Final Word Count/What's Been Happening Since?

Days 29-30 Combined Total: 3938

NaNoWriMo Total: 50,183

Purple status bar on my NaNo profile? Heck, yes! Success is sweet. It would be sweeter if the novel were finished, but they say that that's what NaNoFiMo is for (National Novel Finishing Month). No, NaNoFiMo is not anything official like NaNoWriMo, but it sounds appealing for the people unable to complete their novels... whether they got to 50K or not during November. And that would be me.

After going back and reading a little bit, I realized I am closer than I thought I was to completing the first draft of this novel. Just a few scenes, and I am done - as long as those scenes don't decide to multiple too much. Once it's done, I will put the novel away for a few weeks, until after the holidays. Then I will be studiously separating each section of the novel so when NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editting Month) comes in March, I can set goals for the number of sections I want to complete in a day.

No, NaNoEdMo is no more official than NaNoFiMo, but anything that propels me towards getting a novel ready for publishing is well worth pursuing. NaNoEdMo's goal? 50 hours spent on editing in 31 days. Should be considerably less nervewrecking than the 50k in 30 days.

Here's to hoping my next blog post will be a general jumping up and down in excitement type of post because I have finished the novel. And that my patience with the internet connection and Blogger will have been restored, so I don't get so upset because I have to spend twenty different times trying to get the blog post up.

Oh... and I am leaving you with the title of the novel. You've been so patient, waiting to be updated, and only getting word counts. Should have the summary and other things soonish, but for now, here you go: Something Beautiful

50K in 30 Days?!

Yeah, it's about 2:45, and as we speak, I am getting the word processor file ready for the NaNo site to validate it. 50,001 on my computer, but previous experience with this validator tool is telling me I should end up with a word count slightly higher than that.

Is the novel finished? Not hardly. I still have a plot to work out (remember that whole not showing up until late thing? It means I'm far, far away from being done). But I have hit the 50K mark, and it seems crazy after all the work I've put into this in the past month for me to not get the work validated and get the award and stuff. It would be easy for me to forget. Today is Sunday, and Sunday is usually full of things to do. If I don't validate what I have now, I won't remember in time, and I'll be a sad panda come tomorrow morning when I realize I didn't win because of it.

Celebration time, yes? I'll come around in the next week or two and post the final word counts for the month. In the mean time, let's bask in the knowledge that not only did I take on the challenge of writing 50K in 30 days, but I conquered it!

Day Twenty Eight

Days 26-28 Combined Total: 12,750

NaNoWriMo Total: 46,245

Yes, I am currently less than 4K away from making it to 50K in 30 days. I would feel a lot better about it if the plot hadn't decided to show up at about 40K, but I'll take what I can get. Especially when it comes from an all-nighter resulting from an obnoxious ear ache last night.

You'd think I would be curled up in a ball of misery, but nope... I ended up hunkered down at the computer with a bottle of aspirin and my liquid refreshment of choice for the month (PowerAde, baby...). The pain has proved to be an excellent motivation to write. 10K in 7 hours. I never thought I had that kind of writing power in me... nice to know I can focus and write that much in that amount of time.

I did get some sleep, when I went to bed at 8 this morning. Slept for a few hours, then pounded out another couple thousand, to get to the total above. And now I am off to bed again, because getting sleep so I can get more coherent writing out is of great interest to me. Goodnight!

Day Twenty Five

Days 18-25 Combined Word Count: 13,352

NaNoWriMo Total: 33,495

I wish I could say that the 13K or so in the past week was merely an accumulation over the last week, that I kept to the goals I started out with as far as word count, and that I did not kill myself trying to get to this point. The only true statement is that I did not kill myself to get to this point (but that should be evidenced by the fact that I am alive and posting this blog... although I suppose I could be a bot that has just so happened to put together a blog post in a manner coherent enough to sound like it is really coming from a person, as opposed to not. Just trust me, I am no bot).

I'm totally kidding that only one statement is true, though. Truth is that with the help of word sprints on the NaNoWriMo boards, I was able to make it through the 13K this past week. It still doesn't really catch me up, but it does at least allow me to feel slightly productive - although I am feeling grossly unproductive at the sight of all those people who blew by 50K in the first half of the month. Yeah, I know. Don't compare them to me. Just don't do it. First year and all that jazz. Right? Right. So, let's move on.

