NaNoWriMo 2009 Day 12

[ladyseishou]

Day 12 - 18 days remaining

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.

~ E.L. Doctorow



So do your friends think that you're a bit crazy, Nano Writer?

Today's quotation was submitted by Nano Writer mbeancntr (thanks!). For myself, I admit to spontaneous and seemingly unprovoked cursing as I go through my day, a little absentminded, because my characters are whining and moaning at me about the latest plot twist I have planned. The best (read "less embarrassing") time for this to happen is while I'm in the shower but I have been called on it while engaged in conversation with a NWF (Non Writing Friend) and I suddenly ask to be excused to write something down.

And don't even get me started about the times that I've tried to explain to NWFs about NaNoWriMo. Most of them now know that November is "that time" and to leave me to it...

Speaking of which, the word count today is 20,000! It's a nice even number! How is everyone doing? Excerpts? Questions? Comments? Spontaneous cursing?

Keep writing!

Comments

[otter_nanowrimo]

As usual, the day I'm counting as the official day is one day behind yours.

I'm on day four/day eleven for forty more minutes, and with Write Or Die on the most punishing settings I cranked out nearly 2000 words in a hour :D Giving myself a short break now and then will go at it again for another twenty minutes or so, to give myself time to take the accumulated wordcount and update the NaNo site with it before midnight, so it shows up on the right day.

My main character, or rather my male lead (although whether he ends up with the female lead or with the female lead's best guy friend is yet to be determined) is turning out to be surly, untrusting, suicidal, and angry. I knew he was suicidal--it'd be hard not to be, given what he's been through--but I didn't expect him to be surly.

I'm not sure what my total is... *does math* 4350, so far. I plan on trying for another 1300ish in half an hour (not gonna happen but I can try) to do my best to catch up on how much I missed yesterday, and then delve into tomorrow's goal as soon as midnight passes.

[ladyseishou]

Fantastic progress! And yes, our characters so often surprise us! It's what makes writing so interesting...

Good luck!

[nano_robyn]

20,000?



Oh boy.

[angryoldhag]

*gets out the cheerleader pompoms* You can do it!

... Ooo, Harry/Draco. That's the last bit of Harry Potter I'm holding on to ;)

[nano_robyn]

Thank you!!!

[ladyseishou]

Joins angryoldhag in cheering: You CAN Do It! You have a story to write! You can do it! Ummm... don't worry about getting it right! Write! Write! Write!

Or something like that ;-)

[nano_robyn]

Thank you =D
I just have to squash the inner perfectionist!

[juliet]

Missed writing anything yesterday for the first day (due to instead spending the day cycling about 50 miles between various appointments; teaching; a life modelling session; and going out for curry with friends). The only 30 min I had to sit down all day I spent on my journal for the day instead....

But! The good news is that I had some really good ideas while I was doing the life modelling (it's a pleasingly meditative experience & a very good place for getting story ideas), so I should be able to put the couple of hrs I have on a train today to good use :)

I will update later...

[juliet]

20,890 words! Hurrah. And have reached an Important Point in the story, which is nice.

(Plus I'm pleased with myself for actually sitting down & writing on the train, rather than e.g. allowing myself to do something else instead.)

[ladyseishou]

That's fantastic! Right on target! And you should be pleased and proud of your accomplishment! I know that we are!

[lassarina]

I rocked out yesterday with 3000 words, so as of today I'm at 16700 (or one full day behind, not having written today's words yet.) I anticipate finally being caught up by the end of the weekend. (This whole NaNoWriMo has been rather traumatic to me, insofar as last year there was not a single day when I was less than 500 words ahead.)

[withorwithoutyou]

That is awesome. The good days like that totally make it all worth it :)

[ladyseishou]

That is so wonderful to hear! Fantastic progress! Yes!

[lexicalcrow]

Still doing okay. Managed a little over 800 words today, though. Was not feeling up to it and spend part of the day watching DVDs and playing old Mario games on the Wii.

Still, I like where it's going, and I made myself cross 23k before I decided to head to bed. Not entirely happy with the scene I was working on, but that's what editing's for later on. It needs more description and the dialogue needs to be tweaked a little better. I'm too tired to bother with it now.

