Tag Archives: Previous NaNo’s

Is There A Cliff I Can Jump Off?

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The whole time I read Stab My Back, I felt like jumping off a cliff.  I’ve never read something so funny in my life.  While I expected that it would be bad, I never expected it to be so hilariously bad.  I kid you not, I couldn’t stop laughing, especially for the 1st half of it.  I figured out what I wanted to do with it, and where I wanted it to go after about 25k.  I’m still not completely sure what it’s about, but what I’ve managed to figure out, it’s about this girl betrayed by her friends and family, and she has to lead the magical world to…something.  So here’s a sample of what I found:

  • adttingrer picking them up.  (and once you do that, Izzie, can put the pieces together after picking them up?) 
  • I would look fairly unrecognizable, rather unlike myself.  (that would be the point of disguising yourself, yes?)
  • So, I aslked for an paplicatrion (You asked for what?)
  • I hated not knowing things- and when I did know things, I only knew aprts of things, and not the whole thing, so the pieces of things I did know did not make sense uintil after theyt happened.  Unless I happened to know the whole thing, which was not very often (can I go jump off that cliff now?)
  • a pink and white swirl of light swirled around us.   (Swirling colors swirl?  You’re kidding me.)
  • This was all so confusing.  And I hated being confused, because being confused meant that things were confuising.  (Yes, I’d like to speak to the manager of the department of redundancy department manager.)

And believe me, there’s more where that came from.  I seriously felt the need to bang my head against the wall.  Because this is what happens when 1- you write 100,000 words in one month, especially for the 1st time, and 2- when you start a new novel a few days in, with no idea of what I’m writing about.  I may have to try it again sometime, just to see what would happen.

Sometimes, I Wonder What I Was Thinking

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Right now, I’m in this “I’m going to re-read all my NaNo novels” phase.  Which is fine with me, because usually I only read them once, at the beginning of December, and then I’m done with it.

I did re-read my 2006 novel a few months ago, and it was really interesting to compare it to Turning Point.  My writing has definitely improved over the last  years, and if I were to compare all of my novels (9 total!), especially in the order they were written, I’d definitely be able to see the change in my writing over time.  NaNo is the only time I write anything, although I’m *attempting* to change that this year.

Anyway, sometimes I look at what I’ve written, and there’s a lot I don’t remember writing.  A lot of times too, I wonder what I was thinking. 

I bring you Exhibit A, which is one of my NaNo’s from 2008 (titled Stab My Back).  As you might remember from my very first post, I started it a few days into November, with no plot.  It’s such a trainwreck, and pretty much the 1st 36 pages are based off of different songs.  It’s hilarious though.  So far, there haven’t been too many hilarious spelling errors or anything like that (mostly because of that darned inner editor), but even still, having no clue what I’m writing makes for hilarious writing.  I’ll definitely post anything funny on another day. 

But seriously, this novel has been one big…what on earth was I thinking moment.  It’s a wonder my grandma doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with me, because I’ve been trying hard to not  laugh.  The tv is on slightly louder than normal, and we’re in different rooms, so there’s a chance she didn’t hear me laughing hysterically.  While going in with no clue is interesting, it’s doubtful I’ll ever do it again.  I might, just to see what’ll happen. 

The one thing I love about NaNo is that it tests my ability to just write, and let everything go.  When you write 100,000 words in a month, you tend to let go, and just focus on the writing.  It’s more about quantity than it is about quality.  One of the things that’s popped into my head the last couple weeks is that I write 100k- but I never said anything about them about good words. 

And with the focus on quantity (not quality) it’s no wonder that when I go back and read anything I’ve done during NaNo, I wonder what I was thinking.

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.

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.

Am I A Planner or a Pantser?

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I had a great idea for today’s post…and then I forgot it!  It must not have been too memorable then, otherwise I would have remembered it, right? 

There are typically two groups of people, the planners and the pantsers.  Planners obviously plan out their novels in varying degrees, while the pantsers are, for the most part, the opposite of planners.  I see it as a continuum, with people being a combination of the two.  It seems, however, that people definitely lean more towards one group than the other. 

