NaNoWriMo (July 2017)

[Synobun]

Day 6 total: 3909 words.

Seems I actually get more done on the days when Firefox keeps crashing, since my word processing program works when I'm not online.

Good progress!

I spent most of the day sick and hitting a wall where I couldn't quite figure out how to phrase anything but did salvage it near the end right before bed. My day 6 total is 6423 words. Which seems like a big increase from my last word count report, but after that report I had gone on to write up until 5666 words. Still double my required daily but definitely not >1k like a couple other days have been.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Good for you.

I did 1025 words yesterday, which is unusual for a Camp event. I prefer to take it easy in July, since it's usually so hot that there are days when it's hard to think (like today). Doing it a little at a time or when a burst of creativity hits seems to be what works with me.

I don't have the present portion of the story outlined, but I do know where it's supposed to end up eventually (I'm still in the midst of the material that links the two gamebooks). I'm working up to the point where my main character actually finds his reason to go off into Darkwood Forest and search for the Dwarven King's war hammer. The gamebook author made it about money and fame; my story makes it about honor.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 7 total: 4689 words.

There are still 4 hours left today, but it's been so hot here that I can barely think.

Early bedtime, and I'll write more when my brain's not telling me it wants to sleep.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 8 total: 5210 words.

That's over halfway, which is good. I had to really force it tonight. This heat makes it harder to think and do more than basic sentences in my dialogue. My characters aren't scholars, but they're not stupid either - they deserve good dialogue.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 9 total: 6072 words. Maybe by tomorrow or the next day my character will finally finish his visiting, and start the quest for the king's warhammer.


C'mon guys, I've been talking to myself here...

 

[Synobun]

I'm at 8162 words. Only wrote 111 yesterday.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 10 total: 6442 words.

It was a busy day today, and thank goodness I got my writing done before I had to go out. It's not even 10 pm and I'm basically brain-dead.

I got a little over the minimum word count for today. Hopefully tomorrow might be a little better, although tomorrow will also be busy.

 

[Synobun]

9085 words. I did all of my writing in the past hour and a half so I only barely salvaged the day.

 

[Kyriakos]

Hm, an you give a direct link so that i may also have a look? (not that i think it is very likely i will write a 10K story in english...)

 

[Synobun]

Hm, an you give a direct link so that i may also have a look? (not that i think it is very likely i will write a 10K story in english...)

Camp NaNoWriMo. It's on a separate site than the normal NaNoWriMo. You can also opt to join a "cabin" which lets you talk with a bunch of other writers if that's your speed. I selected random so it put me with people from across the world.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Hm, an you give a direct link so that i may also have a look? (not that i think it is very likely i will write a 10K story in english...)

Some people have turned their NaNoWriMo novels into professionally-published novels (with editing, of course).

I can't do that with mine, though... since fanfiction can't be professionally published.* **

*unless it gets entered into an officially-sanctioned writing contest for a Star Trek or other anthology and is chosen as one of the winners; or

**you're the author of the "50 Shades" trilogy.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I've just received an email from NaNoWriMo that seems very apt, given that we've been talking about goals and word counts:

Is your writing goal working for you?

Your effort has value. We all need this reminder sometimes; it can be easy to forget about the scope of what you're doing this month.

Maybe you soared through the first days of writing. Maybe you're nobly grappling with some writer's block. Or maybe you haven’t started yet, and feel more anxious about falling behind with each passing day.

Remember that your goal should be working for you. If you’re behind, ignore any voice that says you're past the point of no return. Silence the whisper that says it’s easier to abandon ship. Remind yourself that it’s the right thing to do to adjust your goal if you need to.

I followed the link to the site, and this is what it says regarding changing your goal:

How do I change my goal during Camp NaNoWriMo?

How do I change my goal during Camp NaNoWriMo?
← My Word Count



During Camp NaNoWriMo, you can set your own goal of words, hours, minutes, lines, or pages for your writing project. Your goal will be set to 50,000 words by default.

