NaNoWriMo 2015 - Week 1

So the rush to do good is strong in your veins, the ideas bubbling like that cauldron at the Halloween party, and your down to writing. Go Go GO! get those words written!

Check in here for word updates either once during the week or daily. Up to you.
Ask for inspiration. It's what we're here for.
Ask for encouragement. Another perk.

Or just look at this and nod, then get back to that novel. LOL

Thanks! I'm looking forward to a productive November!

Thanks for setting up all the threads again this year, gilroy! You rock!

Are you participating this year?

Zero words today (so far). We met my niece at the zoo, but it was "free day" and was too crowded so we decided to try again tomorrow. Still, it messed up my writing plans, and tomorrow will also mess it up if we actually go. I'm going to have to write after dinner and into the night to get anything done. Oh, well, it's my usual modus operandi so I'm not worried (yet). I did figure out where it's going, at least for the next couple of pages, so that's a good thing.

I know I'm writing buddies with gilroy and majkia. Anyone else want to buddy with me? I promise I won't stalk you, and I can use all the help I can get...seriously!

Anyway, I'm also Storeetllr on NaNo.

>4 Storeetllr: I've had bad starts for NaNo. Just concentrate on the next day, not the previous one that you can't change!

Yep, that's the only way to manage it!

I do want to write for a bit tonight (so what, you might ask, am I doing on LT? addiction is a terrible thing, isn't it) so I don't forget the next bit of plot I thought up last night while I was waiting to fall asleep. Also to add a little something I thought about to the prologue. I doubt I'll get many words down, but that's okay.

I try my best to limit LT and FB until i hit my daily quota, othrewise Distractable Me will never get anything done!

Pleased to meet you, Storeetllr - I like that, Storyteller! My NaNoWriMo username is also mrgrooism, although at the moment I can't seem to sign on!

Not able to sign on? Oh, that sucks! Is it that there are too many WriMos playing around on the NaNo site and not writing? LOL

Nice to meet you too. Maybe we can be writing buddies? I'll look for you next time I get on.

>8 Storeetllr: added you!!!

Day 3 5791 words, wooohooo!

Today was a real test for me, as last minute distractions and out of left field responsibilities conspired against me, yet i "won" my third day in a row. That's it, day by day, inch by inch!

*debates writing toteboard but that might be pressure for people...*

Okay, so this is Day 4 - Midweek, give or take. By the end of today, when aiming for 50,000 words, you should be at 6668 words written. Obviously, if you've set yourself a higher goal, this changes.

I know the juices for some are simmered off and you're starting to stare at the screen, dumbfounded you'd gotten this far. THIS is only the beginning my friends.

Breathe!
Give yourself a pat on the back. You're doing well. Don't quit yet!

If you're falling behind, no worries, that's what weekends are for!
I've known participants who didn't start until day 10. They still made it. It is possible.

If you need a day of rest, take it. Just remember to spread the lost day's words over the rest of the month...

>10 gilroy: THANKS!

I set my goals slightly higher than 1.666/day, and I increase it incrementally each day, so that when I DO miss a day my hope is that I will have built a full day's buffer by then.

Today's goal is 2200 words. Let's see what happens!

I have found that obsessing on these goals for me is a GOOD thing, since I have so far hit the mark 3 out oif 3 days. I fear falling off track and giving up, but right now I am in a really good place.

The feedback here, in the GD, with WriMo Buddys, and on FB has been very helpful and inspiring!

I try hard to minimize distractions. I allow myself a brief look at Social Media before writing, limiting my exposure to just this group, my Green Dragon friends, my WriMo Buddies on the NaNo site and a tiny bit of Facebook just to peek at feedback to my Nano posts, and ignore everything else!

Then, after I have hit my goal, I allow myself a little bit of grazing here or there! Otherwise I am minimizing my online footprint to focus on my novel!

>11 mrgrooism: Okay, haven't had my full ration of coffee yet this morning*, so bear with me, 'k? What is "GD," as in "The feedback . . . in the GD?"

*Yes, I did sleep late today. Getting my social media fix out of the way with breakfast, then going to concentrate fully and only on writing. *muffled sounds of laughter coming from my Evil Inner Editor*

Trying to get to 6000 words tonight. I'm behind - busy, busy week so far - but not so much that I won't be able to catch up. And of course instead of writing, I'm fiddling around here on LT.

>13 Storeetllr: Sorry, I get too used to shorthand while posting in the GD. The GD is a LibraryThing group called The Green Dragon, which pretends to be a virtual pub, and pretty much is about all books of wonder, whether fantasy, sci-fi, or horror. It's a fun place, you should stop in and say hi!

>14 ligature: I like to fiddle around just enough on LT, the NaNo site, and (until today) Facebook, just enough to peek at writing threads and get inspiration and support, then get going with my writing.

After I make my goal I'll allow myself to Socialize Medially, heee heee. Except, I'm done with Facebook, at least until after my novel is done!

I've been dealing with issues from folks who post nothing but hateful political BS, unfollowing and unfriending people left and right. I left FB entirely for about 3 months, but value my positive connections and really missed them, so I came back.

