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National Novel Writing Month


TinkerTech

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Hello everyone! If you haven't heard, National Novel writing month is upon us! There's already been some discussion about it in the blogs, but it doesn't exactly lend itself to easy conversation between multiple members.

 

So! Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If yes, awesome! If not, go sign up! 

 

This is the place to discuss novels, Ideas, word counts, and motivation. Let the discussion begin!

 

 

 

As for me: I'm only 2,251 words in so far, but I've got a really good title and great motivation, along with some amazing people to keep me motivated. Here's a brief synopsis of my book.

 

 

The Lord of Misrule

 

Somewhere in the world, there exists a place of magic and wonder. It is a place where the future of performing world comes together to create extraordinary works of art, to hone their craft, and to find their path before scattering to the winds to share their magic with the world. This place is neither here, there, or anywhere, really. Its lost arts and hidden location connects to every theatre in the world, and its players. This place is the Thespian's Institution of the Performing Arts.

The annual Feast of Fools is approaching; a time of revelry, excitement, and pure tomfoolery. Their equivalent to a normal school's homecoming week, the Feast of Fools is the climax of a week of merriment. And the "king" of this feast is the Lord of Misrule, one of the highest honors for any actor to play at the institution. There is, however, a small hitch. No one knows who the Lord of Misrule is. They never do. He or she is selected anonymously by the staff, and the actor in question is sworn to secrecy. Not that it stops the student population from going wild with guesses. And for sophmore student Elijah A. Goodblood II, it's personal this year.

 

 

So what are YOU writing about this year?

Edited by Jalina T.T.
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Defy Expectations

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I've done NaNo for four years now (skipping last year because I completely forgot until like halfway through the month) and this year I'm really feelin' it.

 

I haven't done any writing yet today but yesterday I wrote 3722 words while at a coffeeshop. I figured it was good to get a buffer for days when I feel less inspired and might fail to meet the quota.

 

I'm taking it from the top with the same book I was trying two years ago, The Prophet. (Well, for the rough cover I threw together, the proper title is The Prophet: The Voyage of the Eastern Star) Just yesterday I typed up a quick summary for my NaNo page:

 

A spaceship of humans looking for a new Earth crashland on the desert planet of Boulle 1722. After the captain is exiled to live in the desert, the crew is caught in between a vicious civil war between the two tribes of creatures that fight over the scarce resources of their planet. With their ship wrecked, the humans must decide how they spend their time on this planet, and in the process end up uncovering the secret of the planet's past.

 

 

I see potential in this topic. I might turn here if I find my inspiration running dry.

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Yes yes yes, I'm definitely tackling this again! I have fun with this every year I've done it. Find my profile here if you so wish.

 

My novel this year is a superhero novel called Legendary. Here's the summary I wrote up for it.

 

 

The Legendary Heroes. A collection of Earth's mightiest superheroes. They have protected the world for many a year. After the trials of the "Great Crisis", and the apparent disappearance of their leaders, they're recruiting new members to fight against the ever-present forces of evil.

 

A group of newer heroes are among the roster of new. They must prove themselves against evil geniuses, bank robbers, giant robots and a host of other villainy in order to become legends themselves, while a shadow of the Great Crisis threatens to consume the world.

 

I'm quite far into it, but I'm having to write twice as hard this time due to university.

Will be writing stories shortly-Watch this space.


Here's my blog, where you can listen to me read bad fanfics.

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I am doing NaNo too! 

 

I'm working on a bunch of different projects. The first one is an epic I've been telling people I would write for almost two years now, and I am finally getting it done. It is a retelling of the events of one of the Mafia games played on these forums.

 

The second one is a secret until I can release it, soo.

 

The third project is a stageplay, that I have no title for yet. It is basically going to document this group of friends as they play a pen and paper rpg throughout their lives, and how it strengthens their relationships and lots of friendship themes, basically, with a little bit of D&D parody in there. This one is the least concrete of my projects, as I have outlines for the others but for this one I just have some characters, random ideas, and a will to work on it. I am kinda trying to figure out how I write the best. =P

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I'm participating, too. I'm not very happy with the state of my novel so far, but I've just about hit my stride. I don't plan on stopping, anyway. It's called To Fool the Soul, and I guess it's kind of a fantasy story. It's also a little Bionicle-ish, in that the sapient species are some mixture of flesh and robotics, but I'm not sure if I'll keep that when I revise. I haven't decided exactly how the flesh and robotics mix, so it's hard to write about, and I can't really envision any of my characters.

