bad, bad. I was talking to a friend about it and described it to him as having dug a small hole with what I'd written earlier this week and with what I've done today, I'm so far into this hole that I can't see out.
He did come up with an interesting suggestion, though. Stop with these characters right now and start with a whole new set. Eventually, merge them. I may not go that way exactly, but I'm still looking for a place to set the three Macbeth witch-like women somewhere, so maybe finishing up the backstory on the Baley clan and then moving on to the witches might be the way to go. See, at some point, and I really don't know when I'm going to reach this point, I plan on bringing the witches directly into the Baley children's world (they won't be children at that point, but young-ish adults). How to get there may be the problem.
What I'm seriously considering is something I don't do often - plotting the rest of the novel out just to see how, and if, I can get back on track. It'll be a challenge, and I don't have much time to do it, but I'll think about it tomorrow while I'm flipping eggs and buttering toast at work.
Check out what I've done so far at my website.
Ahh... crap
I've managed to bind myself into a plot corner. I have one of two options: keep going or get rid of what I've mangled. If I keep going, this is so going to turn into a teen/romance novel; if I get rid of it, I lose a few hundred words.
I think I'll get rid of it. I had an idea of where I wanted to go (or at least one of the places I wanted to go on the road to getting there) and took a completely wrong turn somewhere.
Gaaaahhh!!
I think I'll get rid of it. I had an idea of where I wanted to go (or at least one of the places I wanted to go on the road to getting there) and took a completely wrong turn somewhere.
Gaaaahhh!!
Starting a nice pile of dirt
No writing today - again. What I'm doing tonight, in preparation for my three to four hour writing spree (probably more) tomorrow is a whack of research.
I'm working on coming up with full names, including middle, for my characters so I can figure out more of their personalities. I'm also doing some research into the three witches from MacBeth.
It may seem like I'm procrastinating to the extreme, but I'm doing it all tonight so I'm not sitting here tomorrow writing, stopping to research, writing, stopping to research. I'm semi-hoping to break the 10,000 mark tomorrow, but realistically, I could see hitting 8,000, depending on how many distractions come up tomorrow.
Gotta get back to the grind...
I'm working on coming up with full names, including middle, for my characters so I can figure out more of their personalities. I'm also doing some research into the three witches from MacBeth.
It may seem like I'm procrastinating to the extreme, but I'm doing it all tonight so I'm not sitting here tomorrow writing, stopping to research, writing, stopping to research. I'm semi-hoping to break the 10,000 mark tomorrow, but realistically, I could see hitting 8,000, depending on how many distractions come up tomorrow.
Gotta get back to the grind...
Grabbing the shovel to start the hole
No writing today. Not a word. I have nothing (seriously, nothing) to do at work tomorrow, so I'm going to take my notebook and hopefully come up with some ideas.
Definitely going to try to get 4-5000 more done tomorrow night. I've got an idea on where to go with the next stage.
Check out what I've done so far at my website.
Definitely going to try to get 4-5000 more done tomorrow night. I've got an idea on where to go with the next stage.
Check out what I've done so far at my website.
Baby steps
Okay.
I've decided not to post my novel here because... well, I'm not that technologically adept and can't figure out after a week of trying how to make my posts condensed. You know the kind - where there's a brief introduction and then a 'Read more' link that you click to read the rest of the post. Yeah, I can't get it to work.
So I've posted, and will be posting, what I've written so far to my website. This blog will be used mainly for me to bitch and moan about how terrible of a writer I am and to try to drum up readership of my novel and other writing.
Now, on to business. The first day was yucky - that's the only way I can think to describe it. By 7pm last night, seconds before I started to write, I still had no idea what I was going to do, outside of my infamous 'one character name'. So I just started, and believe me, what resulted is so far from good, it's not funny.
In everything I've ever written, be it short stories, novels, essays or news stories from my days as a student journalist, the beginning is easily the worst part. I may know what I want to say, but I have no idea how to get there - I could have a map and still get lost. If you take a peek at what I wrote last night, you'll see (or at least I do) that I have some good ideas, but I just haven't gone anywhere with them or dropped them in the name of moving the story along. I did 2000+ words last night - I still have 48,000+/- to go; where am I trying to get to so fast?
One thing I like about Nano is that, for me, it brings to light some very big weaknesses in my writing. Beginnings, dialogue (although, that is more hit-and-miss, if you ask me), plot and themes are all big problems I have to deal with. I don't think taking a class and learning from someone else would benefit me - trial and error will probably be the best method.