Today was the last straw. I signed on to Facebook before writing just to view and comment on my NaNoWriMo posts, and the first thing that hit me was, well, it's nasty enough that I will hide it with spoiler tags, so folks can ignore it if they wish.

The first thing that greeted me when I signed onto Facebook this morning was this absolutely disgusting animated gif of Hilary Clinton graphically defecating from her mouth!

I'm sorry, but love her or hate her, that kind of sickening, hateful image is waaay out of bounds! It's one thing to complain about a candidate, but the hateful crap spewed by both sides has got me seriously considering just leaving Facebook completely!

Gah, just retyping it has me all wound up again, so time to put it behind me and move ahead. It did put me in the wrong mood for writing, it was about an hour before I got myself together and back in a writing mood.

Thanks for the explanation! I know about the Green Dragon, have enjoyed some good times there and am, actually, a member of the group, though I don't visit nearly often enough.

As for FB, I once "quit" ~ for about a day, but I don't spend as much time as I used to there for much the same reason as you. The hatefulness of so many of the commenters makes me ill, and I've started simply looking at the main posts that interest me without afterward looking at the comments. My daughter's on FB, as are my nieces and nephews, and some old friends too whom I like to keep up with. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't go on it from week to week.

So, I did pretty well on Day 4 ~ wrote 1,635 words! I actually added about 35 words to that total between midnight and 12:06 p.m., but it was too late to include them in Day 4's total. Otherwise, for the first time this year, I managed to make the target word count! Yay me!

>16 Storeetllr: Great! Keep at it and have fun!!!

Facebook for me is a way to keep up with family. I've started chopping down negative and unhealthy thought people. (Oh and it's a way to talk with the GF while we're both at work. :) ) Sadly, a couple I want to chop from my list... are relatives who'd get their nose out of joint if I did.

Unfollow has become a very useful tool in that respect...

>17 mrgrooism: Thanks! And I wrote a little over 1,700 words today, most of it in two 20-minute word sprints at a write-in I attended this evening! wOOt! My new projected finish date is December 11. (Don't laugh. Yesterday it was December 15.)

>18 gilroy: Yes, I also love love love the unfollow button. That way, I don't have to be confronted by an irate relative or friend for unfriending them yet can miss having to see the crap they post. Win-Win!

Okay folks. Today is the first BIG milestone for this push.

10,000 words by days end. Preferably more, but that's the minimum.
Don't miss the intravenous caffeine stations we have about the lounge.

Reward snacks of choice are available. (You might note a definitive segregation this year, to account for allergies and such. Peanuts, Chocolate, Coconut, and Dairy each have their own partitions.)

*shakes pom poms* Go go gadget NaNo! LOL

>20 gilroy: I'll do my best to Hit That Thang!

I sent this out to all of my NaNoWriMo buddies today, figured I would post it here as well!

I got a good head of steam going the first four days and am thrilled with the progress I've made despite an avalanche of distractions and issues with family/friends/roommates/work - GAH!

So I finally, inevitably got derailed, but that's why I pushed myself to build a buffer while the engine was hot! Started writing yesterday morning and managed 600 words, but found myself falling asleep at the keyboard!

I also remembered that in moving the narrative forward I forgot a major plot point that needs attention, so I will be editing (yes editing!) what's already been written and inserting a short segment.

I know the common wisdom is FULL SPEED AHEAD, DON'T EDIT but I am OCD enough that I have to browse through what I wrote previously, make edits and additions, and then get it in gear and move forward. It's actually worked very well so far, but this is a much bigger chunk of editing and adding, so we'll see what happens!

How are you all coming along? I've put an excerpt on my profile, I'm going to go through all of my buddys' pages in search of excerpts after I hit today's goal, so can't wait to see what you are willing to share!

See ya!

Larry aka mrgrooism

Tomorrow is Double Up Day, when you can double your donation (donate $25, get credit for $50) and when you are encouraged to double your word count, so I'm not hitting 10k today. Trying to write 10k in one day would just about kill me. LOL

Just in case you're interested, here's my excerpt, written early on, before I had even an inkling where the story was headed, and will probably be replaced, if I come up with something I like better.

ETA http://nanowrimo.org/participants/storeetllr/novels/urban-fantasy-948598

I know I'm going slower than most but I've written every day this week, which I'm counting as my first achievement and I've just passed the 5000 mark and I'm hoping to get at least one more stint in before I go to bed tonight.

>23 Peace2: Woo-hoo! Good going!

I'm stoked, having broken through the 10k barrier just a few minutes ago to make it my best Week 1 ever! I have to say, the write-ins I've gone to were what got me here, as I doubt I'd have written half of what I've done had I just hung around at home. I mean, there's just so much else to do at home. Not much else to do at a write-in. :)

>23 Peace2: GREAT! Keep it going!
>24 Storeetllr: I have to try one of those write-ins, I'm signed up for 3 local regions, so there has to be something convenient! GREAT work!

Yes! You definitely do have to go to a write-in! They are so energizing! And meeting other WriMos can be such fun! Also, it's a good way to find a year-round writing group so November 30 isn't the end of writing until the following year.

So, it's the end of Day 8, and I just finished a better than 2k word writing stint, for a total word count of 12,275. Go me!

>26 Storeetllr: FANTASTIC!

I think I may have to look into staging my own local write-in!