So here's day 5 and I still have ideas! To anyone who thinks that they can't do NaNoWriMo, you can! I promise you, you can! If I can do this, anyone can, trust me. I sat at my computer today knowing that I was behind and knowing that I somehow had to reach 8,335 words today. And sadly I had no plot ideas when I walked into work this morning (yes I'm still writing at work :p). I literally opened my computer and typed a couple of words and thought "uh-oh! No more ideas". And then one hit me and I ran with it and I loved it! I finished the day with 8,482 words and I now have plenty of ideas for where I'm going next with my story.
I am starting to realize that the editing process is going to take quite a long time once I'm done with this puppy. I'm afraid that this is only going to be readable to me in its current form and will most probably make no sense to anyone else in its first draft. I'm going to have to go back and rearrange scenes and add scenes and develop scenes more, but for right now, I'm just going forward as the NaNo team suggests and leaving editing for later. I genuinely like my story though and that's something that I never thought would happen! Yeah, told you, I'm my own worst critic! I really expected crap to come out, but the story is there...it's just hard to get it to come out on paper how it looks in my head sometimes. But we're getting there!
I was so proud of my near 8500 words today and I started clicking on friends' friends' pages and started finding people who have already gone well over the 50,000 word mark! How the hell do you do that?! One girl went over 50K on the first day! She wrote for 24 hours straight on November 1st and blogged each hour on her progress. Kinda like Dewey's read-a-thon. Now that's impressive!
My reading has suffered as a result of NaNo, I'm afraid (I haven't forgotten about you Pat ;) But I'm still reading Rebecca and I'm REALLY enjoying it now with only about 80 pages left. And then I have to tackle this giant pile sitting next to my bed. I have another ARC heading my way too from Carole McDonnell. She's a really sweet woman who's sending me a copy of her book Wind Follower which sounds incredible and has an awesome cover! So look for that review in probably about a month. As for now...back to NaNo...
15 comments:
lol I know you haven't forgotten me.. but ya know.. those "eggs are rockin'!"
wow.. you are doing great on the writing.. I would guess whoever wrote 50,000 wds the first day spent all last month writing notes and outlining exactly what they wanted.. You are doin' just fine baby boy!
Isn't it great when a thought takes off all on its own?!! hehe..
Deslily, Oh, I wish I had the time to go right now and finish the books! "Those eggs are rockin'" makes me want to get right back to whats left. I'm going to email the last 3 chapters to myself so that I can read them at work ;)
Thanks for the encouragement on the writing. I read a little bit of the girl who wrote 50,000 words' journal and she said a big chunk of it is stream of consciousness where she literally just wrote down whatever popped into her head whether it made sense or not. Neat tool, but it wouldn't work for me. I would go nuts because it wouldn't make any sense! I need a sense of connectivity there.
It is indeed a great feeling when it takes off on its own though! It's like you're just along for the ride...I love it!
Wow - you are doing Nano too. Good going! :-D
J. Kaye, Yep, I'm loving NaNo! It's been a blast so far. Your blog's great by the way. Always good to find another Louisiana book lover!
I could never write 50,000 words in 24 hours. It's exhausting just cranking out a couple of thousand. You're doing terrific.
Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I won't be finishing this one. My mother has gotten worse and I'm heading home in a couple of days. Bwaaaah. Have fun without me! If I can check in, I will - don't know what her internet situation is or how intense it's going to be helping out. Sucky. Fortunately, I had a premonition that I wasn't going to complete this one, so I was kind of prepared. Gotta love that sixth sense. :)
I'm so impressed by your word count! And your dedication. :) Keep it up!
wohoo!! go chris, go chris!!! :)
very very cool.
and its particularly cool how you're enjoying what you're writing. thats the best part!
i think i told that charlotte did it last year and really enjoyed it, and i was there every day with her and she charged through the month, so i know how hard, and how much fun it can be.
and don't worry about the reading. for one month in the year, reading is of secondary importance...
Wow, Chris! I just can't say enough how impressed I am!
But I totally disagree with you...I honestly don't think just anyone could do it. I'm not trying to be self-deprecating or anything, but I honestly don't think I could. And I'm sure I'm not alone.
You need to not be so hard on yourself! Of course, it will need a lot of editing. Anyone who says they can crank out a polished novel in a month is full of crap! That's the one thing I have to keep reminding Annie of...she's occasionally getting discouraged, wishing she'd written one scene or another a little differently.
Keep up the great work, Chris! It's so fun coming over here and "hearing all the excitement in your voice"!
Wow that is great news, well done you! Keep going:)
Bookfool, Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom...It's great that you're going to be with her but I know that has to be tough. The last thing you need to be doing is worrying about NaNo. My thoughts and prayers will be with you and your family. I hope things are ok. I wish there was something I could do to help. Take care!
Eva, Thanks :) I'm hoping to keep it going strong! It's been so much fun so far, so it really hasn't taken all that much effort. You should do this next year, you'd love it!
JP, I didn't know Charlotte did NaNo last year! That's awesome. You should jump in this year...it's not too late ;) Then y'all can both have a novel behind your backs! Yeah, I'm having to accept that reading is going to have to take a back seat this month. I have three more books though that absolutely HAVE to get read this month for challenges. I'm sure I'll be able to fit 3 in though....I hope :/
Debi, Now who's being hard on their self??? lol! You most definitely could do this! And I think you'd love it. You should go for it next year :) Tell Annie I totally understand her feelings! I keep wishing that I would've written scenes differently or not at all or in a different place or in a different way, but with this you just have to go forward! Tell her we'll fix it all in December ;) Thanks for the encouragement Debi, it means a lot :)
A.book, I see you're doing NaNo too! Isn't it fun?? I'm having a blast doing this. Have you done it before or is this your first year? Thanks for stopping by!
This is my first year and I am really enjoying it although my good first few days has fallen by the wayside:( I hope to get back on track in a day or so. Good luck and keep us posted!
I'm impressed by everyone who participates, not just those with high word counts. I think the hardest part for me would be wanting to stop and proofread and edit when you just have to keep piling up the words. Congratulations on still having ideas!
Dewey, That's definitely the hardest part for me! I keep wanting to go back and rework scenes that I already wrote and I'm constantly slapping myself on the wrist and saying "no!" But the good thing is, if I start to run out of ideas, I do have all sorts of scenes that I can go back on and expand!
Gosh, Chris!
You're putting me to shame. I've started three different novels in the past five months. I'm supposed to be nano-ing but then something else rears its head. I've just got to commit and finish SOMETHING. Publisher looking for another book from me. And this is all just to tell you that published writers have the same exact issues as non-published ones. So get that book finished! -C
Carole, Wow! Three different novels in progress at the same time...how does that work exactly, lol. That's incredible. I have enough problems writing this one. I can't imagine juggling three with the added stress of publishers on your back. I wish you the best of luck. I can't wait to read your book! I'm really looking forward to it!
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