 

But whatever, I'm excited. I'm mainly doing it to see if I can keep to my personal goal of 2,000 words a day. I've done well so far: 1,949 my first day, 2,129 words my second day, and 1,952 today. I'm hoping I can keep that up.

My epic: For Them (Review Topic)

 

BZPRPG: Trauer and Faora

 

Bionifight Ultimate: Daedalus Drachoren and Von Worten Undtränen

 

The Elder Scrolls: Ashfall: K'Larn

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Great to see a topic about NaNo here. Not sure how active I'll be in here, but I'll definitely drop in every now and then to see how everyone else is doing.

 

For me, this is my sixth NaNo (first one was in 2008) and I've won every NaNo I've entered since then. So far, I am doing very, VERY well (hit the halfway point yesterday), so I figure I'll hit 50k well before the end of the month (though the novel itself likely will be longer than 50,000 words, although I don't know exactly how long it will be right now).

 

I'm not much an outliner, but this year I decided to spend the last week of October writing short stories set in the world of my novel as a way to worldbuild and get to know my characters better. I think it worked out well because this novel has been incredibly easy for me to write, much easier than my last one. I'll probably use this method again for my next non-NaNo novel set in a world I haven't written in before.

 

-TNTOS-

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

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{The Shika Trilogy Omnibus Completed 03/31/14) (Review Topic)

(In the End Completed 09/01/14) (Review Topic)

The Biological Chronicle: (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010)

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Everyone has such fantastic ideas!

 

Coming up on Day 5, How does everyone feel about their work? Are you ahead of the game on your word count, or are you falling behind because of school, work, laziness, or being just too dang busy? (I, myself, am balancing right between the two-barely. I'm Keeping myself motivated by working on character development and worldbuilding when I am away from my computer, between classes and during times where I'm not really doing anything, but can't sit down and write directly.)

 

Does anyone want any world-building or character-building resources? I happen to know an author who has several worksheets online that are really helpful. Writing it down in ink really helps set it in stone, and keeps inconsistencies from happening.

 

And something I really want to ask you guys: What is your writing style like? Do you have a set plan from start to finish? Do you have a very basic outline and build off of that? Or is it somewhere in between? I know where I want the story to go, but my characters keep surprising me with traits, actions, and previous events that I can't help but put in. (Like the infamous whipped cream incident of Graduation 2013.) In a way, I like that the best; If they're doing their own thing, it means it's natural, or at least doesn't seem forced, which is what I want. Are your characters surprising you?

Defy Expectations

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Everyone has such fantastic ideas!

 

Coming up on Day 5, How does everyone feel about their work? Are you ahead of the game on your word count, or are you falling behind because of school, work, laziness, or being just too dang busy? (I, myself, am balancing right between the two-barely. I'm Keeping myself motivated by working on character development and worldbuilding when I am away from my computer, between classes and during times where I'm not really doing anything, but can't sit down and write directly.)

 

Does anyone want any world-building or character-building resources? I happen to know an author who has several worksheets online that are really helpful. Writing it down in ink really helps set it in stone, and keeps inconsistencies from happening.

 

And something I really want to ask you guys: What is your writing style like? Do you have a set plan from start to finish? Do you have a very basic outline and build off of that? Or is it somewhere in between? I know where I want the story to go, but my characters keep surprising me with traits, actions, and previous events that I can't help but put in. (Like the infamous whipped cream incident of Graduation 2013.) In a way, I like that the best; If they're doing their own thing, it means it's natural, or at least doesn't seem forced, which is what I want. Are your characters surprising you?

 

So far I'm averaging around 2,000 words a day, though so far that's been despite work, school work, and other stuff. I hope to get a little more in per day over the next few days. As for how I feel about it... Eh. I did next to no planning--just a little world-building--and I'm beginning to realize that wasn't the best idea. I actually took two different stories in two different universes (one in my own, the other a Star Wars fan fic) and combined them. It worked surprisingly well in my head, but getting it typed out is a little more difficult than I'd planned. I had a general idea for my world, but I'm having to make up details as I go along. Same with the plot.