And now my cat's bugging me so perhaps I shall call it a day, post what I've written, and climb into bed. And write some more tomorrow. :D

[dame_grise]

Today I am starting at just under 13000 words, so a bit behind. I'm trying to write enough each day that the total I have to write each day to finish stays under 2k and hopefully creeps closer to 1667. I'm not giving up because the people are still chattering in my head, although I don't like my villain. But since he's my only villain I kind of had to use him or not have one.

Where do people find good villains? They don't grow on trees.

[angryoldhag]

I've given up on villains all together. Mine just turned out to be a good guy who's trying to save his people from chaos (and his own head from being separated from his shoulders) and have his method of doing this conflict with my main character's wish for survival.

[ladyseishou]

Your villain is the best kind of antagonist. And consequentially makes for a really great story.

[ladyseishou]

You know I came across a discussion about The Wizard of Oz which proposed that the villain of the story wasn't really the Wicked Witch but rather the Great Oz as he was actually the one that stood between Dorthy and what she really wanted which was to go home. The witch only wanted the shoes.

Villains and bad guys don't have to be evil - just be the one in the story that keeps the protagonist from getting what he or she really wants. Why and how is what makes the story.

[angryoldhag]

Broke the 30k today with 30,542 and I also believe I broke through the dreaded week 2 slump as well. I just ended up sending my main character and the character who was supposed to be the bad guy but turned out to be a good guy with opposite intention from the main character to yet another world. This one is the epitome of weird with flying cows. Flying cows with pink bat wings.

Bee slowly managed to prop herself up on her elbows and sent Monty one of her mightiest glare. "As soon as I can move properly again," she said, carefully measuring out every word for the exact right about of cold snappiness, "I will kill you with a spoon."
"A spoon? Why, of all things, a spoon?"
Bee's eyes narrowed to slits. "Because it would be painful."
Monty visibly, and audibly, swallowed. "Yes, I would believe that you are correct. Please reconsider." It would be a most undignified end for a king, he imagined.

[ladyseishou]

A spoon! What a terribly creative, twisted thing you've come up with! And many congratulations on the 30K! Yes! And to take down the week 2 slumps all in one go - wow! That's wonderful news!

[angryoldhag]

Heheh, to be honest that was one of the dares I picked up. The dialogue is a bit too stiff for my taste, at least on Bee's side so I'll revise it. IN DECEMBER XD

[altopiano]

I wrote 2500 words today, and I'm now at 22191. I need to pull still further ahead tomorrow, because I'm pretty sure I'll drop back again at the weekend.

At the moment, I feel that almost everything I'm writing is simply a placemarker for what I'm really going to put in there once Nano is over! It's making me cringe, it really is.

[ladyseishou]

Great word count! And placemarker or not - at least it's out there! Out of your head and on "paper" - that's something major! It's a fantastic thing you're creating - no not perfect - but it's the possible and the maybe made real! Keep up the good work!

[twistingthetale]

My word count is now 22090, so I'm heading towards my mini goal of reaching 25k before the weekend. I may get another half an hour of writing in before calling it a night, but if I do I'll add it to tomorrow's tally. Rather than spontaneous cursing there were a few "ARGHHHHH!" moments after lunch then dinner, but things soon got back on track.

[ladyseishou]

Beautiful! I know that you'll get that 25K this weekend!

[withorwithoutyou]

I'm doing pretty well with mine, another 2400 words out today and I still might write a bit more before bed. I managed to figure out a couple things between last night and today about why I needed to do this novel, and that's really helping make this easier to write.

[ladyseishou]

Wow! Good work today! And I'm happy to hear that you've found a reason that will make the writing easier - that's really great news!

[withorwithoutyou]

Thanks :) I'm glad it's finally hitting a point where I get it. On the other hand now that I've said this I'm probably jinxed, but oh well ;D

[tachycardiac]

I don't know about my friends, but I'm starting to think I'm crazy, as my story gets stranger and stranger. I'm sitting at just over 21k and am hoping to build myself a decent buffer this weekend, being that I'm not going to have as much time to write, come the end of the month.

I'm skipping all over the place, but the bit I'm working on now involves my lead girl, whose involuntarily and sporadically turning into a dragon, being as good as kidnapped by a bunch of space flunkies who're trying to save what's left of their species of which her girlfriend happens to be a member - her girlfriend who didn't remember any of this up until this point, because the mad scientist among the crew mind-wiped her before dumping her on earth. For her own safety, of course. The girlfriend's just presented super powers, which isn't a her thing but a species thing. The explanation for all of this is coming from a crossdressing, failed genetic experiment who talks like a space Valley Girl. There's also a race of shapeshifters and an unlikely amnesia plot. Seriously, I think they medicate for this kind of thing. Whether they do or not, though, I'm having a lot of fun writing it.

