I've been busy, just not with writing. I've been catching up on other parts of my life.
Hopefully over Christmas, I will get a chance to work on my writing. I want to go through what I wrote for NaNoWriMo and rearrange the scenes and chapters. To do this I need to write an outline. Well to be fair, I have to do the 2 at the same time so that they match.
If I do get time, I will be able to start the second draft in January. If I don't get round to it, I won't start the second draft until March or later.
Time to get my act together.
Monday, 19 December 2011
Monday, 5 December 2011
Post-NaNoWriMo
I haven't written much at all since the end of November. I did need a break - I will admit to that, but now I need to get back to writing and I'm in two minds.
I had always intended to write some more scenes in December and then edit the scenes into the right order in January, ready to re-write them in February and March. Now I'm wondering if this is the right thing to do. Most of the story is there, but it does need organizing and bringing together.
I'm hald convinced that I should reorganize now and start the re-wrting in January. Trouble I know I don't stick with my descisions, which is exactly what I'm doing. In both cases, some scenes won't make it into the next draft and new scenes will have to be added.
I just feel, right now, that I'm writing stuff that won't be going anywhere and it would be a better use of my time actually fixing the scenes in order and seeing what is missing. As I have never managed to go much beyond the first draft, I think this is a barrier I need to cross.
So it looks like I'm going to start the reorganisation and then write more scenes. If I can do this and end up with a half decent and complete story, I will be happy.
I had always intended to write some more scenes in December and then edit the scenes into the right order in January, ready to re-write them in February and March. Now I'm wondering if this is the right thing to do. Most of the story is there, but it does need organizing and bringing together.
I'm hald convinced that I should reorganize now and start the re-wrting in January. Trouble I know I don't stick with my descisions, which is exactly what I'm doing. In both cases, some scenes won't make it into the next draft and new scenes will have to be added.
I just feel, right now, that I'm writing stuff that won't be going anywhere and it would be a better use of my time actually fixing the scenes in order and seeing what is missing. As I have never managed to go much beyond the first draft, I think this is a barrier I need to cross.
So it looks like I'm going to start the reorganisation and then write more scenes. If I can do this and end up with a half decent and complete story, I will be happy.
Friday, 2 December 2011
Yesterday
Things went bad at work yesterday, so I got absolutely nothing written.
I'm glad it didn't happen before yesterday, otherwise I would have been much lower on my NaNoWriMo total. So there won't be much happening on the writing front until I get this mess cleared up.
Time to try shifting my writing to evenings and weekends.
I'm glad it didn't happen before yesterday, otherwise I would have been much lower on my NaNoWriMo total. So there won't be much happening on the writing front until I get this mess cleared up.
Time to try shifting my writing to evenings and weekends.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
The end
I just wrote those words. Ywriter says I have written 61080 words in total. I'm about to export and validate.
Here's what NaNoWriMo's validator says 61032 words.
I wrote on 25 days, hence I didn't write on 5 days. On one of the days I was sick, on one I was on a business trip and the other 3 days were pure laziness. This is more active days than any other year to date. I'll analysis the day totals later.
I have to admit I sumarized the last few scenes, so I'll expand on those in the next few weeks. I wrote more than I've ever written in one month. It's also better than anything else I've ever written. I didn't have to pad or use any dirty tricks to reach the total.
I know it's not perfect and I know I still have scenes to write. I also know the whole thing needs to be reorganized and I need to work on the timeline and plot outline. I was originally going to write more scenes in December, but I'm half tempted to go through the plot and write a new outline and rearrange the scenes into the right order.
Well I'm going to take a short break. I might write a little, but no where near on the level I have been. I do want to write every day or most days, just not always on this story.
I won!
Here's what NaNoWriMo's validator says 61032 words.
I wrote on 25 days, hence I didn't write on 5 days. On one of the days I was sick, on one I was on a business trip and the other 3 days were pure laziness. This is more active days than any other year to date. I'll analysis the day totals later.
I have to admit I sumarized the last few scenes, so I'll expand on those in the next few weeks. I wrote more than I've ever written in one month. It's also better than anything else I've ever written. I didn't have to pad or use any dirty tricks to reach the total.
