NaNoWriMo
November 30, 2009 | 
Author I stayed up way too late last night and took out my Dragon voice recognition again and spent about 1 1/2 hours this morning talking as fast as it would let me to get to 50,000 words! It’s not a personal best for time or total words – that was last year with over 80,000 – but I made it!
My fourth year in a row I have won NaNoWriMo! Yay!
My story still has a long way to go and a lot of editing of story-line needed. I’m a pantser and, about halfway through a first draft, the whole story starts to gel more in my head. I like it this way. I’ll go back and edit and add now that I know where I’m heading. Who was I to know that the kingdom actually floated a couple of thousand years ago? Ha ha!
I hope all you NaNoers out there are spending the day wisely and writing like mad! Even if you do not hit the 50,000 (Come on, you can do it!), you have won if you got into the habit of BIC (butt in chair) and wrote more than you would have normally.
There’s always next year. Yay!
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ZERO words on my NaNo novel yesterday. That won’t do!
Mad cheering erupts!
I managed to stay up until midnight to start NaNoWriMo off the second it was legal to do so. I quickly discovered I have more planning to do than I thought. It is very disruptive to get to a sentence and realize you don’t know what your city or kingdom is called. This morning, I ironed out all those details rather well.
NaNoWriMo is a very inspirational time for me. The past three years have given me three quality first drafts. Two of them have moved beyond first draft and one is nearing its final polish. I can track my improvement through the years. This NaNo novel (NaNovel) will require fewer edits after the first draft is complete.
Best of luck to everyone taking part in NaNoWriMo this year. Don’t worry about how many words you still have to do and just keep writing.
Just write!
More than any other lesson writers need to learn is that: just write.
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As November and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) draws to a close, novel writers may begin to feel confusion over what happens next. Your choice will depend largely on your writing goals. Some abandon their novel in December, while others go on to complete, edit, and publish it. When NaNoWriMo is not enough, this novel writer’s guide to December can help.
NaNoWriMo’s almost done, and I’ve been playing catch-up big time. I think I’ll get it done this year, but I haven’t had my heart in it like usual. Still, the drive to win is strong, and I want a clean record three years in a row.
In the time leading up to the winter holidays, I’ll be missing in action for a while. After that, I hope to get back to business writing fiction for publication.
It seems like only yesterday I was gearing up for the last NaNoWriMo contest. Now, October is halfway over again and NaNoWriMo looms on the horizon. The excitement is building in the Accentuate Writers forum (see the link on this sidebar) and several people who have never heard of NaNoWriMo are signing up for the insanity.
Although I have six different novels that need to be finished, I can’t resist the lure of this wild month. There is a special type of mad inspiration that is formed when a large group of highly-caffeinated writers get together and share their trials and triumphs when writing a first draft of a novel.
I have always been a pantser. That is, I do not write outlines, story boards, or extensive character sketches and plot plans. At midnight on October 31, I open up to a new Word file, position my cursor at the top of the page, wait for 10:01 AM, and then let loose.
Are you joining the insanity of NaNoWriMo this year?
During NaNoWriMo, the most popular refrain is “Kill the Inner Editor!” Now, I refuse to kill my inner editor, since I’m not completely convinced in the resurection of life. I need my editor, see, since I play on actually submitting my novel to publishers.
But I don’t want to get bogged down in editing during NaNoWriMo. Who does? So I have to just tie my inner editor up for a while. (I think she likes it, quite frankly.)
Here is the problem.
I begin to consider NaNoWriMo to be not sanctified enough to honor completely. “It’s the spirit of the thing. Just one month of doing things differently,” I say, but don’t quite believe it.
I write to get published, and enjoy the whole process, no matter how painful the creation, destruction and recreation might be. Is NaNo not right for me? Maybe not.
It’s not about getting 50,000 words done in a month. I know I can do that. I write up to 15,000 words a day for various fiction and business purposes. I could write a first draft in a week if I needed to (You know, like if someone chained me to the chair and whipped me.)
So, why not edit now? I’m not quite sure.
Elements of Time
Available from Twin Trinity Media.
Elements of Dimension continues the Twin Trinity short story anthology series with more top-quality stories and poems. This book explores the themes of science fiction, fantasy and reality. I have one short story, "Death Obeyed," and one poem, "Tale of the Suburban Dungeon" in this book.
"Elements of Time" short story anthology is available now. It features winning stories from the Accentuate Services contests plus themed poetry. Two of M. Lori Motley's short stories, "Inescapable" and "No Time Like Now," are included.
"Elements of Soul" short story anthology is available now. It features fifteen winning stories from the Accentuate Services contests plus themed poetry. Two of M. Lori Motley's short stories, "Summer Heat" and "Flood of Tears," are included.