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...

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.

Day 10

Well the day isn't not over yet, but before I forget to write an update, here it is. Today I have written 3150 words, bringing my total to 25509 words.

I had originally hoped to reach 30000 words today, but due to illness I didn't. I don't consider this a failure for two reasons. The first is that I have written more consistently this year than ever before. I have written every day even if it was just a few words.

The second is that I'm enjoying writing. This year is a joy. I'm enjoying the characters, the plot, the setting, the everything. This is in complete contrast to last year when I hated the whole thing.

I know I can write to a deadline, but I know I'm lousy at writing without one. Without a deadline, everything else seems suddenly so much more appealing. This year's NaNoWriMo is changing that, because I'm changing the way I write.

I write in smaller chunks - just 500 words at a time. These can quickly add up and I don't need to set aside a large chunk of time to write thousands of words in one sitting.

I write every day. In previous years, I wrote 5k a day for ten days, normally the last ten days. This year I want to write almost every day.

I keep back ups on all my available computers, but my main file is on my USB stick. This means that I can use any computer to write on. I also have a netbook, which allows me to write almost anywhere. I used to keep my main file on my work laptop and a back up on the USB. This made it difficult to write at weekends as I didn't always take the laptop home with me.

What I've done, in essence, is to make it easier to write and it's having an effect.

Day 9

Spent  most of the day asleep. However I did get to write this afternoon. I added 2167 words, bringing my total to 22359 words.

I'm still behind my perfect target of 3000 words per day, but still on target to finish 50k well in time. I'm hoping to catch up a bit over the next few days, but I'll have to see how ill I am.

Day 8

I'm really not very well, but I did add 669 words to my total. I might add a little more later, but maybe not. I can barely keep my eyes open. So my total is 20192 words. A little behind my perfect total, but still way ahead of my expectations.

At home tomorrow and I'll take my netbook upstairs tonight, so I should be able to add some more tomorrow.

Sick

I'm definitely sick and will go home soon. I still hope to do some writing today, but I don't think it will be as much as other days.

Day 7

Due to a rush at the end of the day, I never updated my blog. So yesterday I wrote 2314 words. Bringing my total word count to 19523 words. If I was writing 3000 words per day I should be at 21000 words at this time. I am instead averaging 2789 words per day, which is not bad.

So far I have written every single day, which is also a record. I don't think I will manage every day in November, but I'm hoping to get close. I know I won't write on either the 18th or the 25th as I have a trip that will happen on one of those two days. Date is yet to be fixed.

Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy.

NaNoWriMo update

So for the first time ever, I believe, I actually wrote on the weekend. Not a huge amount, but more than ever before. Beating zero words isn't exactly hard, but still it's an improvement.

On Saturday I added 1635 words and on Sunday 2051 words. Bring the grand total to 17209 words. This is slightly under my target of 18000 words by Sunday, an average of 3000 words per day. But I'm happy with it and that's all that matters.

Now for today's writing...

Day 3

I didn't blog yesterday simply because I didn't have time. I added about 2500 words to my total, which ended up at 10007 words. Not bad for three days or writing. I wrote less because it was a busy day and I had less time to write. The writing is still going well and is not slowing down at all.

Let's see how long that continues for. Today I'm hoping for at least 3000 words. It would be nice to do more, but I have a busy afternoon/evening so I don't think that's going to happen. And for the first time ever, I'm going to write at the weekend too.

In previous years I have only ever written on weekdays, during quiet periods at work. This year I'm trying to be a bit more structured and write less per day, but for more days in the month. I normally write the 50000 words in ten days randomly spread out through the month.

This year I'd like to reach 80000 words or there about. I'm using a new editor, yWriter, which allows me to write in scenes. These I'll rearrange later on into the correct order. I find I write better if I write the first draft using a linear time line, however the story works better with flashbacks. I find I can lose consistency if write a later flashback before and earlier one.

If I don't use some of the scenes, that easy and I can still add in new ones. But seeing them laid out in the correct time line means I don't have the reaction happening before the action.

Day 2

And I'm currently at a total of 7246 words. So I've written 3213 words so far today.

I have changed my goals again. I still of course want to write the minimum. That is the basic goal, which won't change. However my daily goal is now 3000 words. If I do this every day then I will write 90000 words in November.

To be honest I don't think I will reach 90000 words, but I hope to get close to this total. I know I won't be able to write everyday, but I should manage to write most days. And some days I will write more than others.

I'm still finding it astonishingly easy to write at the moment and I still have lots of scenes lined up. I actually know what is going to happen next.

I will admit to only writing the backstory at the moment. It will be placed at appropriate points in the story to illustrate some points. But I'm writing the whole thing in chronological order at the moment and I'll move the scenes around later on. I'm also trying to write more than I actually need. I think this will help too.

So currently I'm very happy with my progress and excited by the project. Can this last?

Day 1

And it's a good one. I have written 4033 words. I'm not going to add to it again today. I think 4000 words a day is a good total to aim for. I would like to have a grand total of about 80000 words or more by the end of November, which might even be possible.

Of course I am having a good day and I'm pretty sure there will be bad ones too. Not to mention days off too. But if I make it to 50000 words, I'll be happy. If I make to 80000 words, I'll be ecstatic.

The whole thing just flowed today. I almost can't believe it.

Not starting off too well...

After being so tired last night that I forgot all about writing to being woken up twice in the night by a power failure and a mouse, I'm not getting off to a good start for NaNoWriMo.

I completely forgot my files as well. I'll start without them and hope that what I write now matches what I wrote then. It's mostly names that I forget and sometimes I transpose characters.

Still here's hoping I make it to 1700 words. Making it to 5000 words would be fantastic, but I'm not betting on that.