I know it's not perfect and I know I still have scenes to write. I also know the whole thing needs to be reorganized and I need to work on the timeline and plot outline. I was originally going to write more scenes in December, but I'm half tempted to go through the plot and write a new outline and rearrange the scenes into the right order.
Well I'm going to take a short break. I might write a little, but no where near on the level I have been. I do want to write every day or most days, just not always on this story.
I won!
Day 30
I'm sick. It's not serious, but I feel really, really bad. I'm tempted to just verify and be damned.
However, I'm going to try to write a bit now and verify at lunchtime or early afternoon. Then I'm going to go to bed and hide from the world for the rest of the day.
So I should still make it to 60k, only about 1500 words to go...
However, I'm going to try to write a bit now and verify at lunchtime or early afternoon. Then I'm going to go to bed and hide from the world for the rest of the day.
So I should still make it to 60k, only about 1500 words to go...
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Day 29
It's been quite a good day, though for some reason I found it impossible to produce a capital letter on the first try. I still managed to write 2503 words, bringing my grand total to 58514 words.
Writing was definitely easier today. No idea why. Tomorrow I'm hoping to add about another 2000 words so that my total in the validator reaches above 60k. I know that the validator and word counts from the editor don't exactly match, so if I can be 500 to 1000 words over I should be safe.
I might do a bit more tonight, I will see how things work out. It's going to be a busy evening so there may not be time. Still there's still tomorrow.
Writing was definitely easier today. No idea why. Tomorrow I'm hoping to add about another 2000 words so that my total in the validator reaches above 60k. I know that the validator and word counts from the editor don't exactly match, so if I can be 500 to 1000 words over I should be safe.
I might do a bit more tonight, I will see how things work out. It's going to be a busy evening so there may not be time. Still there's still tomorrow.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Day 28
I have written 2482 words today and my grand total is 56011 words. I'm on track to reach 60k if nothing bad happens. If something does come up, well I'm beyond 50k so I've won anyway. And yes it is backed up.
I will try to write another 500 words today if at all possible. If it is possible, I'll try to update here tonight. I will update NaNoWriMo.
Oh and I'm still not at the end. I was hoping to make it before the 30th, but now I'm not so sure. The ending seems to be getting further away at the moment. Having said that, I'm not sure how much of the scenes I'm writing now will make it into the next draft as the story seems to be shifting direction.
However, maybe this new direction is the right one, and the previous scenes will go. Well I'm making no decisions now, that will have to wait for the new year.
(Updated with the extra words)
I will try to write another 500 words today if at all possible. If it is possible, I'll try to update here tonight. I will update NaNoWriMo.
Oh and I'm still not at the end. I was hoping to make it before the 30th, but now I'm not so sure. The ending seems to be getting further away at the moment. Having said that, I'm not sure how much of the scenes I'm writing now will make it into the next draft as the story seems to be shifting direction.
However, maybe this new direction is the right one, and the previous scenes will go. Well I'm making no decisions now, that will have to wait for the new year.
(Updated with the extra words)
Friday and the weekend
Over the last three days I wrote nothing. Not a single word. I didn't even open up the file. I have to admit I enjoyed the break, but it's not exactly what I should be doing.
So I have until midnight on Wednesday to write as much as I can. To be honest I will probably verify sometime on Wednesday afternoon, just to make sure that I do get round to it. It would be a nightmare if I did all this and then I forgot to verify.
So I'm currently at 53529 words. So 60k is not out of the question. Let's hope there's not too much other stuff I have to do in the next few days.
So I have until midnight on Wednesday to write as much as I can. To be honest I will probably verify sometime on Wednesday afternoon, just to make sure that I do get round to it. It would be a nightmare if I did all this and then I forgot to verify.
So I'm currently at 53529 words. So 60k is not out of the question. Let's hope there's not too much other stuff I have to do in the next few days.
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Day 24
I jsut found out that I made a mistake in my spreadsheet and I only had two days when I wrote nothing instead of the three I had been claiming. It may only be a small improvement, but it makes me feel better.
Today I wrote 3027 words, bringing my total to 53529 words.
