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  1. - Top - End - #271
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Screw it. Screw it screw it screw it. Maybe I'll finish over the course of months but I won't finish this november.

  2. - Top - End - #272
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by TheEmerged View Post
    Um, if you can't hit 5k in an entire month, you need help. Even if only able to do it on the 20 school days this month, that's 250 words a day. I can *sneeze* a hundred words, but then again nobody's going to call me young either.
    Remeber that schools still need to encourage (& teach) kids to write well, not just to churn out words. Giving a kid an A for writing 30,000 words of unintelligable gibberish just because they put the words on paper does somewhat defeat the point of using it as an educational tool.
    Kids are also less skilled at constructing a conherent narrative to sustain itself over that long etc.


    Seems I got the sickness like everyone else, so weekend was a bit of a bust - got 800 words done tonight though.

    Excerpt from me:

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    “You said you would tell me of these constellations tonight.”

    I’d just taken a mouthful of food, but did manage an “Uh huh.”

    “So? What are they?”

    She put it so bluntly, as if expecting that I’d be able to explain it in an instant. Sighing, I pointed up to the sky. “See how some stars are brighter than others? Well people linked them together in ancient times to make shapes like people and animals.”

    For my troubles she just looked at me like I was an idiot before turning back to the stars.

    “Show me one.”

    “Well you see those three stars in a line there,” I leaned my head on her shoulder to make sure she was following my directions correctly. “That’s Orion’s belt, those four bright ones around it are his body, and those lines are his arms.”

    Curling her lip in annoyed bewilderment Yvonne squinted, and I could see her eyes flicking back and forth trying to make sense of it.

    “That is not a very good depiction of a man, I have seen better by children.”

    A dark look came across her face, vanishing as quickly as it appeared. Before I could speak Sophia interrupted, laughing.

    “You always were a terrible teacher, Maria,” she said, edging over on her knees. Reaching down into the dirt she started to draw a map of Orion.

    “See, these are the stars, and but they’re just a guide, you’ve got to imagine a guy kneeling down like this. You can use other stars for more detail but these are just the main ones.”

    Her depiction of the constellation’s outline was… less impressive, but got the point across.

    “What’s he fighting?” Luiz asked. He was sitting up now, craning his head to see over the fire.

    “Taurus, the bull,” she grinned, and started sketching again in the earth. “He requires a bit more imagination to see, though.”

    It only took her a moment to draw the fork of the bull’s horns, and I saw Luiz and Yvonne exchange raised eyebrows. The driver turned to look up before shaking his head. “That’s some seriously abstract **** right there.”

    Sophia laughed, shrugging, “well you can blame the ancient Greeks for most of them.”
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  3. - Top - End - #273
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    Kobold

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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I'll grant as much, but even then -- 250 words a day seems strangely low. But then, I'm the guy that turned in a 40-page term paper when I was a freshman. Hey, it's the teacher's fault, she's the one that assigned me the topic of Comic Book History...

    Where I found out about the young author variant: it was in the local paper. http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/ is apparently the link for it.
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  4. - Top - End - #274
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Well I think I'll actually finish. For a time I was unsure of the actual length but I'm pretty sure I'll make it now, and I just finished the most uncomfortable scene in the novel, barring maybe one more coming up, so I should be able to make steady progress from here on out.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aquillion View Post
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  5. - Top - End - #275
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    So doing all the easy fun scenes first means that when late November rolls around you're trying to do all the hard scenes while three thousand words behind and battling a sudden escalation of schedules.
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  6. - Top - End - #276
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    Kobold

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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I'm currently clocking in a bit over 43000. It's a good thing, because today turned into a "no writing for you" day (the third I've had in the last seven days). Given that I have a Sunday and two vacation days in the home stretch, I'm pretty certain to hit 50k. I'm more worried about finishing the story.

    Now, it's my understanding that one of the requirements is that it is a complete story -- you don't have to finish the world, or tie up every loose end, but the story has to be complete. Right now I'm in a good spot, about where I'd hope I'd be at this point. To compare it to Star Wars, the Death Star just arrived in the Alderan system.