How to Set Your Goal

1. Create a project by hovering over "My Camp NaNo", then click "My Writing Projects". Click on "Writing with us? Enter your writing project!"
2. Fill in a goal in the field under "Goal". Select either Words, Hours, Minutes, Lines, or Pages from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Fill in all the other fields you'd like.
4. Click "Submit" at the bottom of the page.

How to Edit Your Goal

1. Hover over "My Camp NaNo", then click "My Writing Projects".
   
2. Click the "Edit" link next to your writing project.
3. Edit your goal in the field under "Goal". You can change your goal to either Words, Hours, Minutes, Lines, or Pages from the drop-down menu.
4. Click "Submit" at the bottom of the page.

Keep in mind that once winning begins on the 20th of the month, you will not be able to edit your goal!

Source.

I hadn't known that the goal could be expressed in hours, minutes, lines, or pages. I guess they changed that to accommodate people who write scripts or poetry, or who have a set time limit. Seems a bit... I dunno. I hope there are minimum requirements for these, as well as the words. Otherwise, someone could "earn" a winner's badge just for writing a haiku.

So if anyone here feels they should change their goal, the above information tells how to do it. Keep in mind that if you're going to change it, you'll have to do so before midnight PDT, July 19.

I think next Camp event, I might go for a higher goal right off the bat since I now know how to pace myself better, even doing the 1667-minimum for the November event. And since my next three projects are planned (no outlines yet, but they're coming), November this year and the competitions next year should go reasonably well.

 

[Synobun]

I hadn't known that the goal could be expressed in hours, minutes, lines, or pages. I guess they changed that to accommodate people who write scripts or poetry, or who have a set time limit. Seems a bit... I dunno. I hope there are minimum requirements for these, as well as the words. Otherwise, someone could "earn" a winner's badge just for writing a haiku.

There are a couple people in my cabin with page goals. They're using it for editing purposes. One has a 225-page book that she wants to edit so that's her goal.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Is she writing a YA novel for professional publication? Most other novels are longer than that these days.

As for me, I just decided to combine last November's and this month's projects into the same file. Since one takes up from the moment the other leaves off, it just made more sense, and it's much easier to refer to things I wrote before. It's somewhere past 250 pages now and will likely be between 300-400 pages by the time I'm done with this current part of the story (not that I think I'm actually going to make it that far this month).

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 11 total: 6817 words.

I've barely made my daily minimum these past couple of days. I'm not finding it easy right now - I know where the story is supposed to go, but getting there is like wading through mud right now.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 12 total: 7228 words.

Woot! My character has finally decided to go on the next quest. I'll have to double-check the game book to see what time of day it starts, so I know if my character gets a home-cooked meal before he leaves or if he's heading out the door five minutes from now.

 

[Synobun]

I was hoping to reach my goal of 12k but didn't. Ended the day at 11760 words which meant I wrote around 2200~ words yesterday.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Day 13 total: 7754 words.

Nope, my character is still hanging around the house. At this rate, I'll reach 10,000 and still only have done the material that connects the two gamebooks.

 

[Synobun]

Day 13 total: 7754 words.

Nope, my character is still hanging around the house. At this rate, I'll reach 10,000 and still only have done the material that connects the two gamebooks.

Time to make something happen that forces them out of the house.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I had a grouchy cousin come visiting, who promptly demanded to know why his family had a human in the house (my main character is human). Cue the embarrassment all around, and my character is planning to leave in the morning (he was invited to stay for supper and spend the night, since he'd probably not be very welcome at the local inn). The dwarves in this area aren't usually so unfriendly, but they've had a couple of major setbacks lately that's made them more than a little distrusting of strangers.

My character is going to take up the quest that the friend he's visiting intended to do (he's at home recovering from injuries that prevent him from continuing the quest). This whole part of the story is to link the first gamebook to the second, since the original author wrote them in reverse order and has the main character being a greedy, shallow <pack animal's rear end> who is only in it for the money. I've rewritten it so the main character does it for honor (though he won't turn his nose up at any money or treasure that comes his way, of course).