Write a novel in a month! NaNoWriMo 2006 for CoH
By
Accel,
Posted on: 2006-10-26 14:40 in Multi-Media Fan Creations
Maybe nightmare isn't the best word to describe it because it's a good nightmare for me. I think Max's choice of the word challenge fits me best too. I've found out that most days meeting the quota is not a biggie, or that writing just happens while I dodn't even notice. I type a paragraph or two and suddenly there's 700 words more, then another 700 words.
With maybe three chapters so far I've hit a block and had to fiddle with other parts or procrastinate with the timeline in order to find the right approach. The search for ND-3 was one of those which was odd since it was stuff that happened. I knew where it all was going. Still describing a meeting was like lighting up ice. Then I started to write about youth sport in Skyway and got over one block.
This time around this is far easier than three years ago but it might be because of English language uses more words to say something than Finnish. This might be a bit biased example, but illustrates the point nonetheless.
"Hellion-jengiläiset kävelivät Atlas-patsaalta juna-asemalle." That's 4 words in Finnish.
"The Hellion gang members walked from the statue of Atlas to the train station." 14 words
When describing something in Finnish I could rack up say 250 words, while in English I'd be knocking close to a thousand. In that regard I'm having it easy and stressfree (or is that stress free, two words?). Except I've magically fallen a bit behind right now and there's 2750 words to chug out before the end of the day.
*frowns*
What?! No excert from Rockjaw?
.....where did I put my....
I'm now so far behind I'm beginning to doubt that I can actually do this.. 50,000 seems far too far away. 
The Purple Party Pagan of Paragon
Globals: @Morgana Fiolett / @Genevieve Moore
Altoholic with too many characters to count now I have all these shiny servers...
I managed to break the 30,000 word barrier today, at 30,928, though today's chapter took me an awfully long time to write.
Ding halfway.
My pace seems to be slowing at the moment and I've only hit the minimum words-per-day twice over the past four days. I'm still on schedule but I've used up all of my slack now.
One of the things that's nagging me is that with the tight deadline I'm keeping more redundant text than I should be and, worse still, I'm actually adding to it to justify its presence. I'm not sure if I'd call it padding but it is taking away some of the focus. Everything I've written has been useful even if it turns out that some of it doesn't belong in the actual text but I think better (or some) planning would've helped keep things tighter. That's one of the lessons to take away from this NaNoWriMo thing I guess.
On the other hand the story is progressing as it should (only a bit slower) so I shouldn't really be worrying about the flab. The time for that should be when the story is finished and the grizzly task of editing begins, but that'll be after the month is over anyway, so losing thousands of words won't be so painful. Or counterproductive 
24,874 words to go.
/blogmode
30k hit, and the best part is, I've finally reached the juicy plot nonsense - I'm back in the zone, dudes! 
I stepped out of the race. :< I'm a bad, bad Zortel.
Still, I'll be prepared for next year!
You're not the only one - bad Marvel Ultimate Alliance, bad game....
Ahem.
"Idealism is such a wonderful thing. All you really need is someone rational to put it to proper use." - Kerr Avon
Myopic Aardvark on Twitter
Mmmm, Marvel Ultimate Alliance...just a couple more weeks, only a couple. *strokes specially set-aside money*
Still running way behind. I can only write now when calm and that's taking a lot of effort with all the ****storm at work and the Parent's imminent arrival.
I'm WAAAAY behind, and probably won't hit 50k by the end of the month.
But I don't care! I'm writing what I want to write, at the speed I'm happy writing at! 
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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I'm now so far behind I'm beginning to doubt that I can actually do this.. 50,000 seems far too far away.
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When I did my first NaNoWriMo I was not sure I could do it. It was a struggle. This time around I feel way more confident about achieving the goal.
My advice, for all it's worth, is to keep writing. Aim for the 50k. If it becomes evident that you won't hit it, write still. You have a story to tell and this is the perfect month for telling it even if you won't achieve the Big Number.
One point of this month and this project is to give a frame in time in which to write. This is the month when I play less as I write. I post less, I don't write many recaps, in general I cut away from my other leisure activities in order to have the time to write. And that time is well spent.
Let November be your excuse to cut back on other things and further your story. All the way up to 50k, or maybe 40k, or set your mark at 20k. Raise the bar so that it is a challenge and then go for it. You'll be surprised how much you really can do in a month. At least I was, in 2003. It's a good feeling and well worth striving for. 
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30k hit, and the best part is, I've finally reached the juicy plot nonsense - I'm back in the zone, dudes!