    Yesterday was my second highest individual word count (3255 vs 4971), but that was cheating for two reasons.

    #1> I was working what was a holiday for my job, so I had much more writing time than normal, and

    #2> I made use of it to make a semi-forbidden editting pass. I'd gotten to the point I was forgetting whether or not I'd included certain points so a read-through was called for anyway. I kept to my personal rule to limit the editting - in particular, NOT to backfill with the new story elements added this week - but some corrections and points of clarification were called for. For example, I discovered I'd never physically described a couple of second-tier characters (especially one that is about to become a first-tier character).

    Tomorrow's writing will include a new info-dump about the world. Up to now I've been oblique about how different/how similar the world is physically & historically to our own. I decided I had time to fill in some blanks here, so I'm going to do so. I'm trying decide whether to again (ab)use the device of "flashback to a class the main shinobi-world character had growing up" or to (ab)use a new "main shinobi-world character has to give a lecture" device.
    Last edited by TheEmerged; 2012-11-24 at 08:54 PM.
    • Sometimes, the knights are the monsters
    • The main problem with the world? So many grownups, not enough adults.
    • Talk less; say more.
    • George R.R. Martin, Kirkman, and Joss Whedon walked into a bar. There were no survivors.
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  7. - Top - End - #277
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by TheEmerged View Post
    I'm currently clocking in a bit over 43000. It's a good thing, because today turned into a "no writing for you" day (the third I've had in the last seven days). Given that I have a Sunday and two vacation days in the home stretch, I'm pretty certain to hit 50k. I'm more worried about finishing the story.

    Now, it's my understanding that one of the requirements is that it is a complete story -- you don't have to finish the world, or tie up every loose end, but the story has to be complete. Right now I'm in a good spot, about where I'd hope I'd be at this point. To compare it to Star Wars, the Death Star just arrived in the Alderan system.

    Yesterday was my second highest individual word count (3255 vs 4971), but that was cheating for two reasons.

    #1> I was working what was a holiday for my job, so I had much more writing time than normal, and

    #2> I made use of it to make a semi-forbidden editting pass. I'd gotten to the point I was forgetting whether or not I'd included certain points so a read-through was called for anyway. I kept to my personal rule to limit the editting - in particular, NOT to backfill with the new story elements added this week - but some corrections and points of clarification were called for. For example, I discovered I'd never physically described a couple of second-tier characters (especially one that is about to become a first-tier character).

    Tomorrow's writing will include a new info-dump about the world. Up to now I've been oblique about how different/how similar the world is physically & historically to our own. I decided I had time to fill in some blanks here, so I'm going to do so. I'm trying decide whether to again (ab)use the device of "flashback to a class the main shinobi-world character had growing up" or to (ab)use a new "main shinobi-world character has to give a lecture" device.
    I just double checked- and there's nothing in the rules saying that your story has to be complete (which is just as well for me, because none of my stories ever have been)
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  8. - Top - End - #278
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by Mauve Shirt View Post
    Screw it. Screw it screw it screw it. Maybe I'll finish over the course of months but I won't finish this november.
    Hey, this is pretty much where I'm at. I haven't hit my daily goal yet this month, and one thing after another conspired to further get in the way...finally getting over being sick now, for instance.

    On the bright side, I've learned quite a bit about writing in the process, and I still fully intend to finish, even if it'll be a few months late. I figure, long as I'm learning and gaining ground every year, it's still a win.

  9. - Top - End - #279
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Hey guys,

    Last year, my first NaNo, I made it to 40,000 words. And it was an awesome experience! Sadly, this year, my attempt was belated and unprepared; by the time I got my ideas in a semblance of order, it was already getting late, I didn't even have characters yet, and I realized I had much less spare time than I thought. I had to abort after barely getting started, because unlike some, I can't write anything decent without an outline.

    I do intend to write that novel in the foreseeable future, now that ideas are forming. It's just that a one-month challenge involving thousands of people is a very good incentive to write, and I'm sad not to be part of it this year.