I'm not going to write today, but I will write tomorrow and Thursday and Friday (I'm not writing tonight because I have to take care of some iTunes business {setting up a proper playlist ;)} and the cursed election has me checking CNN every three seconds). I'm not writing on Saturdays at all this month because I work and I go out with my dad and sister in the evenings and I'm usually working at 7am the next day. So... if you break down 50,000 by 30 days, that's 1,667 words per day. For me, with my 6-days a week maximum writing, that's 1,923 at least a day. And I have every Friday off and alternating Mondays, so I can pull late-nighters to fill up word counts if I need to. My biggest challenge won't be lack of time - it'll probably end up being lack of will to finish this cursed novel.
Off to fix my iTunes playlist and check the results... agai.
I've decided not to post my novel here because... well, I'm not that technologically adept and can't figure out after a week of trying how to make my posts condensed. You know the kind - where there's a brief introduction and then a 'Read more' link that you click to read the rest of the post. Yeah, I can't get it to work.
So I've posted, and will be posting, what I've written so far to my website. This blog will be used mainly for me to bitch and moan about how terrible of a writer I am and to try to drum up readership of my novel and other writing.
Now, on to business. The first day was yucky - that's the only way I can think to describe it. By 7pm last night, seconds before I started to write, I still had no idea what I was going to do, outside of my infamous 'one character name'. So I just started, and believe me, what resulted is so far from good, it's not funny.
In everything I've ever written, be it short stories, novels, essays or news stories from my days as a student journalist, the beginning is easily the worst part. I may know what I want to say, but I have no idea how to get there - I could have a map and still get lost. If you take a peek at what I wrote last night, you'll see (or at least I do) that I have some good ideas, but I just haven't gone anywhere with them or dropped them in the name of moving the story along. I did 2000+ words last night - I still have 48,000+/- to go; where am I trying to get to so fast?
One thing I like about Nano is that, for me, it brings to light some very big weaknesses in my writing. Beginnings, dialogue (although, that is more hit-and-miss, if you ask me), plot and themes are all big problems I have to deal with. I don't think taking a class and learning from someone else would benefit me - trial and error will probably be the best method.
I'm not going to write today, but I will write tomorrow and Thursday and Friday (I'm not writing tonight because I have to take care of some iTunes business {setting up a proper playlist ;)} and the cursed election has me checking CNN every three seconds). I'm not writing on Saturdays at all this month because I work and I go out with my dad and sister in the evenings and I'm usually working at 7am the next day. So... if you break down 50,000 by 30 days, that's 1,667 words per day. For me, with my 6-days a week maximum writing, that's 1,923 at least a day. And I have every Friday off and alternating Mondays, so I can pull late-nighters to fill up word counts if I need to. My biggest challenge won't be lack of time - it'll probably end up being lack of will to finish this cursed novel.
Off to fix my iTunes playlist and check the results... agai.
Nada
Still haven't actually started writing. Still have only one character. Still don't have a plot. Still don't have a genre.
And it's only the first day. It's not like I'm going to be ridiculed for not actually getting my first 1,667 words done today, right? I mean, I'll still have 29 days to crank out 50,000... right?
Sigh.
And it's only the first day. It's not like I'm going to be ridiculed for not actually getting my first 1,667 words done today, right? I mean, I'll still have 29 days to crank out 50,000... right?
Sigh.
Well, here goes
Mortified. Terrified. Second-guessing. Blank.
That's how I feel today - November 1. I'm so, so, so screwed. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start this novel - whatever novel it is. Heck, I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to start it today... I haven't finished getting what preparation done that I wanted to have done before I started, I'm not sure I'll actually have time to start it today, I'm pretty sure that whatever I'm going to end up writing is going to be pure crap.
Yeah, it's November 1st, all right - you can tell by my trepidation at starting a novel :)
Honestly, I'm more concerned this Nov. 1 than I have been for the last two. See, for the last year I haven't written a single word - except what I've posted on my blogs. Somehow I developed a mental block when it came to writing. For a while, I had a 'legitimate' excuse - no internet on my computer - then a couple of months ago when I did get the internet, I was too 'busy' (lazy, procrastinated {if that's a word}, distracted by the box with the moving pictures) to write.
Now, it's crunch time. Most of my friends and family know I do this. I don't go on and on about what I'm doing, but I will use them to bounce ideas off of and as a physically live being I can go up to and say 'it's not working!!!!! he won't go do what I want him to!!!' which can usually lead to a slightly confused look becuase these are characters I'm talking about, not a dog.