Thankfully, Thanksgiving is generally quiet around here. I should have some time to get things done and close the gap between here and 50K.

Oh, did I mention that they've got the validator up and going on the NaNo site? The 33.5K I'm posting tonight is from their count, not mine. According to my word processor, I'm about 150 words short of that. Can't complain, though, if they want to count more words than I am. And I won't. I'll take it wherever I can get it, so long as I come by it honestly.

Day Seventeen

Days 11-17 Combined Total: 4147

NaNoWriMo Total: 20,143

Definitely not where I was wanting to be at this time, but since I'm not too far off the halfway point at just a little bit over halfway, I am trying to not stress out too much. Besides, this weekend was definitely crazy, and there was very little time to find a computer and type even if I wanted to - lock-ins, picnics, helping my brother-in-law pack up the house here in AZ so he could get the stuff to the new house in Maine... yeah, crazy, hectic, and busy don't even begin to describe it.

Guess I'm just going to have to make it up. Now, if only that stupid plotline would show...

Day Eleven

Days 10 and 11 Combined Word Count: 3433

NaNoWriMo Total: 15,996

Yeah, this not trying to update my word count every time I turn around is turning out to be a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, I'm floundering on the idea of a real, actual plot. Please, make yourself known soon. 16,000 words in isn't the greatest place to start, but better before 25K than after, right?

P.S. - Happy Veteran's Day!

Day Nine

Days Eight and Nine Combined Word Count: 4,764

NaNoWriMo Total: 12,563

I'm not gonna lie. It's been such a pain in the butt to update on the NaNo site that I probably won't spend much time I don't have to updating. Which means daily updates like I originally planned are out the window. Sad, sad day.

Day Seven

Day Seven Word Count: 757

NaNoWriMo Total: 7799

Week in Review:

I've spent a lot of time in the past week just writing into a notebook and transfering that to the computer because there is a lot of time during the day where I am in transit to someplace, or am waiting for something to start that I can and do write. It's helped, but the hump is still there. Instead of being at 12,000-14,000 words, I'm a little over half of that. I know it would help if I could get some time doing word sprints, but I don't know yet when I can actually do it. Hopefully, this weekend. That should help with the shortfall.

Day Six

Day Six Word Count: 2827

NaNoWriMo Total: 7042

Better day. Much better. Of course, it helps that I sat down for more than just a few minutes and wrote beyond what I wrote at work. Still...

Day Five

Day Five Word Count: 1173

NaNoWriMo Total: 4215

I know slow and steady is supposed to win the race, but really? C'mon...

Day Three

Day Three Word Count: 2113

NaNoWriMo Total: 3042

Not bad. Just need to get a jump on it and crank it out.

Day One

Day One Word Count:
929

Ugh. So far short of the daily goal. Gotta step it up!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow (well... technically tonight at midnight) is the start of NaNoWriMo... November 1st is almost upon us, my friends.

Which means this - in other parts of the world, NaNoWriMo has already started, and hundreds (if not thousands) are pounding their keyboards in hopes of producing a novel in thirty days... a novel of at least 50,000 words. Everyone I say that to who isn't a writer and has never heard of NaNo thinks 50,000 is a lot of words. I'm thinking it doesn't sound quite so tough when I really break it down.

50K words/30 Days = 1667 words/1 day
750 Words = 3 Pages (double spaced, 1 in. margins)
Cat's word count = (abt) 50 words/minute

If I aim for an average of 8 pages (or 2,000 words) a day, I should reach 50K by November 25th. If I can keep my inner editor in check, that means 40 minutes a day at 50 words/minute. If I can't, then I should count on doubling the time, which means about an hour and a half a day.

Heck, with that time frame, I should be able to get through more than 2,000 words a day.

This is starting to sound like a cake walk, but I know that's the optimism talking. I'll only be able to sustain that kind of a pace for so long before the inner editor decides to rebel, or something else happens. It usually does.

But the number break down (besides giving me an awful headache) does let me know this is doable. For that, I am very happy.

NaNoWriMo Countdown: 8 hours, 10 minutes and counting.

