Know what's difficult? NaNoing on my own when I have gotten very used to NaNoing with a lovely group of support and competition for the past few years. There have been a couple meet-ups here in Tokyo, but I've been unable to make it to them, and it's really difficult to find the motivation without the goal of showing up at a couple meetings a week and having the most words.
Other things that have made it difficult:
- Starting the month off with a holiday in Kansai, making it difficult to start writing immediately.
- Coming back from my holiday and being super tired and, therefore, not wanting to get up in the mornings before work to get some writing done.
- Being busy at work and, therefore, being too tired to stay up late writing when I get home from work.
- Having plans, like, every weekend in November.
But I'm trying my best. I may be way behind, but I think I know where I want to go with it, which does help in inspiring me to make more time for writing.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
overdue
So I didn't end up posting at all about NaNo here while I was actually doing it. Oops. Better late than never, I guess?
It was definitely a challenge this year. For the first time in some years, it took me the entire month to finish. There were a lot of days where the words did not want to come. I really thought there was a possibility I might not finish. And my laptop was having problems, which certainly did not help. Luckily it waited until after I was done before it completely died (really just a couple hours after I finished the novel).
But I ended up liking this year's novel much more than I liked the crap I wrote last year. And don't get me wrong - this year's was crap as well. But it was crap that is not really painful to reread. It was about vampires. It was completely stupid, but in an I-am-writing-just-the-sort-of-lame-thing-I-secretly-like-to-read-but-would-never-admit-to-writing way.
I shouldn't have been ML again though. It had its moments of fun, but I really just didn't have the time to do a good job at it, and I pretty much fell apart at the end. Not the best way to end my last year of ML-ing (definitely last, as I'm going to be living in Japan when it's time for NaNo again and am not sure I'll even have time/energy/motivation to participate at all, let alone be in charge of anything).
So, a belated hurray for my 7th straight win. I'm glad I made it and, even with all the problems I had this year, I am glad that I decided to participate again.
It was definitely a challenge this year. For the first time in some years, it took me the entire month to finish. There were a lot of days where the words did not want to come. I really thought there was a possibility I might not finish. And my laptop was having problems, which certainly did not help. Luckily it waited until after I was done before it completely died (really just a couple hours after I finished the novel).
But I ended up liking this year's novel much more than I liked the crap I wrote last year. And don't get me wrong - this year's was crap as well. But it was crap that is not really painful to reread. It was about vampires. It was completely stupid, but in an I-am-writing-just-the-sort-of-lame-thing-I-secretly-like-to-read-but-would-never-admit-to-writing way.
I shouldn't have been ML again though. It had its moments of fun, but I really just didn't have the time to do a good job at it, and I pretty much fell apart at the end. Not the best way to end my last year of ML-ing (definitely last, as I'm going to be living in Japan when it's time for NaNo again and am not sure I'll even have time/energy/motivation to participate at all, let alone be in charge of anything).
So, a belated hurray for my 7th straight win. I'm glad I made it and, even with all the problems I had this year, I am glad that I decided to participate again.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Complications!
Of course, now that I'm all super excited about NaNo this year, things are springing up to make things more difficult. My important getting-prepared-to-ML time has been interrupted with emergency wisdom teeth extraction and recovery. And I've just found out that the next few months are going to be super crazy as I'm going to be moving early next year. To another continent.
Still, I will do the best I can!
I really have no clue what I'm going to write though. But no worries! It'll all work out!
I hope.
Still, I will do the best I can!
I really have no clue what I'm going to write though. But no worries! It'll all work out!
I hope.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
NaNo Addiction
So despite going on all year about how I definitely was not going to ML again this year and how I quite possibly wasn't going to do NaNo at all, I'm totally doing both (at least as long as no one tried to usurp my ML-ing power before I had a chance to respond; I wasn't able to do so by the you-are-guaranteed-your-spot response date).
I hope this isn't a huge mistake. I'm totally feeling better about NaNo in general this year than I was last year though, so I hope it'll be all right.
Have a big job interview later this month which, if successful, will mean that I'll need to be preparing for a huge move and huge changes, which might make November a bit crazier than usual, but I'll worry about that if it actually happens.
Am thinking about having another go at the first thing I attempted last November. After three days of writing it I decided it was unbelievably terrible and started over with something else (which was really unbelievably terrible). But I just came across the small bit I wrote of it, and it was totally interesting! What was I thinking?! I don't quite remember where I was going with it, so it'll need some thought, but the characters are pretty fantabulous which is the most important thing for me when I'm writing. The plot can generally figure itself out.
So, yeah. Apparently even more addicted to NaNo than I suspected. I tried to give it up, really! But the excitement of it being less than two months away was just too much for me.
Super excited that it starts on a Saturday this year. Yay for a big weekend chunk of writing to start off the festivities!
I hope this isn't a huge mistake. I'm totally feeling better about NaNo in general this year than I was last year though, so I hope it'll be all right.
