Today is a day with no real plans...outside of writing. Hopefully I will get a bit ahead today. Yesterday (Friday, November 4) I finished writing with a total of 7,005 words. That is a decent total, but that means I wrote less than 900 words and I've lost my buffer. I went out with friends and had a good time, but now I need to focus and try to get ahead again.
My dare of the day was supposed to be from the Romance forum. Apparently, there is no Romance Dares thread. Well, there is now, as I created it. Hopefully some writers will notice it and add to it, or I will be doing my own dare that I left a week from now. With that being the case, I've decided to move to the next genre on the list which is the Satire, Humor, and Parody forum. I'll just check it now...
Put this randomly into your story:
- Someone goes to a curtain shop (or some other shop) but the curtain shop sells carpets. The guy who goes gets really angry at the person at the pay desk. The person at the pay desk then calls their manager, who then calls their manager, who then calls their manager and so on. The person, in retrospect... should get quite tempermental.
That should be easy enough. I doubt very much that it will be a curtain shop, though. Probably a magic shop that doesn't sell real magical items.
As a bonus note, I've decided to write a personal message to the people I've taken the dares from. They are short, but basically explain what I'm trying to do with this novel. So far I've been getting very positive responses, which is what I love about NaNoWriMo. It is a very positive experience. It is a community trying to help and encourage each other. One of them even commented that my message made their day, which in turn made mine. I may not come out of this with a workable novel, but I might come out of it with a more positive attitude and feeling about the world, which I think is far more important.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Feeling better!
I finally had a decent night's rest, so I am feeling a bit more energetic than last night. I think it is more the eye strain from typing on the computer than actually being tired. It's also the weekend, which means a bit more free time...that I should be using to write, of course! (There definitely seems to be a bit of guilt that goes along with NaNoWriMo for me.)
The dare of the day comes from the Murder, Thriller, and Suspense forum:
I dare you to make your victim have an identical twin. For simplicity's sake, Twin A and Twin B.
BP if Twin B places an important role in the case.
DBP if Twin B is the actual victim but the cops think that it's Twin A.
TBP if Twin B and Twin A switched places on purpose.
QBP if Twin A is actually the murderer.
5BP if Twin A is a butler.
I guess I'm about to have twins! Perhaps cops as well, which I hadn't thought about. It is at this point that I start to feel the novel beginning to run away with me. I better go catch up!
The dare of the day comes from the Murder, Thriller, and Suspense forum:
I dare you to make your victim have an identical twin. For simplicity's sake, Twin A and Twin B.
BP if Twin B places an important role in the case.
DBP if Twin B is the actual victim but the cops think that it's Twin A.
TBP if Twin B and Twin A switched places on purpose.
QBP if Twin A is actually the murderer.
5BP if Twin A is a butler.
I guess I'm about to have twins! Perhaps cops as well, which I hadn't thought about. It is at this point that I start to feel the novel beginning to run away with me. I better go catch up!
6121
When the goal is to hit 5,000 for the day, and I get past 6,000 that feels pretty good. Whenever I give tips to people new to the NaNoWriMo experience, one of them is always to build a buffer. There will be days when creatively it will be difficult to get the 1,667. There will be days when time will be an issue. There could be (though hopefully never again) 3 days when a computer crashes and writing by hand in a notebook (so much slower!) becomes necessary. That happened to me during my first NaNoWriMo. My writing really lagged for 3 days. It's also a good time to remind everyone to back up their novel, on a usb and/or emailing it to themselves.
Back to the point, it feels good to have gone a bit above my goal each day for the first 3 days. That helps to build confidence in me and it reminds me that I can do this.
What doesn't feel good? I'm tired. I've ended up staying up later writing than planned, waking up early for no reason, then only being half asleep until my alarm goes up each day. That's why I'm going to bed after I finish this. It's time for some sleep. Then the plan is to use this weekend to build an even bigger buffer!
Tomorrow's dare comes from the Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense thread.
Back to the point, it feels good to have gone a bit above my goal each day for the first 3 days. That helps to build confidence in me and it reminds me that I can do this.
What doesn't feel good? I'm tired. I've ended up staying up later writing than planned, waking up early for no reason, then only being half asleep until my alarm goes up each day. That's why I'm going to bed after I finish this. It's time for some sleep. Then the plan is to use this weekend to build an even bigger buffer!
Tomorrow's dare comes from the Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense thread.
Whew!
Well, I don't think I could have made an easier dare for myself! The dare posted by Wolfwriter in the Horror and Supernatural Dares 2011 thread was:
I dare you to include a Doctor Who reference out of nowhere, just to get back at the Sci-Fi writers. Yes, we have a rivalry with them now. :3 A Doctor-ish catchphrase, (ELLO SWEETY... ALLONS-Y! XD) a blue telephone box, some kind of "sonic screwdriver" reference... anything. :D They won't even see it coming.
Considering that I have just finished watching all the Doctor Who episodes from 2005 to present, this is perfect. I think the hardest part about this dare will be to stop once I've started. Thank you, Horror and Supernatural dare thread!
