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10/21/2009 11:04:58 AM
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Bill Moonroe
Posts 4528
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Anyone else participating this year? Come and produce the best bloated doorstop ya got. You know you want to.
I've just decided this morning that I'm going to do it. That gives me well over a week to get an outline together and some character ideas. I'll start planning tomorrow.
link
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"A thagizer? What's that do? Hey, what's this button for? Uh-oh. Sorry about that, man. It'll grow back, right?"
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10/21/2009 1:37:00 PM
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Captain Mitty
Posts 396
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Busted Link Alert!
Try this one.... http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano
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Nil significat, nisi oscillat.
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10/22/2009 6:19:27 AM
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egodbois
Posts 34
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I'm going to try for the sheer challenge of it. It'll involve more writing on average than what I'm used to, but practice makes perfect. Even if it ends in spectacular failure.
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Edward Godbois
http://isyra.blogspot.com
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10/22/2009 8:56:30 AM
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Bill Moonroe
Posts 4528
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That's the spirit!
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"A thagizer? What's that do? Hey, what's this button for? Uh-oh. Sorry about that, man. It'll grow back, right?"
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10/23/2009 9:15:21 PM
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Kevin C.
Posts 1686
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I don't know what I'll do. I really do need to catch up on my reading. Read Little Fuzzy a few weeks ago and that's about it. Not a good thing for an aspiring writer to say, not a good thing at all. As I looked at the anemic selection in the local department store, I mulled over whether or not to reread The Divine Comedy or find Paradise Lost online. Really need to read something modern. Saw a Stephen King anthology, but I don't really go for horror. I might even sneak A Wrinkle in Time out of the kid's library to reread.
Sigh.
I haven't even submitted a manuscript this year. Not a good thing, either. I hope to finish a short story and send it to F&SF this month, just so I can have a rejection before New Year's.
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10/23/2009 10:22:34 PM
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Marian
Posts 3065
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Kevin, it sounds like you could seriously benefit from doing NaNo this year. I did it a few years ago. Now what I produced was pure trash, just rushing to get words down on paper but I did it (in two weeks!). Proved I could do it. That's the benefit. You find out just how fast you can write when you're not trying to write well and that's what all of us perfectionists need. Also, don't forget. There are no NaNo police. You can start, do it for three days (2,000 words a day) and quit and you will not be arrested. In fact, on the website you'll see what a high percentage drop out at 5-10,000 words and that's okay. You'll still have shown yourself that you're capable of writing fast for a few days.
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"Know the truth and the truth shall make you odd."
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10/23/2009 11:47:12 PM
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Kevin C.
Posts 1686
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Not to be contrary, but I don't know. My writer's block is gone, just what I'm producing is dreck. The most promising thing I've written this year is that 116 line ballad, in that I see the rough spots and could sand them down. I was churning out a sequel to a book written to entertain the family and suspended that this summer. No big loss, because the premise was boring due to the lack of conflict. I did get a character out of it for a fantasy short story, and while I see the rough spots I may not know enough to sand them down properly. Then there was a horror story this week that shows some promise for polishing. And just today I got the idea of a new spin on the End of Civilization story. The ideas are starting to appear like before the writer's block.
The problem is in getting them on paper in an entertaining form, and I'm pretty sure it's because I'm not reading enough. Little Fuzzy had a positive effect in my writing, and that was just one book. I've got to read more, even if (shudder), it's something I don't like.
edited by Kevin C. on 10/23/2009
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10/24/2009 12:08:18 AM
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Bill Moonroe
Posts 4528
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Kevin,
The thing about a NaNo novel is that there isn't one that can't be helped along the way by a wave of zombie rabbits wearing Speedos, even if it's a literary novel or a bodice-ripper. There are no expectations.
I wasn't going to do it this year, either, and my writing's been going pretty well. I look at it as serving three functions. First, as Bradbury has said, we've all got a million words of crap to get out before we get to the good stuff. NaNo is a practice novel that helps take care of at least 50,000 words of them. Second, I've really been writing consistently this year, and I'm looking at this as a chance to see how much progress I've really made. Third, I'm finishing up a thirty day challenge at my local Bikram yoga studio, and NaNo seems a good balance to that.
After NaNo, it's off to Kauai for some serious refilling the imagination.
Now, who wants to buddy up?
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"A thagizer? What's that do? Hey, what's this button for? Uh-oh. Sorry about that, man. It'll grow back, right?"
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10/25/2009 2:31:17 PM
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Madison Bridgen
Posts 338
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Actually, this starts right when my midterms end, so maybe I will do it.
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We are currently living in the Dinosaurs' post-apocalyptic world.
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10/26/2009 9:05:49 AM
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egodbois
Posts 34
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Bill Moonroe wrote:
Kevin,
The thing about a NaNo novel is that there isn't one that can't be helped along the way by a wave of zombie rabbits wearing Speedos, even if it's a literary novel or a bodice-ripper. There are no expectations.
I wasn't going to do it this year, either, and my writing's been going pretty well. I look at it as serving three functions. First, as Bradbury has said, we've all got a million words of crap to get out before we get to the good stuff. NaNo is a practice novel that helps take care of at least 50,000 words of them. Second, I've really been writing consistently this year, and I'm looking at this as a chance to see how much progress I've really made. Third, I'm finishing up a thirty day challenge at my local Bikram yoga studio, and NaNo seems a good balance to that.
After NaNo, it's off to Kauai for some serious refilling the imagination.
Now, who wants to buddy up?
