Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Epic Word Race
It is that time again! National November Writing Month is just around the corner. Can you feel my budding excitement?
No. Seriously. I'm excited.
So I decided to do a list of my top five things you must have to finish the race by 11:59pm on November 30. I'm hoping this will motivate you writers out there to join me on November 01 at 12:01am to start your own epic race towards the finish line.
- Must have all your ducks in a row: This means if you don't plot, outline, grow characters, live and breathe conflict, at least try to do some leg work ahead of time. This will allow you to write freely when you start at 12:01am on November first. I'm not what you'd call a plotter- I'm more of a pantser- but I've learned over the course of a few years doing NaNo that prep works helps you get a couple of restful hours of sleep a night during NaNo.
- Calm work environment: We all have our writing quirks. Movies playing epic scores in the background. Children screaming outside in the yard. Heavy metal screamer bands blaring through your headphones (Okay, that might just be me) but we need a place where we can drop our computers, pull out the keyboards and just pound the keys. If there is a stack of bills sitting beside you, you're going to be focusing on that. Not writing your story. So you need to clean up your designated computer space before the clock starts ticking away at the month of November.
- Chocolate- or whatever your snack of choice is- and massive quantities of caffeine: This is probably the most important. When I get stressed out or I put myself (and my characters) in a delicate and difficult situation, I need to think. I do this by sitting back in my chaise lounge, head back, eyes closed, and munching on a Blow Pop. This is my assumed thinking position. And you must have your stress relievers on hand.
- Procrastination is not your friend: Usually procrastination and I are hand in hand dancing through flower fields and blowing up mole hills together. We're like this *crossing fingers*. I tell my BFF Procrastination to take a hike during November and you can too. Be determined. Be prepared to fight. And believe in yourself. Procrastination is usually stimmed from when we lack confidence in our abilities to put the right words on the page. During NaNo there is no such thing. The beauty of NaNo is the free spirit of writing for the word count, not the overall quality. Worry about that in December.
- Remember you're human: And that means don't pressure yourself. Fifty K in 30 days is a helluva push for the most seasoned of typers. Sometimes we get swept up in the thought of writing, and we no longer enjoy the process. I think why I enjoy NaNo so much is that it allows me to enjoy myself. My random tangents. My quirks of writing out of order, or no order at all. NaNo is meant to be fun. Allow yourself to have that fun and enjoy it for what it is- a reason to gather your friends and see who's the fastest BSer while writing that great American novel.
So there you have it. My Five things. What's your one thing you have to have while writing? What's the one thing you want to do differently this year during NaNo that you didn't accomplish last year? And to those of you who haven't joined us for NaNo, what are you waiting for?! Come have some fun with us!
If you'd like to friend me for NaNo here I am: christietaylor
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55 comments:
I don't clean up my computer space for no one! Let alone a string of letters!
I wish you luck, Sinister! I'm working final edits for the third book and will be promoting the second like a fiend in October, preparing for the third book to come in in December in November...
*pant!
*pant!
Plus teaching myself to sew and working on a new story... Hmmm, a new story I could plug into NANO, but aren't the rules all about starting something brand new? Nah, I don't need the pressure, already stretched too thin, but your rules sound good for getting stuff done.
Hi, Christie--
I have buddies who do NaNoWroMo every year and enjoy it a lot. I've never jumped aboard the train, though, and am not sure why, exactly. Maybe it feels a bit too organized for me. It's really like a bigger, longer BIAW, and I do participate in those. So I'm not exactly sure why I haven't tried NaNo.
Maybe this will be the year? Anyway, good luck with it.
NaNo!!! I adore NaNo for many of the same reasons. I love the freedom of writing like mad, and I really like the community-feel where everyone is pushing each other.
I'm STILL stuck on revisions though, which need to be finished before I can move on to a new project where writing-like-mad would be beneficial. Maybe I'll change the rules of NaNo and make my page count about revised pages rather than newly written. Or, really, I could use it to write all the new scenes I need to stick into my MS. Hmmm - I don't need 50k words, but I do need about 20k. This could work!
(and p.s., I LOVE the image of you thinking with a blow pop. I need some sort of inducement to think like that.)
Hi guys!
