NanoWriMo 2009

[wyldkit]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

I'm going for a pulpy adventure story too. I'm finding that the fun scenes are going a lot better than expected. But when I have to write expositionary backstory or paint a picture it takes a little longer than expected.

I must just be weird. The descriptive backstory stuff flies out for me. The slowest for me is dialogue, by a lot. I find myself struggling over every line. I'm sure when I get around to editing that all of the dialogue will need to be reworked. Oh well.

[jaxx6166]

I usually don't have a problem with it, but for this world it's going kind of difficult sometimes. I'm trying to keep it short and sweet and in the same voice/character as the main that I'm following for a viewpoint. He's not the type of guy to go all fluffy and flowery over the tiniest blade of grass.

I guess it all depends on the totality of everything,

[Douglas Rhodes]

Dialogue is by far the easiest for me. I can hit a dialogue stride that takes me a good 1000 or so words.

For me the hardest part is the start of the new scene. Normally it's something I would spend more time trying to get just right, but in this write, write, write sort of pace I don't have time, so I just hit the wall and try to make a big enough hole to squeeze through.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

ah ... you mean you have the first and last sentences done ..... :lol:

Pfft.

Not just that. I've also worked out where one character needs to get killed

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by wyldkit

I must just be weird. The descriptive backstory stuff flies out for me.

Originally Posted by Douglas Rhodes

Dialogue is by far the easiest for me. I can hit a dialogue stride that takes me a good 1000 or so words.

I find it easier to write the descriptive stuff, but for some reason the word count shoots up a lot more quickly when I write dialogue.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

Pfft.

Not just that. I've also worked out where one character needs to get killed

oh ! I did not know I had a part .........

[nomesque]

This thread inspired me to write a piece of flash fic this morning! I doubt it's at all original, but it might make y'all smile:

The character struggled, swore, and eventually climbed his way out of my manuscript.

“YOU!” he yelled.

I sighed. This was going to be one of those writing days.

“You – arsehole!” he yelled at me.

“Hi, Les,” I said, trying to act as though I hadn't heard the abuse.

“Don't patronise me, you towering, festering heap of dogshit!”

Maybe I shouldn't have given him such a way with words.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?”

Did I mention that the right side of his face is a festering old burn, he's lost his right foot, and his right hand is more claw than useful extremity? No? Huh. I stay silent, appalled by the stink that comes through with him.

“WHY?” he yells, pleading.

I shrug uncomfortably.

“It's all part of the story – it's necessary, Les.”

“Bullshit! I had to get blown up for – what? Huh? For entertainment?”

“The story's important. It has to – draw the reader in, keep them guessing.”

“And blowing me up was an example of keeping things interesting?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And killing Lucy?”

“She had to die, mate.”

“I'm not your fucking mate!”

Ye gads. Is this how God feels every time someone prays?

“Look... if she stayed alive, she would've become boring, unreal, the Reader would've hated her – and so would you.”

“BULLSHIT!”

“It's all part of the story, Les, trust me – it turns out good in the end. You'll like it!”

“I've lost everything I ever cared about – lost my girlfriend and my job – you made me a cripple – and it's going to be 'good' in the end?”

“Yup.”

“Fuck you. And fuck your bloody Reader. Bunch of bloodthirsty barbarians! You're just – playing with us, aren't you? We're just some entertainment for your tiny fucking brains, aren't we?”

I definitely shouldn't have made him so eloquent.

“Look, Les,” I say, reaching for him, “I'm sorry, OK? I know it all really sucks, right now. I cried when I wrote that scene where Lucy died. I wish it could have been different. I'm sorry you had to lose her, and your livelihood. I understand your anger. But – it had to be this way. The story wouldn't come out any other way.”

“YOU – you could have made it come out different! You're the AUTHOR, you have that power, you know you do, don't blow me off with lame -”

“I don't. Some things just have to be, Les. I'm sorry. I really am. But you've got two choices here – take the crap that happens and build something out of it, or don't exist. Because I can't tell a story about a place where nothing bad ever happens. It'd be boring as batshit and nobody would ever read it, and you still wouldn't exist, not really. You'd have a – shut up! - a kind of twilight existence, right, where you kind of exist but mostly don't. If you want to truly exist, you need to be read, to be loved, to have people holding their breath as you teeter and crying with you as you fall. THAT'S the magic that makes you truly alive.”

