Writers Egyptian Tomb

[Endurant Archivist]

@MozytheHealer how do you win NaNoWriMo? Completion? Or is there something more?

 

Just curious, I've never done one. Definitely looking forward to it this year though.

[Sir Jerric]

I didn't actually do NaNoWriMo last year, since I didn't start a new story, but I did write 50,000 words in the thirty days of November. I just wrote anything that came to mind, and made liberal use of the Enter key when anything didn't follow with what I had already written. When I stopped myself from rewriting anything, I started typing better than 1300 words per hour, which made short work of the 1667 daily target.

When the forward momentum ran short, I would jump into the head of the character who needed to speak or act next, and wrote their thoughts on everything that had a bearing on their decision until I knew how they would act or speak. Then I would write that action or dialogue from the scene appropriate viewpoint and repeat until enough had happened to achieve the goals of the scene. Worked great. Not only did I get scenes written, but I created lots of background information about every character involved and they felt so much more complex and interesting for it.

Post-November editing was a simple matter of stripping out everything that wasn't the actions or dialogue I wanted, and then correcting all the context discrepancies created by intervening pages of navel-gazing. And adding scenery and blocking. And showing body language instead of telling emotions. And sometimes restarting the entire scene to add a new character, or to remove one. . .

Okay. Editing it wasn't simple. Welcome to the aftermath of NaNoWriMo. =)

[Gabriele]

You can go Rebel on Nano and continue a project you already started. Or write a bunch of short stories instead of a novel. You can also do the camps In April and July, though those don't work for me. I miss the forums on the site - the most fun and dangerous procrastination tool.

 

BTW, if Write or Die sounds too nasty, try Written - Kitten. It obviously gives you a cute cat pic for every 100 words. Doesn't work for me, but I know writers who enjoy it.

[Delightful]

I didn't actually do NaNoWriMo last year, since I didn't start a new story, but I did write 50,000 words in the thirty days of November. I just wrote anything that came to mind, and made liberal use of the Enter key when anything didn't follow with what I had already written. When I stopped myself from rewriting anything, I started typing better than 1300 words per hour, which made short work of the 1667 daily target.

When the forward momentum ran short, I would jump into the head of the character who needed to speak or act next, and wrote their thoughts on everything that had a bearing on their decision until I knew how they would act or speak. Then I would write that action or dialogue from the scene appropriate viewpoint and repeat until enough had happened to achieve the goals of the scene. Worked great. Not only did I get scenes written, but I created lots of background information about every character involved and they felt so much more complex and interesting for it.

Post-November editing was a simple matter of stripping out everything that wasn't the actions or dialogue I wanted, and then correcting all the context discrepancies created by intervening pages of navel-gazing. And adding scenery and blocking. And showing body language instead of telling emotions. And sometimes restarting the entire scene to add a new character, or to remove one. . .

Okay. Editing it wasn't simple. Welcome to the aftermath of NaNoWriMo. =)

When you swtiched to a different character's viewpoint/backstory, did you then rewrite the entire scene from the beginning afterwards, or did you go back and edit their perspective into what you'd already written? That's a really cool way of writing, I might try that sometime.

 

 

Only on Kamikaze Mode. You can have it merely make noise at you until you keep writing. Also, it's not about speed, it's about consistent writing. So, if you write slowly at a consistent pace, it'll be fine, but the minute you pause for too long, it'll start to get mad. Also, they have some new things which I haven't gotten to try yet, but it's also rewarding motivation now, as well as scary motivation. :{D 

 

(Write or Die is how I've won NaNoWriMo the last three years. It's wondrous.) 

That's good to know! I've always been too scared of losing work to try it.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Delightful

[Kobold King]

Is "Write or Die" a pay-to-use program? Does it require a download?

[Baine]

Actually, all you have to do is hook up a syringe of hemlock to the keyboard and have it inject you if you stop writing.

 

I am a safe person to be around. all my ideas are terrific. Really.

[Swimmingly]

It costs $20 for the full feature version, but there's a browser-based bare-bones oone you can use for free.

[Cadence McKinnon]

So, yeah, I realize this topic is ancient...and I sincerely hope Quiver has been able to escape the sarcophagus since his initial posting almost four years ago, however, for anyone struggling with this now, my advice is this: quiet the expectations. This kind of creative block usually happens because the output of a rough draft doesn't match the quality of a published one. Don't even compare the draft to what you want it to be. The story is not supposed to publishable when it first comes out of your head. Think about it this way: you can edit a bad draft, but you can't edit a blank page. Drafting is a way of practicing a story until it comes out the way you want it to. As you practice draft after draft, your ability to create what you want the first time around becomes that much easier over time. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by Cadence McKinnon