Yo, Chanceroo, you know I don't care about the rules. I say we make our own rules. Work on something you're already working on. I say what matters is that we're working towards a righteously large goal for one month.
Not that you don't do that any month. You're about the most dedicated pirate I've ever met.
Mornin' Nancy!
Come have fun with me doing NaNo. I think the most difficult time is the first time (can't that be said about nearly everything?) and it's that first step into the unknown and slightly scary that keeps people from jumping aboard the NaNo train.
BIAW?
C'mon Hal. Don't make me sic the Undead Monkey after you. The rules don't matter. I love the challenge of 50k in a month. There is something about the adrenaline rush I get, the new story high I feel when I'm under the gun to get 50k in 30 days.
PS. Blow Pops are the bomb. The only ones I throw out are the sour apple ones. Those are icky. And remind me of Pucker. And remind me of a helluva hangover.
Oh NaNo. I always feel the need to try and give it a shot, forgetting that november is one of my craziest months family-responsibility-wise. I think this november I'm going to be hit with a lot of edits anyway, so I won't even pretend this year. But I do want to get a lot of writing done in October so I'll use this as my mini-NaNo. Good luck everyone!
I think the fact that the rules can be changed to suit your own needs is my favorite thing about NaNo. I mean, there are those sticklers who stomp their feet, but we're pirates - we don't hang out with *those* people :)
Please. We use those people to feed the Kraken when Chanceroo isn't looking. *grin*
Mini- NaNo! Good luck on your own NaNo JK!
We don't follow rules. We prefer guidelines and we don't really follow those either.
No NaNo for me this year. But I do need to write 25-30K in October. EEEP! Then November will be writing the synopsis & getting those first 50 pages as perfect as possible. Then December is sinking deep into edits & revisions. Yeah, my writing time is pretty much spoken for for the rest of 2011. And the first several months of 2012.
But I love that there's a prep list. The pantsers are plotting their attack! That warms the cockles of my storyboarding heart. LOL! Go get 'em, Sin!!
I am in serious denial that it's even time to do NaNo again. Eeek.
I'm a big NaNo fan, and want to participate, but I've got a zillion writing projects I'm trying to finish up, so I may have to concentrate on those instead of creating new word count. We'll see.
I always like the option of being contrary. LOL
The hardest part this year is I'm working retail again and it's already getting crazy busy, so I know it'll be even worse next month, so my energy levels are gonna be drained. But your suggestions are good ones, Sin. They might get be all organized so it's not a problem. :)
The apple blowpops are BEST. Save them for me!
The thought of writing 50,000 words in a month makes me laugh. Hell, writing 5,000 words in a month at this point seems like a pipe dream.
But I have to say this is a great blog--and a hell of a pep talk--and well in advance so you can lure us to the Dark Side by the comforting thought, "You have a month to PREPARE and then you can just have FUN." Really, you're a Temptress, Sin. *LOL*
*giggles* Bo'sun said "cockles".
I had to do Advanced NaNo Awareness Day because the next time I blog (November 2) is WAY too late to remind people to get their stuff together to do NaNo. I got my reminder email from NaNo the other day and was stoked. I can't wait. And I'm already working on my loose outline for Kiki's second book (the first one still awaits the rewrite from last year's NaNo endeavors.)
C'mon Hellie. You know you wanna play with me. I'll save you the nasty apple blow pops. Promise.
Seriously here is a PSA- Never keg stand and then slam a pint of Sour Apple Pucker. Not a wise plan. No matter how drunk you are at the time. I did NOT win the bet and had a helluva hangover.
I think we all went through this last year. NaNo writer goals instead of word count.
I knew you'd say something about me "plotting" my attack, Ter. LOL
DRD, I didn't do NaNo for four years. I just got extremely busy and unable to actually focus on writing anything. You'll do it again, eventually. Even if you don't participate you still have the want to do it. You'll get there again.
Seriously here is a PSA- Never keg stand and then slam a pint of Sour Apple Pucker. Not a wise plan. No matter how drunk you are at the time. I did NOT win the bet and had a helluva hangover.
Um, yes, thanks for the PSA. I was *justabout* to do that actually until you said something.
But you can't say you didn't give it your best effort, which is really what all this is about. Going in balls out and laying it all on the line. Or however the phrase goes...because I don't have balls and I just don't operate that way.
