NaNoWriMo 2013

[Chozon1]

I've been designing and prepping a story in my head since September, and then went and forgot. -_-

I'll have to sign up and junk tonight and get started tomorrow.

[ArchAngel]

Nice, we'll give it a what for.

I've hard such an atrocious start. That blank screen is really intimidating.

[Chozon1]

For myself, I just start writing. Not intelligent stuff, not good stuff, just whatever pops into my head. Story related or otherwise, chapter one or the final conflict. Feels good to have something on the page.

[ArchAngel]

I should probably do at least that. I'll just stare at the screen and think of what I should write. It's been a couple days and barely have a paragraph.

[Orodrist]

Ack, you give me hope at least. I haven't got much more than that done.

[ArchAngel]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one in this boat.

I'm seized up on details of life in the setting and making commitments to plot, characters, and symbols.

[Sstavix]

For myself, I just start writing. Not intelligent stuff, not good stuff, just whatever pops into my head. Story related or otherwise, chapter one or the final conflict. Feels good to have something on the page.

That's a good way to approach it. Doesn't matter if it makes sense at this point - just get it out there on the page!

I've found that one of the biggest snags is editing. So often I've seen a mistake that I had just made that I want to stop and correct immediately. For example, I just had one sentence where I use the word "follow" three times. In the same sentence. Ugh. But the phrase "meh, I'll fix it in edit" has practically become a mantra during these endeavors. Because if I think the story has merit, I will.

Incidentally, the novel I wrote in 2010 has undergone five edits / revisions, and I just sent a synopsis and manuscript excerpt to a publisher. I'm hoping they approve and want to see the full thing. It would be a big confidence booster in my life right now....

I'm seized up on details of life in the setting and making commitments to plot, characters, and symbols.

I've heard that some people draw up an outline before November starts and work off that. Others just fly by the seat of their pants and fill in the details as they come to them. I tend to adopt the latter approach. I think about my novel while I'm not actively writing it, considering scenes and connections that I want to make. Then I file them away in my brain until I get back in front of the old laptop and get to typing. It may not fit with your writing approach, but I suggest that you don't get caught up in the all the little details at this point. Just write whatever comes to mind, even if it makes no sense, or even (especially!) if it runs contrary to what you did have in mind for your plot. Remember, "meh, I'll fix that in edit...."

[ArchAngel]

I should probably ingrain that right in my subconscious. I tried framing the story out before hand, and, in a sense, I'm planning story out from the end to the beginning. It might be easier to fix the story in edit/rewrite than to get it right the first time.

[Sstavix]

It might be easier to fix the story in edit/rewrite than to get it right the first time.

It is for me.

I remember that there was a writer who came to speak at the university I attended who wrote a short story that ended up winning a couple awards. It was based on a true story, and her writing approach was unique. She basically would not put down a word onto the paper until she was absolutely, positively sure that that was the word she wanted to use. As a result, she never edited her story before submitting it for publication.

On the downside, it took her around 13 years to write that one story. (And if I recall correctly, it was the only story she wrote.)

So I may be going out on a limb, but I think you want to be a little faster than that.... Don't be afraid to make mistakes! Get sloppy! Use it as a learning experience!

[ArchAngel]

If I treat writing like I do coding, once I layout how I want the structure to be, I should just get building. I'm never going to iron out the details until I start putting it together.

[Chozon1]

728 words.

...Progress.

[ArchAngel]

Way better than me. I'm 164, lol.

We'll see how much I'll have tonight.

[Orodrist]

I abandoned my first attempt at 165 haha.

New one should get going tonight.

[Sstavix]

As you can see, you can add a widget to your signature line to display your word count. Or at least what you've put into the word count validator.

You can find them here.

Incidentally, it can be very easy to hit 50,000 words. Here's an example:

Once upon a time there was a man who was very hungry. So he ate and ate and ate and ate and ate.... (repeat "and ate" approximately 25,000 more times) until he was full. The end!

Of course, the only person you'll be deceiving is yourself....

[Chozon1]

I'm finding out that I hadn't really ironed out a story, just a basic idea. So I'm constantly writing stuff, then being like "OK...why did you write that?" XD

Need to plan something, I suppose.

Laziness catching me in the face count: 2