[ladyseishou]

Your word count is fabulous thing and your plot sounds just about right to me! It's a good bet that when the writer enjoys the work, the reader will too!

[dragonscrawl]

Writing time was trumped by my Accounting test today, so I only just made it over to 24k. Nobody's made for any cursing, in the story or out.

Excerpt:
“Sam, a shovel? Really?” Finnian’s hands gently prodded the area around Samuel’s injury. He looked as if he was fully absorbed in what he was going, but clearly he was paying enough attention to Samuel to know what he had been saying.

“I didn’t…it just came to hand.” Samuel gestured with one hand as if to say it couldn’t be helped. “My pistol was in my room; there was simply no time to go get it, Finn.”

“Exactly why captains keep them handy at all times. Just as chief gunners do.”

“I’ll just add that to the list of things no one told me before I got this job, shall I? Plenty of things already on that list, but it could always use a few more.”

“Drop the bitterness, Sam. I know this whole thing is still frustrating you in some way, but nothing you can do about it. Let it go.” Finnian straightened and dropped his hands back to his side. “You’re good to go. I wouldn’t push yourself too much until we get where we’re going, though.”

“No heroics,” Samuel said with a sigh. “Got it.”

“I shouldn’t even have had to tell you that.” Finnian looked speculatively at Samuel. “Once I would never have had to. I would have said you weren’t necessarily in the shape to do it, that you weren’t inclined to action like that. Something for you to think about, I suppose.”

[ladyseishou]

I hope that the Accounting test went well! Your word count still looks great! And it sounds like things are getting hotter for your characters! Though Samuel sounds like a guy that can take care of it!

[insomniac_tales]

My friends are really excellent and creative people all on their own (so even if they're not writers they're artists or musicians or gifted in some way that makes me jealous). They're very understanding about the process I go through when I'm writing and let me just unwind my mind and ideas to bounce off them. I even have a few nano cheerleaders which is just awesome to have this time of year.

My other writer friends are wonderful motivation too. My sister and I are playing wordwar this year (and every time I'm about to catch up to her the lovely wench goes ahead and adds another 2000 words. I swear I'll get her this weekend). I have another friend who's doing nano unofficially and it's been great to support each other in the process (we keep checking in and making sure we're on track, or at the very least that we've written something for the day).

I'm just over 29k, so still maintaining that solid lead on the nano bug.

[insomniac_tales]

And here's an excerpt which really turned a new plot for me today and got me writing in a new direction:

A folder thick with files fell into her hands, another impressive trick of Floyd's magic. "You'll find everything you should need within. You should know my friend has been exiled once and he's in danger of being exiled again. He may have to practice in the mundane from now on, but we already have an idea of where he could set up."

Liesl frowned; there was always a hiccup somewhere down the line on a contract job. There was a reason why someone was seeking outside help and couldn't go through their community's finder. There was something more to this than exile and Liesl was certain it had fallen through the cracks of Floyd's dossier. "Floyd."

He sighed. "I know. It's bad." He bit the inside of his lip. "He's a good guy, Liesl, he just…" Floyd shook his head. He himself had been a good guy in a commune once, a good guy exiled for no good reason. "He needs something to keep him here."

A lot sat beneath the surface of those simple words and Liesl decided that she had to help, regardless of the possible consequences.

[ladyseishou]

Oh! This is very nice! A perfect plot point that takes the story in a new direction - fun for you and fun for your readers!

[ladyseishou]

You are very lucky to have such wonderful friends! Just having someone to bounce ideas off of is worth their weight in gold. Good luck with the wordwar this weekend!

[lei]

20,277!

Yesterday I fell behind and didn't write a thing, so today I had to make up for it. I might try to get ahead this weekend, but I'm glad to know I can catch up if need be.

Of course, I don't have the slightest idea what to do when this part ends in about 2,000~4,000 words...

[geminianeyes]

I love your icon. It's appropriate. :D

[ladyseishou]

Fantastic word count! You can do it! And don't worry about the next part - your characters will tell you what comes next because they really want the next thing (to get out of the way or something that has to be done or...) You'll see!