NaNoWriMo 2010 - Day 5

[ladyseishou]

Day 5 - 25 days remaining

I do a first draft as passionately and as quickly as I can.
I believe a story is valid only when it's immediate and passionate,
when it dances out of your subconscious.

If you interfere in any way, you destroy it.

- Ray Bradbury



A popular writing aid that is a favorite for many Wrimos is Dr. Wicked's web site: Write or Die, a particularly fiendish creation wherein you type in a word count goal and a time and start to write. Simple enough, right?

Well the catch is that if you stop writing there are evil consequences that range from annoying pop-ups that remind you to keep writing to a mode that will actually erase your hard work if you dally too long.

I think what work bests about this method is the incentive it provides to keep you writing, that the fear (or annoyance) of "punishment" actually acts to beat down the voice in your head that urges you to stop, rewrite, rethink, redo... In other words, it helps you help yourself to kill your "inner editor" so that the words of your story can flow, immediate and raw, passionate and real.

And there will be typos. For me, lots of typos. And your characters may not stick with your original outline, change sex, and adopt a new point of view. But if you give them the chance, who knows what new really cool stuff you'll discover?

Today's Word Count: 8,333! Did you beat it? Tell us about it! Excerpts? Questions? Frustrations? Amusing typos?

...Keep Writing!

Comments

Up over 11000!

[kallistixf]

So I went crazy and put a whole chapter up on my journal: Muses, Moirae, and a TWIST.

I'm not wild about punishment-based approaches to motivation.... for me they just add stress and negativity. Different strokes for different folks!

[aviekokyre]

I'm at 8036 at the of day 4. Most of my writing has been during 15 min. word wars. While not quite Write or Die motivation, there is that boost of motivation for writing for a set time and an average word count to beat or match. I keep track of my word counts on a scrap piece of paper. I'm averaging the 450-550 range depending on how my fingers feel.

Re: Up over 11000!

[ladyseishou]

I agree about the stick approach to things. Doesn't work for me either - in fact I tend to freeze up like a deer caught in the headlights. I like carrots. Well, I like carrot-shaped chocolate better. But as you say, different strokes...

Looking forward to reading your chapter!

[ladyseishou]

A beautiful word count! And a game of rivalry works too! I think that it's built into the animal to want to best our fellow man at something/anything. I have to admit that I have a bit of the competitive urge myself ;-) And for me, I think I work best moving towards something than running away from something. But as kallistixf says, different strokes for different folks :-)

[dark_kana]

Hmm... I'm not sure if that method will motivate me. But as kallistixf said : different strokes for different folks.
I'm actually not sure what helps me best. Perhaps it would be locking myself in my room for at least an hour every day, and just write. Not thinking but just writing and letting the words flow. But then again, my mother would kill me if I try doing that for an entire month... ^_^"

Current word count : about 20 or so more than yesterday. 9.104
And currently a little stuck. But I'm sure I'll manage to get something on paper. ^^
Frustrations? Yeah, a little bit. My MC is not telling me which way she wants to go next. *grumbles* She's currently making fresh orange juice, and her mother is making toast, but she refuses to tell me what to do next... And she's in a silent mood... *shakes head* ^^

[ladyseishou]

How open are you to a little random stuff? How about trying the Room/Location Generator at Seventh Sanctum here - for inspiration or just maybe for a smile/giggle contemplating how your character might handle the idea that she had an appointment to meet someone at the "Clockwork Tower of Lucidity"?

Good luck! I know that you and your MC will work it out!

[dark_kana]

I love random stuff! :-)
And that generator is hilarious! ^^ Thanks for giving me the link to it! :-) If I have to believe it, my MC has to go to the "Mine of the Wise Alchemist". *snickers* Priceless. Perhaps I can work something out with the help of this generator. XD

Thanks! I'm sure we will. One day. ^^ Though if I know her a little, she probably wants to chase the world and chase the sun... *grins* So, I think I'm going ot let her... ^^;

[charamei]

This, pretty much.

Nearly at 7k, though, and I'll break 8,335 by the end of the day. I'm looking forward to being able to write myself an actual buffer this weekend - that'll make next week much less crazy.

I went to my first ever write-in last night! Thirty people, typing like crazy. There wasn't much time for chat (I arrived late because my working hours are silly), but the atmosphere was terrific.

[scifisentai]

16,537. And one of my background pairings just changed on me. Which is confusing because I'm usually pretty solid on them, wth brain. o_O

[lassarina]

I got to 8340 last night, and hope to get 3330 today to put me 2 days ahead :)

[dreamingpixels]

I blew yesterday's word count right out of the water - I wrote seven thousand words yesterday (O_O) for a total of 20,056.

[kallistixf]

wow! impressive!

[venetia_sassy]

1751 words today by sheer persistence. My brain did not want to cooperate. I'd really like to get ahead on word count so I could spend a day just plotting out the new elements that have appeared, working on the timeline, etc - but that was not happening today. If I'm still feeling like this tomorrow I might try the Write or Die. Whether it works on a frozen brain or not ... we'll have to see.

Total Word Count: 8951

[angrboda]

I can smell 20K! I can't believe how well it's going this year. I swing back and forth between hating and loving my story, and my characters are totally not doing what they're supposed to all time, but I feel like I'm getting there. And the more I write the more I feel like the end of the first draft which I started last year is within sight. And that's a really awesome feeling.

