That is the number of words I've written today. 8,436!!!! I am really proud of that number, as I am sure that is the most I've written in one day. I wonder how high the number would be if I included the blog and emails I sent while taking a break from the novel.
This number is especially nice as it allowed me to hit my weekend goal of passing the 40,000 word mark! Less than 10,000 to go now.
Time for bed! (that is, of course, assuming I can sleep after all this excitement (really, I think my eyes are so tired from staring at the screen all day that won't be a problem))
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Day 20!
I finished yesterday with 31,679 words which meant that I was caught up. I did a happy dance before going to bed last night. Today, I started writing a couple of hours ago and have reached 33,755 words. That is great, because that means I have already gotten my day's word goal accomplished. It is also great because I now have the opportunity to get a bit ahead. That is important as I know next Saturday I won't have time to write, so I need to be a bit ahead to allow for that. I also have a lot of paperwork to do this week, so I'll be pushing to get both done at the same time.
The skipping around has helped a lot. This is because instead of sticking with a scene until it is really finished, or setting up a scene properly, I started skipping to what I think will be the most interesting parts. That interest keeps the words flowing. I've also started setting the timer during my breaks, not just for the writing time. That has really helped me focus back on to the writing when I'd be tempted to sit back and be entertained.
Today's dare comes from the Adventures forum. There were no recent posts, so I returned to the beginning of the thread, and will take the first dare. It was actually an example left by a moderator, but I will take it all the same. Dragonchilde posted:
* - introduce a character who forgot a vital eating utensil (say, a fork)
** - meet up with an indigenous group of peoples who have said eating utensil
*** - who then throw your character in prison for not possessing said eating utensil
I guess that means I'll have to throw in an indigenous group at some stage. Perhaps today. What could my characters be missing? Fork, spoon, chopsticks? I know my characters have knives, so it will need to be something different.
Thanks to all that have been reading this blog. That goes especially to those that take time to comment and those taking time from your writing to read. It really helps to encourage me to write, knowing that others are taking the time to read.
My alarm will go off soon, so I'll end this here for now and head off to do some writing!
The skipping around has helped a lot. This is because instead of sticking with a scene until it is really finished, or setting up a scene properly, I started skipping to what I think will be the most interesting parts. That interest keeps the words flowing. I've also started setting the timer during my breaks, not just for the writing time. That has really helped me focus back on to the writing when I'd be tempted to sit back and be entertained.
Today's dare comes from the Adventures forum. There were no recent posts, so I returned to the beginning of the thread, and will take the first dare. It was actually an example left by a moderator, but I will take it all the same. Dragonchilde posted:
* - introduce a character who forgot a vital eating utensil (say, a fork)
** - meet up with an indigenous group of peoples who have said eating utensil
*** - who then throw your character in prison for not possessing said eating utensil
I guess that means I'll have to throw in an indigenous group at some stage. Perhaps today. What could my characters be missing? Fork, spoon, chopsticks? I know my characters have knives, so it will need to be something different.
Thanks to all that have been reading this blog. That goes especially to those that take time to comment and those taking time from your writing to read. It really helps to encourage me to write, knowing that others are taking the time to read.
My alarm will go off soon, so I'll end this here for now and head off to do some writing!
Excerpt
As a bonus for having missed a day of blogging, and to give you an idea of the ridiculousness my novel has taken, I will actually give allow you to read a section I wrote today. Remember (please) that the idea of NaNoWriMo is to keep writing and not go back looking for mistakes. You will also notice some of my obvious word padding that I haven't done in the past, but just seemed fitting with what I was doing today.
Doctor Williams left the foyer and the four of them just looked at each other. Whizzer was the only one that didn’t look terrified.
“Let’s take some photos and bag some evidence!” he said quietly.
“Don’t be stupid, Whiz,” Lace warned, “you aren’t in one of your crime shows now. This is real. You aren’t properly trained for that, and neither are any of the rest of us. I also don’t like the idea of standing here taking pictures when the girl is out there somewhere in danger.”
