About forty-five minutes ago, I uploaded my submission to the NaNoWriMo website for verification. Their count? 50,102 words. Mine? 50,148. Doesn't really matter much, they are both over 50,000 words.
I just went back and looked at my writing log book. I keep a log of each day I write and how many words and pages on that day. Chalk it up to my accounting background. Anyway, when I counted the days I actually wrote this month, I found out I only wrote on 24 days.
Yeah, I'm pretty stoked about this. I finished Vesta and got 106 pages into TNN. I'd love to say I'm going to continue this pace, but December is coming. April may be the cruelest month, but December is none too friendly with writers. There's just too much going on between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I am thinking about trying for a repeat in February. Not much going on then and more than 24 days so . . . First I have to figure out what my December goals will be. I'll let you know on Monday.
But for now, I'm basking. And slacking off big time tomorrow and Sunday. Major video consumption tomorrow. A trip to see Twilight with some of the gang on Sunday. A nice reward, I'm thinking.
Thanks to all the cheerleaders who helped get me here. Once again, you guys rock.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Jenny Asked
First, a GOOD ON YA! to Jenny for getting her rewrites plus done for tonight.
How did the plan work? Pretty dang well, actually. Just saying I would do that helped me sleep. Or it was sheer exhaustion from the two previous pretty-much sleepless nights. Whatever. I slept.
And I'm still staying mildly ahead of where I need to be to have 50k on Sunday the 30th. 50k! Pretty frikkin frakkin cool as a friend of mine said recently.
I did not write at all on Saturday. I was only slightly ahead of where I needed to be on Friday so I knew that not writing anything would put me behind again. But I knew I could make it up without a lot of sweat. I'd done it before. I'd done it before from a much much scarier place. I've been 7-9k behind. What's 1,100 words? Chicken feed. I can do that with one keyboard tied behind my back.
Again, working on TNN is extra special liberating. Just the most skeletal of outlines to worry about--or ignore, which I seem to be doing more and more with better and better results. No feedback from outside yet to color what I'm doing. Just writing for the sake of making shit up. Gotta love that.
So here I am at work this morning trying to explain why my weekend was so great. "What did you do?" I wrote 3,000 words on Sunday. "And?" And I goofed off on Saturday because my cold had me down, but I wrote 3,000 words on Sunday. "That's it?" I went to brunch with Jonnie and Steve. "Oh! That's nice."
How did the plan work? Pretty dang well, actually. Just saying I would do that helped me sleep. Or it was sheer exhaustion from the two previous pretty-much sleepless nights. Whatever. I slept.
And I'm still staying mildly ahead of where I need to be to have 50k on Sunday the 30th. 50k! Pretty frikkin frakkin cool as a friend of mine said recently.
I did not write at all on Saturday. I was only slightly ahead of where I needed to be on Friday so I knew that not writing anything would put me behind again. But I knew I could make it up without a lot of sweat. I'd done it before. I'd done it before from a much much scarier place. I've been 7-9k behind. What's 1,100 words? Chicken feed. I can do that with one keyboard tied behind my back.
Again, working on TNN is extra special liberating. Just the most skeletal of outlines to worry about--or ignore, which I seem to be doing more and more with better and better results. No feedback from outside yet to color what I'm doing. Just writing for the sake of making shit up. Gotta love that.
So here I am at work this morning trying to explain why my weekend was so great. "What did you do?" I wrote 3,000 words on Sunday. "And?" And I goofed off on Saturday because my cold had me down, but I wrote 3,000 words on Sunday. "That's it?" I went to brunch with Jonnie and Steve. "Oh! That's nice."
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Downside of NaNoWriMo
I wrote about being at the fun part. And I'm still there. With the shift over to TNN, I'm having even more fun because of the novelty. It's a shiny new story. No one has seen these words, these characters except me. There are on expectations on them. Plus there's the happy from putting "The End" at the end of Vesta. All good stuff.
And all the good stuff is leading to more good stuff. I've been thinking of trying my hand at a poem for a magazine Nicole turned me on to. Haven't written poetry pretty much since high school (I won't admit here how long ago that was). But something about the theme of toys, games and puzzles spoke to me. I knew what game I wanted to write about, but nothing really came to me. Then I started getting ideas of how to work it. I'm liking the ideas. A good thing. I'm also getting ideas for MMG rewrites and Vesta rewrites-how to flesh out that scene better, maybe that one should be trimmed or cut altogether. Also very good things.
So where's this downside I speak of? These brilliant ideas are all coming to me between one and five in the morning. Can't turn them off or shut them up. I get almost there. Use the breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques I learned over a year ago when I was first hit hard with insomnia. Get just about there. Right on the edge. Then Vesta will whisper something to me or Wardell (my protag from TNN) will knock over one of my notions about him or a setting from any of the books will materialize fully formed and beautiful in front of me and I start all over again. No, I haven't gotten up and written anything down, because it always feels like I immediately file it away and start slipping off to dreamland again. Until the next one starts in.
