NaNoWriMo Participants are so talented...

...I mean, look at this cool graph thing, and all I had to do was plug in my user ID number from the NNWM site...



Love it!

Fantasy is alive and well...

mood: amused
music: Firefly
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...and living in the UK. Check this story at the Times Online.

Would that more folks were concerned with the state of faery and its denizens...

Crossing 40K

mood: good
music: M.I.A.
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Today I crossed the 40k line and wow, does it change one's outlook. For a while this month, several times in fact, I wondered if this would be the first year I didn't make it to 50 thousand words. Now it looks like I have a better chance of making that goal, but will I make the other one that I've learned is important: writing "the end"?

The characters took so long to get going in this novel and it seemed to take a long time to get things moving, that now I wonder can I bring things to a close before the end of the month. I've learned in the past that the urge to work on the story decreases dramatically after November 30th, and all the things one has been diligently putting off 'til the end of the month come crashing in. So I'm going to try: "the end" by the end of the month. If those pesky characters will just play along...

NaNoWriMo Report #3

mood: tired
music: none
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I received one of my least favorite kinds of rejections today (I have favorite rejections? No, but definitely least favs). The kind that goes, "There was nothing really wrong with this story, it just didn't rise above others I've received recently." Now, I'm sure this is meant to be encouraging, but I find it discouraging. There's no hint of anything constructive I can do to make this story better. It's simply "not good enough." Talk about damning with faint praise. Maybe I shouldn't complain but...well, there it is.

I also got comments back on another story the other day that were very discouraging, although these were from a contest judge. He/she did vote "yes" to accept my story, but at the end of the comments wrote, "Yes, but just barely." Why the need to qualify that? Why do I need to know that my story just squeaked past the standard? That seems just weird to me.

Anyway, enough ranting. I've made my word count for the day and I'd like to get a little ahead, but I think I'm too tired. Maybe an early morning tomorrow...

One thing I learned today:

NaNoWriMo Report #2

mood: blech
music: none
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So here's the problem: I'm at 30k words and hardly anything has happened yet. I mean, these characters are going to have to get seriously moving if they're going to accomplish anything by the end of the month. I can't even imagine what they've been doing for the first hundred pages, and I'm afraid to go back and read it.

Ah, well, onward and upward, I guess. Right now it's all about making it through the next 13 days and keeping something happening. I just can't imagine how it's all going to work out, though...

NaNoWriMo Report

mood: optimistic
music: Daughters of the Celtic Moon by Lisa Lynne
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Well, so far, so good. I'm managing to keep on track with my daily word count, and while I'm not as far ahead as I'd like to be, I'm keeping a little bit of padding there. Sadly, the wonderful NaNo progress meter that I liked so much is no longer available (killed by its own popularity!) but I found a fairly easy substitute, as you can see in the sidebar. Not as fancy, but I like it.

As for the novel itself...not too sure. I feel more adrift than I expected writing for a younger reader, but perhaps I'm being too hard on myself. It IS week two, after all, the time when almost everyone feels a quaver of self-doubt, either soul-destroying or mildly annoying. I've kept mine in the "mildly annoying" category thus far and am pressing on.

I just wish I knew where my characters were going and what they're doing...

But that's NaNoWriMo!

Sad CBC Day

mood: Sad
music: various
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I'm sadly listening to the last show of the Roundup as I write this. I'll miss this show terribly. It's been a comfortable afternoon companion ever since I discovered the wonders of CBC radio in 2001. Since a couple of my own little stories graced its airwaves and I had the fun of having a piece in the Dear Sad Goat book, I feel its loss quite personally. Worse, I've visited the website of the new show slated for this time slot, Freestyle, and it sounds...very uninspiring. Kind of like DNTO without the fun. But I'll give it a listen and try to keep an open mind.

On a brighter note, I'm ahead in my NaNo word count. I spent the waiting time at the doctor's office this morning writing in longhand, and it was time well spent. The meetup is tomorrow and I'm hopeful that it will be fun.

Off and writing!

mood: positive
music: Daughters of the Celtic Moon by Lisa Lynne
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Well, my lack of planning notwithstanding, my NaNoWriMo project is off to a pretty good start. Of course, it's only Day Three, but I'm ahead on my word count, some things have fallen into place, and the stage is set for more unexpected developments over the course of the month.

One thing that really helped was stumbling upon an essay by Holly Lisle, about storybuilding via map-making. After reading it I sat down and started making a map of my world, using the method she advocates. An hour or so later I had a world, some history, and a much better grounding for the story. Suddenly I could see how many of the vague ideas I'd had for the story were going to develop. I highly recommend taking a look if you're stuck or just starting to think about a new idea.

My daughter is also doing well with her Young Writers NaNo--she's ahead on word count and eagerly sitting down to write every evening. My five-year-old has caught the bug and is also insisting on dictating a story of his own to me. It's quite a literary household at the moment!