Well, we’ve just about reached the halfway point of NaNoWriMo, and funnily enough I have half as many words as I should have by now. So I’m pretty far behind, but all hope is not lost — if I write an average of 2350 words over the next 16 days, I can still make 50K by midnight on November 30th. Since I can write about 2400 words in 45 minutes, this should be no problem at all, right?
Umm…right.
Perhaps I should have phrased that differently. I can TYPE about 2400 words in 45 minutes. But I wouldn’t call it writing. It’s stream-of-consciousness gobbledygook that just barely resembles prose. My main character spent the first 7000 words of my novel sitting on a bus, rambling on about what she sees out the window, where she works, what kind of town she lives in, and how she doesn’t like people much. Then I decided it would be more interesting if she was on her way to work instead of on her way home, and had her wait for the bus…for another 1000 words or so.
10,000 words in, she was finally at work, which also bored me to death, so I sent her to the apartment where she’s catsitting for a children’s author. You’d think that’d be semi-interesting, right? It’s the great unknown! I’ve never been to the apartment of a children’s author; I could let my imagination go completely wild. But my imagination went nowhere. So I had a gorgeous British guy show up at the door. Sparks flew. I got a good 1000 words out of that. But it’s such horrid, crappy, horrid, fluffy writing that I want to bash myself over the head with my Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald hardcover whenever I read it.
Yeah, I know. I know we’re not supposed to worry about the quality of our prose this month (or re-read it, for that matter). That’s for later on, when the insanity of November is over and we awaken our internal editors from their cryogenic sleep so they can examine our manuscripts with the hoary eyes of judgment. Chris Baty and other successful Nanoers and published authors from all over advise us to shut out our internal editors while we’re writing our rough drafts, but…I miss mine. I’m beginning to think my internal editor is closely linked to my muse. In fact, they might even be the same entity. When I smack my internal editor over the head, my muse slinks off to the corner, and then I don’t get anything done.
So I can either spend the next 16 days writing horrible crap that I hate, or I can let my internal editor out to gaze over my shoulder and hope he brings my muse with him. I may not reach 50K that way, but at least I’ll write something I don’t despise. I dunno. We’ll see how it goes.
Go for the 50K mark Jen! Even if you don’t like the story when you’re done, atleast you’ll be pleased with yourself for reaching that far…..right? I know I would be. Writing 50,000 words to me, is absolutely HUGE! I dont even think I know 50,000 words! Heh.
I would love to be able to write stories, but I just dont have the mind for it I think.
Good luck with either thing you go for, Im sure whatever you write, It will be pretty good. Your sims stories are always great :)
Kath x
You can do it Jen. Although at my house as soon as I started writing for this my children and life have taken and opportunity to be needy every waking second of my day. Weird. I’ve got the story, just not the time.
Well I know this seems a stupidly long winded way of going about it but try writing a play. For fun I started writing one and got to 17000words in a relativly short time, I didn’t get it anywhere near finished, but found it much easier than writing a storybook type. If you then work from this play and write a story from it you should easily be able to fill it out and reach the target.
Just because the month is halfway over, doesn’t mean that you have to be halfway done. Myself, I’m about halfway to where I need to be, too. Don’t worry about whether or not the internal editor isn’t there– What’s important is that you get the writing done, and that you want to get it done, right? Maybe unleashing the editor will also help you unleash the many many words!
Good the luck! :D *dance dance*
I say go for the 50,000 mark and if you don’t like the finishing product, after you submit it you can edit it to your likings :D Good luck with the rest of NaNoWriMo :)
You should definitely do that. I got to about 5000 words before I got bombarded with school stuff, so I had to stop for awhile. But at least to me I think its not really worth writing a bunch of crap unless ur just getting the basic idea down. I’m changed the deadline, for dec. 31 just so I could keep my sanity.
Are you going to do this next year or is it too soon to ask? I think I’m going to. It would help my typing speed and my process. I have this whole idea in my head for what I’m going to write and I wish I could start now but it’s too late for me to be getting started. I visited your NaNoWriMo spot and read the preview of the novel and I know that when you’re under pressure you can get writer’s block or not be pleased with yourself but I thought what I read was really good and I hope you go for the 50,000 words. The main reason I came here and made this big, boring comment was to apologize for not being around lately. I just read your previous sim entries and so I wanted to add that I really loved that last letter from Marlee. I hope you keep writing and that’s finally all I wanted to spit out. Whew!
Don’t worry.
I’m just as slow as you are. D: And my crap is…it’s just bizarre.
Lets get our butts moving, shall we? :3
Jen, I don’t know what you are talking about I read a few things you’ve posted on your excerpt page and I thought it was really good. I was really looking forward to reading more about the narrator. The details you included really brought the words to life in my mind. I hope you keep with it and strive for the 50,000.
I’m really finding that focusing on the word count rather than ‘what’ I’m writing helps me a lot. I’ve gotten a lot done. This whole 50,000 words in a month thing is crazy and as I write I find that my mind is always working trying to come up with more situations and things for my characters to do (even though I have enough plot to make a friggen trilogy).
I’ve got over 30,000 words already and even though some of what I wrote might stink big time I’ve read over certain parts (I know I shouldn’t have) and I was actually really happy with it. A first draft that you are actually happy with is a rare thing and even non-nanoers say that editing should wait until you’ve got the entire basic plot finished.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do. I hope to see you at the finish line.
You are wiered people. You obssed with this game.
Why, yes! Yes, we are! Heehee!
Ahem…to the rest of you, thanks for the encouraging words. I’m chugging along, but it’s very slow going. The rest of you are doing awesome, and I hope you keep it up! It will feel wonderful when you cross that finish line! It’s totally worth all of the agonizing and hard work. I just can’t seem to do it more than once. ;-) Happy Simming and Nanoing!
Hellloooo again, Jen!
You sound like you’re doing really well with your story. I’m sure you’ll hit the 50,000 mark by the deadline! So sorry I haven’t commented for ages!
E-Liz xxxxxxxx
P.S. Yes, Nicole, we are obsessed, and I can say that I myself am certainly ‘wiered’!!
Hey, Jen! I’m so happy to see that I haven’t fallen horribly behind on your blog, at least. Silly busy life (and stupid breaking computers!).
And a fellow Sim NaNo’er! I was horribly behind.. 7000 words as of only a day or two ago.. but then I lost all of THAT when I had to get my new computer. So.. I’m counting myself out for this year. But I hope you get closer to the 50K mark than I did!
E-Liz – Heya! I was wondering what happened to you! ;-) Glad to see you’re still around! And thanks for your encouraging words, even though I think my Nano has already crashed and burned again this year.
Audrey – Hey! Good to see you! I’m sorry to hear you lost your 7000 Nano words. :-( That must have been horribly frustrating. We can both try again next year! Hope your new computer is at least better than your old one!