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Extremely good going there, Stase! I must admit I keep my eye on your wordcount and with a tint of jealousy have occasionally managed to squeeze a few more hundred words out just to get a bit closer to your number. Keep it up, I like to look up and push harder inspired by an example.
Soon I'll bust 25k. I hope.
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Still running way behind. I can only write now when calm and that's taking a lot of effort with all the ****storm at work and the Parent's imminent arrival.
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Sorry to hear that, mate. Still, you have 13k done already and two full weeks to go, plus an additional two days. Still, it's just 2300 words a day and if the mood is right, the calm moment lasts, a good spur of creativity can amount to that in a relatively short time.
You're still in the race. I'd give an encouragement cookie if I had any. I, uh, tend to snack. 
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One of the things that's nagging me is that with the tight deadline I'm keeping more redundant text than I should be and, worse still, I'm actually adding to it to justify its presence. I'm not sure if I'd call it padding but it is taking away some of the focus.
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The good side of redundant text is that you get to experiment where that particular bit should actually fall and makes you think better what is really relevant. Both immensly helpful things when the editing starts.
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24,874 words to go.
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With you I compete directly. I see your figures and I *know* that it's within my reach. Stase sets the bar for me, you set the immediate goal.
Now, back to writing. I feel like the scene is finally moving...
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30k hit, and the best part is, I've finally reached the juicy plot nonsense - I'm back in the zone, dudes!
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Yay! I'm still 600 words ahead of you!
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One of the things that's nagging me is that with the tight deadline I'm keeping more redundant text than I should be and, worse still, I'm actually adding to it to justify its presence. I'm not sure if I'd call it padding but it is taking away some of the focus.
[/ QUOTE ]
The good side of redundant text is that you get to experiment where that particular bit should actually fall and makes you think better what is really relevant. Both immensly helpful things when the editing starts.
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Absolutely, it also helps you get a better feel for a character when you let them wander about outside the confines of the story. I don't know where I read it or who said it but I recall one novelist saying that most of what he writes never makes it into the final novel. Whoever it was obviously never did NaNoWriMo
Anyway, after a long and hard procrastinate, I've decided to dispense with one of the cooler ideas I had for the story right from the beginning. There's no way I could do it justice in the space that I can give it and it frees me from having to manage a (even bigger) mood change once Stalingrad is over. I'm toying with the idea of doing more with the characters and (de-CoXed) universe of H Company once this is finished so it may get used anyway.
Chapter 12 done. Chapters 12-14 published. 25k broken. Scheduled quota based target of 25500 words achieved.
Back in the game.
Woohoo!
Slowly reaching today's 32,500 mark, but didn't start until 5pm as it's shopping + laundry day, which means likely not to finish until 9pm or so.
Rolling along slowly at the moment. I want to finish this chapter before going onto the now much simpler bit ahead. In my admittedly rudimentary notes this battle didn't look too big, but its turned into a huge multi-chapter set piece. I'm still not happy about it having got so big but it does set things up for the rest of the story while at the same time expanding on a few characters.
Anyway, enough of the procrastination, time to see how my entrepid heroes get out of this pickle I've written them into.
33,404 words, and hopefully now on the start of a definitive lead over my arch-rival. (In a nice way of course. )
Phew! After two days of building up to the climax of this battle I finally got there, or at least halfway through the climax. If it reads half as well as it wrote I'll be a very happy man. It's insanely long though, that one chapter will be well over 6,000 words when its finished, although I know I'll be able to shave a thousand off when it comes to editing. I may also cut it into two chapters as there's a good place to end one and start another.
Altogether a productive day with a big decision made about the storyline and a nice chunk of verbiage about a battle that has been quite daunting. That story decision has made a big difference, I'm no longer worried about saving space for something that really deserved a story of its own.
22,156 words to go and finally it doesn't seem so far to go
Get typing Coile
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33,404 words, and hopefully now on the start of a definitive lead over my arch-rival. (In a nice way of course. )
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Remember though, I have more spare days to write in than you do! Muahaha.
HATE DEADLINES
HATE STORY
HATE WORDS
HATE WORK
HATE MSN
HATE NANONWRIMO
And relax...
*continues writing*
26,221 words to go.
Ended up getting distracted from my big push past the 1500 words from before but I managed to bring todays count up to the nominally on-quota 1700 words, although I suspect some of that last block of 200 may need a bit of rewriting in the cold light of day. Still, 25,000 is well in sight for tomorrow so all is well.
Now it's time to hit that sack.