I'm going to spend my day at work thinking about what I'm going to do. But if I don't at least start today, I'm worried I won't start at all. And if I don't start at all, I may just end up leaving my dreams of writing for a living behind.
This is a reason we need more days in the week, or why I need to quit one of my jobs. Maybe I should start playing the lottery more frequently and make those dreams come true... of course, I'd need to actually remember to buy tickets and check them...
That's how I feel today - November 1. I'm so, so, so screwed. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start this novel - whatever novel it is. Heck, I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to start it today... I haven't finished getting what preparation done that I wanted to have done before I started, I'm not sure I'll actually have time to start it today, I'm pretty sure that whatever I'm going to end up writing is going to be pure crap.
Yeah, it's November 1st, all right - you can tell by my trepidation at starting a novel :)
Honestly, I'm more concerned this Nov. 1 than I have been for the last two. See, for the last year I haven't written a single word - except what I've posted on my blogs. Somehow I developed a mental block when it came to writing. For a while, I had a 'legitimate' excuse - no internet on my computer - then a couple of months ago when I did get the internet, I was too 'busy' (lazy, procrastinated {if that's a word}, distracted by the box with the moving pictures) to write.
Now, it's crunch time. Most of my friends and family know I do this. I don't go on and on about what I'm doing, but I will use them to bounce ideas off of and as a physically live being I can go up to and say 'it's not working!!!!! he won't go do what I want him to!!!' which can usually lead to a slightly confused look becuase these are characters I'm talking about, not a dog.
I'm going to spend my day at work thinking about what I'm going to do. But if I don't at least start today, I'm worried I won't start at all. And if I don't start at all, I may just end up leaving my dreams of writing for a living behind.
This is a reason we need more days in the week, or why I need to quit one of my jobs. Maybe I should start playing the lottery more frequently and make those dreams come true... of course, I'd need to actually remember to buy tickets and check them...
No closer to a beginning
I've spent most of my evening doing what I said I'd do yesterday (and the day before) - purging my playlist on iTunes and cruising the Nano forums. And I'm still not finished doing either. Good thing I have tomorrow off, I guess.
I still only have a character name at this point, but I'm preparing to wade into the forums again tomorrow for inspiration - namely the 'Dares'and 'Reaching 50,000' threads. I've got my handy-dandy notebook, all ready to go... now all I need is desire. Or sleep. Probably sleep.
Hopefully on Monday, my Moleskine notebooks will arrive and I'll be able to start putting them to use, too. I like to make notes on everything - ideas, quotes, websites, quirky features I see in other people. I had a notebook I'd used for the past couple of years that went everywhere with me, but I've managed to lose it in the past month (it's the main reason I'm getting the Moleskines). It was full of websites for names and character traits, some weak poetry I'd written and a dozen or so pages on ideas I had for a novel I'd been contemplating for a couple of years. I haven't felt such a loss for anything like that for years... and it's only a notebook.
TO DO for tomorrow
-continue rebuilding iTunes playlist, including borrowing a couple of CDs from a friend
-scour the Nano forums some more
-check out other writer's blogs
I still only have a character name at this point, but I'm preparing to wade into the forums again tomorrow for inspiration - namely the 'Dares'and 'Reaching 50,000' threads. I've got my handy-dandy notebook, all ready to go... now all I need is desire. Or sleep. Probably sleep.
Hopefully on Monday, my Moleskine notebooks will arrive and I'll be able to start putting them to use, too. I like to make notes on everything - ideas, quotes, websites, quirky features I see in other people. I had a notebook I'd used for the past couple of years that went everywhere with me, but I've managed to lose it in the past month (it's the main reason I'm getting the Moleskines). It was full of websites for names and character traits, some weak poetry I'd written and a dozen or so pages on ideas I had for a novel I'd been contemplating for a couple of years. I haven't felt such a loss for anything like that for years... and it's only a notebook.
TO DO for tomorrow
-continue rebuilding iTunes playlist, including borrowing a couple of CDs from a friend
-scour the Nano forums some more
-check out other writer's blogs
And this is what I think
A discussion on the Nano forums has brought up an interesting conundrum.
'Publishing' my novel via this blog basically nullifies it from ever being published as a real novel.
So sad for me, right?
Nope.
I see Nano as a chance to kick back, chat with other writers and just write for a couple of months. If I wanted to do something that I could send to a publisher, I'm sure as hell going to spend more than a month working on it.
