JanNoWriMo 2014!

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
I just spent about 45 minutes brainstorming what I'd actually need if I was going to start my own online editing business. I've been thinking about it for a long time, and realised today that the reason I feel like I'm not doing anything about any of my problems is related directly to not pursuing my ideas to their ends. Hence the past 45 minutes.

It's still in the planning stages, very much so, but I'm glad I wrote down all the things I'd need - there's about 30 items on my list (some of them rather general which will generate bigger numbers when pursued further) and I was having trouble remembering just the main 4 before I started writing them down. :tongue

So yes. I have a big list of things to think about. It felt good to actually take control for a while.
 

CoffeeBeans

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,499
Reaction score
433
800 words and counting today. I'm beginning to question my scene list. A few items on it are feeling really unnecessary at the moment, but that might just be my interest it getting to the end.

If I skip the most obvious superfluous scene, that puts me at 5 of 16, with the last 4 being somewhat one big "the end" run. I don't know, maybe I'm just moving deckchairs.
 

Ugawa

It's a catastrophic success!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 8, 2008
Messages
2,547
Reaction score
396
Location
England
2,500 words today.

:)
 

Ugawa

It's a catastrophic success!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 8, 2008
Messages
2,547
Reaction score
396
Location
England
800 words and counting today. I'm beginning to question my scene list. A few items on it are feeling really unnecessary at the moment, but that might just be my interest it getting to the end.

If I skip the most obvious superfluous scene, that puts me at 5 of 16, with the last 4 being somewhat one big "the end" run. I don't know, maybe I'm just moving deckchairs.

Well done :).

I did exactly the same thing the other day and cut two scenes that currently lay between my current position and the ending. In the long run I think it'll be stronger without them.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,884
Reaction score
7,172
Location
Virginia
So...yesterday afternoon I wrote the words "The End" on my NaNo manuscript. Today I'm making a very brief pass over the manuscript to fill in a couple of small holes, and then my plan is to put it away for about a week before I do a second editing pass and then start handing it off to betas. I think I'll send it to my usual three betas but also try to get some fresh eyes on it, since it's a prequel to my fantasy series and I want to make certain it stands on its own two feet.

I fear it may be on the short side for a novel - about 71,000 words - and too long for a novella. But I don't want to start stuffing random things into it to flesh it out. I'm kind of liking it lean.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,884
Reaction score
7,172
Location
Virginia
If it makes you feel any better, most of my novels have come in at the 60-65k mark. So your 71k is probably more likely to be acceptable as a novel than mine are. :tongue

Thanks, Cliff. I guess it just seems weird to me because I tend to write "long."
 

CoffeeBeans

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,499
Reaction score
433
So...yesterday afternoon I wrote the words "The End" on my NaNo manuscript. Today I'm making a very brief pass over the manuscript to fill in a couple of small holes, and then my plan is to put it away for about a week before I do a second editing pass and then start handing it off to betas. I think I'll send it to my usual three betas but also try to get some fresh eyes on it, since it's a prequel to my fantasy series and I want to make certain it stands on its own two feet.

I fear it may be on the short side for a novel - about 71,000 words - and too long for a novella. But I don't want to start stuffing random things into it to flesh it out. I'm kind of liking it lean.

Yay for "The End"! Those are some of my favorite words to write.

What's your genre? 71k is short-ish, but not too bad. Do you usually add or subtract when you revise? I've never been the sort to chop out big chunks. I'm more likely to add scenes...
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,884
Reaction score
7,172
Location
Virginia
Yay for "The End"! Those are some of my favorite words to write.

What's your genre? 71k is short-ish, but not too bad. Do you usually add or subtract when you revise? I've never been the sort to chop out big chunks. I'm more likely to add scenes...

I write fantasy. My other two books (what were the first two in the series until I wrote this prequel) run 92,000 and a whopping 150,000.

When I revise I'm usually tightening my prose, or sometimes re-writing a scene entirely (frequently from another character's POV). The 150k behemoth was closer to 170k when I first finished it and I knew there was some flab I could cut, so I did. I lost about 10k words that way; the rest came from simply tightening things up. It's still long, but at least it's more streamlined now.
 

VP_Benni

likes a colorful font
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Messages
5,337
Reaction score
242
Location
Probably the library.
Well, that was fun. I was told to look up words in the Oxford English Dictionary (you know, that 20ish volume monster dictionary that would take forever to read page-by-page...) for one of my English assignments, and I had to write at least 3 pages on 3-6 words from a play we're reading ("The Duchess of Malfi" is REALLY good, if anyone hasn't read it already). I decided on 3 words, and I rambled on for about 7 pages. On 3 words. It was pretty interesting, but 7 pages... >.>

~Amber~
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,884
Reaction score
7,172
Location
Virginia
Couldn't resist and did the editing pass on the NaNo novel today (a process that takes a lot less time when you're not trying to shave 10k words off it). Then I formatted it into double-spaced chapters, saved it as a new document, wrote to my main three betas to see if they want to read it for me and then called it done.

Now I'm feeling oddly bereft and don't know what to do with myself.
 

