Tag Archives: Inspiration

A General Wrap-Up

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All in all, this was my best NaNo yet.  I’ll talk about each novel individually in the next few days, but today I thought I’d do a general wrap-up.

  1. I’m never doing three novels in one month again.  I will, however, stick with doing two novels.  3 is too much to keep track of, no matter how much free time I have on my hands. 
  2. However, working on 3 novels got me back to writing everyday, which is something that I’ve sorely missed.  While I might not write everyday, I definitely need to be writing at least a few times a week.
  3. This was the year that I remembered why I started doing NaNo in the 1st place- because I love writing, and I have ideas that I need to get out onto paper. 
  4. Writing is fun, even when I want to strangle my characters. 
  5. I’ve, for the most part, ignored my inner editor, which has made for some interesting writing!

I’ll be posting everyday for at least the next few days, but after that, it’s highly likely that I’ll post anywhere from 4-5 days a week.  Sometimes it’ll be more, sometimes less, depending on what I’m talking about.  Not everything will be NaNo-specific now that NaNo is over, but I will be talking about 2 of the novels I’ve worked on this year, plus one of the novels that I worked on last year.  I know I have a couple of non-NaNo projects that I started a long time ago and never finished, so I might be talking about those every once in a while.  And of course, I’ll be talking about anything writing-related, and probably talk about books I’m reading every once in a while.

Winner!

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That’s right, I’m a winner for the 5th year in a row!  It’s been a great month, and yes, frustrating at times, but I think this is my favorite nano ever!  I’ll be doing a wrap up for each novel, plus a general wrap-up post as well over the next few days.  

Secret Service: 50,255; I was listening to Use Somebody by Kings of Leon when I hit 50k, at which point, I screamed and jumped up and down.  I finished this one today!

Harry Potter: 50,707; got to 50,000 and decided to write an extra 700 words.  I was listening to No Way from A Very Starkid Album when I hit 50k.  This was the first one to reach 50k, and I screamed and did a happy dance.

2006 Sequel: 50,023; This was the 2nd one I finished.  I was listening to Wildflower by the JaneDear Girls.  Not much celebrating for this one, just me saying Yay! when I hit 50k.

Grandtotal: 150,985; I was glad I had an extra 700 words for the harry potter fanfic, because when I went to validate, the validator had me at 149,800, which almost a thousands words off.  I added a couple hundred words to my secret service novel, which brought me up to 150k.  Since I was validated and had saved my winners certificate, I entered in my true wordcount.  It was quite the scare, because I’ve never remembered the nano site being that off, but oh well.  I still have my 150k, which is all that matters.

And as a side note, I was listening to Days of Summer from A Very Starkid Album when I validated the 1st time.

The End Is Near!

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The other day, I was looking at my word count for one of my novels, and it finally sunk in that November is almost over.  I knew it was almost over, but realizing that I had about 5,000 words or so left for each novel was mind-boggling.  It’s been a great month overall.  I’m sad November’s over, but I know on December 1st, I’ll be ready for the madness to start all over again. 

And on a side note, I feel a cold coming on.  I’m thankful it waited until the end of the month, although I’m surprised I didn’t completely fall asleep while writing.  A nap will probably make me feel better.  And cold medicine might help too. 

Secret Service Novel: 45,236; only 4764 words away!  Still debating whether I should do the 1667 or if I should write 2382 today and 2382 and finish early. 

Harry Potter: 49,122; just 878 words away.  I should finish this one tomorrow, but today is also a possibility, depending on what I do with the secret service novel, and if I feel up to it.

2006 Sequel: 49,079; 921 words away!  This one will likely be finished tomorrow, which is quite the relief, given I have no idea what to do with it.  On the plus side, the shovel of death and Mr Ian Woon have made an appearance.

Grandtotal: 143,437; I’m just 6563 words away from 150,000!  I have an inkling that I’ll be several thousand words over 150k, which will be a nice change from previous years.  Having extra words is good, because there’s usually a discrepancy between word and the nano validator (and thankfully they’re pretty close), but usually I try to wrap things up at 50,000 words.

