NoNoWriMo 2010...anyone doing it?

[HappyWithLife]

I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year for the first time. For anyone who doesn't know it's a challenge to write 50k words in 30 days, starting on 1 November and ending on 30 Nov. Is anyone else doing it this year?

stocks, yes. You know the score!
Interview was for primary. Also quite fancy being an art teacher in secondary and wearing smocks and being shocking (for an old person). Suspect this is a risky premise on which to establish a career, however.
5.30. Thank god mine sleep til 7 these days. I used to really struggle with early starts.

where are you all? writing?
tonight I am smug. 1543. But there has to be a smugger and smuggest? come out to play

Don't think the smug prize will be mine this week! Extra work and too many 5.30 starts has left me a bit wiped out. But I've still managed to write something everyday. Away this weekend so that will put me even further behind but I have a day off alone on Monday so hoping to put a spurt on.

I felt a bit disillusioned a couple of days ago, like my story was getting a bit boggy but I pressed on and have found a new vein! It's hard when a character suddenly decides to change and you know that you'll have to completely go back and change them but I found that Nano pep talk useful this week that pointed out that this is meant to be a first draft. One of my characters appears to have gone missing too!

How is everyone else doing? 1,543 ninah, good work!

something every day is my main aim, arty. I'm happy with that. My narrator changed sex and I've had lots of changes to plot etc, I prefer to call them improvements
Sometimes I find it hard to write in the eve because i am shattered. Then immediately I get into bed the thoughts start flying. Then I am too shattered etc, on and on in a loop.
V of your Monday bet you will get loads done then.

oh and yeah I had a character called M that went missing. I suppose if i couldn't be bothered to name him/her it was kind of indicative ...

City

You know if this thread is still going at Easter I might do that! don't often get much child free time but ex does have them for a week then and I catch up with old friends and do a bit of pavement pounding
I bet we're all pretty much into second draft by then and could do a meetup, with feedback from swapping say a chapter each?
but for now, I'll just live cafe culture vicariously
just don't tell me you will be ordering gingerbread lattes!
v poor night tonight. Work stuff washing round my brain, hard to concentrate. Did write some, longhand. Maybe 800?
snatches the lazy bint cup

Hello everyone! Just a quick check in to say that after a bit of a wobble on Wednesday and then again on Friday, I've been back on target and did a massive catch up session today. So me and my spreadsheet (no laughing) are happy again.

The novel's been going better too - I've decided that if I don't want to write a particular chapter, then it's a sign that people wouldn't want to read it either, so I'm just skipping over it and writing what I do want to write. I've also (as per the motivational emails) been putting my characters into more conflict, and thinking 'what's the worst thing that could happen?' which has worked out really well.

I'll join a London-based write-in later in the year if people are interested.

Morning all! I am back after a lovely surprise weekend away with DP and DS, in a nice hotel with babysitters and spa things! (And, no, DP does not make a habit of arranging things like this!) Not very productive writing-wise though, although I had lots of time to ponder my plot. The result of this though is that now all my characters have decided to betray someone/declare their undying love for someone/turn up after a 15 year absence. I am frankly terrified at all this multiple plotline stuff - I am used to writing short stories and one stab at a radio play! Aaargh!

So I am quite behind now but am now alone in a quiet house so wish me luck! (I also have about 400 chores to do so I hoping for some productivity all round.)

I'd be up for a London write-in. Dandy - you live on the same line as me I think? Where/when did you have in mind?

GrendelsMum - that was an impressive effort yesterday! You are my inspiration today - I might even make a spreadsheet.

Halllloooooo! Where is everyone?

I managed to catch up a bit on Monday and am now just 2,000 words behind but this week has been a real drag. I am thinking that I may have wasted several hours of my life writing some right old tosh. I'm determined to finish but hope that things pick up. I'm finding my story just so linear at the moment but I guess that's partly the nature of first drafts

Please don't leave me here on my own!

Hello all!

Just about dragging myself through the last week of NanoWriMo - only 10000 words to go, but real life and responsibilities are starting to refuse to be ignored much longer, plus I am feeling physically quite knackered and want more sleep!

The kitchen floor is filthy, but I don't have time / energy to clean it, as I need to keep my word count up and deal with other responsibilities. And like ArtiFarti, today's chapter has felt like a real drag, although it was supposed to be exciting. But I reminde myself it's a first draft, and at least it's a way of getting closer to the characters, even if the writing itself has to be junked.

But I am still on track, and I'm pretty confident I will finally make it through to that 50000 word mark.

Keep it up, everyone!

Especially good work Artifarti, catching up again.

hi, you are doing sooo well! grendel's mum I am so pleased you mentioned the kitchen floor. Ds had a playdate tonight I'd forgoten about, it was fairly casual, but I rearranged for next week as the house is such a tip! mind you no guarantees next week will be better.
I am on target to make 30-35k by end of month.
the 50 is not compulsory, is it? I am sure you are right to press on and I don't want to be devil's advocate but you don't just have to fill space for the sake of nano? I mean, writing is a more long term thing for all of us.
Slinks back into lazy girls corner
however I am on about 1500 a day. In longhand so it doesn;t always get written up straight away. I edit a bit as I type it on. Am happy with what I've written this week. Much more fluent. And some humour which is new for me

I've given in. I just don't have the time now. I hope you all do really well though

yay 29,111! will make 30 tomorrow once I have filled in a couple of blanks. Was aiming for 40 for this half of the book but mainly so I had some fat to trim off. 35 would be OK. Happy with the plot, characters - much less sensationalist than before. woohoo!
where is everyone? is brilliant to have achieved so much this month, shall we carry on?
I had a sneaky peek at your graph thing arty so see how you wrote so much. It's amazing, you are ON that purple line.
dandy, I have been meaning to ask. Will you send out your previous project again, or have you moved on completely? you are soo close, it can only be a matter of time before you get representation.
Wouldn't you love to say, I'll have to run that past my agent? I bet I'd never get tired of saying it

Only three days to go, everyone! And my kitchen floor is cleaner, if not actually clean.

Artyfarty is doing brilliantly - well done.

And well done Ninah for your nearly 30,000 so far. It really is a tremendous achievement if you take a step back and think about it. 35k would be great.

Best of luck, Nano-ers

dandy I would so much rather read a well written book about a teenage sht than some well worn guff about Bella and Her Sudden Realisation
the publishing industry has become so conglomerate, and books formulaic as a result
I can see how frustating this is but try not to be discouraged. When your books do make it into print they will stand out that much more as a result.
I have persuaded my aunt to read the draft so far. Well, after I have checked for excess obsenities and polished it a bit. She's the best critic I know. And I know where I am going with the second half, so will start that in the New Year.
This has been a v positive month for me as far as writing goes.

grendelsmum you are a slave driver! 5k by Wednesday??!
high fives everyone

I finished mine and got the confirmation. However, due to a technical glitch on Open Office, whereby it counts curly quote marks as one word, what I thought was a comnfortable 50,500 words turned out to be 50,004 words once corrected. By that time I was sick of the whole thing.

No - does this Open Office glitch mean I'm a massive amount of words short?

I came on to post that I was comfortably back on target after a morning of writing. Will have to check...

Damn, you're right.

That means I need to put in around another 3k or so, I wouldn't be surprised. Damn damn damn damn.

Check to see if you are using curly speech marks instead of straight ones. If you are, one way to check if the glitch applies to you is just to write something short using the quote marks and see what the word counter says.