Have a big job interview later this month which, if successful, will mean that I'll need to be preparing for a huge move and huge changes, which might make November a bit crazier than usual, but I'll worry about that if it actually happens.
Am thinking about having another go at the first thing I attempted last November. After three days of writing it I decided it was unbelievably terrible and started over with something else (which was really unbelievably terrible). But I just came across the small bit I wrote of it, and it was totally interesting! What was I thinking?! I don't quite remember where I was going with it, so it'll need some thought, but the characters are pretty fantabulous which is the most important thing for me when I'm writing. The plot can generally figure itself out.
So, yeah. Apparently even more addicted to NaNo than I suspected. I tried to give it up, really! But the excitement of it being less than two months away was just too much for me.
Super excited that it starts on a Saturday this year. Yay for a big weekend chunk of writing to start off the festivities!
Friday, July 25, 2008
some months later
So I did finish. And finish early. Apparently I just didn't want to talk about it.
Probably because it was the worst thing I ever wrote. And I know that sometimes I say that (especially about NaNo), but when I go back a while later and reread it, things don't seem quite so bad. But not this time! I really never intended to look at the novel again, but a couple weeks ago I read the whole thing while I was battling insomnia. It managed to be even worse than I remembered.
I think that a lot of my problem was that the past couple years of ML-ing had been so fantastic, but last year ended up being really frustrating in that regard, and it was hard to get inspired to write a good novel while I was spending so much time worrying about running things and trying to get people to, you know, show up.
I don't know if I'm going to do NaNo this year. It might be time for a break. Or, if I do, it might be a good idea to step down from the ML-ing for now. It's been fun - even with the frustration last year, it was fun - but it's a lot of stress that maybe I just can't deal with right now.
I think I might try to do a bunch o' writing in September though. No word count goal, no real pressure, just making myself sit down and write as much as I can. And hopefully have it not be insanely sucky. Stay tuned.
Probably because it was the worst thing I ever wrote. And I know that sometimes I say that (especially about NaNo), but when I go back a while later and reread it, things don't seem quite so bad. But not this time! I really never intended to look at the novel again, but a couple weeks ago I read the whole thing while I was battling insomnia. It managed to be even worse than I remembered.
I think that a lot of my problem was that the past couple years of ML-ing had been so fantastic, but last year ended up being really frustrating in that regard, and it was hard to get inspired to write a good novel while I was spending so much time worrying about running things and trying to get people to, you know, show up.
I don't know if I'm going to do NaNo this year. It might be time for a break. Or, if I do, it might be a good idea to step down from the ML-ing for now. It's been fun - even with the frustration last year, it was fun - but it's a lot of stress that maybe I just can't deal with right now.
I think I might try to do a bunch o' writing in September though. No word count goal, no real pressure, just making myself sit down and write as much as I can. And hopefully have it not be insanely sucky. Stay tuned.
Friday, November 16, 2007
vive la misère!
Just a bit over 35k! This is my favorite number to reach (apart from the obvious 50k, of course). It feels so much better than 25k; in a truly glass-half-empty way, that milestone tends to make me think, "Ugh, I still have to write the same amount I just wrote? That's too much!" But just 10,000 more words, and it feels like an accomplishment. It feels really close to the end.
If I write 3,000 words a day from now on (which is approximately what I've been doing all week, although I did have one day with 4,000), I think I should finish on Tuesday which should be the earliest I've ever finished. Which would be awesomeness. I would not be adverse to finishing sooner, of course, but we'll just see what happens.
Last night at our meeting we were talking about how being depressed and miserable seems to make it easier to write, and I think that really says a lot about why my second week was so much more productive than my first. Week one was a pretty good week for the most part; week two was misery itself thanks to illness and a panic attack about life stuff and then an utterly crappy work week. Word count at the end of week one: about 8,500. Word count at the end of week two: about 32,000.
If I write 3,000 words a day from now on (which is approximately what I've been doing all week, although I did have one day with 4,000), I think I should finish on Tuesday which should be the earliest I've ever finished. Which would be awesomeness. I would not be adverse to finishing sooner, of course, but we'll just see what happens.
Last night at our meeting we were talking about how being depressed and miserable seems to make it easier to write, and I think that really says a lot about why my second week was so much more productive than my first. Week one was a pretty good week for the most part; week two was misery itself thanks to illness and a panic attack about life stuff and then an utterly crappy work week. Word count at the end of week one: about 8,500. Word count at the end of week two: about 32,000.
Monday, November 12, 2007
halfway there
Characters wangsting about their attraction to other characters makes for good word count.
Got to a little over 25k easy as anything. Writing gets worse and worse, my spirits get better and better.
Huzzah, terrible writing! Huzzah, word count!
Got to a little over 25k easy as anything. Writing gets worse and worse, my spirits get better and better.
Huzzah, terrible writing! Huzzah, word count!
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