NaNoWriMo 2013: Day 30

I feel so sad right now. IT’S OVER. The fun and insanity of November is over. 😦

So, yes, again, I didn’t write yesterday. But I’m happy to report that I didn’t waste my whole day looking at cute kitty pictures on the internet. The weather was really nice, and I spent a long time editing Secrets outside. However, I can’t count what I did towards my editing goal for the month, since I was going back over the same scenes I’ve already gone over. (I’m preparing to print stuff out for Mom to read, so I’m becoming obsessed with getting everything just right.)

As for today, I spent just as much time editing, which has really made me happy. I’m so excited with these chapters, and I can’t wait to show them to people. In fact, I was so focused on editing that I almost forgot about my NaNo novel before I realized IT WAS THE LAST DAY OF NOVEMBER AND OH MY GOODNESS I DIDN’T FINISH MY NANO NOVEL HELP ME I’M GOING TO DIE.

To add to my growing panic, I HAD NO INTERWEBZ. Which I guess was a good thing, but it meant that I had no word wars. Thankfully, I have found that timing myself is just as motivating and competitive as doing the same thing but with other people.

9:39 PM-11:10 PM: My 10 minute wars against myself were a bit goofy, because I found that, without the internet, five minute breaks felt like an eternity. I mean, what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t compulsively update my word count, I couldn’t distract myself on the forums, and I couldn’t look at cute kitty pictures. I was stuck with my novel.

So, I basically did six 10 minute word wars with myself, with anywhere from 45 second to 3 minute breaks. On the last war, I went over 10 minutes, so I just counted it as a 13 minute session.

There wasn’t as much nonsense and talking amongst my characters as I thought there would be. There was a really happy/sad moment, then some more happy/sad moments that weren’t as happy/sad as the first moment, and then finally a really sad moment. But the really sad moment had a tiny little happy twist at the end, so I was happy.

I was sad, though, when I realized that the novel, the journey, and NaNo were all over. Well, NaNo is still going on in other parts of the world, but it’s just about over where I live.

Good luck to those still writing, and congrats to those who have written during NaNoWriMo, no matter how many words you’ve written!

Words written today: 3,456

Total words written: 71,950

Scenes edited today: 0

Total scenes edited: 15

NaNoWriMo 2013: Day 28

Okay, the book won. No writing got done yesterday. *head desk*

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope everyone had a fun time with family and friends and stuffed themselves with great food. I know I did.

10:25 PM-11:20 PM: Wow, I didn’t even write for an hour today, nor did I break 2k. But you know something? I’ve come to terms with the fact that my story won’t reach 75k. And that’s perfectly okay. 🙂

You see, my story is about to end. There is one last major problem in store for my characters, but I could basically finish the thing right now, if I really wanted to.

I really don’t want to.

Last year, I finished my novel on November 28. While I am obsessed with beating records (or at least trying to maintain myself somewhere near them), I don’t want to finish my novel today.

My reason? Last year, it was absolutely glorious to have a manuscript at 75k, finished, on Day 28. Except that, when Day 29 came, I felt really stupid. NaNo wasn’t over, people were still writing their novels and having fun, some people were racing to get to the finish line in time, and here I was, twiddling my thumbs with nothing to write. I go through serious NaNo withdrawal, and last year was made worse by the fact that I finished two days early.

Maybe it’s silly for me to think this, but I want to be able to experience NaNo all the way up to the last minute. I want to procrastinate, then hate myself later and pound out the last scene of my novel at record speed. I want a little more risk, I want to be watching the clock realizing I may not make it, I want there to be just as much suspense in getting the novel finished as there is in my story…

Heh, I’m beginning to think I like torturing myself. But this is what happens when you attempt something called National Novel Writing Month, aka, National Going Insane Month.

Before I end my post, I want to share a line from my story. It’s definitely not the best thing I’ve ever written, but it made me laugh after I typed it, especially because it had to do with Magni:

Magni’s voice stumbled over his tongue as he tried forcing words out through a dumb smile.

Hopefully, he’ll have more to say tomorrow (so that I can stretch the story to last tomorrow and the 30th ;)).