Meet My Muse!

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Since I talked about my inner editor yesterday, I thought today I’d talk about my muse.  Sometimes she’s with me, sometimes she’s not, but writing is a lot better when she’s around than when she’s not. 

I definitely have a better picture of her in my mind than I do of my inner editor.  She’s definitely has wavy hair, and she’s the long flowy skirt type.  There’s a fairy vibe to her, no noubt about it. 

Secret Service Novel: 45,236; for some reason, I’ve decided this one is going to be the last one that I want to get 50,000 words on, so I think I’ll keep up with my tradition of working on this one last. 

Harry Potter: 45,728; I’m looking foward to working on this one post-NaNo, because there’s a lot of story to tell.  I have the feelinhg that this is the one I’ll finish first, and quite honestly, it’ll be a big accomplishment to finish this one first because of all the difficulties I had writing it the first few days!

2006 Sequel: 45,136; I’ll be quite glad when I’m finished with this one, or at least, when I get to 50k on this one.  There’s a story in there, I just have no idea where it is.  A break from it may be what I need.

Grandtotal: 136,100; with all the extra writing I did yesterday, combined with the little I got done at today’s write-in, and with the writing I somehow managed to do at home, I’ve finished today’s word goal pretty early.  I’m still itching to get some writing done, so hopefully I can get ahead, and hopefully finish at least one novel early.

What I’m Thankful For, Writing Style

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I thought that today I’d talk about what I’m thankful for, in terms of writing.

  1. First, I’m thankful that I heard about NaNo.  It’s been a big part of my life the last few years, and it’ll be a big part of my life for years to come.  I’ve meet a lot of great people through NaNo, and it’s one of the few things that I can really depend on.
  2. The fact that I’m able to keep writing everyday, and for the joy that writing brings me, even when my characters drive me crazy and do things I never intended them to do.
  3. Writing has kept me sane, giving me a way to get these ideas out of my head.  At the times when I felt my worst, it’s given me something to focus on, and my way of dealing with everything going on around me.

It’s a pretty short list, but doing NaNo every year is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.  So onto my wordcount!

 Secret Service Novel: 41,839; I worked on this one while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, and miraculously didn’t get all distracted by it. 

Harry Potter: 40,655; I’ve been working on this one off and on, while waiting for food, and when I got bored. 

2006 Sequel: 41,684; I worked on this one last night.  I’m still not sure if I’ll work on it tonight or not.

Grandtotal: 124,178; I didn’t get as much writing done as I had hoped, but I’m not worried about it either, since I’ve been doing pretty well.  And after all, it is Thanksgiving, so a huge number was low on the priority list.

Every Story Needs A Giant Prehistoric Chicken

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I’m pretty impressed with myself this year.  I’ve managed to write over 100k with contractions, not splitting up words like however, or using any other word padding techniques.  In the past, I’ve used song lyrics, not used contractions, and I’ve split words like however and nonetheless into multiple words. 

Every year I’ve had a character mention or do NaNoWriMo, and this year is no different.  I still need to work it into my secret service novel, but that should be soon.  It did get me thinking about other things I need to include in my novel this year.

  • The giant prehistoric chicken naturally needs to make an appearance.
  • mr ian woon also needs to make an appearance.  No NaNo is complete without him.
  • the traveling shovel of death
  • a bunny.  The only reason i’m writing 3 novels is because of too many plot bunnies.
  • ninjas!  (or ninkas as I like to call them).  pirates.  vikings.  Some kind of ninja, pirate, viking war!

Secret Service Novel: 35,152; still need to write today, but if I don’t, I have no doubt I’ll be able to catch up.

Harry Potter: 35,126; I still need to write for this one as well.  Watching Deathly Hallows Part 1 certainly gave me a couple ideas, so all in all the distraction was well worth it!

2006 Sequel: 38,413; I’m surprisingly ahead with this one, so it’s doubtful I’ll add to this one tonight.  But since I’m a couple days ahead, I’m not too worried about missing a day.