    To the rest of you... don't give up!
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  10. - Top - End - #280
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Writing a proper planned story is turning out to be harder than I thought. Not because I am that far behind (only need to write 2.6k tomorrow to catch up), but because I have to write more than just random things like I did with my first Nanowrimo.

    Still, I am not going to make my goal of reaching the final chapter by the end of this month. You can see how long the story is already and it's um... maybe 50% of the way through.
    I just had to go make a setting that needed explanation, use a magic system that needed explanation, use a macguffin that had an illustrious and important history that needed explanation... Three action scenes and four infodumps later and I'm nowhere close to the end.

    I'm starting to run into the second half now where things are less planned, so its starting to get difficult. But just a few more days...

  11. - Top - End - #281
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Word count at the beginning of today: 2387.

    I may have done poorly until now. Oops. Well, we'll see how far I get. =)

  12. - Top - End - #282
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I think that due to work, i won't be able to finish. But that's okay. One more scene and a few bits of polishing later, and i should have a 45000 word first draft done.
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  13. - Top - End - #283
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    Kobold

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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Using the word count in my software, I'm 1771 words away. I understand I should probably go 1000-2000 extra, which is unlikely to be a problem. I'm not turning the story into the official site or anywhere else, I've just been doing it on my own.

    It's good to see I was mistaken about the 'must finish story' requirement. I wonder if I got that from hearing someone enforcing it on themselves. Nonetheless, I find that since I was planning for a breakpoint anyway I should continue heading in that direction.

    I have to say this has been an educational experience. As I said I've never bothered with word counts before so I'd never given any thought to how my writing might look if it were printed as a book before (I've been published in a non-fiction magazine article format before, just for the record). For some reason I always thought it would take more words than this.

    Another thing I've learned is really more of a confirmation of a known weakness of mine. People I've shown my work to in the past (that's a short list) have made comments that I "write for TV", or that I'm "the anti-George Lucas". Which is to say I'm okay at pacing the plot & writing dialog, but not at describing the visuals. During the editting pass I mentioned earlier, for example, I realized that I've never described the physical appearance of several characters. That's probably going to be high on the list of things I add come December.

    Oh, I'm definitely continuing this after Nov30. I think my next major project is going to be attempting a 30,000 word non-fiction come Jan or Feb (depending on work schedule).
    • Sometimes, the knights are the monsters
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  14. - Top - End - #284
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Among the many things I've learned attempting Nanowrimo a few times...perhaps the best has been the discovery of Film Crit Hulk, the best movie blog out there. Reading it will make you a better writer, not kidding even a little. Also, it's pretty entertaining for reading about movies.

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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by Tyndmyr View Post
    Among the many things I've learned attempting Nanowrimo a few times...perhaps the best has been the discovery of Film Crit Hulk, the best movie blog out there. Reading it will make you a better writer, not kidding even a little. Also, it's pretty entertaining for reading about movies.
    I tried reading it just now and it seems like it has some insightful ideas and a decent writing style, but I can just not get over the all caps, it hurts the eyes and the sensibilities in so much volume and I understand why he does it but honestly I just can't read stuff like that.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aquillion View Post
    If you're ever in a situation where you can't survive, go for the broke and fill all of creation with chickens. Just imagine the reaction of people halfway around the world when every square inch of space in their world is suddenly and completely full of chickens.
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  16. - Top - End - #286
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I've been more or less keeping in-pace. This year, it's gone fairly badly. But I only have a biiiiiit less than 5k words to go. And then... I'll manage. I want to get it done by... later today. Or tomorrow. Just 5k words. Come on. I can do this!