“Agreed,” Jake and Rager said at the same time, so I wouldn’t have to think of two random things for them each to say.
I also agree with what Lace said, and rather than spend a lot of time trying to create a believable mystery with clues and suspense when I am behind in my word count, I’ll skip to them finding the kidnapper.
Jenkins, or at least someone that looked like Jenkins stood in the field. They could seem him clearly as they cleared the woods at the base of the mountain. Though the field was surrounded by trees, the landscape was barren save for the recently plowed and tilled earth beneath their feet. The girl shook nervously with the knife at her throat. The man pointed a gun in the general direction of the crew.
Jake stepped closer, the man pointed the gun at him.
“I can take him,” Lace advised.
“I know,” Jake replied, “but then we won’t get the answer we need. Damus said we need to solve the mystery to save Melvin. Are you Jenkins?”
“Yes, of course I am!” Jenkins shouted, spittle flying from his angry mouth. “I want you to leave, or I’m going to kill the girl.”
“Moron
“Aren’t you going to kill me anyway?”
“We aren’t planning on it,” assured Jake, “but we need to know why you took the girl. Was it just for the money?”
“Of course it was for the money,” Jenkins started to explain for no reason like the criminals always do in detective shows, “I was tired of serving other people. We had had enough of being poor with no future.”
“We?” Whizzer asked stupidly, as I need to make sure it’s obvious that he belongs in this seen.
“Yes, my brother and I. We were twins.”
“Why’d you kill him then?” Lace asked, looking through the scope of her rifle. She was also disappointed, as the magical and scifi elements of the novel thus far could have lead to something much more interesting and X-Files-esque than a boring, ordinary murder.
“He was going to die anyway. He had in inoperable tumor. They told him he only had about two months to live. This was his chance to give me a way to make my fortune, if we couldn’t both live, than at least one of us could live well. We’d spent the last couple weeks taking turns being me. It wasn’t difficult; we’ve been pretending to be each other as a joke since we were children.”
“Well, all that was exciting,” Lace commented, “murder solved, now?”
“Not yet,” Jake directed, “there are still more details to be answered.”
“Why?” asked Rager, who was the type of person to be content by the lame answers given by the series finale of Lost. OK, that’s not true, he more likely would’ve been the type to get angry and smash the television because none of it made any sense. Rager would likely have smashed in Jenkins the same way, but Jake cautioned him not to.
“No,” Jake warned, “we still need to find out the details of how it was done. In all the crime shows and movies we get a flashback scene showing the details. Clearly we need one now.”
“Fine,” Jenkins acquiesced, “I’ll describe it exactly. My brother and I had been sending the notes. We took turns leaving the mansion undetected. It wasn’t difficult. We were careful to leave no prints on any of the notes we created and sent. We didn’t even make them in the mansion, we had a motel room that we rented by paying cash. We always went in disguise. We really had thought things out quite thoroughly,” he commented proudly. “We had hoped to set up a way to prevent the actual kidnapping. This really has become much more difficult than it should have,” he said, gun shaking.
“Get on with it,” Jake warned with a knowing motion of the head to Rager and Lace whose guns were still pointed at Jenkins.
“Right, where was I? Oh, yes! Our plan had been to somehow make the money drop off a preventative measure. We had a grand idea of encouraging Doctor Williams to have him send an employee with the cash. There was no one more trusted on staff than I, especially as I’ve been with the family the longest. It would have been very unlikely the good doctor would have questioned my loyalty. He probably would’ve been quite concerned when I disappeared as well, perhaps even informing the authorities to come search for me. Meanwhile, my brother and I would have been long gone to a tropical beach somewhere, enjoying what time we had left to each other.”
“What happened?” Whizzer asked, to remind us all that he is still at the scene, even though at this point he doesn’t really serve much purpose, and it is difficult write dialog for four people interrogating one man.
