NaNoWriMo - Page 13

M T McGuire · 12-02-2011, 03:39 AM

I didn't bother to sign up, just kept tally at home... needless to say, for the first time ever, I achieved my goal. Typicl eh? Book 2 of the trilogy is now in the bag!

Cheers

MTM

jedipencil · 12-02-2011, 06:30 AM

I did it... Got it done on the 27th, validated and everything. If I was going to try I had to remember to complete it a bit early, as my daughter's birthday is around the corner. (and teenagers, it seems, are rather a high-maintenance bunch!)

What an experience NaNo is... may I offer a gentle back-slap to everyone who participated? It really is a challenge.

VydorScope · 12-02-2011, 07:15 AM

Those of you that "won" do you plan to go back now , edit , and release?

Lazybones · 12-02-2011, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Those of you that "won" do you plan to go back now , edit , and release?

Absolutely. It will be interesting to see how rough my novel is when I go back and reread it, usually I try to do a little more editing and revising as I write, but this time I just focused on getting the words onto the page. Since my novel turned out being rather shorter than my usual work, I'll probably offer it for a buck on Smashwords and the Kindle store. Should take a couple of months for revisions, editing, and general formatting and cleanup.

teh603 · 12-03-2011, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Those of you that "won" do you plan to go back now , edit , and release?

Edited, submitted for copyright, and now I'm working on the cover with the artist.

LynnaMerrill · 12-05-2011, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Those of you that "won" do you plan to go back now , edit , and release?

Not yet. I need to write at least 50k more -- but after that, certainly. I am hoping that I can keep the NaNo speed and finish this book much faster than I finished my previous, non-NaNo, books.

What is everyone's NaNo book about?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrscoach

As for my husband, he tore his plantar fascia in his foot. That's good news because it will cure the plantar fasciitis (spelling?) he has had bothering him. He just has to get past initial pain.
Maybe next year.

mrscoach, I am glad that after this trouble your husband will be better than before.

mrscoach, Birds: I've mentioned you and this thread in the NaNoWriMo blog post that I just posted. The blog is on my website, and the website link is in my signature, if you want to take a look.

dadioflex · 12-05-2011, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Those of you that "won" do you plan to go back now , edit , and release?

Naw. It was 50k words of drivel and padding. Frankly, the padding upped the quality.

@teh603 - you're handing over the thirty bucks or so to copyright it officially, right? I'm somewhat surprised anyone could have gone from a NaNoWriMo novel to a finished product worth protecting in such a short space of time. Or was that a joke? I can find humans difficult to read at times.

teh603 · 12-05-2011, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadioflex

@teh603 - you're handing over the thirty bucks or so to copyright it officially, right? I'm somewhat surprised anyone could have gone from a NaNoWriMo novel to a finished product worth protecting in such a short space of time. Or was that a joke? I can find humans difficult to read at times.

Well, I did finish over week ahead of time and then spent most of the rest of the month sitting down with a red pen and a printed copy doing my editing.

Then again, I was also editing as I wrote. Technically a violation of the unwritten NaNo rules, but I also had a serious enough lead that it didn't cause too many problems. Most of the stuff that didn't work got chopped out pretty early on.

Having very little work at my day job also helped; when there's no assignments to go in and do, you might as well sit at home and edit.

VydorScope · 12-05-2011, 07:34 PM

Just crossed the 100k word mark in my latest novel... according to MS Word it only took me 4.5 days to do. So blew all you nanowritters out of the water.

(joking....)

jaxx6166 · 12-13-2011, 10:48 PM

So yea. I failed. Bad.

Harper Kingsley · 12-13-2011, 11:00 PM

No worries. It's all in good fun and you can try again next year

I won, but I need about 50k more to have it finished. Then I've gotta edit, come up with a cover, etc., etc., etc... Does anyone want to do all that for me? I can't pay you any money, but I make some pretty mean bulgogi and kimchi (My bulgogi's so good it won me my very first marriage proposal. I turned him down, but still.) ^_^

QuantumIguana · 01-13-2012, 05:59 PM

There are some people who publish their works the day after NaNoWriMo ends. That seems like a mistake to me. I have a second draft of my book, and I'll have a third draft after I get some feedback from beta readers. I have friends who say they will read it, whether they will actually read or not is an open question. I'm taking my time with it. It's not bad, but I want it to be as good as I can make it.

It was really good for me, I had never written more than 10,000 words before. I get the NaNoWriMo isn't for everyone, but the people who insist that NaNoWriMo isn't for anyone are being irrational. Just look at how many art supply stores there are, catering to amateur painters. Do people shake their fist at them? No, people are encouraged to paint, but for some reason, there are those who insist that only certain people selected by some cabal should be able to write. Many people need some sort of encouragement to keep them motivated, and if NaNoWriMo provides that motivation, good. Your NaNoWriMo book might not be good, but you can't produce a good book if you don't write one. We've all met people who keep talking about the story that they want to write, but they never write it. For them, NaNoWriMo might be a good thing.

Filark · 01-14-2012, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

So yea. I failed. Bad.

I failed too. Failed even to start this year.