I prefer to subscribe to the 10,000 hour rule. That one must spend 10,000 hours practicing one's craft in order to even approach mastering it. Granted, you could be a miserable wretch after those 10,000 with absolutely no vision. But for any chance of success it's required.
So, 50,000 without editing equals about.. 50 - 65 hours for me.
But I've always been a pessimist.
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Edward Godbois
http://isyra.blogspot.com
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10/26/2009 8:24:09 PM
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Hugh C. Howey
Posts 157
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I'm participating. Then again, I've already done 50K+ per month three times this year. It won't be anything new, but at least it will be as part of a larger group, which is very cool.
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www.hughhowey.com
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10/28/2009 8:09:01 PM
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egodbois
Posts 34
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Hugh C. Howey wrote:
I'm participating. Then again, I've already done 50K+ per month three times this year. It won't be anything new, but at least it will be as part of a larger group, which is very cool.
Hugh, do you maintain a full time job other than writing? If so, how does one manage that, daily chores AND writing so much? I barely squeeze in what I can and challenge to say the least.
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Edward Godbois
http://isyra.blogspot.com
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10/30/2009 5:05:55 PM
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alastair_mayer
Posts 465
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I'll be doing Nano again this year. I have a couple of novel ideas kicking around that I need to at least do a first draft of. If nothing else that might later turn into fodder for a couple of short stories, as my previous Nano efforts have done, although it would be nice to finish a novel to the point it's worth submitting somewhere. (50K words isn't, at least not for non-YA SF. And looking back a few years to my first Nano, there's a lot of crap (eg, repetitive info dumps) in there that I wrote just to make the word count.)
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- Alastair
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10/31/2009 2:07:08 AM
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Bill Moonroe
Posts 4528
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I'm looking at this as sort of a writing check-up. I've done a lot of writing with short stories, some of which have crept up longer than I intended. I've got most of my outline figured out, I'm using the Hero's Journey as a plot structure, have done some character designing using the chakras as a way of looking at human nature in a systematic approach. The outline's a map, something to refer to if things drag a bit, but the basic idea I'm playing with is moving from a devestating asteroid strike on Earth that eventually leads to the beginnings of a galactic empire.
This time around, the deadline's a little more serious. Had no problem "winning" last year, but the novel went on for another few thousand words and maybe another week. This year, I'm taking a well-earned vacation on December 2, and really want to be finished by then.
I'd like a Nano novel to be publication worthy at some point, but that's going to take a lot of revising. I've also heard about the benefit of having handy "trunk novels" for weaseling, er, fulfilling bad contracts.
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"A thagizer? What's that do? Hey, what's this button for? Uh-oh. Sorry about that, man. It'll grow back, right?"
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11/1/2009 12:01:21 PM
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Bill Moonroe
Posts 4528
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And I'm off to a good start so far. 2000 words by 1:30 in the morning, and now I'm starting on my second 2 grand for the day. I'm not planning on steadily doing 4K per day, but it's a nice start.
Anyone else?
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"A thagizer? What's that do? Hey, what's this button for? Uh-oh. Sorry about that, man. It'll grow back, right?"
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11/1/2009 7:49:35 PM
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Madison Bridgen
Posts 338
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If I do this at all, I might end up doing it late and not finishing because I'm doing an unrelated short story, and I don't think doing two things at once is a good idea.
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We are currently living in the Dinosaurs' post-apocalyptic world.
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11/2/2009 9:35:45 AM
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Hugh C. Howey
Posts 157
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egodbois wrote:
Hugh C. Howey wrote: I'm participating. Then again, I've already done 50K+ per month three times this year. It won't be anything new, but at least it will be as part of a larger group, which is very cool. Hugh, do you maintain a full time job other than writing? If so, how does one manage that, daily chores AND writing so much? I barely squeeze in what I can and challenge to say the least.
I'm writing full-time right now. I have enough in savings, and live inexpensively enough, to have spent the last year doing nothing much besides writing. Of course, I also do all the cooking, cleaning and household chores. I get started around 6 every morning and write about ten hours a day.
I'm currently hard at work on this NaNo novel. Day two and right at 7,000 words. I need to get ahead, because I have seven book signings lined up for November, which really cut into my writing time. I uploaded my work from day one, if anyone cares to read it. My concern with the NaNo book is to write fast and sloppy, getting the story in place. I'll worry about cleaning it up with a few edits later.
Day One Sample
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www.hughhowey.com
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11/2/2009 9:04:25 PM
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Madison Bridgen
Posts 338
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What I'm writing definately won't end up at the full length, but I'm just over 4,000 words.
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We are currently living in the Dinosaurs' post-apocalyptic world.
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11/3/2009 3:25:56 PM
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alastair_mayer
Posts 465
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I got off to a slow start. Couldn't think of anything to write about on the 1st -- I have a couple of WIPs but wanted to start fresh -- so just cranked out some stream of consciousness. Started getting the ideas down yesterday and wrote about 1200 words of outline. Now I'm into the novel proper. This morning I wrote the prolog (which I will almost certainly throw out later), and I'm up to almost 3000 words with plenty to keep me busy for the next few days.
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- Alastair
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11/3/2009 6:40:53 PM
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Hugh C. Howey
Posts 157
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I'm really excited with where my story's going. I'm up to 16K after a monster session today. The entire plot is hammered out in my head, and holds together nicely. What started as an exercise may just lead to something worth publishing.
After a few months of heavy editing, of course. 
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www.hughhowey.com
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