Even with the stuff I've put on my website I know isn't going to get published, and I had it posted up long before I knew about the whole 'publisher's won't take a second look at anything already published on the internet' thing.
I really don't care if my write-as-fast-as-possible-who-cares-if-it's-grammatically-correct stuff never hits the bookstores, because I haven't really invested the time and energy necessary to get it to that point. Someday, I'd love to get published - right now, though, I'm just taking baby-steps and working my way to where I want to be.
There are lots of people over at Nano who are expecting to have their Nano novels published, and good for them. I think I'm a little more realistic in thinking that there's not enough time to write a good novel in a month - unless you've spent the previous 11 researching and outlining, and if you did, wow, I'll give you a tip of my perverbial hat.
I've been saying for months, if not years, now that I want to write a book. Maybe the next month will finally put me back into that groove I was in two years ago, when I'd write all the time. And who knows - maybe in a couple of years, I'll have something publishable. But I refuse to delude myself into thinking that a month is enough time to write something readable for the masses.
'Publishing' my novel via this blog basically nullifies it from ever being published as a real novel.
So sad for me, right?
Nope.
I see Nano as a chance to kick back, chat with other writers and just write for a couple of months. If I wanted to do something that I could send to a publisher, I'm sure as hell going to spend more than a month working on it.
Even with the stuff I've put on my website I know isn't going to get published, and I had it posted up long before I knew about the whole 'publisher's won't take a second look at anything already published on the internet' thing.
I really don't care if my write-as-fast-as-possible-who-cares-if-it's-grammatically-correct stuff never hits the bookstores, because I haven't really invested the time and energy necessary to get it to that point. Someday, I'd love to get published - right now, though, I'm just taking baby-steps and working my way to where I want to be.
There are lots of people over at Nano who are expecting to have their Nano novels published, and good for them. I think I'm a little more realistic in thinking that there's not enough time to write a good novel in a month - unless you've spent the previous 11 researching and outlining, and if you did, wow, I'll give you a tip of my perverbial hat.
I've been saying for months, if not years, now that I want to write a book. Maybe the next month will finally put me back into that groove I was in two years ago, when I'd write all the time. And who knows - maybe in a couple of years, I'll have something publishable. But I refuse to delude myself into thinking that a month is enough time to write something readable for the masses.
Less than 100 hours to go
I've semi-decided on a genre - fantasy/sci-fi/fiction. Like Harry Potter and the Jasper Fforde novels. I've never written anything in that genre before - I tend to stick with dystopic and mediocre fiction - so it should be interesting.
TO DO for tomorrow: (wow, only two things carried over from yesterday - two things I could have easily done instead of playing Sims 2 or watching Gilmore Girls)
-Purge iTunes
-Nano formus
-make shopping list to make health-conscious treats to snack on (ie. NO MORE MCDONALDS AND POTATO CHIPS!!!)
TO DO for tomorrow: (wow, only two things carried over from yesterday - two things I could have easily done instead of playing Sims 2 or watching Gilmore Girls)
-Purge iTunes
-Nano formus
-make shopping list to make health-conscious treats to snack on (ie. NO MORE MCDONALDS AND POTATO CHIPS!!!)
Needed: One Plot
I need a plot - anyone got a spare one just lying around?
Doesn't have to make sense, or anything... just a plot that I can work with for a month and then toss aside when Dec. 1 rolls around. I promise to treat it with loving care as I mould it into what I need it to be.
Doesn't have to make sense, or anything... just a plot that I can work with for a month and then toss aside when Dec. 1 rolls around. I promise to treat it with loving care as I mould it into what I need it to be.
Next, my personal challenge with tenses
The biggest hump to get over in starting to write isn't figuring out who your characters are or what the plot is - it's the title.
'Remote Matches' was discovered when I looked around my desk and saw a pack of matches and my TV remote. 'Haven't a Clue' was chosen after answering the 'what's the title this year' question one too many times. This year, I might wait until I'm finished to come up with a title. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do actual chapters, something I've never even attempted before, and if I do, I'm not sure if I'll end up naming them or just numbering them.
Five entire days to go. Eep.
'Remote Matches' was discovered when I looked around my desk and saw a pack of matches and my TV remote. 'Haven't a Clue' was chosen after answering the 'what's the title this year' question one too many times. This year, I might wait until I'm finished to come up with a title. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do actual chapters, something I've never even attempted before, and if I do, I'm not sure if I'll end up naming them or just numbering them.
Five entire days to go. Eep.