The Playlist

After much deliberation, I am attempting to create a playlist of musical goodness to both sustain me through NaNoWriMo and send off to a few of my fellow NaNoers in other parts of the country. So far, I have a grand total of five songs. It is frustrating because I have so much music, and so little time to figure out what I really want to share.

The songs thusfar:

1. Paper Thin Hymn - Anberlin
2. I'm Not Who I Was - Brandon Heath
3. Set the Fire to the Third Bar - Snow Patrol
4. Savior - Skillet
5. Eileen's Song - Burlap to Cashmere
   

Currently, I am listening to what my mp3 player says is the 25 songs I listen to most to see what is there and if anything is good enough. You would think this would be a good starting place, but the only reason why so many of these songs are at the top is because one of my characters at one time or another would not talk to me without multiple repeats of whatever song they want to hear.

I'd like to give up on this particular project. There are so many other things I could be doing, or blogging about. Finishing character bios. Chasing them down and beating the plot of this novel out of them. All the usual pre-writing stuff I've been neglecting for whatever excuse happens to come into my head.

This is what I get for signing up to do this. Now, I have no way of backing out... now that I have addresses to send to and audio file preferences.

NaNoWriMo Countdown: (including today) 2 days! Well, time to get on the stick!!!

Past Characters

I said yesterday that I would elaborate further on the reasons why I love and hate writing with characters I've written with in the past, so this is my attempt.

Reasons why I love it:

1. I don't have to spend time getting to know the characters.
2. Because I already know them, I know how to make them talk to me.
3. Because I know how to make them talk to me, writer's block is not much of a concern.

All of this should bode well for NaNoWriMo. But, as you may have guessed, it does not always do so.

Reasons why I hate it:

1. Because I know the characters, my brain assumes details are not necessary.
2. Because of above stated assumption, I forget to add details about the characters, and sometimes their surroundings, too.
3. Because I forget to add these details, I end up with a less than stellar story.

Which equates to lesser word counts for NaNoWriMo. Lesser word counts = no 50K. No 50K = no win. No win =...

I think you get the idea.

But why does any of this matter if NaNoWriMo is about getting everything out without letting the inner editor that will be screaming take control (besides the obvious word count issue)? I'm not sure. What I do know is that the inner editor is already having a fit at the idea of not being allowed more than surface grammar and spelling errors for a month. Everything that comes out is going to be interesting.

NaNoWriMo Countdown: (including today) 3 days

Name Generators

So my abhorence of character name generators might have come to an end.

Because I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to do another Google™ search for character name generators (you never know what is going to turn up, right?). After sifting through the usual culprits for such a thing - a fantasy name generator, an RPG generator, an article on how to pick good character names... ugh - why do I always fall for you, and when will I learn that you're an article, not a generator - I was surprised to come out the victor in this ever bloody battle. Check it out!

http://www.adammaxwell.com/writing/extras/character-name-generator.html

The site also has a writing prompt generator that looks promising, but that is far from the point. The point is that I found a character name generator with interesting names. Let's start in the surname category (last name, folks... c'mon).

A Sampling of Typical Surnames to pop up in a generator:

• Sanford
• Nelson
• Ball
• McDonald

A Sampling of Surnames in Mr. Maxwell's generator:

• Zysett
• Javis
• Horseford
• Brog

I mean, seriously... you probably couldn't find these last names in a list of the 1000 most common surnames in America, could you? Yet they exist, and should be acknowledged in literature for existing. What's the fun in everyone always having the surname Smith, Jones, Johnson, Martin, etc?

I have to say that this generator has greatly energized my pre-NaNoWriMo planning for this novel. The plot is coming together nicely, around characters I have written about in the past... which I love, and hate all at once for a number of reasons I'll explain later. Even a sub-plot or two is starting to emerge because of these characters and their past interactions in my writing. I'm excited to finally have a sense of direction for this project.

NaNoWriMo Countdown: (including today) 4 days... whoa.

To Do List Before NaNoWriMo

Someone started a topic on the NaNoWriMo boards recently asking people to post their list of things to do before NaNoWriMo that are unrelated to it. Obviously, I thought it was a good idea, as I am writing a blog about it now. Below is a list of things that I put together in my head at the time, and a note as to whether or not I've gotten them done).