I've done NaNo for several years, and actually want to finish revising a couple of those manuscripts. So I think that's what I'll focus on. I'm a huge fan of NaNo. It's what got me back into writing a few years ago, AND it helped me discover I'm a pantser, which is what got me back into writing. LOL
Oh and PS. I have a shameless plug for Jill Shavis' new book Animal Attraction. It came out yesterday and it is a FABULOUS book. Please support her and buy it. You won't be sorry :)
I know. NaNo is what breathed life back into my writing. It seems like every time I'm failing as a writer, NaNo is there to pick me back up. And I know to some people the thought of writing 50k is really intimidating but NaNo is fun. A lot of fun.
or Alot of Fun. Maybe the girl who did the blog of Alots can make me Alot of Fun. That would be awesome.
Seriously, keg stands are the devil.
Hm, I really thought it was balls deep. But maybe that's just the pervert in me.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=balls+out
I'd supply the definition for "balls deep" but I think we all know what that is. *LOL*
I think my terminology is a bit more PG 13 than yours is. Yours is a Matt or Pixy terminology. *LOL*
I'm pretty sure GPS is the one who takes that saying to a whole 'nother level. She is wicked.
I call it balls to the wall.
Okay- I totally get the balls out thing. I knew that. I dunno why it didn't occur to me.
I do love the youtube video that pops up at the bottom of the page of two turtles humping. Classy.
I was just about to say balls to the wall. I mean, I don't have balls either, but ovaries out just doesn't sound right.
Ovaries to the wall sounds ridiculously painful.
I enjoy the direction our comments section has taken today. LOL!
I'm like JK; I always think I'm going to be able to do Nano, but November is a really busy mouth here, holidays and birthdays wise. SO I never make it. But I'm so excited for you ladies who do! I can't wait to root along.
One thing I need while writing? My computer. hahaha! But seriously, I can write anywhere these days, under any condition. Except with a baby sitting on my lap, impeding fingers on keyboard. But otherwise.... I don't need quiet, I don't need a special space. I just need the keyboard, I can tune the rest out. It's the only way I can squeeze it in.
But ideal conditions include coffee or wine and, if all else fails, just water. So something to drink. A comfy seat, my bed or stretched out on the couch. Low light (something about overhead light just makes me uninspired). Sweats or jammies are nice too. And quiet, if I can find it in my house. Otherwise, whatever.
The comments are always the best part of the blog. lol
I must have low lighting, if any at all. I prefer the solitude of sitting in the dark with only the monitor glow. With my headphones plugged into my ears, sitting in my computer chair with my head resting on the top. And because I'm not transcribing anything, I like to close my eyes while I write and imagine the scene as it's happening. For me, that's the most relaxing way to write.
But I have to have bottles of water on my desk. And if I'm epic writing like NaNo, I just keep the case in the office so I don't have to leave (ie: procrastinate).
I have to buy a new keyboard before November 1. I like having an external keyboard to pound away at for epic writing and mine broke a couple of weeks ago. So sad. I go through electronics way too fast.
I never thought about the lighting while writing. I bet I would write better in lower light.
My favorite time to write is first thing in the morning, when it's still dark and super quiet. I wake up, stumble to the couch, stretch out, and pound away on the keyboard before I fully wake up. I also LOVE writing outside in the middle of the night during the summer. I don't know what it is about nighttime in the summer, but it's very inspiring for me.
I'm of two minds about NaNo. It really does force me to write every day, something I rarely do since I tend to write in spurts--several thousand words one day and zip for the next couple of days, feel guilty and repeat pattern. But I have some freelance work I must finish. So we'll see. If I can be really disciplined for the next three weeks and finish the current project ahead of deadline . . .
If I do , Sin, I'll definitely take your advice about preparing. I think that would yield more usable words at the end of the month.
Love summertime night writing. I love to write with the windows open too. If I need to think about my writing I usually go outside. There is something about fresh air that clears the mind.
Janga, I write like that as well. I'll have days where I write epically for thousands of words and then I'll go a few days where there is nothing. (It's mostly time restraints for me.) I'll hope you finish your current project and join me for NaNo.