Tomorrow I am out all day, so I'm not likely to write very much. I will try to write something in the evening, even if it's only 19 words - my minimum above zero word count in one day.
Starting to write the end now. I should hit 60k, I think. Still it's definitely more difficult to write now. I think it's the over-50k-syndrome.
At the end of November I will take a short break, before continuing with writing scenes - some scenes I still have in summary. Hopefully I will still get everything I want written before the end of the year. Then all I have to do is make the scenes into a book...
Today I wrote 3027 words, bringing my total to 53529 words.
Tomorrow I am out all day, so I'm not likely to write very much. I will try to write something in the evening, even if it's only 19 words - my minimum above zero word count in one day.
Starting to write the end now. I should hit 60k, I think. Still it's definitely more difficult to write now. I think it's the over-50k-syndrome.
At the end of November I will take a short break, before continuing with writing scenes - some scenes I still have in summary. Hopefully I will still get everything I want written before the end of the year. Then all I have to do is make the scenes into a book...
update
Yesterday I added another 500 words after writing the blog entry. I ended the day with 50502 words.
Today I'm struggling to write anything. I think it's because I've reached the 50k and I know that as far as NaNoWriMo is concerned I've won. When the validator goes live on the 25th, theoretically I can enter my text and seal the deal.
However I haven't finished the draft and I don't want to validate unless it's finished. I now know how it ends and who the murderer is. I've avoided the obvious suspect and made the actions of the killer work with the people involved. I could just write a summary and leave it at that.
But I don't want to. I want to write the scenes. OK maybe not all of them, but enough to make it part of the novel rather than an outline. I'm hoping to add about 10k before the end of November. It would be really cool if I could make it to 70000 words, but that really is pushing it.
In December I'll probably keep writing the first draft scenes as there are some I haven't completed yet. Then in January next year, I'll start cutting and pasting the scenes until a book emerges. I've written quite a bit in a linear time line, but that makes no sense for the storyline. Some will become flashbacks, other scenes will simply not make it into the book, but it was still worth writing them.
Once everything is in the right order, I'll go through each scene and chapter again. This time I'll rewrite them. For some this will only be a tweaking, but for others it will mean a complete rewrite.
After that, and if I get that far, I'll need to send it out to beta readers. Then it's to the last edit run. Of course this is all very far in the future, but this story is the best I've ever written and that may not be saying much, but it means a lot to me.
This one I will finish.
Today I'm struggling to write anything. I think it's because I've reached the 50k and I know that as far as NaNoWriMo is concerned I've won. When the validator goes live on the 25th, theoretically I can enter my text and seal the deal.
However I haven't finished the draft and I don't want to validate unless it's finished. I now know how it ends and who the murderer is. I've avoided the obvious suspect and made the actions of the killer work with the people involved. I could just write a summary and leave it at that.
But I don't want to. I want to write the scenes. OK maybe not all of them, but enough to make it part of the novel rather than an outline. I'm hoping to add about 10k before the end of November. It would be really cool if I could make it to 70000 words, but that really is pushing it.
In December I'll probably keep writing the first draft scenes as there are some I haven't completed yet. Then in January next year, I'll start cutting and pasting the scenes until a book emerges. I've written quite a bit in a linear time line, but that makes no sense for the storyline. Some will become flashbacks, other scenes will simply not make it into the book, but it was still worth writing them.
Once everything is in the right order, I'll go through each scene and chapter again. This time I'll rewrite them. For some this will only be a tweaking, but for others it will mean a complete rewrite.
After that, and if I get that far, I'll need to send it out to beta readers. Then it's to the last edit run. Of course this is all very far in the future, but this story is the best I've ever written and that may not be saying much, but it means a lot to me.
This one I will finish.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Day 23
So far I've written 2502 words, giving a total of 50045 words. I broke the 50k. I will still be writing and it would be nice to reach at least 60k before the end of November.
What I would like to manage is to write at least 5000 words per day on four of the remaining November days. This is including today. But I don't think I will. I'm leaving in half an hour and I will be busy for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is a possibility as are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. However nothing can go wrong on those days and somehow I don't see that happening.