Ona Mission

A Bit Squirrelly
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
5,312
Reaction score
2,092
Location
In a buckeye tree
Website
onanewmission.wordpress.com
I JUST finished and wrote "The End" on my first full novel draft..EVER - which was also my first NaNo novel for '13! OK:

1. Most of the 146K words are idiotic and will likely be cut.
2. It's only part 1 of the complete story - the other 2 parts are still in my head.
3. The whole thing probably sucks.
4. I thought of a much better story a couple days ago and can't wait to start planning THAT.
5. I am NOT looking forward to editing. And I am. It's a weird feeling.

BUT..I just wrote THE END on my first draft! Woot!
 
Last edited:

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Way to go! :D

The only thing of note I've done in the last 24 hours is to hunt through a folder full of desktop backgrounds that I got from a friend years and years ago, and add the ones I like to my own "desktop background" folder. Because I didn't just want to merge the folders, as most of the old friend's images weren't much to my liking.

So I think I just about doubled my background images. :) They're now on a random loop, changing every 5 minutes.

So yeah... Didn't really get much of anything done, as you can tell.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,884
Reaction score
7,172
Location
Virginia
Congratulations, Ona! Don't fear the edit!
 

Ona Mission

A Bit Squirrelly
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
5,312
Reaction score
2,092
Location
In a buckeye tree
Website
onanewmission.wordpress.com
Thanks, folks.

I'm not as afraid with editing this as I was with the idea of editing the epic fantasy I failed to complete. But I have a good week or two before I think about nipping into that bottle.

For now, it's back to READING - so many books to dive into - and possibly consider planning an outline for a different story. In a day or two..or so.

Cliff, you can always edit my mess and I'll deal with your pictures. Just putting it out there as an option. ;)
 

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
LOL.

Actually, one of the background images I copied over was a nun in white and black PVC, kneeling in a pentagram of candles, and she had on a gas mask. It's an awesome picture, and your avatar reminded me of it. :)
 

VP_Benni

likes a colorful font
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Messages
5,337
Reaction score
242
Location
Probably the library.
It looks like I'm having kind of a lucky day today (may turn into really lucky). This morning I won a signed ARC of Kody Keplinger's (Blind Writer on AW) new middle grade novel, which I'm excited about. And right now my school's student newspaper is having voting for its campus "best of" awards, and their twitter said to take a picture of one of the posters on campus and tweet it for a chance to win a $100 gift card to the campus bookstore... So far (and it's been several hours now) I'm the only one who has entered... >.> Nothing certain, of course, but I'm liking my chances...

~Amber~
 
Last edited:

Silver-Midnight

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Messages
4,910
Reaction score
279
Location
rising from the depths of a cup of coffee
Wrote some micropoetry a few days ago. However, now, I'm kind of preoccupied with school work so, yeah. Thinking about writing some "drabbles"/"one-shots(or something close) once/if I get a bit more free time on my hands. I just need to take it one step at a time. I don't want to overwhelm myself. That's how I ended up getting stuck last time. Just take it slow. For me anyway.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,884
Reaction score
7,172
Location
Virginia
Good for you, Silver-Midnight. Sometimes slow and steady is the way to go.

I fired off my NaNo manuscript to my three betas last night, and have already heard back from one who is better than halfway through and really liking it (then again, she's my sister so she's a bit biased).

I finished up Little Heathens yesterday and continued reading The Worst Street in London. Already thinking about what I'd like to buy for my e-reading pleasure next, as I will be coming up on tech rehearsals for my current production soon and am anticipating a lot of sitting-around-waiting time.

Vamp, fingers crossed for your win!
 

measure_in_love

escaping the evil queen's curse
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 20, 2012
Messages
278
Reaction score
14
Location
Storybrooke, Maine
Silvermidnight: I'm the same way. I try to take shorts breaks to keep my energy flowing. Coffee also helps me be more productive in word counts haha.

Cliffface: youtube/spotify seems to be my downfall when it comes to writing haha it's so easy to get distracted with good music! I've been trying to do non-distracting folk music for background music or just classical with my Yo Yo Ma playlist. If I put on pop or Broadway, forget it I'll just concentrate on the music lol. Though my routine does include getting myself pumped with those playlists.

In other news, I hit the 25k mark! Which means I'm 5k away from the halfway mark! Ah! It seems so far away to finishing this novel, but I need to get this story out. It's been in me for such a long time. Slow and steady wins the race, I suppose. I'm hoping to give myself the goal of reaching 30k by Monday night.
 

VP_Benni

likes a colorful font
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Messages
5,337
Reaction score
242
Location
Probably the library.
Final check-in!

Goals for the month of January:

*Sort out my budget, like I didn't do last month, so my finances don't turn out like last month's... check, though I didn't follow my budget well (meaning I didn't keep track of it as much as I would have liked... I was well under-budget this month)
*Finish my study abroad applications
*Finish my 2-3 important scholarship applications and apply to at least 2-3 less important ones (and check to make sure I didn't miss any other important ones...) Half-check. I have not finished my important ones yet, but they aren't due until at least mid-February, and some as late as the end of March. Good enough.
*Stay on top of school work Barely! :tongue This week was hectic!
*Read at least 3 books for fun Check!
*Write at least 5k that isn't school-related I got to about 3.5k. I think that's acceptable. It's not where I wanted to be, but it's acceptable.
*Play video games I played virtual 8-ball on my tablet. I'm calling that close enough.

Busy, busy, busy... :tongue

Close enough. :tongue

~Amber~