 

Still, it's going pretty well, and as I said in my previous post, I think I've hit my stride. My characters are slowly developing, and I've already surprised myself with a couple of situations that kind of just happened. However, I fear my not writing very much down is going to come back to bite me in the rear later.

 

In the end, though, I'm not stressing about it too much. I just want to get the novel out and on (virtual) paper. After that, I can try to fix it up.

My epic: For Them (Review Topic)

 

BZPRPG: Trauer and Faora

 

Bionifight Ultimate: Daedalus Drachoren and Von Worten Undtränen

 

The Elder Scrolls: Ashfall: K'Larn

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I'm doing pretty good, broke 7,000 words last night. I'm feeling really great about it too, I haven't been this productive in writing anything in absolute ages. It feels so good to get this stuff finally written down.

 

I would certainly be cool with some character worksheets and such. New resources are pretty much always good in my book. The less excuses I make the better.

 

To be honest, I had no idea what kind of writer I was before this. I've found, however, that I work much better with outlines in place. I am totally a planner. My three different projects each have varying amounts of outlining beforehand. One has everything laid out and what needs to happen in each chapter. One has a little more loose of a outline, basically just having who all dies in each chapter and some conversations between characters. The final one I have next to nothing on except for some ideas, and that one I have the least work done in by far.

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I'm sitting at a little over 10,000 words right now, having not done any writing yet today. I've stayed two days ahead of schedule for the last few days, and I hope to keep that up, but chances are I'll be forcing myself forward for a bit here; I'm in a sort of "grey area" of my novel, where I haven't planned as thoroughly. Already as a result of that I've written something that hides the twist pretty poorly, but I'm trying not to focus on that, because if I focus on editing I'll lose momentum on writing.

 

My writing style almost always begins at the end, or at least near it. I'll think of a concept built around something like a twist, like the short story I posted the other day, and from there I build the story around it. I plan things pretty thoroughly as a result, because with a twist, you usually need to plan to keep it hidden.

 

Sadly, one are in which I struggle is character development. In the past, I've used characters as no more than tools to move the story along. I rarely build a story around its characters, but instead make characters as the story needs them. This year I'm doing better about that; the main characters have identifiable personality traits, and their own mannerisms and such. But still I find it hard sometimes to keep them consistent.

 

I've even tried character-building exercises for it, but I even hit a block there. They ask things like "birthday" and "favorite food" and I just can't think of what they would be because those seem so irrelevant to who the character is in context of the story.

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Everyone has such fantastic ideas!

 

Coming up on Day 5, How does everyone feel about their work? Are you ahead of the game on your word count, or are you falling behind because of school, work, laziness, or being just too dang busy? (I, myself, am balancing right between the two-barely. I'm Keeping myself motivated by working on character development and worldbuilding when I am away from my computer, between classes and during times where I'm not really doing anything, but can't sit down and write directly.)

Well, seeing as I just hit 31,000 words today, I'd say I'm doing pretty darn good, though it's not quite as good as I hoped. Even though this novel is speeding along, it doesn't really feel like it is. Maybe the book is just slower-paced than some of my previous ones *shrug*.

 

And something I really want to ask you guys: What is your writing style like? Do you have a set plan from start to finish? Do you have a very basic outline and build off of that? Or is it somewhere in between? I know where I want the story to go, but my characters keep surprising me with traits, actions, and previous events that I can't help but put in. (Like the infamous whipped cream incident of Graduation 2013.) In a way, I like that the best; If they're doing their own thing, it means it's natural, or at least doesn't seem forced, which is what I want. Are your characters surprising you?

I am a "pantser" (hate that term), which means I don't outline. I've tried outlining in the past and it's just no.

 

For this novel, however, I did have a basic synopsis I had written several months ago to work off of, so it wasn't like I was writing into the dark completely. But I've given myself permission to deviate from the synopsis as much as I need to, which has resulted in quite a few turns I did not see coming.

 

Also, as I've said before, I wrote a few short stories to give me a basic grasp on the world and characters. Considering I've reached 31k in five days, with no hints of slowing down or stopping, I'd say this method works extremely well for me and I recommend it to anyone else who is starting a book in a world you're not familiar with. Not only is it a fun way to learn about your characters and world, but you can even submit the stories to magazines or self-publish them yourself to make some money with them if you want (which is what I intend to do with these short stories sometime after I finish this novel).