Work has been extremely busy and frustrating. Home has just been busy. I will continue writing after the 30th until I have all the scenes written. Then I'll cut and paste them until I have a coherent story. Then it's time for the first rewrite. Hopefully this will be at the beginning of next year. I might take a break in between, but I'm worried I won't be able to get started again.
Please ignore any typing errors if you see them, for some reason things always get worse towards the end of NaNoWriMo. I can't seem to type the simplest word without making a mistake.
What I would like to manage is to write at least 5000 words per day on four of the remaining November days. This is including today. But I don't think I will. I'm leaving in half an hour and I will be busy for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is a possibility as are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. However nothing can go wrong on those days and somehow I don't see that happening.
Work has been extremely busy and frustrating. Home has just been busy. I will continue writing after the 30th until I have all the scenes written. Then I'll cut and paste them until I have a coherent story. Then it's time for the first rewrite. Hopefully this will be at the beginning of next year. I might take a break in between, but I'm worried I won't be able to get started again.
Please ignore any typing errors if you see them, for some reason things always get worse towards the end of NaNoWriMo. I can't seem to type the simplest word without making a mistake.
Day 22
Yesterday I wrote 5019 words, bring my total to 47543 words. If things go well today, I will break the 50k mark. If that doesn't happen today it will happen tomorrow, but I think today. I'm very happy about this.
I think I will end up with about 60000 words by November 30th. Less than I originally hoped for, but more than I've ever written during NaNoWriMo. The story is interesting as are the characters. This one I'm really going to try to transform into a readable book that can be submitted to agents.
I will probably start with writing some more scenes before I start cutting, rewriting and reorganizing the ones I have. At the end I hope to have a book of about 75000 words.
This year has gone so much better than any other year to date.
I think I will end up with about 60000 words by November 30th. Less than I originally hoped for, but more than I've ever written during NaNoWriMo. The story is interesting as are the characters. This one I'm really going to try to transform into a readable book that can be submitted to agents.
I will probably start with writing some more scenes before I start cutting, rewriting and reorganizing the ones I have. At the end I hope to have a book of about 75000 words.
This year has gone so much better than any other year to date.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Day 21 update
I managed to write a grand total of 19 words yesterday. That is pathetic, but at least I wrote something. I did not update NaNoWriMo.
Let's hope today goes better. Trouble is I know I'm going to be busy again, because of the trip last week. Should be quieter from Wednesday onwards, so my word count should increase dramatically then.
Let's hope today goes better. Trouble is I know I'm going to be busy again, because of the trip last week. Should be quieter from Wednesday onwards, so my word count should increase dramatically then.
Monday, 21 November 2011
Day 21
So far today I have written 0 words. And there is nothing missing from that previous sentence. Work has been completely crazy and I have not had time to do anything else.
Since last Wednesday I have written 0, 2207, 774, 793, 1210, 0 words up to and including today. Not the best of records, but except for the day I traveled to my business meeting and today, I have written everyday. I'm hoping to write tonight as well.
In my original plan, I should have written 63000 words, or at least to have been above the 50k. I'm at 42505 words, which is not bad. I'll definitely make it to 50k, but I'll have to summarize more scenes than I originally intended, so that I can finish on time.
Not a disaster, just annoying. I didn't always get a chance to update NaNoWriMo, but yWriter's log keeps track of my daily totals. A wonderful tool it is too.
Since last Wednesday I have written 0, 2207, 774, 793, 1210, 0 words up to and including today. Not the best of records, but except for the day I traveled to my business meeting and today, I have written everyday. I'm hoping to write tonight as well.
In my original plan, I should have written 63000 words, or at least to have been above the 50k. I'm at 42505 words, which is not bad. I'll definitely make it to 50k, but I'll have to summarize more scenes than I originally intended, so that I can finish on time.
Not a disaster, just annoying. I didn't always get a chance to update NaNoWriMo, but yWriter's log keeps track of my daily totals. A wonderful tool it is too.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Next few days...
I will be leaving for a business trip in 5 hours time. I will try to at least write the minimum between then and now, but no guarantees as I have to prepare for the trip first. Also I will have much less time to write. I'll be working about 12 hours a day and then there's the 7 hour drive each way (today and Friday).