The plan is this: tonight I take my journal to bed with me. Relax, meditate and then start writing. Write whatever comes to mind about Vesta, Wardell, Kitty, Zack, Lily--I don't care who it is--and keep writing until the well is dry. It could turn out to be a lot of words that won't count toward NaNo goals. Don't care. I've got to get all these people to shut up after nine o'clock at night. They can start again as soon as the alarm goes off in the morning, but for pity sakes sleep on the same schedule as me.
Or I'll kill all of you off in the second chapter and bring in new, obedient, considerate characters.
And all the good stuff is leading to more good stuff. I've been thinking of trying my hand at a poem for a magazine Nicole turned me on to. Haven't written poetry pretty much since high school (I won't admit here how long ago that was). But something about the theme of toys, games and puzzles spoke to me. I knew what game I wanted to write about, but nothing really came to me. Then I started getting ideas of how to work it. I'm liking the ideas. A good thing. I'm also getting ideas for MMG rewrites and Vesta rewrites-how to flesh out that scene better, maybe that one should be trimmed or cut altogether. Also very good things.
So where's this downside I speak of? These brilliant ideas are all coming to me between one and five in the morning. Can't turn them off or shut them up. I get almost there. Use the breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques I learned over a year ago when I was first hit hard with insomnia. Get just about there. Right on the edge. Then Vesta will whisper something to me or Wardell (my protag from TNN) will knock over one of my notions about him or a setting from any of the books will materialize fully formed and beautiful in front of me and I start all over again. No, I haven't gotten up and written anything down, because it always feels like I immediately file it away and start slipping off to dreamland again. Until the next one starts in.
The plan is this: tonight I take my journal to bed with me. Relax, meditate and then start writing. Write whatever comes to mind about Vesta, Wardell, Kitty, Zack, Lily--I don't care who it is--and keep writing until the well is dry. It could turn out to be a lot of words that won't count toward NaNo goals. Don't care. I've got to get all these people to shut up after nine o'clock at night. They can start again as soon as the alarm goes off in the morning, but for pity sakes sleep on the same schedule as me.
Or I'll kill all of you off in the second chapter and bring in new, obedient, considerate characters.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Thank You and You and You
Thanks to all the cheerleaders who are keeping me going through this long strange trip of NaNoWriMo. You guys are great.
And another thank you to Jenny for being brave enough to volunteer to be the first CWCer to submit a whole novel to the group. It's given me an extra month so that I don't have to worry about cleaning up the mess I've made of Vesta over the past two weeks for a while. Plus I get to look forward to reading what she's done with a novel that I already like very very much.
A little light on word count yesterday, but I did finish Vesta and start TNN. Then I went to see The Secret Life of Bees with some of my non-writer friends. Had a great time, and it was a nice was to celebrate hitting the halfway point.
TNN feels like working without a net after writing the end of something I've been writing on for almost a year. This is new and different and I don't really know the characters very well yet. I don't know if they'll like me or I them, but we're taking those first tentative steps. Still being overly polite with each other. Not comfortable enough to show our true selves. But that should ease off by the end of the week. Let's face it, none of us--not even fictional characters--can keep the mask in place for very long.
Now, back to work.
And another thank you to Jenny for being brave enough to volunteer to be the first CWCer to submit a whole novel to the group. It's given me an extra month so that I don't have to worry about cleaning up the mess I've made of Vesta over the past two weeks for a while. Plus I get to look forward to reading what she's done with a novel that I already like very very much.
A little light on word count yesterday, but I did finish Vesta and start TNN. Then I went to see The Secret Life of Bees with some of my non-writer friends. Had a great time, and it was a nice was to celebrate hitting the halfway point.
TNN feels like working without a net after writing the end of something I've been writing on for almost a year. This is new and different and I don't really know the characters very well yet. I don't know if they'll like me or I them, but we're taking those first tentative steps. Still being overly polite with each other. Not comfortable enough to show our true selves. But that should ease off by the end of the week. Let's face it, none of us--not even fictional characters--can keep the mask in place for very long.
Now, back to work.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
For Those of You Keeping Score
That was, indeed, over 5,000 words written yesterday. 5,382 to be exact. Vesta will be finished today. Then it's on to TNN. And I have very little planned for it.
What a ride!
What a ride!
Friday, November 14, 2008
The Fun Part
Shhh. Don't tell anyone, or we may jinx it.
But I'm getting to the fun part of NaNoWriMo. Of any writing, really. My characters are starting to think for themselves. They're doing things I didn't anticipate. They've ended up in situations I could not have forseen. Zack (CWCer's LEAST favorite character in the book) has turned out to have some pretty cool stuff going on.
To try to maintain this, I'm writing every single friggin' day. No matter what. And I've gone into superstition mode. "I wore this ring on the days that I logged the most words, so I will where this ring all the time now."
Okay, back to it. Just wanted to post something about my writing that wasn't total whinging.
But I'm getting to the fun part of NaNoWriMo. Of any writing, really. My characters are starting to think for themselves. They're doing things I didn't anticipate. They've ended up in situations I could not have forseen. Zack (CWCer's LEAST favorite character in the book) has turned out to have some pretty cool stuff going on.