He slumps, out of arguments but not ready to accept reality, either.

“I hate you.”

“Uh huh... I know.”

He climbs, laboriously, back into his life - and cries.

[jaxx6166]

LOL @ Nomesque.

I can pretty much imagine characters that were sentinent getting all fustrated at us, their gods for throwing hardship at them.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Filark

...

MontsnMags, your dogs are/were beautiful! Nice photography, too! As I write this my own dog is warming my legs (on a recliner, my legs out straight) as she loves to do. Our cat might stroll by for a visit, if he feels like it! Love the animals, especially the pets.
...

Thanks, Filark. Although Monty is "late", his "early" follow-up, Oscar (an 8yo rescue at the time - now coming on 11), is certainly a worthy sequel (and, by "worthy" I mean that every day he makes me feel that I'm not worthy of his presence ).

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

so when can we read it ?? soon ? now ? what about *now* ?

Hell, I don't know if I even want to read it when it's done. I try write every day, but it's hard when you also have to go out the back every day to dig the deep hole you're intending to bury the manuscript in.

Originally Posted by rememberandhope

I started mine last week. Unfortunately, I'm a student and therefore do not always have the opportunity to write . I've only written 1,324 words so far but I'm sure i can make it to 10k by this weekend which means i have to stop being on these forums.

Aye, ain't that the truth. Still, go for it! And welcome to MR too! (I see the addiction has already familiarised itself with you).

Originally Posted by Lemurion

...
Things took a great leap forward when I realized a character named Stig had to lose his ability to talk.

Originally Posted by lene1949

I wish I had checked what this thread was about earlier... I didn't even read the thread, because I thought it was about some new reader coming out... lol. I only started writing something 2 days ago... and I'd probably never get up to the 50k words anyway...

Keep going. I've started to lose hope too (I should be writing now, not MRing), but if we keep at each other here, we'll at least have tried all the way.

Originally Posted by nomesque

This thread inspired me to write a piece of flash fic this morning! I doubt it's at all original, but it might make y'all smile:

I've taken the attitude of killing them before they get uppity - four down in the prologue (I even ruined a perfectly nice Porsche to do it).

[pshrynk]

Right now, I'm re=plotting the rest of the book, because the bastiche characters managed to escape the Mafia Boss. And the suicidally depressed Autopilot needs to get analysis somewhere...

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Right now, I'm re=plotting the rest of the book, because the bastiche characters managed to escape the Mafia Boss. And the suicidally depressed Autopilot needs to get analysis somewhere...

I know a good therapist...well, a therapist anyway.

Cheers,
Marc (Now wondering if "therapist" is a dirty word, and I've just insulted you )

[nomesque]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I've taken the attitude of killing them before they get uppity - four down in the prologue (I even ruined a perfectly nice Porsche to do it).

[Filark]

Nomesque, thank you for the fun! I laughed, I cried, I recognized.

My favorite line:

"Ye gads. Is this how God feels every time someone prays?"

Montsnmags, keep writing! I'll match my heaping pile of words to your heaping pile of words any day -- how big is that hole??

Pshrynk, I haven't done it yet, but I am more and more tempted to find what you've written and read it!

I went to a Nano write-in today and met a few of the people from my area. They seemed so normal . . . ! Really nice, actually. A little typing, a little chatting, and down we went!

Fi

[nomesque]

Originally Posted by Filark

Nomesque, thank you for the fun! I laughed, I cried, I recognized.

My favorite line:

"Ye gads. Is this how God feels every time someone prays?"

You're welcome :-) I'm glad it amused - that was pretty much its sole purpose

[LazyScot]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

And the suicidally depressed Autopilot needs to get analysis somewhere...

Did someone try to load Windows onto him again?

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I know a good therapist...well, a therapist anyway.

Cheers,
Marc (Now wondering if "therapist" is a dirty word, and I've just insulted you )

Your use of the word wondering rather than worrying has been noted...

Originally Posted by nomesque

You're welcome :-) I'm glad it amused - that was pretty much its sole purpose

At Swim-Two-Birds?


And to all the contestants, congratulations, and keep going....