And yes it's by car, so no chance to write on the way. I am not happy about this, but sometimes you just have to do things you don't like doing and I haven't had to go on a business trip since the summer. I know it's not that bad, but right now I keep thinking 'why me?'
And yes it's by car, so no chance to write on the way. I am not happy about this, but sometimes you just have to do things you don't like doing and I haven't had to go on a business trip since the summer. I know it's not that bad, but right now I keep thinking 'why me?'
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Day 15
I've written 5494 words so far today, bringing my total to 37521 words. I should break 50k in the next three days, if I keep up this rate. I probably won't write any more today. I'm going quite fast, which was never the intention I meant to go at a more steady pace, so that I didn't get lost.
However having said that, the story is going very well and is on track. I'm in the middle section at the moment, which is good and where it should be. I don't think I'll make it to 80000 words. I might make it to 75000 words, which isn't too bad. Anything over 50k is a bonus and I'll be happy.
I think this is my best year yet. I had a rough outline and some subplots, a good storyline, and interesting characters. It's not turning out how I originally thought it would, but it is staying inside the broad lines and the characters are speaking for themselves.
I hope this continues.
However having said that, the story is going very well and is on track. I'm in the middle section at the moment, which is good and where it should be. I don't think I'll make it to 80000 words. I might make it to 75000 words, which isn't too bad. Anything over 50k is a bonus and I'll be happy.
I think this is my best year yet. I had a rough outline and some subplots, a good storyline, and interesting characters. It's not turning out how I originally thought it would, but it is staying inside the broad lines and the characters are speaking for themselves.
I hope this continues.
Yesterday
I ended up writing 5271 words, giving me a total of 32027 words. It was the first time I'd written over 5000 words in one day. I'm not particularly keen to continue with such a large amount, however I still need to catch up if I want to reach the 80 000 word goal.
Let's hope today goes as well.
Let's hope today goes as well.
Monday, 14 November 2011
Day 14
Today was a good day. So far, I've added 4765 words, bringing my grand total to 31521 words. I'm hoping to write some more later, but I wanted to put an update here first. So I have less that 20000 words to go to make the 50k. In that respect, I'm ahead of the game.
I'm slightly behind my optimistic goal, which called for 3000 words per day. I'm currently on a 2251 words per day average. I did know I wouldn't write everyday, but this is still lower than I was hoping for at this stage. I would like to write another 500 words today and then write a similar amount tomorrow.
I have to go on a business trip on Wednesday, so I am unlikely to be able to keep up the word count. I'll try to compensate the following weekend, but if last weekend is any indication that won't happen. Still it might...
I'm slightly behind my optimistic goal, which called for 3000 words per day. I'm currently on a 2251 words per day average. I did know I wouldn't write everyday, but this is still lower than I was hoping for at this stage. I would like to write another 500 words today and then write a similar amount tomorrow.
I have to go on a business trip on Wednesday, so I am unlikely to be able to keep up the word count. I'll try to compensate the following weekend, but if last weekend is any indication that won't happen. Still it might...
The weekend
went badly. I wrote 240 words on Saturday and 19 0 on Sunday (apparently I didn't save my 19 words). I didn't bother to update NaNoWriMo. I knew I would have off days. Still my total is now 26756 words, which means I'm still on target to reach 50k before the end of the month.
I am, of course, behind on my goal of 80k by the end of November, but that was wishful thinking. There are just too many things on my plate for me to keep up with writing 3000 words every day. Still I'm hoping I'll do better today.
The worst is that from Wednesday I will be away on a business trip. I should be able to get something written, but it's unlikely I will be anywhere near my target for those 3 days. I'll try to catch up over the weekend, but if this weekend was anything to go by, that just won't happen.
I am, of course, behind on my goal of 80k by the end of November, but that was wishful thinking. There are just too many things on my plate for me to keep up with writing 3000 words every day. Still I'm hoping I'll do better today.
The worst is that from Wednesday I will be away on a business trip. I should be able to get something written, but it's unlikely I will be anywhere near my target for those 3 days. I'll try to catch up over the weekend, but if this weekend was anything to go by, that just won't happen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)