To try to maintain this, I'm writing every single friggin' day. No matter what. And I've gone into superstition mode. "I wore this ring on the days that I logged the most words, so I will where this ring all the time now."
Okay, back to it. Just wanted to post something about my writing that wasn't total whinging.
Monday, November 10, 2008
My Wonderful Excuse
As you can see by the NaNo count on the right, I seem to be going backwards as regards my writing goals. But I have a wonderful excuse for why I didn't get more done over the weekend.
Well, I have a good excuse.
It's an excuse, you decide its merit.
I was house and dog sitting for Jonnie and Steve. So I had to give some attention to the dogs. Plus there's the extra time that normal things take to accomplish, because you're not in your usual environment. So there's that. But J&S have a new addition to the family since the last time I housesat. A big-screen HD TV. I spent a little time getting acquainted with this new addition.
And the biggest culprit in all this not writing? HBO. They decided to show a True Blood marathon. I read the book that the series is based on, Dead Until Dark. And I liked that book. A lot. As a matter of fact, I picked up the next three books in the series. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the series is about Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in Louisiana who can hear people's thoughts. The books take place in a near future just after vampires have come out of the coffin, so to speak. They are able to drink a synthetic blood now and are lobbying for equal rights. Sookie meets and falls for a vampire, whose thoughts she can't hear. The main story, however, is a murder mystery. Seems other waitresses who've been involved with vamps are being killed.
The series contains all the elements of the main plot of the book. The characters from the bar and Sookie's family are there. There's the "What's up with Sam", her boss, element. The murders. Bad vamps. Ambiguous vamps. Bill the Vampire's trouble walking the line between the vampire world and the human one. And there are a lot of added storylines. A lot. Voodoo and exorcism. A wacky girlfriend for Jason, Sookie's ne'er-do-well brother, and all the comes from that. But one of main things I loved about the book is missing: the funny. Now there is humor in the series, but not the belly-shaking, tear-squeezing laughs from the book. And for all the nudity and sex, a lot of the sexiness is missing, too.
Did I like the series? Yes, I did. After all, I spent the better part of the weekend watching it. And I really want to see the final three episodes, even though I know at least part of the ending.
The Dexter television series did a similar thing with Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Main story is there. Lots of extra stuff added to make it fill up a full television season. They, however, managed to keep the funny. And maybe even add to it.
I understand the changes. You have a 300 page book that takes several hours to read. When you film it, it takes even less time to watch, because the pictures take care of setting and character description. And you need to fill 12 episodes with an average running time of about 50 minutes each. So you need more stuff. And in both cases, they have added well.
Here's the question: Do you think we as writers who all love our television (and you know we do) maybe try to put too much in our books? Do we try to fill them up with all the extra stuff that we see in our favorite shows? And if we do, is it a bad thing?
Well, I have a good excuse.
It's an excuse, you decide its merit.
I was house and dog sitting for Jonnie and Steve. So I had to give some attention to the dogs. Plus there's the extra time that normal things take to accomplish, because you're not in your usual environment. So there's that. But J&S have a new addition to the family since the last time I housesat. A big-screen HD TV. I spent a little time getting acquainted with this new addition.
And the biggest culprit in all this not writing? HBO. They decided to show a True Blood marathon. I read the book that the series is based on, Dead Until Dark. And I liked that book. A lot. As a matter of fact, I picked up the next three books in the series. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the series is about Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in Louisiana who can hear people's thoughts. The books take place in a near future just after vampires have come out of the coffin, so to speak. They are able to drink a synthetic blood now and are lobbying for equal rights. Sookie meets and falls for a vampire, whose thoughts she can't hear. The main story, however, is a murder mystery. Seems other waitresses who've been involved with vamps are being killed.
The series contains all the elements of the main plot of the book. The characters from the bar and Sookie's family are there. There's the "What's up with Sam", her boss, element. The murders. Bad vamps. Ambiguous vamps. Bill the Vampire's trouble walking the line between the vampire world and the human one. And there are a lot of added storylines. A lot. Voodoo and exorcism. A wacky girlfriend for Jason, Sookie's ne'er-do-well brother, and all the comes from that. But one of main things I loved about the book is missing: the funny. Now there is humor in the series, but not the belly-shaking, tear-squeezing laughs from the book. And for all the nudity and sex, a lot of the sexiness is missing, too.
Did I like the series? Yes, I did. After all, I spent the better part of the weekend watching it. And I really want to see the final three episodes, even though I know at least part of the ending.
The Dexter television series did a similar thing with Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Main story is there. Lots of extra stuff added to make it fill up a full television season. They, however, managed to keep the funny. And maybe even add to it.
I understand the changes. You have a 300 page book that takes several hours to read. When you film it, it takes even less time to watch, because the pictures take care of setting and character description. And you need to fill 12 episodes with an average running time of about 50 minutes each. So you need more stuff. And in both cases, they have added well.
Here's the question: Do you think we as writers who all love our television (and you know we do) maybe try to put too much in our books? Do we try to fill them up with all the extra stuff that we see in our favorite shows? And if we do, is it a bad thing?
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