 

Sadly, one are in which I struggle is character development. In the past, I've used characters as no more than tools to move the story along. I rarely build a story around its characters, but instead make characters as the story needs them. This year I'm doing better about that; the main characters have identifiable personality traits, and their own mannerisms and such. But still I find it hard sometimes to keep them consistent.

 

I've even tried character-building exercises for it, but I even hit a block there. They ask things like "birthday" and "favorite food" and I just can't think of what they would be because those seem so irrelevant to who the character is in context of the story.

Those character-building exercises that ask those kinds of questions are just a big waste of time, IMO, which is why I never use them when making my own characters. As you yourself have discovered, most of the time those questions just aren't very relevant to the story you're writing and are more trivia than anything (although trivia tends to be more interesting than the questions on those character-building exercises, but I digress).

 

If you worry about your characters not being distinct or believable (which seems to be your problem based on what you've written here), I suggest focusing heavily on what they want and what they are willing to do to get what they want, rather than what you think they need to do in order to advance the plot. Every character in your story--at least every major character, including the antagonist if you have one--should want something, whether it's something as big as saving the world or as small as getting a glass of water. Identify what your characters want more than anything else and let them go after it, even if it goes against your idea of what the story or plot should be like. You may be surprised at what you learn about them as they struggle to get what they want.

 

Hope that helps, though if it doesn't make sense to you, feel free to ask and I'll try to clarify whatever you don't understand.

-TNTOS-

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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

A Writerly Blog

The Tasty Library of Sugary Goodness

(My Little BIONICLE: Friendship is Explosive Completed 01/05/14)

{The Shika Trilogy Omnibus Completed 03/31/14) (Review Topic)

(In the End Completed 09/01/14) (Review Topic)

The Biological Chronicle: (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010)

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Here's those brainstorming worksheets I told you about: The character-building ones actually have a lot of sections regarding their goals and what they desire, rather than the basic Birthday, favorite foods, ect... (Something to consider is what they don't like: This can create conflict between other characters and the environment. For example, one person may hate peanuts because they have a Peanut allergy, while their comrade practically lives off of peanut butter sandwiches.)

 

The Worksheets: Right Here!

Edited by Jalina T.T.

Defy Expectations

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Yeah, I'm not sure that is right. haha

 

One thing I've heard and tried to put into practice is that every character has both something they want and something they need. If/when the two collide creates conflict within for the character, and not, therefore, just outside. *shrug* 

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Anyone else here ever find yourself using a character or several characters much more than you had originally planned? Because I have already devoted one full chapter (and I'm working on another one right now) to four characters I originally had no intention of featuring all that much, at least not until I got to Part 2. Actually, only one of those characters was supposed to be in it at all; the other three I made up on the spot because it didn't make sense for her to be working alone. What's even weirder is that these chapters have been the easiest to write so far.

 

This happen to anyone else?

My epic: For Them (Review Topic)

 

BZPRPG: Trauer and Faora

 

Bionifight Ultimate: Daedalus Drachoren and Von Worten Undtränen

 

The Elder Scrolls: Ashfall: K'Larn

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I'm still only sitting at 12,000ish for the month so far although most of the distractions are papers I need to write for my classes... well, and some video games, since I use those to reduce stress and such. Only three chapters so far, the newest one proving a pain to write on the basis that I'm just meh with dialogue (to be fair I'm sort of ignoring how well everything flows together, the speech and vocabulary differences between characters until I finish, since I can go back through and edit that rather than get disheartened after reading the same paragraph forty times and ultimately deleting it).

 

Or maybe I'm just biased and I prefer writing about the harpy instead of the currently human-appearing duo.

 

(to be honest I really just want to start writing about my dorky deities)

Edited by Kitania
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Anyone else here ever find yourself using a character or several characters much more than you had originally planned? Because I have already devoted one full chapter (and I'm working on another one right now) to four characters I originally had no intention of featuring all that much, at least not until I got to Part 2. Actually, only one of those characters was supposed to be in it at all; the other three I made up on the spot because it didn't make sense for her to be working alone. What's even weirder is that these chapters have been the easiest to write so far.

 

This happen to anyone else?

For this story? No.