Well, as I've procrastinated quite a bit tonight, I had better get back to writing. Allons-y!
I dare you to include a Doctor Who reference out of nowhere, just to get back at the Sci-Fi writers. Yes, we have a rivalry with them now. :3 A Doctor-ish catchphrase, (ELLO SWEETY... ALLONS-Y! XD) a blue telephone box, some kind of "sonic screwdriver" reference... anything. :D They won't even see it coming.
Considering that I have just finished watching all the Doctor Who episodes from 2005 to present, this is perfect. I think the hardest part about this dare will be to stop once I've started. Thank you, Horror and Supernatural dare thread!
Well, as I've procrastinated quite a bit tonight, I had better get back to writing. Allons-y!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
3863
That is the total word count so far.
A friend of mine asked me what my stumbling points were when writing. She's having a bit of trouble turning off that inner editor. For me, that's not as much of a problem. My real problem comes later when I need to turn it back on. I find this kind of rush to get it written and plan to fix it later very freeing. At first it was difficult for me, but knowing I don't need to get every sentence perfect liberates me to just get the idea down, which is essentially the point of the rough draft anyway. My extremely major stumbling point seems to be turning that inner editor back on again later to do revision, as I haven't done much of that yet.
For me, I have 2 major stumbling points when writing a rough draft: when I have no ideas, and when I have too many ideas. No ideas can be tough. I don't feel that it is necessary writer's block, just uncertainty. I don't know what is going to happen next, and am uncertain what I should do to make the story progress. In this case I tend to start describing things to keep the word count flowing. I'll spend extra time on the setting, or a random character that may not even be important. Usually something comes up while I am writing. A great professor of mine used to tell me to keep writing and something would come out of it. I am very grateful for that advice because I find it to be true so often.
The other problem is too many ideas. I get frustrated if I know a lot of things that I want to happen in a story, and can't seem to get to all of them fast enough. Some people hop around, creating plot holes to fill in later. I tend to be a very linear thinker and try to write in chronological order. I hope to change that some day, but for now I feel it is working for me. However, it works best when I only have vague ideas of what I want to happen in the middle. For stories I've outlined more thoroughly, well....those are stories I still have yet to write to completion. The other aspect of too many ideas is when I have to choose between two ideas I feel are really great, but will take the story in very different directions. I fret, and I think, and I stop typing and watch something on youtube for a bit. Then I come back and fret, think, and do a Wembley impersonation all over again. Eventually I just need to choose one and go with it. If I don't like where it goes, I can change it later. What I can't do is change an empty page. It is difficult every time, EVERY TIME, but it is worth it. Once I go with the decision, my stress levels drop and the words flow again. For me, I need to get that decision out of the way in less than a day, or I'll just make it worse.
What do you stumble on?
A friend of mine asked me what my stumbling points were when writing. She's having a bit of trouble turning off that inner editor. For me, that's not as much of a problem. My real problem comes later when I need to turn it back on. I find this kind of rush to get it written and plan to fix it later very freeing. At first it was difficult for me, but knowing I don't need to get every sentence perfect liberates me to just get the idea down, which is essentially the point of the rough draft anyway. My extremely major stumbling point seems to be turning that inner editor back on again later to do revision, as I haven't done much of that yet.
For me, I have 2 major stumbling points when writing a rough draft: when I have no ideas, and when I have too many ideas. No ideas can be tough. I don't feel that it is necessary writer's block, just uncertainty. I don't know what is going to happen next, and am uncertain what I should do to make the story progress. In this case I tend to start describing things to keep the word count flowing. I'll spend extra time on the setting, or a random character that may not even be important. Usually something comes up while I am writing. A great professor of mine used to tell me to keep writing and something would come out of it. I am very grateful for that advice because I find it to be true so often.
The other problem is too many ideas. I get frustrated if I know a lot of things that I want to happen in a story, and can't seem to get to all of them fast enough. Some people hop around, creating plot holes to fill in later. I tend to be a very linear thinker and try to write in chronological order. I hope to change that some day, but for now I feel it is working for me. However, it works best when I only have vague ideas of what I want to happen in the middle. For stories I've outlined more thoroughly, well....those are stories I still have yet to write to completion. The other aspect of too many ideas is when I have to choose between two ideas I feel are really great, but will take the story in very different directions. I fret, and I think, and I stop typing and watch something on youtube for a bit. Then I come back and fret, think, and do a Wembley impersonation all over again. Eventually I just need to choose one and go with it. If I don't like where it goes, I can change it later. What I can't do is change an empty page. It is difficult every time, EVERY TIME, but it is worth it. Once I go with the decision, my stress levels drop and the words flow again. For me, I need to get that decision out of the way in less than a day, or I'll just make it worse.
What do you stumble on?
Fantasy dare 1
Here is the dare of the day:
I dare you to use the line, "Wow, I bet no one's ever said THAT before."
Bonus points if someone else claims they HAVE said it before.