1. Sit down and plan budget for month of November. (done)
   
2. Decide on costume for Holyween (yeah, I said Holyween… suck it up and deal with it).
   
3. Unnamed Trib issues (in progress, probably incomplete before start of NaNo)
   
4. Write apologies to a few of the people I owe them to.
   
5. Go to Sonic at least once (done)
   

Now, back to the task at hand. Next blog? Probably my to-do list of NaNo related things.

On a Day Like Today

On a day like today, I really wish I had bothered to keep up with computer programming.

You can laugh all you want at the fact that I spent many hours in high school sitting at a computer, programming my life away. Bet you didn't know I got a 3 on the Computer Science AP for C++ (because saying something like that makes me feel like an uber-genius, when in all honesty… I'm just an uber-dork who wasted two and a half years of high school on something I barely understood instead of two and a half years of college, thousands of dollars, and GPA points).

But, in all seriousness, today is one of those days.

I wanted to get a start on my NaNoWriMo preplanning. Some people start this process December 1^st (the day after NaNo ends). Some never preplan. I'm starting about ten days early because I want some idea of where I need to go with my story, but I don't want the rigid outline I know I would break if I spent months ahead of time planning it.

My pre-NaNo planning stages:

• Characters:
  
  • Biographic info
    
    • As extensive as the character will allow it to be, plus the effort it will take to pull teeth to get the rest of it
      
  • Relationships
    
  • Identify MC (Male or female)
    
  • Establish POV characters
    
• Plot
  
  • What personal catastrophe is going to hit the MC? How will he/she deal with it?
    
  • POV characters – how are they going to take how the MC is dealing with this?
    
  • What kind of an ending do I want to see it have?
    
• Research
  
  • Maps
    
    • Familiarize myself with the place where this is supposed to be taking place.
      
    • Possibly create a map if I end up making up a place
      
  • History (if location is real)
    
    • What has happened here? What kind of history does this place have, and how do the people here treat it?
      
• Etc., etc…
  

I think you get the point.

However, in my pursuit of pre-planning, I ran into the one snafu that I always get caught up in when creating a character. The name.

Almost anyone I have collaborated on a writing project with can tell you I am great when it comes to developing plot twists. I chew them up and spit them out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at the same time. Chuck Norris is the only one who can do any better, and that's because he's Chuck Norris. My fatal flaw, my Achilles heel, my poorest showing is in generating character names. I cringe to think about anyone reading my Left Behind fan fiction stories, or Flyboy Club RPG posts, because I have had as many as three or four characters with the same first name.

We'll talk about the fact that I used to write fan fiction about the Left Behind series another time… right now, focus on the character name issue.

I have found tools on different websites which randomly generate names. For a while, they worked – but eventually the same names came popping back up, and I was stuck in the same boat as before.

So I started searching for computer programs whose sole purpose was to generate character names. Multiple exist. However, the freeware versions (the only ones I can afford) suck… because you can't get to the full features without buying the program, which I am apparently too cheap to do.

Picture starting to come clear?

Basically, I would love to be able to write my own random name generator program, but because I focused on other things besides programming in college (i.e. history, creative writing), I couldn't write a program to save my life. I wouldn't even remember where to start. Thus, the reason why today is a day like today.

NaNoWriMo!!!

Maybe I've gone off the deep end on this one, folks, but it has been a long time coming. I signed up this year for NaNoWriMo.

NaNo-wha?

National Novel Writing Month.

Yeah, it's held every November, and thousands of people make it their goal to write a novel of at least 50,000 words between November 1st and November 30th (an average of about 2,000 words a day). I've been wanting to this for years now (try 4 or 5), but either didn't have the courage, or did have too many creative writing classes to consider it. Since this is a November where I am not in school, and will in all likelihood still be jobless, I figure... why not give it a try? What do I have to lose? Right? Right.

I will attempt to document my journey through NaNoWriMo here, with word counts, what kinds of issues I am running into, and maybe a small excerpt or two here and there. It's not that I won't blog about other things, but this is a big deal, and (I think) it deserves some attention here.

Wish me incredible luck (and the ability to reach my daily word count goals)! But remember it doesn't start until November 1st...