Almost the last minute
I've done Nano before - in 2002 and 2003. I completed my 2002 novel 'Remote Matches' after working a midnight shift on Nov. 30 (if I ever happen to get it posted here, you can see where I had let my sleep-deprived mind run amok); last year's dismall attempt at a novel, 'Haven't a Clue', was already in a mess by the time I gave up on it completely around Nov. 13. I have an excellent reason for not finishing last year's challenge, though (or at least I like to think it's a good reason) - we moved on Nov. 15 and I had a massive project to do at work. So there ;)
This year, I'm as unprepared as I was in 2002. I don't like to do outlines or character plotting or things like that. As 'Remote Matches' is the only one I've finished so far - if you can call it 'finshed' - I tend to look upon it as the gleaming example of how I should write a Nano novel. Don't prepare ahead of time, let things just flow for the first few days and then step back after day three or four and see what direction it might be heading in. I kept a notebook with me at all times that month so I could jot down plot ideas and things that popped into my head at random times when I wasn't around the computer. It helped, even if most of the time I completely ignored what I had written down and went off in a totally different direction.
I don't claim to be a professional or even that talented - I'm just interested in writing. Sure, it's something I'd love to do for a living someday, but right now, Nano is probably going to be the best way for me to sink my feet back into the quagmire that is writing. I haven't actually written anything (outside of a whack of blog entries at my other blog) since last November, and I'm slightly terrified of Nov. 1. I know it doesn't matter what I write, as long as I can crank out those 50,000 words by Nov. 30... but I will care what I've written at some point, even if it's next March or three years from now or whatever.
Right now, at this exact moment, I have this much prepared: a name. That's it. I won't even release the name till I start posting what I've written each day. I like the name and I haven't decided who's getting it (or what, for that matter). I don't have a genre, I don't have a plot... I got nothing.
I'll try to be a little more consistent in the postings here and prevent myself from moaning and groaning on my other blog, as this is my writing blog, after all.
TO DO for tomorrow:
(this section will be mainly to try to get my massive procrastinating behind away from the distractions I have around me and do some work)
-Go through iTunes playlist and purge
-Go through Nano forums for ideas/suggestions/general stuff
-Organize desk
This year, I'm as unprepared as I was in 2002. I don't like to do outlines or character plotting or things like that. As 'Remote Matches' is the only one I've finished so far - if you can call it 'finshed' - I tend to look upon it as the gleaming example of how I should write a Nano novel. Don't prepare ahead of time, let things just flow for the first few days and then step back after day three or four and see what direction it might be heading in. I kept a notebook with me at all times that month so I could jot down plot ideas and things that popped into my head at random times when I wasn't around the computer. It helped, even if most of the time I completely ignored what I had written down and went off in a totally different direction.
I don't claim to be a professional or even that talented - I'm just interested in writing. Sure, it's something I'd love to do for a living someday, but right now, Nano is probably going to be the best way for me to sink my feet back into the quagmire that is writing. I haven't actually written anything (outside of a whack of blog entries at my other blog) since last November, and I'm slightly terrified of Nov. 1. I know it doesn't matter what I write, as long as I can crank out those 50,000 words by Nov. 30... but I will care what I've written at some point, even if it's next March or three years from now or whatever.
Right now, at this exact moment, I have this much prepared: a name. That's it. I won't even release the name till I start posting what I've written each day. I like the name and I haven't decided who's getting it (or what, for that matter). I don't have a genre, I don't have a plot... I got nothing.
I'll try to be a little more consistent in the postings here and prevent myself from moaning and groaning on my other blog, as this is my writing blog, after all.
TO DO for tomorrow:
(this section will be mainly to try to get my massive procrastinating behind away from the distractions I have around me and do some work)
-Go through iTunes playlist and purge
-Go through Nano forums for ideas/suggestions/general stuff
-Organize desk
Allo, allo
Welcome to my Nano blog. I'm hoping to progress beyond just Nano this year (fingers and toes crossed) so it'll hopefully develop into a writing blog, as well.
Posts and links and stuff might be sketchy for a few days until I can get some away-from-work time to get everything off the ground, but probably by Monday or Tuesday, it should be good to go. But I am a professional procrastinator, so I may not have this blog up and running till... oh, let's say June.
Posts and links and stuff might be sketchy for a few days until I can get some away-from-work time to get everything off the ground, but probably by Monday or Tuesday, it should be good to go. But I am a professional procrastinator, so I may not have this blog up and running till... oh, let's say June.
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