tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post7449291427263472533..comments2023-07-03T03:56:33.096-07:00Comments on She fancied herself a writer...: NaNoWriMo No MoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-9997735547244389592013-12-03T07:59:43.807-07:002013-12-03T07:59:43.807-07:00Hi Elise! Thanks for dropping by and giving us you...Hi Elise! Thanks for dropping by and giving us your take on NaNoWriMo. I'm doing a little happy dance for you that you completed it this year - YAY! I think you're right - you have to be in the right frame of mind to do NaNo and yes...it's very hard to write a book. Maybe one fine November I'll be at the place where I'm ready for the 30 day challenge again, but until then, I'll just keep happily writing and encouraging others writers, because we can all use a little encouragement, right?<br /><br />Happy Writing!<br />JanJan Christiansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16578696706386613012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-63738316250329231322013-12-03T07:57:24.755-07:002013-12-03T07:57:24.755-07:00For my take on NaNoWriMo this year, my blog entry ...For my take on NaNoWriMo this year, my blog entry is at: http://www.elisemstone.com/2013/12/winner.htmlElise M. Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12548587381862555229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-25152401105740366942013-12-03T07:23:25.950-07:002013-12-03T07:23:25.950-07:00Chiming in late here, but having been both a winne...Chiming in late here, but having been both a winner and a non-winner, I have a few things to say on this topic.<br /><br />First of all, I will be forever grateful to NaNoWriMo for teaching me to turn off the inner editor and just write a story, no matter how bad. I'm a perfectionist and, the year I first entered, had never been able to get very far with any of my fiction because what I wrote was crap, not The Great American Novel.<br /><br />I've found that just because I do all the legwork--character sketches, research, outlining--before starting to write and carefully craft a story (or so I think), working at a deliberate pace , it does not mean I'll get a better first draft. I have been working for months on the revision of a book drafted that way and it is such a big, gooey mess that I'm spending an incredible amount of time just figuring out what I've got.<br /><br />I think you have to mentally be in the right place to enjoy NaNo. I was fortunate this year in that I had an idea (not much more than that) that opened up a story to me as I wrote it. I've also had my share of NaNo novels that dried up after 15,000 words.<br /><br />It's also a matter of practice. I remember how daunting 1667 words a day seemed that first year. Since I've now been writing for about ten years and gotten into the habit of writing hundreds of words in a day, I was usually able to turn out 2,000 words a day without a lot of effort.<br /><br />And there's one additional benefit to NaNo. All those people who thought it was so easy to write a novel? Maybe they have an appreciation of how hard it really is.Elise M. Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12548587381862555229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-63958558443820211342013-11-26T20:21:19.948-07:002013-11-26T20:21:19.948-07:00Well said - when I'm pushing myself to pound o...Well said - when I'm pushing myself to pound out the words, I am not enjoying myself. Not gonna do that anymore!Jan Christiansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16578696706386613012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-71139975910679146012013-11-26T19:34:26.045-07:002013-11-26T19:34:26.045-07:00I have never done it, but like the idea. You shoul...I have never done it, but like the idea. You should never put pressure on yourself while doing something you love. Take your time and enjoy the fact you like writing. Like a drug dealer, most other writers will tell you to keep doing it, unlike them we have no reason for you to keep doing it other than we know how much it makes you happy. We all have the same vice. Take your time and enjoy the process. Savor it.the beavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285265472202625315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-83246946248216161282013-11-26T19:21:43.636-07:002013-11-26T19:21:43.636-07:00Thank you, Lou Ann. I'm sure I'll enjoy wr...Thank you, Lou Ann. I'm sure I'll enjoy writing at a slower pace and with a little more (or a lot more) planning. Congrats on the progress you're making on your book.Jan Christiansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16578696706386613012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-85687771007812119692013-11-26T15:08:15.819-07:002013-11-26T15:08:15.819-07:00Fun to read this, since I'm writing my first n...Fun to read this, since I'm writing my