One day to go

I'm still behind on my plot outline for NaNoWriMo. I'll write some more this evening and then it's time to write the real thing.

I'm a little bit nervous and a little bit excited. I have a good feeling about this year. I hope it works out. I'll aim for 5000 words a day, with the 1700 words as a minimum. I'll take most weekends off - probably. I can't ignore the family completely.

With luck and hard work, I'll end up with a reasonable first draft at the end. This time I'm going to work had to write in scenes for the most part and write a lot less of the narrative summary. If I'm not interested in a scene I tend to just summarize it quickly with the intent to go back to it, but somehow that never happens.

This year it will happen. (Maybe if I say/type it enough times I actually will do it.)

A few days off...

Plus some computer troubles, means I haven't posted in a while. So much for trying to post twice a week. I'm behind on my outline for NaNoWriMo, but I will get that done in time. In fact I could use what I have now, but I'd like to add a bit more detail if I can.

Salvaging my computer was good as it meant I didn't have to spend lots of money on a new one. It just took most of my time off to fix, which was not so good. I don't know how stable it will be, but I'm hoping for at least another six months, maybe a year if I'm lucky.

I just hope this year's plot clicks. By that I mean that I can connect with the plot and the characters. I seem to manage one or the other, but not both at the same time. This is annoying and the reason I have never bothered an agent to date. It would be a waste of time for both of us.

Instead I waste my own time trying to find the write novel to send out. If I write enough I'll get there. I know I will. (Don't you just love positive affirmations - well it might work.)

Characters

I love inventing characters. I find that it’s no work at all and it seems to come easily to me. I have no idea why, but it is also the reason that I always start off with characters and let the plot follow in its own good time.

All of my characters – at least I can’t think of an exception at the moment – are a result of many small bits of information and snippets of stories. All this merges together into one distinct character. I don’t use the normal ways of creating a character and background. I don’t write a biography and I don’t answer the 30/50/100 or more questions that some sites give to help produce a well-rounded character.

Instead I write little scenes. These are defining moments for the character. They may show how mean they are or how generous. They help explain what makes that character who they are. I do include some aspects of a biography, such roughly how old they are, but unless there is some need for it, I tend to leave that alone.

I will say that if something becomes important in a story, such as the heroine having red hair, green eyes and is exactly 24 years 3 months and 16 days old, then I do add these facts to the character sheet. And yes, I do have character sheets. They just don’t look like the examples you see on the internet or in books.

I normally outline four to five characters in detail for each story. There are far more than this in one novel, but the others don’t have such a detailed outline as I may only use one or two aspects of their character. But in these cases, they are noted in the minor character section of my notes. I do this because I have a nasty habit of using the same name more than once. I tend to forget these rather quickly.

I have fun creating characters and if I get really stuck I simply fall back to character creation. For some reason this is easier than some other aspects of writing, like sticking to a timeline…

I didn't write much at all over the weekend and yet I know I was busy the whole time. Well most of it anyway. Time seems to fly by at the moment. At this rate I won't even get my outline finished before NaNoWriMo.

That's not entirely true as the main story is outlined, but the subplots and extras have yet to be added. I might try to get the scenes worked out too, but that might be a step too far. I don't want to end up in the same situation as last year. I hope it goes better this time.

Inspiration and writing

I have to admit that I have no problem finding inspiration. Every day there is something that gets my mind whirring. I don't always record it. If I don't think it stands out enough I leave it alone. If I wrote every thing done I wouldn't have room in my bookcases for books.

Some do make it into one of the three places I use to record things. The first is as a file on my computer. The second is my A4 student notepad, from which I can tear the pages so they can be added to a folder and the last is my small, hardback notebook that travels everywhere with me. In fact I have three small notebooks as I have a terrible habit of losing them. It takes a while to rediscover them.

Each of my characters gains something from these snippets. Perhaps not the full character comes from here, but everyone is affected somehow. And from my collection of characters, comes the plot. I write murder mysteries so the victim(s) and the murderer tend to develop naturally from the pool I have created.

Sometimes I find that it isn't working out at all, but if I replace a character or two then things start to go better... I don't delete characters. They go into a sort of hibernation, so that when I need one I take a look at what I have in stock and see if there's a good fit. Some characters seem to stay in my mind more than others and develop more. They tend to end up as either a victim or a killer.

I know that there are those who are all about plot and I did try this for last year's NaNoWriMo. I had a good, complicated plot all mapped out. All the subplots too and then I added the required characters. I hated the whole thing. It never seemed to flow and everything felt wrong. I know there were no plot holes, but to be honest, I would prefer them to the uninspired drivel I produced.

There was nothing wrong with it. There was nothing to make it stand out either. It was a story I've read before so many times. Only those were better written. I did finish NaNoWriMo, but only just and it was hard. This year I'm going back to what I do best - plot holes and the rest.

Now I'm not saying that plotting is wrong. I do now plot a bit more. But I can't plot and then add in characters. It just doesn't work for me. But no matter how you write, inspiration is out there just waiting for you to grab it.

Blog-chain

I've joined the NaNo blog-chain. You can join too. The link is here, then just follow the simple instructions at the bottom of the list of blogs.

In case the above link fails to work, the correct URL is:-

http://ameliajune.net/the-nano-blogchain/

Annoyed

I don't seem to be able to paste text from the clipboard into the blogger editor. If anyone knows how to do this, let me know. It's starting to get annoying as I do quite a bit of writing off-line. In fact my main writing computer never connects to the Internet and I did this deliberately so that I wouldn't get distracted while writing.

blog posts

Instead of thinking about and writing the outline for NaNoWriMo, I've been thinking about and writing outlines for blog posts. Not exactly what I thought would happen, but I am writing a bit more. I'm slowly clearing my evenings and a bit on weekends so that I can write more.

I'll post another short post on Friday.