tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post7257540496296040917..comments2023-05-16T04:53:13.791-07:00Comments on Little Flower Petals: Day two: why am I doing this again?Elizabeth H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09161162407130146871noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-6345270059667731782009-01-07T18:40:00.000-08:002009-01-07T18:40:00.000-08:00I'm RosieCotton over there....I'm RosieCotton over there....Elizabeth H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09161162407130146871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-15316684690846953402009-01-07T13:04:00.000-08:002009-01-07T13:04:00.000-08:00what's your nanowrimo user name?I'll have to add y...what's your nanowrimo user name?<BR/>I'll have to add you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-13014433224585526502008-11-04T18:10:00.000-08:002008-11-04T18:10:00.000-08:00Oh, I know I can do it. I'm a six year veteran of...Oh, I know I can do it. I'm a six year veteran of this thing, and I've won five out of six times. But I'll win on the last day, or at least within the last few days.<BR/><BR/>Every year I find myself really resenting those who do it in two weeks, when that's just not the point. And I resent that I resent them.Elizabeth H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09161162407130146871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-47619827139728388382008-11-04T12:39:00.000-08:002008-11-04T12:39:00.000-08:00Keep at it and don't get discouraged. (See the In...Keep at it and don't get discouraged. (See the International Three Day Novel Contest for how this cycles, in miniature ... or at least in less time!)<BR/><BR/>Just keep writing, the month isn't over yet. :DLisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06898351835456999288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-25461892104175311762008-11-03T22:22:00.000-08:002008-11-03T22:22:00.000-08:00One of my issues is that I can't pre-plan. And it...One of my issues is that I can't pre-plan. And it isn't just laziness. I just plain old can't do it. My story never stays within any preconceived guidelines, so the outline is useless after about the first few sentences. For several stories I tried hard to come up with the outline and scene sketches, etc., etc., etc....but if I really forced myself to follow the plan, the story was terrible. I've often felt like a miserable failure, even as just an amateur author, because I just can't work that way.<BR/><BR/>That's one reason I was so absolutely thrilled with the Tess Gerritsen article. I swear, I could have written that article...minus all the stuff about agents and all. ;-) That is *precisely* how I function. Maybe there's hope for me yet!Elizabeth H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09161162407130146871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-28763120749700315682008-11-03T08:01:00.000-08:002008-11-03T08:01:00.000-08:00Well, I'm not sure where I fall into the NaNoConti...Well, I'm not sure where I fall into the NaNoContinuum yet, since this is only my sophomore attempt. I was going pretty strong until mid-month, when I lost the plot and with it the will to write more than 500 words or so a day. I soooo dearly wanted to off a few characters just to spice things up, and was (and am) jealous of the word-padders would could just as soon introduce tap-dancing llamas mid-story. This is what all the pre-planning was for: the Lean Days in the middle when neither the start or end of the novel is in sight and the buzzards start circling.<BR/><BR/>I've been blessed with a strong start this year, though I am bemoaning the fact that my MC is still stuck in Ohio, and not off in the alternate realm, but I know that she's going to get there, in about a writing-day or so, in fact, because I made that my own mini-goal. Keeping on-task.<BR/><BR/>50K is not my goal, the completed story is. I don't think I'll have trouble hitting it, but if for some reason I wrap up short, I will go back and pad. Yes, I want that winner's certificate, dammit.<BR/><BR/>I will say that I had mildly murderous thoughts about the person at yesterday's write-in who completed her first 10,000 words while I was still midway through chapter two. It passed, though.mpclemenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12807147515549175803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-9711312490552023202008-11-03T07:38:00.000-08:002008-11-03T07:38:00.000-08:00Someone once asked James Joyce if he'd had a good ...Someone once asked James Joyce if he'd had a good day of writing. He said, "Yes." "How much did you write?" He replied, "Three sentences."<BR/><BR/>I'm one of those folks like you who is more interested in writing a <I>story</I> than in writing 50,000 words. A lot of NaNites take pride in cranking out as much stream-of-consciousness drivel in as short a time as possible. ("And then a dancing llama came into the room, and blahblahblahblah...") In my mind, that's missing the spirit of NaNo. 50k is a goalpost to keep you motivated, not the purpose of the project.<BR/><BR/>If it makes you feel any better, I wrote ~1,600 words on Saturday, and <I>none at all</I> yesterday. I'll try to spend an hour or two a day on my story. I hope I finish it by Dec 1, but if I don't, I don't. After four previous NaNos, I've learned that I'm crippling my creative process more by stressing out over word count and obsessively tracking progress. Now my NaNo philosophy is more along the lines of just, y'know, abide, man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092055.post-64479548997761088102008-11-02T23:46:00.000-08:002008-11-02T23:46:00.000-08:00I think that a couple o' thousand words per day is...I think that a couple o' thousand words per day is perfectly sane. That is, sane in the context of writing a novel over the course of a month.Mike Speeglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08648532407369443335noreply@blogger.com