Double bonus points if it's already been said before in this book.
I dare you to have your character stand in a grocery store aisle debating whether to use kosher or sea salt in a magical ritual.
Both accepted. And several others filed away for future use!
That last part makes me think that the dares came from earlier posts. I still feel that because this was in the most recent post of the thread, it is the one I should take. I'll look for the earlier posts later, as I need to get writing! I guess with that salt dare that means there will be a bit of magic in my novel. I'm okay with that.
I'm just lucky the most recent dare wasn't the one that dared to use all previous posts. That would've been over 100 extra dares to have to fit into my story. I told you yesterday that I was a bit nervous about the fantasy dare thread. Now I think you can understand why.
Horror and Supernatural dare tomorrow!
I dare you to use the line, "Wow, I bet no one's ever said THAT before."
Bonus points if someone else claims they HAVE said it before.
Double bonus points if it's already been said before in this book.
I dare you to have your character stand in a grocery store aisle debating whether to use kosher or sea salt in a magical ritual.
Both accepted. And several others filed away for future use!
That last part makes me think that the dares came from earlier posts. I still feel that because this was in the most recent post of the thread, it is the one I should take. I'll look for the earlier posts later, as I need to get writing! I guess with that salt dare that means there will be a bit of magic in my novel. I'm okay with that.
I'm just lucky the most recent dare wasn't the one that dared to use all previous posts. That would've been over 100 extra dares to have to fit into my story. I told you yesterday that I was a bit nervous about the fantasy dare thread. Now I think you can understand why.
Horror and Supernatural dare tomorrow!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
1922!
Apparently 1922 was the year that Ulysses by Joyce was published. It was also the year the USSR formed. However, today, 1922 refers to my word count for the first day of NaNoWriMo. That puts me about 200 words ahead of today's goal, which is pretty exciting. It's more exciting, because I wasn't sure I would get there.
Since my goal was to base my novel on other people's dares, I didn't really plan ahead for this one. There is no ending in mind yet. I'm not sure where I'm going. I know henchmen will be involved at some point, but they haven't appeared yet in the first 1922 words (though maybe they should have). I find writing can be at its best and worst when I know where my story is headed next. Not surprisingly, the same is true for when I have no idea where the story is going. It is freeing to think from sentence to sentence, just trying to make a logical step from idea to idea. Sometimes amazing things happen.
Sometimes, nothing seems to happen.
That is when things are at their most difficult. I hit that at around word 600 today. I realized I didn't know where I was going. I felt like there was no real idea there. Perhaps this whole dare idea was stupid (even though I've been thinking about it for 2 years now). Maybe one dare a day wasn't enough to start with. So much could change with each new dare, and will retroactively change all that I'm writing today. I stopped writing.
Twice.
Then I started back up again after a short break. I did what I tend to do when I'm not sure what action should be happening...I describe. I put extra effort into the descriptions, I brought in a character I had only mentioned once before. Then I described her. I made it to my 1,667 word count and beyond.
Why is this important? It's important because this is what needs to be done to finish a novel. Whether it's one rough patch in a day, or even a rough week, the trick is to keep writing. Eventually, I know that if I keep writing, the story will put itself back on track. The story will eventually find a purpose. Why do I put myself through the torture of the rough patches? Get yourself through a few. See what comes out at the other end. Then tell me why you put yourself through it. I hope that you'll be telling me that you find that moment every bit as wonderfully awesome and magical as I do.
Since my goal was to base my novel on other people's dares, I didn't really plan ahead for this one. There is no ending in mind yet. I'm not sure where I'm going. I know henchmen will be involved at some point, but they haven't appeared yet in the first 1922 words (though maybe they should have). I find writing can be at its best and worst when I know where my story is headed next. Not surprisingly, the same is true for when I have no idea where the story is going. It is freeing to think from sentence to sentence, just trying to make a logical step from idea to idea. Sometimes amazing things happen.
Sometimes, nothing seems to happen.
That is when things are at their most difficult. I hit that at around word 600 today. I realized I didn't know where I was going. I felt like there was no real idea there. Perhaps this whole dare idea was stupid (even though I've been thinking about it for 2 years now). Maybe one dare a day wasn't enough to start with. So much could change with each new dare, and will retroactively change all that I'm writing today. I stopped writing.
Twice.
Then I started back up again after a short break. I did what I tend to do when I'm not sure what action should be happening...I describe. I put extra effort into the descriptions, I brought in a character I had only mentioned once before. Then I described her. I made it to my 1,667 word count and beyond.
Why is this important? It's important because this is what needs to be done to finish a novel. Whether it's one rough patch in a day, or even a rough week, the trick is to keep writing. Eventually, I know that if I keep writing, the story will put itself back on track. The story will eventually find a purpose. Why do I put myself through the torture of the rough patches? Get yourself through a few. See what comes out at the other end. Then tell me why you put yourself through it. I hope that you'll be telling me that you find that moment every bit as wonderfully awesome and magical as I do.
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