 

Actually, I think I've done the reverse of what you've done. I started the story with a small cast of four main characters and have introduced only a handful of other characters since then, only one of whom wasn't planned to appear. Not that I'm complaining, as I tend to prefer writing stories with smaller casts over bigger ones (makes it easier to develop each character fully and it's easier to keep track of them if they get separated for some reason).

 

-TNTOS-

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

A Writerly Blog

The Tasty Library of Sugary Goodness

(My Little BIONICLE: Friendship is Explosive Completed 01/05/14)

{The Shika Trilogy Omnibus Completed 03/31/14) (Review Topic)

(In the End Completed 09/01/14) (Review Topic)

The Biological Chronicle: (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010)

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That's happened to me, as well: I had some minor characters planned, but they were mostly minor cameos based on fellow students in my department. The ones that have appeared most in the book have been made up on the spot and are stealing my main character's thunder. (But they still have a place; they're the roommates of my two main leads.) I keep finding that my cast is getting bigger and more intricate as I go. Which is fine by me, because these crazy people are a blast to write for.

Defy Expectations

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Anyone else here ever find yourself using a character or several characters much more than you had originally planned? Because I have already devoted one full chapter (and I'm working on another one right now) to four characters I originally had no intention of featuring all that much, at least not until I got to Part 2. Actually, only one of those characters was supposed to be in it at all; the other three I made up on the spot because it didn't make sense for her to be working alone. What's even weirder is that these chapters have been the easiest to write so far.

 

This happen to anyone else?

For this story? No.

 

Actually, I think I've done the reverse of what you've done. I started the story with a small cast of four main characters and have introduced only a handful of other characters since then, only one of whom wasn't planned to appear. Not that I'm complaining, as I tend to prefer writing stories with smaller casts over bigger ones (makes it easier to develop each character fully and it's easier to keep track of them if they get separated for some reason).

 

-TNTOS-

 

 

I usually prefer having only a few main characters, too, but for whatever reason, I've got a lot in this one.

 

That's happened to me, as well: I had some minor characters planned, but they were mostly minor cameos based on fellow students in my department. The ones that have appeared most in the book have been made up on the spot and are stealing my main character's thunder. (But they still have a place; they're the roommates of my two main leads.) I keep finding that my cast is getting bigger and more intricate as I go. Which is fine by me, because these crazy people are a blast to write for.

 

I don't know about mine getting more intricate, but the cast is definitely getting bigger. I currently have two parties I'm following: a group of five that are (supposed to be) the main characters of the story, and then a group of four that are chasing after the group of five (this is the group made up of three suddenly-made-up characters). The good thing is that I plan on thinning out both parties as I near the end of Part 1. The bad things is that I'm introducing even more characters in Part 2.

 

It may turn out to be a disaster, but I'm finding this novel to be a thing of firsts, one of those firsts being a large cast of characters. Wherever and however it ends up, I'll just be glad that I was able to finish it.

My epic: For Them (Review Topic)

 

BZPRPG: Trauer and Faora

 

Bionifight Ultimate: Daedalus Drachoren and Von Worten Undtränen

 

The Elder Scrolls: Ashfall: K'Larn

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I'm approaching 4,000 words... Yeah. 

 

I seem to  be having a bit of trouble characterizing characters that aren't my main character. 

 

I'm hoping I can alleviate that more later, as I'm just trying to spit out ideas at the moment. But I've always been slow with writing, so that's not going that well either.

 

Any tips? I figure I'm not hitting 50,000, but if I can hit half that, it'll be more then I expect.

Edited by ~Shockwave~

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`Are your writing issues with Time, motivation, or ideas?

 

If their with time, because you simply don't have enough, then this weekend is a good time to start! Set aside a chunk of time (a few to several hours) and sit and write.

 

If it's motivation, that's a little harder. If sitting at a computer writing isn't working for you, or you find yourself opening a browser window instead of a word document, try using a pad of paper and a pencil, at least for a little bit.

 

If it's Ideas, Then use the NaNo forums or the worksheets that I linked to above. If they're minor characters, they don't need to be as in-depth as a main character. Try to keep them from being flat, however. Maybe add a quirk or trait that would otherwise seem odd. (A huge, barbaric character being a really good cook, or the evil-looking witch being great at hosting parties.)

 

Good luck with your writing!