My 2009 "novel" got bogged down in the editing phase, but I will never regret making the effort!

I truly admire anyone who can put together anything resembling a finished book, however they got there.

Well done to everyone who took part in NaNoWriMo this past year, whether you won or not. I think you can't help but learn from the experience!

2012. It's a good, even number -- and I have 10 more months to find a plotline.

M T McGuire · 01-20-2012, 05:15 AM

Filark, you'll get there, just keep trying...
QuantumIguana, you're spot on with all your comments there. I can't see any point in writing a book that isn't the best I can do at the time.

All power to you for holding back as well, that's one of the hardest bits and so many people don't. It's very difficult not to put something out there if it's almost ready... It took me about 8 years to learn how to write a novel and another 5 or 6 years to write one which I didn't wish someone else had written. But if I'd been able to publish my first as an e-book I suspect I might have gone ahead and done it anyway. And my reputation (not to mention my pride) would be in tatters! As it is, my novel isn't going to set the world on fire but I know it's of a publishable standard and I know it's the best I can produce right now...

The great thing about this writing business, of course, is that the more you do, the more you learn and the better the results get. It's hard, like pulling teeth sometimes, I find but the rewards are great.

You're right about resting it, too. The biggest test for me is if to leave it a month or two. If, when I read it after that time, I like it, to the point where I can't quite believe it's my work, I know it's OK.

Cheers

MTM

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12-02-2011, 03:39 AM	#181
M T McGuire Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 1006970 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England Device: kindle	I didn't bother to sign up, just kept tally at home... needless to say, for the first time ever, I achieved my goal. Typicl eh? Book 2 of the trilogy is now in the bag! Cheers MTM

12-02-2011, 06:30 AM	#182
jedipencil Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 550000 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Province of Quebec Device: Sony	I did it... Got it done on the 27th, validated and everything. If I was going to try I had to remember to complete it a bit early, as my daughter's birthday is around the corner. (and teenagers, it seems, are rather a high-maintenance bunch!) What an experience NaNo is... may I offer a gentle back-slap to everyone who participated? It really is a challenge.

12-02-2011, 07:15 AM	#183
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	Those of you that "won" do you plan to go back now , edit , and release?

12-05-2011, 07:34 PM	#189
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	Just crossed the 100k word mark in my latest novel... according to MS Word it only took me 4.5 days to do. So blew all you nanowritters out of the water. (joking....)

12-13-2011, 10:48 PM	#190
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	So yea. I failed. Bad.

12-13-2011, 11:00 PM	#191
Harper Kingsley Clone Trooper Posts: 212 Karma: 4566103 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington Device: kindle	No worries. It's all in good fun and you can try again next year I won, but I need about 50k more to have it finished. Then I've gotta edit, come up with a cover, etc., etc., etc... Does anyone want to do all that for me? I can't pay you any money, but I make some pretty mean bulgogi and kimchi (My bulgogi's so good it won me my very first marriage proposal. I turned him down, but still.) ^_^

01-13-2012, 05:59 PM	#192
QuantumIguana Philosopher Posts: 2,034 Karma: 18736532 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch	There are some people who publish their works the day after NaNoWriMo ends. That seems like a mistake to me. I have a second draft of my book, and I'll have a third draft after I get some feedback from beta readers. I have friends who say they will read it, whether they will actually read or not is an open question. I'm taking my time with it. It's not bad, but I want it to be as good as I can make it. It was really good for me, I had never written more than 10,000 words before. I get the NaNoWriMo isn't for everyone, but the people who insist that NaNoWriMo isn't for anyone are being irrational. Just look at how many art supply stores there are, catering to amateur painters. Do people shake their fist at them? No, people are encouraged to paint, but for some reason, there are those who insist that only certain people selected by some cabal should be able to write. Many people need some sort of encouragement to keep them motivated, and if NaNoWriMo provides that motivation, good. Your NaNoWriMo book might not be good, but you can't produce a good book if you don't write one. We've all met people who keep talking about the story that they want to write, but they never write it. For them, NaNoWriMo might be a good thing.

01-20-2012, 05:15 AM	#194
M T McGuire Addict Posts: 231 Karma: 1006970 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England Device: kindle	Filark, you'll get there, just keep trying... QuantumIguana, you're spot on with all your comments there. I can't see any point in writing a book that isn't the best I can do at the time. All power to you for holding back as well, that's one of the hardest bits and so many people don't. It's very difficult not to put something out there if it's almost ready... It took me about 8 years to learn how to write a novel and another 5 or 6 years to write one which I didn't wish someone else had written. But if I'd been able to publish my first as an e-book I suspect I might have gone ahead and done it anyway. And my reputation (not to mention my pride) would be in tatters! As it is, my novel isn't going to set the world on fire but I know it's of a publishable standard and I know it's the best I can produce right now... The great thing about this writing business, of course, is that the more you do, the more you learn and the better the results get. It's hard, like pulling teeth sometimes, I find but the rewards are great. You're right about resting it, too. The biggest test for me is if to leave it a month or two. If, when I read it after that time, I like it, to the point where I can't quite believe it's my work, I know it's OK. Cheers MTM

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