I always thought I was a pantser, doing pretty well with just characters and a vague idea.  I coming to the conclusion that while I am most definitely a pantser, character biographies are good, because I have a much better understanding of all my characters.  I’m definitely not the “outlining my novel, and these are the points I need to have” type, because I tried that one year with my quest for pants novel, and failed miserably.  Granted, that’s the type of novel that really shouldn’t be planned, and it would probably work well with a different idea.  I will admit that the level of planning largely depends on what I’m writing.  Harry Potter needs minimal planning, as the world is already there for me to play with.  My secret service novel, on the other hand, definitely needed several pages of notes, and some research about not only the secret service, but I had to look at the cabinet, and a few other things.  I’ll probably talk about research and planning another day.

This month I’m finding that the only novel I haven’t yet struggled with is my secret service novel.  I’ve been moving things along reasonably well, there’s a good amount of conflict, and I have plenty of material to work with.  I did do more research than I’ve ever done, even coming up with an incomplete list of questions and possible conflicts.  I had no outline for it, no plot points, or anything, but I feel like that list I came up with has been a huge help. 

With the other two, I haven’t done anywhere near the planning I’ve done for the other.  No possible conflict/questions lists to work with.  Granted, I’m the not the best at coming up with conflict, and I usually don’t have enough of it, but there isn’t a lot of it this year, and conflict would probably be helpful.  I may have to come up with a conflict list, but we’ll see if I can actually get it done.  I have to say that I at least have a general (read: extremely vague) idea of where I’m taking harry potter and the giant prehistoric chicken- I have the next few chapters outlined.  And by outlined I mean I have a list of things I need to write about.  With the 2006 sequel, I’ve gone back and written chapters that I skipped over, which is introducing some new material to work with, so hopefully that’ll get me unstuck.

Secret Service Novel: 23,411; since I’ve had some trouble with the other two, this is the only one where I have no trouble writing way more than I need to.

Harry Potter Fanfic: 23,474; while I have a plan that’s so vague, it probably can’t be considered a plan, it may be time for harry to start dreaming about the giant prehistoric chicken.

2006 Sequel: 23,343; going back and writing stuff I’ve skipped over really is interesting.  apparently gumbo has decided he is not mike’s dad.  He does have a daughter, and he feels guilty for getting his daughter’s mom pregnant.  It appears that Chloe is his daughter, but they don’t know it yet.

Grand total: 70,288; tomorrow I’ll definitely be hitting the halfway mark, which will be a big exciting thing, and a huge benchmark.

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.

Fun Facts and Other Stuff

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I’ve noticed in the last week that I’m getting very particular about when and where I write.  I’m perfectly fine when I’m not at home, so I’m not too concerned.  However, writing at home is proving to be slightly problematic.  The middle of the night works is a productive time because no one’s awake except for me. The morning is fine because my mom’s not home.  When she is home, however, is the time I have the most trouble writing.  While I typically try to avoid writing during this time, and try to focus my attention on other productive tasks (eating is good, and so is going to the gym), it would be nice to actually get writing done during this time.  Perhaps I need to write elsewhere during this time.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into some rant about how much I hate being cooped up at home.  What I’m learning is that I need to work out the best times for writing, and working around things that are potential annoyances.  It’s definitely a different experience from past NaNo’s when I would write at school or during my lunch breaks at work. 

So onto the fun facts part of the post.  Today was the day for secrets to start coming out in my secret service novel.

  • Kyle, one of Kiora’s secret service agents was adopted and is trying to find them
  • Dustin admits that Kiora is pretty, and might possibly be attracted to her, but won’t admit to it.  It might be why he is so hostile towards her
  • Kiora has an aunt Arabella that she doesn’t know about, and she’s currently in a psych ward
  • Blake (kiora’s dad) knows Arabella’s in a psych ward, and refuses to tell kiora about her unknown aunt
  • luna’s mom (luna being a classmate of kiora) and luna are in the same psych ward as her aunt arabella
  • holly (who is the presidents daughter and a classmate of kiora’s) is involved in some group; she currently trying to recruit kiora for the group, but her sister aisling is against the idea; holly also had to wait for luna to not be around in order to talk to kiora about coming over one weekend
  • i get the feeling that blake and luna’s dad go way back, but the jury’s still out on that one
  • I also have a feeling that kyle is somehow connected to kiora’s family, but the jury’s out on that one as well

Secret Service Novel: 13,386; I’m pretty happy with how this is going.  I’m starting to show what’s going on with other characters and the whole reason why Kiora need secret service protection will probably come up again (I just wish I knew when that would be).