“You happened!” Jenkins shouted spitefully, “You happened. Professionals that came in and seemed to know what they were doing. The increased security made things difficult enough, but then you all showed up. We knew it wouldn’t be as easy to execute our original plan with you around, so we adjusted accordingly. We knew the security cameras and setup well enough, so we made it look as though I had been coerced into bringing the girl to save her father. I would have still looked loyal. Then, I had to shoot my brother so that no one would follow me. With Jenkins dead, the location of the girl was unknown and they would have to deal with the kidnappers!”
“It would have worked too--” Whizzer started.
“Don’t,” Jake warned. “Is that all?” he asked of Jenkins.
“Yes, except for how you’re going to let me go to protect the girl. I will send instructions on how you will be bringing me my money, getting the girl back, and ensuring that I get out of the country safely. Don’t follow me, or will hurt her bit by bit until you stop.”
“Lace, now,” Jake said.
The bullet was in Jenkins head, and Rager had his arms around the girl before the butler dropped. He picked the crying child up in his arms as easily as he would a doll. Lace went over to help comfort her.
“Did you get that?” Jake asked of Whizzer.
“Of course,” he said, proud that now there was actually a reason for him to be in this scene, “I got video and a separate high quality audio. It should be really good. I’ll make copies for our files, as well as the officials, and even the doctor if he wants one.”
Friday, November 18, 2011
Days 18 & 19!
Well, it wouldn't be NaNoWriMo without me having some sort of technical glitch. Yesterday, I spent a long time getting the writing done for the guest blog submission. As I went to send the submission in an email, it wouldn't attach. From the time I opened up the email to compose to the minute afterward when I tried to attach the file, my internet stopped working. I tried restarting the computer. I tried turning it off and on again. I tried talking nicely to my computer and internet. Then I tried yelling and threatening my computer and internet. I tried adjusting my firewall that had just updated. For over 2 hours I tried. Nothing, nothing worked. This morning, still nothing. I took my computer into work, and found that it does work and can pick up the internet. I'm now back home and the internet is magically working again! Knock on wood it will remain working at least until the end of the month.
That having been said, now you will understand why I didn't post yesterday and why I'll have to take 2 dares today. I also need to catch back up on my word count. I'm hoping to push and pad to get ahead this weekend, because the next 2 weeks at work will be very busy.
Speaking of busy, I better get started, so I need to talk about today's dare(s) of the day.
The first dare is from the Humor, Satire, & Parody dares thread:
Awesome! Perhaps I will add a radioactive ninja cow anytime I get bored.
The second dare, well, it happened again. The most recent post in the SciFi dare thread happened to be my own. The one before mine was the dare I accepted last time. The SciFi writers don't seem to be quite as dare-ing as I had hoped. I've decided to take my own dare this time, though I hope not to make a habit of it. Perhaps if it happens again I will go with the first dare of the thread. My dare was this:
Have your main character bounce a rubber ball against a wall any time s/he is stressed.
BP if the ball lights up.
TBP if the ball also makes loud noises or music every time it bounces.
QBP if during a critical hiding, chase, or fight scene, this is the hero's downfall.
Cookies if the ball turns out to be a disguised robot or weapon that helps to save the day.
Which just adds to the fun of what's going on. I'm really thinking that I will be going a bit crazy with my writing for the rest of the month. I'll basically be writing a detailed outline with snippets of scenes to get all of these dares in. I'll probably be breaking down the wall and adding personal comments as well. I just need to have fun and roll with it. Hopefully the words will just start pouring out.
A day behind at the moment, so I better get writing!
P.S. How are you doing?
That having been said, now you will understand why I didn't post yesterday and why I'll have to take 2 dares today. I also need to catch back up on my word count. I'm hoping to push and pad to get ahead this weekend, because the next 2 weeks at work will be very busy.
Speaking of busy, I better get started, so I need to talk about today's dare(s) of the day.
The first dare is from the Humor, Satire, & Parody dares thread:
Dare:
Bright green ninja cows
BP: with radioactive axes
Bright green ninja cows
BP: with radioactive axes
Awesome! Perhaps I will add a radioactive ninja cow anytime I get bored.