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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I think that's it for the month. I don't even think I'm going to look at it until next month at the earliest, it needs some time to sit, but the story is definitely done and I think I'm happy with it. We'll see in the coming months but for now it stands as a great accomplishment.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aquillion View Post
    If you're ever in a situation where you can't survive, go for the broke and fill all of creation with chickens. Just imagine the reaction of people halfway around the world when every square inch of space in their world is suddenly and completely full of chickens.
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  18. - Top - End - #288
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Guys guys guys! It's Nov. 28 and I've only written 2,000 words! Do you think if I set aside an hour after supper for writing, I'll be able to reach my goal?
    Last edited by Giggling Ghast; 2012-11-28 at 06:19 PM.
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  19. - Top - End - #289
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by Candle Jack View Post
    Guys guys guys! It's Nov. 28 and I've only written 2,000 words! Do you think if I set aside an hour after supper for writing, I'll be able to reach my goal?
    Well, lets just say you might struggle with that a little bit- I have seen people manage 50k words in a single day though, so depending on the time available to you (and your ability to keep the inspiration flowing, which is probably the hardest part) you could still achieve quite a bit.

    In other news: I'm finally back on track for my shot at 75k, despite all the procrastinating and generally falling behind, I will get there.
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  20. - Top - End - #290
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I... I did it! I did 50K words! I'll probably still write a little more, but I am in no rush. I can sleep now.

  21. - Top - End - #291
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I would like to read some of these. That would be fascinating.

  22. - Top - End - #292
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by Mercenary Pen View Post
    Well, lets just say you might struggle with that a little bit- I have seen people manage 50k words in a single day though, so depending on the time available to you (and your ability to keep the inspiration flowing, which is probably the hardest part) you could still achieve quite a bit.

    In other news: I'm finally back on track for my shot at 75k, despite all the procrastinating and generally falling behind, I will get there.
    :smallgrimresolve: (wishes that was actually an emoticon...)
    50K words in a day is pretty ridiculous. I think if I have great inspiration and a decent environment I can write about 2500-3000 words in an hour, but we'll go with 2500 for ease of calculation. That means that writing at my best pace it would take 20 hours of non-stop writing to do 50K in a day. That would be something. I might try it one day, but not in the middle of a school year, I can't afford the day. Maybe in the summer though, just a day of writing with no distractions, could be interesting.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aquillion View Post
    If you're ever in a situation where you can't survive, go for the broke and fill all of creation with chickens. Just imagine the reaction of people halfway around the world when every square inch of space in their world is suddenly and completely full of chickens.
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Aaaaaaand I'm over the line. I've got at least one, probably two chapters until I'm at a convenient stopping point though. Shouldn't be a problem

    Congratulations to everyone else that's getting it done!

    Editting rather than double-posting. So, for giggles, I printed it to PDF format. 126 pages, 20 of which are my pre-work. I'd want to do some formatting and another editting pass before I put it out to anyone else, naturally.
    Last edited by TheEmerged; 2012-11-29 at 10:48 PM.
    • Sometimes, the knights are the monsters
    • The main problem with the world? So many grownups, not enough adults.
    • Talk less; say more.
    • George R.R. Martin, Kirkman, and Joss Whedon walked into a bar. There were no survivors.
    • Current Project: Fallout 4 "nerd" build (3/7/2/2/9/3/2, PER 9 after boosts)

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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    And I have now reached 75k words... Time to celebrate I think.
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    I'm pissed i got so far and then failed, but the only way i could have it the big 50K would have been by dedicating hours to it- the story is told, and by rewriting bad scenes and such maybe i could have hit 50K... but i resolved not to pad this.

    Once my work for the weekend is done, i'll write the final scene and call it the first draft of a novel. Then start editing, rewriting the 50% of it i'm completely unhappy with, and looking up options for releasing it online.
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    Default Re: No plot, No problem- the NaNoWriMo thread 2012

    Okay, *if* I did this right, I've got the PDF uploaded here. This is a very rough conversion of the story as it existed when November ended. I'm hoping to make a major editting pass soon.
    • Sometimes, the knights are the monsters
    • The main problem with the world? So many grownups, not enough adults.
    • Talk less; say more.
    • George R.R. Martin, Kirkman, and Joss Whedon walked into a bar. There were no survivors.
    • Current Project: Fallout 4 "nerd" build (3/7/2/2/9/3/2, PER 9 after boosts)

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