Defy Expectations

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Time isn't a problem, I've got more then plenty of that.

 

Motivation could probably be at least some of it. It probably doesn't help that my computer can also play Bioshock... I've tried jotting stuff down before, but I have absolutely awful handwriting, so it's a miracle if I can figure out what I meant after thee idea has left my mind.

 

For some reason I have plenty of ideas, it's just that I can't use them at the moment, or whenever I see a word document it tells my brain to forget everything I was just thinking of. So currently I'm trying to loosely link fairly large events together and go back and fill it in with more detail, and that seemed to work yesterday, as it was my second highest word count.

 

And currently I'm dealing with three characters. All of them are technically main characters, but since I'm only writing from the point of view of one of them, she tends to get the best characterization.

Edited by ~Shockwave~

3DS Freind Code: 1693-0634-1082 Name: Joey


I also have Mario Kart 7, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Pokemon Y and Kid Icarus: Uprising


PM me to add me. 


Steam profile


Click here for the BZP Destiny Group

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As of today, I hit 50k (actually, it's 51k).

 

This is the fastest I have EVER won NaNoWriMo. Last year, I hit 50k in thirteen days. I mean, I expected to beat last year's record, but actually doing it ... wow.

 

Of course, the novel itself is still not done (it will probably be around 80k by the time it's finished, so about 30,000 more words to go, I think), so I will spend the next week or so working toward that.

 

Assuming I finish the novel before the end of the month, I have a short story I need to finish, and once I finish that, I'll get to work on some other projects I've been thinking about.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

A Writerly Blog

The Tasty Library of Sugary Goodness

(My Little BIONICLE: Friendship is Explosive Completed 01/05/14)

{The Shika Trilogy Omnibus Completed 03/31/14) (Review Topic)

(In the End Completed 09/01/14) (Review Topic)

The Biological Chronicle: (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010)

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Holy moly, TNTOS. And I thought my 13k in 8 days was pretty good. xD

 

Congrats!

Thanks :) . It was a lot of fun (and still is a lot of fun, seeing as the story isn't over yet).

 

-TNTOS-

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

A Writerly Blog

The Tasty Library of Sugary Goodness

(My Little BIONICLE: Friendship is Explosive Completed 01/05/14)

{The Shika Trilogy Omnibus Completed 03/31/14) (Review Topic)

(In the End Completed 09/01/14) (Review Topic)

The Biological Chronicle: (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010)

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Well, I've hit the half-way mark (congratulations and respect to you, TNTOS, for already hitting 50K), and I'm nearing the end of Part 1. I got there sooner than I expected, though I suspect Part 1 will gain some length in revisions. There are quite a few places that could do with some more detail, and I definitely need to work on characterization. Still, I'm happy I've gotten this far. I think Part 2 might be a little harder to write because the themes I want to deal with are going to require a little more nuance and care, but I may just chug along like I'm doing now and fill in the more important stuff later.

My epic: For Them (Review Topic)

 

BZPRPG: Trauer and Faora

 

Bionifight Ultimate: Daedalus Drachoren and Von Worten Undtränen

 

The Elder Scrolls: Ashfall: K'Larn

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i only wrote one sentence today and honestly im beginning to feel like i didn't flesh out my idea enough for me to stretch it into a full novel. i'm at about the word count where i failed last time so i'm going to try to push on but it's just starting to feel like such an awful chore.

 

If it feels like a chore because you are trying to stretch your story to reach 50,000 words, my advice would be to stop stretching. I know it would feel great to reach 50K, but if it doesn't help the story any, I don't see a reason to push yourself. It won't do you or the story any good to try to make it something that it doesn't need to be (if that makes any sense). Besides, NaNoWriMo is more about just getting you to write; 50K is a cool goal to reach, but finishing your story and being satisfied with your accomplishment is, at least in my opinion, far more important.

 

If the writing in general feels like a chore, well, I'm not sure what to advise there. If you really want to get it written, I can only advise you to push through the slog. If you just don't want to write it anymore, why continue? Writing requires some work, yes, but you should, ultimately, enjoy it. If you consistently don't enjoy writing, there's no reason to force yourself to keep writing. I get the feeling this isn't the case, but it is something to consider.