The second dare, well, it happened again. The most recent post in the SciFi dare thread happened to be my own. The one before mine was the dare I accepted last time. The SciFi writers don't seem to be quite as dare-ing as I had hoped. I've decided to take my own dare this time, though I hope not to make a habit of it. Perhaps if it happens again I will go with the first dare of the thread. My dare was this:
Have your main character bounce a rubber ball against a wall any time s/he is stressed.
BP if the ball lights up.
TBP if the ball also makes loud noises or music every time it bounces.
QBP if during a critical hiding, chase, or fight scene, this is the hero's downfall.
Cookies if the ball turns out to be a disguised robot or weapon that helps to save the day.
Which just adds to the fun of what's going on. I'm really thinking that I will be going a bit crazy with my writing for the rest of the month. I'll basically be writing a detailed outline with snippets of scenes to get all of these dares in. I'll probably be breaking down the wall and adding personal comments as well. I just need to have fun and roll with it. Hopefully the words will just start pouring out.
A day behind at the moment, so I better get writing!
P.S. How are you doing?
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Day 17!
Over the last day I:
Wrote over 1,000 words
Offered to write a submission for someone else's blog (I'll post a link later if it gets accepted)
Had lunch with friends
Enjoyed a short walk in the warmer weather while it is still here
Did a little self-promotion on the NaNoWriMo site
Gained a new follower =)
Made a slightly scary choice
It's that choice that I want to talk about. I'm getting bored with my novel. I have a lot of dares to cover. What to do?
I think I'm going to attempt doing what so many other writers do, and what other writers have recommended. I'm going to skip to the good parts. Sounds great, right? So, why am I scared to make such a decision?
I think I've written before about the fact that I tend to write from beginning to end. I make logical steps (at least they seem so at the time) to get from one scene to another and one chapter to the next. (OK, I don't write in chapters, but I'm rolling now, so let me go with it) I try to make sure that there are no plot holes. I try to see my characters grow and change. As I need new characters I add them. As I need a way to help my characters out, I try to base it on information from earlier parts of the novel. If that doesn't work, I add something a bit deus ex machina style and make a mental to note to add something earlier in the revisions so it won't seem so out of place.
Today, though, I will make that first leap into writing the best scenes and hoping to fill in the gaps and connect the dots later. It will start with this line: Jake reunites with his friends, catches them up on all that has happened over the past few months, then other stuff happens and they end up outside of a country mansion.
This will lead right into one of the dares, which I will probably rush through to try to get to the others.
Speaking of dares, today's was posted by Laura the Explorer in Romance Dares:
I actually used this in one of my previous novels (although it wasn't a romance):
-Have a character sneeze just as they're going in for a kiss the first time.
Perhaps I will add a goofy love interest today, just to make sure I have this dare covered.
Scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time; better get writing!
Wrote over 1,000 words
Offered to write a submission for someone else's blog (I'll post a link later if it gets accepted)
Had lunch with friends
Enjoyed a short walk in the warmer weather while it is still here
Did a little self-promotion on the NaNoWriMo site
Gained a new follower =)
Made a slightly scary choice
It's that choice that I want to talk about. I'm getting bored with my novel. I have a lot of dares to cover. What to do?
I think I'm going to attempt doing what so many other writers do, and what other writers have recommended. I'm going to skip to the good parts. Sounds great, right? So, why am I scared to make such a decision?
I think I've written before about the fact that I tend to write from beginning to end. I make logical steps (at least they seem so at the time) to get from one scene to another and one chapter to the next. (OK, I don't write in chapters, but I'm rolling now, so let me go with it) I try to make sure that there are no plot holes. I try to see my characters grow and change. As I need new characters I add them. As I need a way to help my characters out, I try to base it on information from earlier parts of the novel. If that doesn't work, I add something a bit deus ex machina style and make a mental to note to add something earlier in the revisions so it won't seem so out of place.