first novel, and I forgot all about NaNoWriMo. I have no idea where I am on words, and I have had a few stuck plot moments. Some days I write a lot, others less. I hope it will be good enough to give a copy to my kids, at least. :o) We shall see! I am sure your tries might bud and bloom after they come out of that drawer. It helps not to look at things for a while and go at it with a fresh and clear mind. You can do it!Lou Ann Keiserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02684047509152182217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-65132106867245658422013-11-26T13:32:52.613-07:002013-11-26T13:32:52.613-07:00You made me smile, Linda! Love your poem and now I...You made me smile, Linda! Love your poem and now I know for sure we're soul sisters! You totally "get" me. Love ya!Jan Christiansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16578696706386613012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-66218082530696765752013-11-26T12:01:43.456-07:002013-11-26T12:01:43.456-07:00Hi Jan,
I can certainly relate. I'm taking a C...Hi Jan,<br />I can certainly relate. I'm taking a Creative Writing class at our local community college and I wanted to share a poem I had to do for an assignment with a due date, but nothing was inspiring me. Maybe it's the same way you've felt with this goal. I KNOW that you're a writer because I've been blessed by your book that I have with YOU as the author :)<br /><br />Maybe Another Day<br /><br />I’m waiting for my muse to show up here<br />It’s taking so long I begin to fear<br />It won’t meet my deadline and I’ll be late<br />Or when it comes the ideas won’t be great.<br /> <br />I’m waiting and waiting my pen is poised<br />I hear a rustle, a very faint noise<br />Is it my muse slipping into my mind<br />Ready to help me pen a poem in time?<br /> <br />An idea is here, but can’t be expressed<br />The longer this takes I’m under duress<br />I try to force rhymes, of course they don’t work<br />My brain’s working hard - beginning to hurt.<br /> <br />I say a quick prayer, take a deep breath<br />And think for today my muse met its death.Linda Wordingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-81772482025794459052013-11-26T11:52:05.845-07:002013-11-26T11:52:05.845-07:00I love that NaNoWriMo can work for some people. It...I love that NaNoWriMo can work for some people. It's a fun thing if you can do it...and you, my dear daughter, CAN DO IT! I have no doubt that you'll finish. You go, girl! Mama's cheerin' you on.Jan Christiansenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16578696706386613012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1858532591929154137.post-92131771505889719692013-11-26T11:27:38.076-07:002013-11-26T11:27:38.076-07:00As the aforementioned daughter... ;)
This is how ...As the aforementioned daughter... ;)<br /><br />This is how I write anyway. I open a blank document and my internal editor heads for the Bahamas [one of these times, I should go to the Bahamas and let her stay home]. Yes, it requires lots of fixing, but I do this even not in NaNo. What I've found is when I try to do a slower pace, and make sure my first draft is fairly shiny, it stifles my creativity and I end up hating it.<br /><br />Things like NaNo and Seekerville's SpeedBo force me to get. the. words. out.<br /><br />That said, today's first draft is usually way better than the first draft from three years ago...<br /><br />The plot inconsistencies are often still there [because, hey, I didn't know that guy was married until page 140 - literally], but they're fixable.<br /><br />For me, the fast draft writing, the discovery, all of that is what's fun about writing. I don't love the editing. The months of picking it apart and putting it back together. I love being DONE and the sense of accomplishment and having a finished product, but not the process of doing it.<br /><br />But I do it anyway.<br /><br />Is NaNo for everyone? Nope. And that's okay. I hate that people who don't hit 50K feel like failures, especially if life gets in the way. Unavoidable things not Google searches for the best kind of white paint for your heroine to use. For eighteen hours.<br /><br />For me, this year, I really questioned if I'd make it. I'm ALMOST caught up now [only about a thousand words behind where I should have been by the end of the day yesterday], but I also spent most of my writing time during those first 14 days editing a requested manuscript. After two big days this weekend, I'm good, but you know what? If I hadn't made it, it would have been okay [though I really am looking forward to a couple of the winner discounts/prizes ;)].<br /><br />I'm *not* going to make my personal goal of a 70-75K rough draft. And that's okay.<br /><br />Love you.<br /><br />{{{{MAMA}}}}Carol Moncadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781336802917396464noreply@blogger.com