Subject: I lost... 26k
Author:
Posted on: 2010-12-03 17:09:00 UTC
School was a big obstacle for me - 400-level classes soak up time, and it's all interesting enough stuff that I want to study it. On the plus side, NaNo gave me something I could "procrastinate" at in favor of studying.
Also, I started to care too much about writing well and keeping my plot consistent. I'm going to finish the story, but it's going to take more than 30 days.
Well, we had a 'beginning of NaNo' thread, so I figured it would be nice to have a follow-up now everyone's caught their breath.
So who finished? How did it go - was it easy or hard? Did you have any particularly exciting moments you'd care to share? Horrible moments?
To start the ball rolling:
One fun moment for me was realising the one circumstance under which my very straight-laced MC would drop the F-word. I had no idea she was going to do it until the thought came into my head "This is an appropriate moment for a precision F-strike."
Although I did later wimp out and edit to have the word only implied, I will always know what she said.
I finished on the 25th, primarily because I've been doing Nano since 2004 so it's not really anything new to me. It's actually gotten pretty boring at this point. However, it did provoke me to write again, and it's made me start developing a new novel project from scratch. This, of course, when I should actually be writing my master's thesis.
I've been doing it for several years and I don't think it'll ever be easy, so I salute you!
And... also wish you luck with your thesis. I've heard Stories about what hard work that is.
I just squeaked by with 50,008 words, but I'm very happy with how it went and I got to write in a 'verse I've been meaning to flesh out for a while now.
Yeah, it's fun to finally write something in a setting that's been hanging around. Mine was sort of like that - Jackson and Felaben's origin story, as it happens! What sort of 'verse is it?
I had some points where I fell rather far behind, but I caught up in the end. Too bad the fic itself isn't actually finished yet... must find the motivation to do that...
How close is it to being finished?
First time, I didn't actually find out what NaNoWriMo was until halfway through the month. Second time, I was working on my Girl Scout Gold Award project, and this year I was busting my butt with college applications.
Here's hoping I'll actually have time next year.
I fell apart about two weeks in, and by halfway through the third, I knew it wasn't going to happen. I ended at... 16,000? Something like that?
No regrets, though, and it got me back into the habit of writing. Now I'm looking forward to going back to writing short stories, and starting a PPC spin-off, finally.
I guess that's kind of what NaNo's for, though - getting you to write, so it's good that it did that much for you! :)
I failed. The end. Will try again later. Congrats to those who made it.
Real Life got in the way. Phoo. Oh well.
It happens. Try again next year?
Could you give me a link to your story, pretty please? I'd like to read it.
It's not actually online, but if you want to read it (and don't mind the fact that it's really a first draft), I can E-mail it to you.
I firmly believe that all works of literature worthy of the name, original fiction or fanfiction, start out as first drafts.
However. If you are not completely certain that you're comfortable with letting someone read your work before you feel it's well and truly finished, do not send it to me! I can't possibly stress this enough. I don't want you to feel like you've let me see something that wasn't entirely up to your standards yet.
Think it over carefully. If you decide you want to show me anyway, tell me, and I'll post you my email address. And if not, let me know too, okay? I won't be offended in the slightest. Believe me, I'll understand.
I think I'll keep it hidden away on my hard drive for a while longer. I let it stew for a while, then looked it over once more and came to the conclusion that the exorcism scene is stupid and the ending isn't one, so I'm not going to be showing it off until those issues are fixed.
Sorry (and for the long delay in replying), but thanks for the interest!
It's fundamentally wrong to show your work to the world if you're not sure it's as good as you can make it. It's not fair toward yourself and toward your readers. That's how I see it, at least.
And don't worry about the delay. I'm a very patient person. *hides voodoo doll*
As soon as I get around to writing that horror story/mystery/tortured (and we do mean tortured) romance that's been worming around inside my skull (lovely mental image, that), I'll let you know. If you're interested, that is.
Meanwhile, because I'm a shamelessly self-promoting little monster, I'm linking you to some of my stuff. Who knows? You might find it enjoyable.
This is comedy...
...and this is, well... See for yourself.
Bye!
It's been a slightly disruptive time, with an uncertain schedule and things changing--in a good way, fortunately; but such things are not conducive to writing. Also, I think I'm being held hostage by my unfinished NaNovel from last year. I don't know if I can work seriously on anything else until I finish it and fix it and make it respectable. But it's haaaaard....
On the upside, I HAVE worked on compiling a list of Germanic names and a glossary of their elements and meanings, which I enjoyed immensely and will most likely continue to build on as I discover new elements. Also, I'll probably end up doing a similar thing for other language groups if my characters ever spend much time in a location with a different language--I figure differentiating names between peoples is the easiest way I can indicate a different language without actually knowing or inventing them. So, you know, if you ever need an Old English/Norse/German-sounding name and want to know what it means, let me know. You'd have to figure out which permutations of the elements belong to which branch if it matters to you, though, 'cause I didn't keep track. ^_^;
~Neshomeh, amateur anthroponomatologist.
That sounds... incredibly cool. Names are awsome! Is that purely for fun, or are you studying them?
School was a big obstacle for me - 400-level classes soak up time, and it's all interesting enough stuff that I want to study it. On the plus side, NaNo gave me something I could "procrastinate" at in favor of studying.
Also, I started to care too much about writing well and keeping my plot consistent. I'm going to finish the story, but it's going to take more than 30 days.
I sympathise, though - I drove myself into the ground trying to do class, choir and NaNo and it would have been so much smarter to stop.
Good luck finishing another time! I sometimes think that there should be a special NaNo for students. June, perhaps?