Today, though, I will make that first leap into writing the best scenes and hoping to fill in the gaps and connect the dots later. It will start with this line: Jake reunites with his friends, catches them up on all that has happened over the past few months, then other stuff happens and they end up outside of a country mansion.
This will lead right into one of the dares, which I will probably rush through to try to get to the others.
Speaking of dares, today's was posted by Laura the Explorer in Romance Dares:
I actually used this in one of my previous novels (although it wasn't a romance):
-Have a character sneeze just as they're going in for a kiss the first time.
Perhaps I will add a goofy love interest today, just to make sure I have this dare covered.
Scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time; better get writing!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Day 16 Dare!
I feel like I've used exclamation marks more this month than ever before in my life! (see, there's another one! (and another!)) Perhaps it is just the excitement of NaNoWriMo, or the number of times I wish another writer good luck on their writing. Does being positive and encouraging require exclamation marks?
I did not reach the halfway point last night. I first made the mistake of turning on the television for a few minutes, and got trapped into watching As Good as it Gets...again. My computer was also moving very slowly last night. Doing one of those ridiculous 'waiting until I've typed 10 words to allow them to appear and tell me I've misspelled all the words in part do the computer lagging and not recognizing every keystroke' dances. I was frustrated, and I was tired. I let it all get to me. I even stopped 10 minutes before midnight knowing I was too far away to reach the goal of the day.
That is what I call a low point.
The good news is I'm back again for another day! (There it is again! (Does blogging require exclamation marks?)) I'm starting a bit earlier tonight, so hopefully I can catch back up or at the least get the 1,667 for the day.
Today's dare comes from the Mystery Dares thread:
--posted by stepensdemise
I could use this as an interesting side story. This is one of those frustrating times when I've come across something that I feel could be its own story easily. I'll try to use it, but if it doesn't work in revision it may very well become its own story. Another notable dare that I saw, but wasn't the most recent, involved cute zombie plant eating animals. Perhaps it is my love of Monty Python, but I think zombie bunnies attacking would be terrific. (Should it be comedy or horror? I feel like it could work either way.) I'll bookmark the cute bunnies for something later. Or, possibly, I might at them when I run out of ideas in this novel.
For now, I better get writing!
I did not reach the halfway point last night. I first made the mistake of turning on the television for a few minutes, and got trapped into watching As Good as it Gets...again. My computer was also moving very slowly last night. Doing one of those ridiculous 'waiting until I've typed 10 words to allow them to appear and tell me I've misspelled all the words in part do the computer lagging and not recognizing every keystroke' dances. I was frustrated, and I was tired. I let it all get to me. I even stopped 10 minutes before midnight knowing I was too far away to reach the goal of the day.
That is what I call a low point.
The good news is I'm back again for another day! (There it is again! (Does blogging require exclamation marks?)) I'm starting a bit earlier tonight, so hopefully I can catch back up or at the least get the 1,667 for the day.
Today's dare comes from the Mystery Dares thread:
Leaving:
Include this twist on the angel of mercy type killer: Killer targets people who are the cause of suffering rather than those who suffer.
BP - killer was once a bully or other cause of suffering in others.
DBP - The killer decides those of wealth cause others suffering.
TBP - If the killer is filthy rich.
QBP - Killer realizes he is a living inconsistency in his mission, decides to kill himself , and fails.
Infinite points - If the killer, having failed in his suicide attempt, is then murdered by someone unrelated to his own killing spree. (An opening for a whole new novel!)
Include this twist on the angel of mercy type killer: Killer targets people who are the cause of suffering rather than those who suffer.
BP - killer was once a bully or other cause of suffering in others.
DBP - The killer decides those of wealth cause others suffering.
TBP - If the killer is filthy rich.
QBP - Killer realizes he is a living inconsistency in his mission, decides to kill himself , and fails.
Infinite points - If the killer, having failed in his suicide attempt, is then murdered by someone unrelated to his own killing spree. (An opening for a whole new novel!)
