NaNoWriMo 2013!, It's that time of year again! Options

[haute ecole rider]

A word sprint is a timed event.

Simply put, you type (or write, if that's your thing) without interruption, distraction, or editing for a brief period of time. We did two 20-min word sprints at the write-in. It really forces you to put your inner editor into gimp bondage gear and dump him/her in a far-away corner.

You can try this yourself at home - all you need is a timer of some sort that will alert you to when time is up.

[Grits]

I never thought to use a timer. That's a good idea when I have a large block of time to not burn out early. I use one for other things, why not writing? Thanks!

[Rohirrim]

They're having write-ins at my library, totally going!

[Colonel Mustard]

It really forces you to put your inner editor into gimp bondage gear and dump him/her in a far-away corner.

Eh, I don't know if that's a good idea for me. The last time I tried to put my inner editor into gimp bondage gear he just got hard and things became very awkward

In all seriousness, that word sprint idea does sound like a good idea, and I'm impressed that you managed to get 1400 words done in just 40 minutes. I might have to see if I can get my uni's creative writing society to do some of those as well.

And Rohirrim! Go! Write! Write like you've never written before!



Actually, in retrospect, write like you have written before, else it'll be illegible.

[haute ecole rider]

The last time I tried to put my inner editor into gimp bondage gear he just got hard and things became very awkward

[Colonel Mustard]

Just killed three major characters over two chapters. You know what's just been dropped?

This post has been edited by Colonel Mustard: Nov 5 2013, 11:16 PM

[haute ecole rider]

Murderer! Are you trying to go all Game of Thrones on us?

Though in retrospect in my Sci Fi I killed off twelve major characters in the space of three or four paragraphs.

Uhh, yes, it was a firefight, and a brutal one at that. Tough to write - I cried for hours afterwards.

[Colonel Mustard]

Murderer! Are you trying to go all Game of Thrones on us?

Though in retrospect in my Sci Fi I killed off twelve major characters in the space of three or four paragraphs.

Uhh, yes, it was a firefight, and a brutal one at that. Tough to write - I cried for hours afterwards.

Twelve? Blimey, that's all of my main characters and one extra.

That said, I tend not to feel particular remorse for killing off my characters. I prefer to treat them as tools instead of people, an idea I got from Chekhov, as it generally allows me to write with more honesty and less bias (I generally dislike stories where the author seems to really hate the villain and really like the heroes and where they take great, triumphant delight in seeing the bad guy brought low and the heroes triumph [not that that's an innately bad thing in general, but I don't like it to being quite so personal]). Characters written by authors who try not to get attached to them or pick favourites*, I find, tend to be more interesting than those who appear to be the writer's golden child.




And I had a relevant point to make in that post that got lost somewhere. Ah well.



*As much as this is possible; there are going to be elements of bias in every story, as that's just human nature, but when done well the worse that happens is that these favoured characters usually just get more page time.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

I love all of my characters, but am realistic about them. Everyone has shades of grey and I try to touch on that as much as possible.

[Grits]

Congrats on your remorseless bloodshed, Mustard! Was this premeditated, or did you kill them in a fit of passion(ate writing)? I've had a few surprises that weren't in the outline, but so far no one has died.

[Colonel Mustard]

Congrats on your remorseless bloodshed, Mustard! Was this premeditated, or did you kill them in a fit of passion(ate writing)? I've had a few surprises that weren't in the outline, but so far no one has died.

It was semi-premeditated, though considering I went into the story with only a very vague plan that's the case for most of the stuff that happened in the story. I fully intended for some of the characters to pop their clogs, though, otherwise it makes things seem too easy.

Also finalchapterisdonewritingtheepiloguenowohmygodsoexcited!!!

[Grits]

Gomustardgo!!!

[Colonel Mustard]

I just finished it!

HOLY CRAP I JUST FINISHED IT OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!!!

*Runs around in circles waving hands in excitement*

[haute ecole rider]

Congrats on finishing the novel! How many words?

[Colonel Mustard]

55,638 words, precisely. I'm adding in a fair amount on my second draft, as there are some character perspectives I need to include, so it'll probably end up being a bit more substantial by the time that I'm done, but it's a start.

This post has been edited by Colonel Mustard: Nov 7 2013, 08:48 PM

[Grits]

That's awesome. Congratulations on finishing it!

Do you have another project to write with abandon for the rest of the month?

[Colonel Mustard]

That's awesome. Congratulations on finishing it!

Do you have another project to write with abandon for the rest of the month?

No, I'm going to work on redrafting my current piece in preparation for submitting it to an agent; strike while the iron is hot and all that.

[haute ecole rider]

I'm making good progress on my own story as well.

Just updated my word count: 23,159! Almost halfway!

How is everyone else doing?

[Grits]

That's great, haute! I have a section coming up that has no outline other than the end result of the main characters still being alive, and there are new characters to introduce. I'm pretty excited about it. It's been very productive to throw caution to the wind and just go for it.

My main issue with NaNo is that it's in November! Busiest month of my year with December a close second. This would be MUCH more fun in February! Ah well.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

I dislike all of you. I've never made it past three thousand words and I do this every year but this one, lol.

To be fair, last year sucked.