Harry Potter and the Giant Prehistoric Chicken: No updated word count; I had trouble sitting down and focusing on writing today’s chapter.  There’s no particular reason why I’m having trouble focusing, since it’s been a problem I’ve had today.

2006 Sequel: 13,476; Chloe’s been doing a lot of reflecting and a lot of volunteering the last few thousand words.  Other than that, there’s nothing to add.

Wordcount: 39,019; assuming I can focus long enough to write the Giant Prehistoric Chicken, my word count should be at around 40686

Plot #3

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Today’s topic is my third novel, which like Harry Potter and the Giant Prehistoric Chicken, is a combo of 2 different ideas. 

Originally I was going to write about an author who keeps getting derailed from writing their novel while trying to get fired from their job.  There was the shiny new idea of writing a sequel to my 2006 novel.  I realized that I could combine the two rather easily because my female main character Chloe (from my 2006 nano) wants to be a bestselling author, and could use some extra time to write. 

Weird things are definitely going to happen to keep her from writing, and there will be all kinds of work drama for her as well.  She can’t quit her job because she’s a full-time student, and she’s completely on her own, with no family to help her out.  Her dad’s not in the picture and her mom and grandparents died in a car crash.  Her aunts and uncles are out of the picture because they kicked her out of her childhood home.  She does have a few friends who would have no problem helping her out and supporting her, but she doesn’t want to be a burden on them, so she’s feeling really trapped.

Chloe has a lot of trust issues, which stemmed from a multitude of family issues.  Her mom worked a minimum wage job, and had some emotional issues.  She had an abusive aunt and an abusive uncle (and by the way, they aren’t married to each other), her other aunt and uncle could care less about Chloe, and her two cousins were spoiled brats who lived to make Chloe suffer. 

She still has a lot of issues to work through this time around, and it’ll be more of a struggle for her as she tries to balance things.  It won’t be as depressing as 2006, but there will definitely be a sense of darkness lurking in the background.  Things haven’t been easy for her, and that won’t change for this novel either.  She is pretty tough, so she’ll be okay.

Hey There!

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I thought that this year I’d try blogging my NaNoWriMo experiences this year.  I have no idea how well it’ll turn out since I tried to a couple years ago and failed miserably.  However, I have a lot of time on my hands, and I’m feeling inspired to chronicle this years attempt. 

My first year doing NaNoWriMo was in 2006.  I won, somehow, with a rather depressing tale of an 18 year-old girl who is the sole survivor of a car accident.  It follows the year of her life after that car accident, and highlights what went wrong in her childhood, and her struggles to overcome everything that’s happened to her.

2007 was certainly an interesting year.  Not only was I writing a novel, but I was working full-time and going to school full-time.  Not to mention that it was my first year as ML.  2007 was the year that I thought I would write about a fictional natural history museum in a fictional town.  I managed to win, which was surprising considering I was really stressed and cried a lot. 

2008 was the first year I attempted two novels.  I had two perfectly good ideas, and couldn’t decide which to go with.  So why not write both?  One was the sequel to the 2007 NaNo, and the other was the sequel to my 2006 novel.  However, a few days in, the only file I had for the 2006 sequel got corrupted, and I lost it, which was just as well, since I didn’t like the direction it was going in anyway.  So I started from scratch going off of Stab My Back by the All-American Rejects, one of my favorite songs at the time.  Going in completely blind was certainly an experience, but one I have no plans to do ever again.  I still have no idea what the novel was about.  I managed to win twice, and miraculously finished both novels early.  That was definitely a fluke, because it only happened the one time… 

Fast forward to 2009, when yet again I wrote 2 novels.  One was about a girl who witnessed a murder, and had to go into witness protection.  The other was the quest for pants, and was entirely based on the dares thread.  Writing a novel based entirely off of dares was definitely an experience, and while I don’t mind incorporating dares, a whole novel based on dares is something that I’m not sure I want to do again.  I did win twice, so I have a pretty good track record.

And of course, there are this year’s novels, which I’ll be talking a lot about over the next few weeks, so I’ll leave that for another day.