Grandtotal: 108,691; a lot of words, and hopefully I won’t have to resort to nefarious means to get 150k.  However, nefarious means are certainly in my bag of tricks if I need them.

My Thoughts Are Turning Towards December

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Every year, I tell myself I’m going to keep writing something once November’s over.  And yet, I somehow manage to not write much of anything the rest of the year.  And yes, every year I feel like I get a little closer to actually writing post-November.  I feel like this is the year that I’m actually going to keep writing, adding more to what I’ve written, but at a more leisurely pace.  We’ll see how it actually works out, of course, but this is the year where I’ve felt like I’ve actually meant it, as opposed to previous years when it was more of a I-should-do-more-writing during the year. 

Secret Servivce Novel: 33,522; there’s so much to think about with this one!  This one is the one that I’m most likely to finish post-November, since there’s so much to work with on this one.  A lot of the decisions I’ve made with this one are mostly because of the conflict and tension they cause.  I was kind of thinking one simple kiss would be sufficient to prove my point, but if there were more to their relationship, and it developed more than I had ever planned, the consequences would definitely be more severe.  and of course, creates even more conflict/tension, and provides some very interesting choices for not only dustin and kiora, but those around them.

Harry Potter and the Giant Prehistoric Chicken: 35,008; I’m pretty likely to keep writing this one once November’s over.  I’m not sure why, but I’m sure the giant prehistoric chicken is behind it.

2006 Sequel: 38,413; It’s doubtful whether I’ll keep writing this one after November.  If I do, it’ll probably be every once in a while, but it’s not high on my priority list.  I want to say I’ll need a break from it for a few weeks, but given that I usually don’t go back on work on stuff, it’s doubtful I’d do so after a break. 

Grand total: 106,943; I’m surprised that I managed to write anything, considering it’s been cold and rainy, and my fingers can barely move because they’re so cold.

I Must Not Forget Why I’m Doing This

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I remember when I first heard about NaNo.  It was October 2005, and I thought I wouldn’t have the time to do it.  It turned out, though, that I had plenty of time for NaNo, and I immediately regretted the decision not to participate.  I vowed that I would do it the following year.  And every since 2006, I’ve done NaNo.  I started out doing NaNo as someone who loves to write, and as someone who wanted to finish a story for once.  I’ve started a few stories (mostly in high school) and never finished.  Since starting NaNo, I’ve (mostly) finished everything I’ve started.  While my november drafts are never completely finished (as rough drafts are never are), they are much more finished than anything I’ve ever started.  Since my first NaNo, november has become the one time of the year that I know I can finish what I set out to do. 

It’s also like summer camp in a way.  I’ve never been to summer camp, but it has the feeling of seeing people you haven’t seen all year.  I’ve met some great people through NaNo that I know I’ll talk to for years to come. 

I used to write a lot in high school, and my first couple years in college.  And then, suddenly, I was writing less and less, until the only time I actually write anything is during NaNo.  It’s like my brain knows that writing happens only during November. 

There’s a great sense of achievement and satisfaction on December 1st knowing that I’ve just written a novel.  And even though I know I probably won’t edit it (though I’ve made a couple half-hearted attempts), I still wrote a novel in a month. 

This time around, I’ve been writing everyday, and I’ve been remembering why I started doing NaNo, and how much I love writing.  I have a strong feeling that this year will be the year that I keep writing post-November.

Secret Service: 19,917; none of the secrets have been revealed, but it looks like kiora will be getting a visit from one of her aunts. 

Harry Potter Fanfic: 20,059; things are moving along at a great pace.  I am deviating a bit from Order of the Phoenix, but then again that’s the point of fanfiction, right?

2006 sequel: 19,995; I took a break from moving things foward, and went back to one of my skipped over chapters.  It was a nice break from where things were going, and it definitely provided me with some stuff that’ll be helpful for the rest of the month.

Grand total: 59,971; I’m just under where I want to be, about I’m slowly creeping up on the halfway mark, which means that things will start to get easier.  I should be able to add a few thousand words tonight.