Sin, I have more free time than I've had during any other period of my adult life, but I'm writing less, that is, fewer words on my WIPs. If I count the freelance stuff and the blogs, I'm still writing around 8K a week. But I was accomplishing more with my fiction when I was working, commuting, researching, writing academic essays, grading, planning lessons, blogging, creating contests for the EJ/JQ board, and just generally doing a lot more. Maybe I'm just getting lazy as I get older. :)
I write a lot more when I'm busy. When I was working 2 jobs I was still pumping out at least 10k a week. More than that really. I think it's about what's occupying your mind at the time. I find if I'm really stressed out, I have a harder time writing because I can't focus. And I need focus to write.
You are NOT lazy. You know that. You're extremely disciplined.
Did Janga just call herself lazy? O_o
I need a drink just thinking about 8K words a week. LOL!
NaNo you gotta average over 12.5k a week. It's an insane pace.
Which is why I've tried twice and failed twice. LOL! 16K seems to be my magical NaNo #. Though I've allowed myself to be distracted in the past. Can't afford to be distracted for the next couple months.
16k is still a really awesome number though. There were years when I didn't even manage to write that much.
You can feed the Kraken anything ya want, whether I be looking or not. He's got a cast iron stomach, all eight of them! And can even balance on a keg and slam sour apple.
Not sure about the balls.
DH looked up the origin of that phrase once...had to do with steam engines, I think...
If'n I get me revisions done...we'll see about NANO. Woke in the midst of a fascinating story idea...I need to sit down and write a bit about it and see if will hold together...
DH looked up the origin of that phrase once…had to do with steam engines, I think…
That's what the link said. Totally shocked me. *LOL* I had a rated-R thought in my head and it was really quite PG.
"Yo, Chanceroo, you know I don’t care about the rules. I say we make our own rules. Work on something you’re already working on."
Ewwww Ms SIN
After reading your blog ... and the I don’t care about the rules comment ... I was Inspired! I wrote An Ode.
To a cold. But still ... Its AN Ode. And? Its done. Can I have a Blow Pop now?
Yeah, but as you heard, I only give away the sour apple ones.
I LOVE sour apple. : )
And I am all about the lighting. Though I don't do DARk like, SIN. I like Light. Something that has a dimmer switch. Something functional but ... sigh ... frivolous and romantic. Give me a Tiffany-eeee oh not very Pirate-y is that? Well. I'll just go sit on the popdeck. With the other ode-writers mumble mumble before she throws me to the mumble Kraken mumble ...
"Love summertime night writing. I love to write with the windows open too. If I need to think about my writing I usually go outside. There is something about fresh air that clears the mind."
Manure?
Hey, what can I say? I live in the country.
The meeting I had to go to this afternoon was so riveting, I drew a half-naked man and wrote naughty poetry. I can't wait to show the boss the notes I took of the meeting. You don't think he'll mind do you? I mean, if you're going to send me to meeting, send me to INTERESTING meetings.
I must have a copy of these notes. That's inspiring, Hells. You're my note taking hero.
I knew there was something wrong with you. You like sour apple.
Gah, I remember living in the country. Across the way there was a cow pasture. Nothing like a good southerly breeze to kick up the smell of manure during the spring. Or the sound of cows humping. Lovely imagery, Jules. Thanks. lol
I emailed you the notes. It should get to you by next week. *LOL*
Oh, and the boss loved them. Asked me if it was a hunky drawing of the speaker or of Mr. T (the hunky guy in Grad School. *LOL*) NICE. I said, "No comment."
Actually it was neither. There was a guy in front of me slouched in his chair, and the way he was sitting was so sexy that I suddenly had some little Stripper Club Fantasy going on.
Hormones.
What are you going to do?
How do guys deal with this all the time? Seriously. How do they get ANYTHING done?
LOL, I've got it already. This is not 1995 when email still took 3 days to send. Juno to AOL- suckiest connection ever.
LMFAO- stripper fantasy. Remember to remind me to sneak into your meetings with you. I'd like to have something nice like this to imagine while I'm bored out of my mind.
Um, I don't think guys get shit done ever. And that's why they pester us for sex constantly. Not that I mind. I have the mind of a horny teenage boy.
Amen, sister, amen. *LOL*
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