Sunday 8 November 2009

NaNoWriMo - ONE WEEK LATER

Are you sick of all the NaNoWriMo posts yet? I hope not, because it is what's occupying my mind at this moment. While I wouldn't say that I am bored of it, the excitement level certainly has cooled off compared to the 1st. I suppose more accurate feeling would be, it's okay to write few thousand words, but if I think about writing a lot, it seems like I am forcing myself, so I eased off on myself a little this weekend, because while I believe discipline is a good thing, I don't think it's a good idea to force myself to write 10K of crap, as oppose to 4K of decent stuff. This weekend I had an ambitious goal of writing 10K per day, but that didn't quite work out because I was in the middle of an excellent book, which I wanted to finish reading. And also, brain wasn't cooperating. However, it is now 22:58 on Sunday night, and I have a nice happy feeling of being productive yet relaxed, because even though I didn't write as much as I was thinking I should, I did manage a respectable 8223 words, and that brings my total word count to 32210. I hope to have the official NaNoWriMo of 50K done by next sunday. Then rest of the time will be finishing my goal of full first draft. What have I learned after the end of the week 1?
  • Getting a head start is always a good thing. - In the beginning, excitement level is high. You are keen to run rather than walk. So run. Do as much as you can, and bank those words. My highest word count was on the very first day (8376 words), and I haven't gotten anywhere close to that word count after that. However, it did start me off on the right foot, and it's a great motivational factor.
  • Having a plan is a good thing - I am sticking to writing in chronological order this time. If I truly wanted to, I could try writing out of sequence, because I do have an outline. But I have noticed that though I remain more or less true to my outline, some things do change or grow, and so I figure that if I stick to the sequence then I can incorporate those changes as I go. Also, as I come to some scenes which are difficult, I am forcing myself to work through them, because sooner or later I am going to have to deal with them so might as well do it now.
  • Relaxing and enjoying other things is not against the law - this weekend I had hoped to just write. But you know what, in the end, I thought what the hell, I wanted to finish the book I was reading. So I did. It was great fun. And as much as I want to be a published writer and as much as I want to create my own stories, I don't want to push aside the love of books that get me started on this road in the first place.
  • Failure is eventually useful - experimenting with different methods of writing is beneficial, because by figuring out what doesn't work for you, you are closer to finding what does work for you.

9 comments:

  1. I lost my 14.000 words, Saturday and totally feraked!! I'm a very lazy writer which means all the stuff I have started or the things I want to get satrated are just lounging around like me. This thing is puhsing me along and I'm havivg fun. It actuall may be a jumpstart to at least write 2000 words a day for me. All the time! I'm having a blast all in all. Especially since I got back 11,177 words...long story...don't ask.
    Have fun and choose and change your direction at your will.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ouch Dave, sorry to hear about your troubles. Good luck, dude.

    Lost, did you not notice that your effort this evening was almost as high as your first day's effort? Not to mention that you are really irritating that you can crank out that much at any point in time.

    Done by Sunday. Meh. I'd be irritated if I weren't already inspired :)

    Me, I haven't planned out my entire story (the eternal fly-by-the-seat of my pants muse), so I've gotten into strange territory at this point and I'm hoping I can find my way out. Oh well, at least on the second draft I can make sure it all makes sense.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Eric...by getting back, I meant I re-set my computer to Friday and was able to find it and get it back. Didn't mean to sound like I pulled that 11,000 word thing off in one day. Keep writng and have fun! I got a ways to go and I don't even know how the thing is going to end. I'm having a blast and wish the same to all.!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dave, glad to hear NaNo is pushing you and that you are having a blast. Having fun makes so much difference.

    Eric, no I did 8K this weekend (between both Saturday and Sunday), whereas before on 1st, I did 8K+ just on Sunday. Aww...I find your irritation very sweet. :) And as for planning, if non-planning works for you, that's the main thing. For me, it's not so much the first draft that's a problem, but the second draft where it just seems all too daunting. Besides, I am the kind of person who likes plans - even if they change later on. I mean I have already had like three different life plans for myself and I am not yet 30. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gotta relax! Good for you for recognizing that need! Sometimes a goal must be "adjusted" to re-energize! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Seriously awesome word count! No we're not sick of the NaNo posts :) Those are great things to remember. Keep up the great work!!

    Dave- so glad you got some of it back :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aimee, totally agree. Goals are there to be changed.

    Erica, glad you are not sick of these posts :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, I'm so impressed with your word count! Way to go and keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks C R. Hope your NaNo experience is going well too. :)

    ReplyDelete