I haven't used that sort of tool, I would find the punishments to be too distracting. Instead I try not to get myself too mired down in writing. I limit the time I spend on it. I can't sit down and think, "I have to write 3000 words now." That becomes completely impossible.

Instead I sit down and think, "I have to write concentrated for 15 minutes now. Then I can go do something fun." And in those 15 minutes I can average 7-800 words. So then it's just a question of taking out 15 minutes of the day a few more times during the day.

Previous years I've had trouble with burning out. I'd write and write and write in an effort to get as far ahead as possible, and do 15K in two days or stuff like that, and then the next day barely managed to get 500 words out if any because I was just SO sick of it all. I have avoided this so far with putting another limit on myself. I did 5K the first day (note I haven't been to work this week. On holiday) and then allowed myself only 3K the next day, then 5K the next and then 3K and so on and so forth. When I go back to work again on monday, I'll take down a little more to 2K on work days and 5K on not workdays. So far I haven't felt any signs of being burned out, and all in all, I think it's actually resulting in me churning out the words even faster this year than previous years.

If all goes well and I can keep this scheme up when I go back to work, I should reach 50K with record speed this year.

[tyffi]

I tried Write Or Die last night, and now I'm dealing with a grandfather I didn't even know of, and my MC started making out with a minor character who's already more of a main character, but who was in love with my MC for the last ten-or-so years, and now I have to make something out of it - they are actually quite cute together. LOL

On the bright side: those unwanted events came along with some extra words - Grandpa alone was kind enough to bring 800 extra words instead of flowers - so now I'm at around 16K and that feels quite awesome.
However, I don't know what to do with my two love birds. They weren't supposed to happen. So much for "You are the writer, you make your characters do what you want". *sighs*

[aviekokyre]

Yup, and while I'm there, I also try to encourage some of the other Wrimos with me. Some of them are trying to catch up. Some of them are halfway already!

I think it was two years ago, final day. I hit 50k on the forum, but I stayed and checked back every 15 minutes to cheer on the last two or three until they reached 50k in the last hours of NaNoWriMo. We were all going to cross that finish line, and we did! Fun times. =D

[tig_b]

My draft is very full of typos, although the main charaterers are mainly behaving themselves.

I am up to 6,763 words!

[patupaiarehe]

Write or Die is a life saver for me! Sitting on 9,485 and trying to churn out another couple thousand. Going to visit my boyfriend over the next couple of days so I probably won't get much writing done then.

[rhonda]

I'm only at 7,479, but I'm still moving forward! I think part of it is, this is my first NaNo and I was doing MY deer impersonation for the first few days! I think I'm improving, though, and I feel much more comfortable! I like watching the NaNo Stats change every time I take a break and upload my current number!

[medicalmouse]

I had that open while I was trying to write out a more detailed outline and it was surprisingly helpful! Obviously what it gives you is really over-the-top, but it gave me good ideas for scenes in locations I'd mentioned but hadn't thought to explore in detail (a chapel, the mines, etc.)

[elanor_pam]

Woo! I managed to write 2445 words today, enough to make up for yesterday's fail. On the other hand, I couldn't actually move ahead on my main story, so I moved on to a side project. I'm not sure it's valid, but at least I was able to push myself into typing away, even if it's for a different story.

Unfortunately, tomorrow I'll be studying from 8am to 5pm, and adding commuting time, plus sleeping time, I'll be sans roughly 18 hours of writing time. :( I'll see if I can get further ahead today, at least.

[twistingthetale]

My count is now 9170, with 1729 words yesterday and 2181 today. The prologue and first two chapters are finished, so I've got a fresh start with Chapter 3 on Day 6 :) The penultimate paragraph of Chapter 2, with the werewolf reflecting on its killing spree from the night before:

The creature killed and partially ate the weakest member of the herd, and inflicted injuries on two more that were so severe that it knew that they would not be able to recover. Exhausted, it dragged its weary limbs to a nearby stream and bathed in the cool water, washing away the blood and sweat that had soaked into its hair. Afterwards it followed its scent trail back to the spot where its clothes were buried, and sank to the ground to await the equally painful transformation back to its human form. For an hour it slept, curled up and as peaceful as a newborn puppy. It awoke as an adult human, naked and in a great deal of pain as its limbs shrank back to their normal dimensions. Somehow it found enough energy to dress itself and go back to the village, where it climbed into bed and sank into a long but restless sleep.

[medicalmouse]

I wrote 2049 words today, which means I broke 10,000 total - yay! (I'm at 10,246.) And actually, that doesn't even count two earlier sections I rewrote. I know we're not supposed to, but I wound up changing the premise of my novel slightly - it went from being more or less a mystery into a horror story, so I wanted a few of the earlier scenes to better reflect that. I also finished up a detailed outline for the rest of the novel. Yay for productivity!

As for Write or Die, I've heard of it, but I'm not overly fond of it. I do much better with the carrot than with the stick, which is why I'm bribing myself with Halloween candy instead.

[fadedwings]

I used the desktop version of Write or Die a lot last year for NaNo but I haven't been using it this year. I like it but I usually use it on a fairly gentle mode and just do it to keep myself from getting too distracted.

Today seems to have been my best writing day so far. I managed 4,508 words today bringing me to a total of 11,718! I'm pretty happy about this. I wanted to get at least a day ahead today and I did :)

[hopeoubliette]

Today's wordcount: 3274
Total wordcount: 15558

RAWR! XD