My epic: For Them (Review Topic)

 

BZPRPG: Trauer and Faora

 

Bionifight Ultimate: Daedalus Drachoren and Von Worten Undtränen

 

The Elder Scrolls: Ashfall: K'Larn

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i only wrote one sentence today and honestly im beginning to feel like i didn't flesh out my idea enough for me to stretch it into a full novel. i'm at about the word count where i failed last time so i'm going to try to push on but it's just starting to feel like such an awful chore.

 

If it feels like a chore because you are trying to stretch your story to reach 50,000 words, my advice would be to stop stretching. I know it would feel great to reach 50K, but if it doesn't help the story any, I don't see a reason to push yourself. It won't do you or the story any good to try to make it something that it doesn't need to be (if that makes any sense). Besides, NaNoWriMo is more about just getting you to write; 50K is a cool goal to reach, but finishing your story and being satisfied with your accomplishment is, at least in my opinion, far more important.

 

If the writing in general feels like a chore, well, I'm not sure what to advise there. If you really want to get it written, I can only advise you to push through the slog. If you just don't want to write it anymore, why continue? Writing requires some work, yes, but you should, ultimately, enjoy it. If you consistently don't enjoy writing, there's no reason to force yourself to keep writing. I get the feeling this isn't the case, but it is something to consider.

 

 

I don't know if I'd say it's that I'm trying to stretch my story so much as my story hasn't yet realized its full potential. There are big things that, thinking back, I could have set up to make a much fuller story. I can definitely say that if I just skipped to the end now, the story would feel generally unfulfilling, so it's not an issue of me trying to stretch a 20,000 word story to 50,000. I think I just didn't do enough planning and the result is my story is built on a shaky foundation.

 

What I might do is start writing the things most vivid in my head, and when that's done, start piecing things together with what I've already got written, and maybe even write things with the eventual rewrites I have planned in mind. Whatever the case, I am determined to finally win NaNoWriMo, or completely exhaust myself trying.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Today's the final day of NaNoWriMo. How's everyone doing? Anyone else hit 50k yet?

 

-TNTOS-

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

A Writerly Blog

The Tasty Library of Sugary Goodness

(My Little BIONICLE: Friendship is Explosive Completed 01/05/14)

{The Shika Trilogy Omnibus Completed 03/31/14) (Review Topic)

(In the End Completed 09/01/14) (Review Topic)

The Biological Chronicle: (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010)

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I actually hit 50K on the 20th or the 21st, I can't remember exactly. I've only written about 5K more since then, but I know where the story's going. Once finals are out of the way, I'll have more time to devote to my writing. I'm already planning for revisions, though I may just completely rewrite Part 1 now that I have a better idea of how I want the story to go.

 

Anyways, it was an awesome experience, and I definitely plan on doing this every year.

My epic: For Them (Review Topic)

 

BZPRPG: Trauer and Faora

 

Bionifight Ultimate: Daedalus Drachoren and Von Worten Undtränen

 

The Elder Scrolls: Ashfall: K'Larn

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I actually hit 50K on the 20th or the 21st, I can't remember exactly. I've only written about 5K more since then, but I know where the story's going. Once finals are out of the way, I'll have more time to devote to my writing. I'm already planning for revisions, though I may just completely rewrite Part 1 now that I have a better idea of how I want the story to go.

 

Anyways, it was an awesome experience, and I definitely plan on doing this every year.

Great! Always awesome to see more winners. Even if you haven't finished the story yet, hitting that 50k is always great.

 

-TNTOS-

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

A Writerly Blog

The Tasty Library of Sugary Goodness

(My Little BIONICLE: Friendship is Explosive Completed 01/05/14)

{The Shika Trilogy Omnibus Completed 03/31/14) (Review Topic)

(In the End Completed 09/01/14) (Review Topic)

The Biological Chronicle: (2001) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2010)

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Wow, I didn't know other people on BZP did NaNoWriMo! I got to 6K (I WON!) and my story was about dragonborn and other assorted fantasy stuffs!

 

I had to end at such a meager word count because my stroy's plot actually wrapped itself up too soon. I ended up slacking too much as well. :( But, next year's novel is going to be WAY better! CHECK OUT MY STORY! MY NANOWRIMO USERNAME IS dallior08!

Edited by Dallior08

"Remember when the comics forum had a lot of good stuff? Let's make that a thing again." -Kazi the Matoran

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