--posted by stepensdemise
I could use this as an interesting side story. This is one of those frustrating times when I've come across something that I feel could be its own story easily. I'll try to use it, but if it doesn't work in revision it may very well become its own story. Another notable dare that I saw, but wasn't the most recent, involved cute zombie plant eating animals. Perhaps it is my love of Monty Python, but I think zombie bunnies attacking would be terrific. (Should it be comedy or horror? I feel like it could work either way.) I'll bookmark the cute bunnies for something later. Or, possibly, I might at them when I run out of ideas in this novel.
For now, I better get writing!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Day 15!
(Just a point of interest, something went wrong as I tried to post this before, so I am now writing this for the second time.)
Day 15! Yes, it is the halfway point! With a bit of luck and dedication, I might make it to 25,000 words tonight!
I am both excited and frustrated to see my writing buddies soaring ahead of me in their word counts. I am glad to see that they are doing well, and to know that my encouragement, at least in a small way, has helped them to get where they are. It is frustrating as I don't like to be behind, as I am at the moment. I would prefer to be ahead of the daily goal. However, the frustration I'm feeling will hopefully help spur me on to catch up. Even when writing buddies are frustrating, they're still helpful, isn't it a wonderful thing?
Today's dare comes from the Horror & Supernatural Dares thread. Astrid indeed posted:
Two dares in one post? I like the sound of the second one, though it does add to making my creatures even more complicated, elaborate, and a bit more crazy than they were before (and I have yet to write one into my novel...ack!). I better get to the creatures soon!
Question to you: do feel as there are two dares that I should do both? or just the second one as it is the most recent?
I will leave you to ponder that as I am off to do some writing!
Day 15! Yes, it is the halfway point! With a bit of luck and dedication, I might make it to 25,000 words tonight!
I am both excited and frustrated to see my writing buddies soaring ahead of me in their word counts. I am glad to see that they are doing well, and to know that my encouragement, at least in a small way, has helped them to get where they are. It is frustrating as I don't like to be behind, as I am at the moment. I would prefer to be ahead of the daily goal. However, the frustration I'm feeling will hopefully help spur me on to catch up. Even when writing buddies are frustrating, they're still helpful, isn't it a wonderful thing?
Today's dare comes from the Horror & Supernatural Dares thread. Astrid indeed posted:
Leaving: Have a character talk about a defining childhood experience in which feral hunting dogs killed his cousin.
BP: He tracks them down and seeks revenge.
DBP: If he attempts to kill them with fire but fails.
TBP: If the account starts with the line "father told me the hounds had been sold to pay for mother's tombstone."
QBP: If he kills the dogs using only his hands and teeth.
Cookies: If he ends the accout with "and that's why I'm a vegetarian!"
Write a species that claims to come from the moon.
BP: If they actually do.
DBP: They photosythesise to circumvent the lack of nurtrients on the moon's surface and are somewhat translucent.
TBP: They treat sucrose like a drug.
QBP: They are the reason we don't send men to the moon anymore.
Cookies: Their shadows are parasitic independant creatures that would kill a human host outright.
BP: He tracks them down and seeks revenge.
DBP: If he attempts to kill them with fire but fails.
TBP: If the account starts with the line "father told me the hounds had been sold to pay for mother's tombstone."
QBP: If he kills the dogs using only his hands and teeth.
Cookies: If he ends the accout with "and that's why I'm a vegetarian!"
Write a species that claims to come from the moon.
BP: If they actually do.
DBP: They photosythesise to circumvent the lack of nurtrients on the moon's surface and are somewhat translucent.
TBP: They treat sucrose like a drug.
QBP: They are the reason we don't send men to the moon anymore.
Cookies: Their shadows are parasitic independant creatures that would kill a human host outright.
Two dares in one post? I like the sound of the second one, though it does add to making my creatures even more complicated, elaborate, and a bit more crazy than they were before (and I have yet to write one into my novel...ack!). I better get to the creatures soon!
Question to you: do feel as there are two dares that I should do both? or just the second one as it is the most recent?
I will leave you to ponder that as I am off to do some writing!
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