Words written today: 1,868

Total words written: 68.494

Scenes edited today: 0

Total scenes edited: 15

NaNoWriMo 2013: Day 26

If today had been any other day of the month, I would have probably stayed up reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest until I finished it. I normally am not a fan of adult novels (mostly because they aren’t as engaging as YA), especially when they’re so graphic, but Larsson’s books are the exception. 🙂

10:00 PM-11:25 PM: I told myself that I’d start writing at 9:30, but, well, that’s when the book just got a bit more interesting. So interesting that I had to finish reading the long chapter. And start the next one.

But I managed to put the book down and focus on my own tonight. 🙂 I almost wrote 3k today, but I wanted to end my story on a good note so that I’d want to work on it more tomorrow. That way, I won’t be tempted by the Hornet’s Nest (that is, if I don’t finish reading the book before my usual writing time).

So, the story did get interesting. (Mine, I mean. :P) Bad guy got away, MMC almost died, and now my main character is on the warpath. She is really, really angry. Using her own words here would not be appropriate. (I’m often amazed at my character’s cursing abilities, because I don’t swear, and it’s weird typing those words onto the page and hearing her say them in my head. 0.0)

Oh, and she managed to track the bad guy down again, so now the *final* battle is happening. I stopped at the point right where she got thrown off a balcony.

Yeah, she’s losing at the moment.

I do realize that my story will probably wind up shorter than 75k. That bothers me a little, because I have mentally been preparing for 75k this entire month, and stopping short of that feels like I failed to beat last year’s word count of 75,780.

Why do I have to be so obsessed with beating records? WHY?

Reminder to self: The real goal was to finish the novel. 75k was just putting a number on it, something I could aim for.

But you know what? The ending, where all my characters reunite and laugh and have fun, is going to produce a lot of words. I have this note I made a year ago about a funny conversation that popped into my head (about two sentences worth), and since it involves Magni, I just *know* I’m going to have a hard time shutting him up.

But this time, I don’t think I’ll try. 😉

Words written today: 2,956

Total words written: 66,626 (Hey, that’s pretty cool, because today is the 26th, so it all matches! 😀 What can I say, I’m OCD.)

Scenes edited today: 0

Total scenes edited: 15

NaNoWriMo 2013: Day 25

I think today was the hardest day of writing for me so far this November. I’ve hit a rough spot in the plot, because I feel like the ending is coming too soon, and I’m floundering. (Though Christopher Tallant left a comment on my previous post, giving me an idea to help with this. 🙂 I wish I had read it before I started today’s writing session!)

10:25 PM-11:50 PM: So, like I said, I struggled. Not once in the six 10 minute wars I participated in did I reach the 500 mark. In fact, in one war, I dipped below 400, which hasn’t happened in a long time. (Okay, I had to check that…last time I dipped before 400 was on the 14th, so it wasn’t that long ago. Feels like it, though.)

But as I struggled to write, I noticed something: I was the only person doing the wars (except for one person, who got to 50k during one of the wars) with more than 50k. While I was struggling with my story, these writers were struggling with their word counts (and possibly their stories too). Why should I complain to myself?

I then turned to Twitter, and saw much of the same thing. Some writers had already made 50k, or were close to making it, while others were behind, desperately trying to catch up. Instead of complaining about the progress of my story, shouldn’t I be more thankful? More positive?

So I did something that I normally don’t do: I tried to send some encouragement to people via Twitter. Now, the reason I don’t normally do that is because 1) I’m a really, really shy person, 2) I’m not very good at encouraging people, and 3) I’ve only thought about myself and my story this November, occasionally posting on other blogs when I found the time (basically, I’ve been selfish).

But, despite going out of my comfort zone, it felt really good cheering people on. 🙂 In fact, for the remainder of November, that’s what I’m going to do: between word wars, I’m going to hang out in #NaNoWriMo on Twitter and cheer writers onward. Feel free to join me!

For the few readers who read my blog, if you’re doing NaNoWriMo like me and have not yet made 50k, don’t stop writing now! You can still make it, so long as you keep writing!

Words written today: 2,650

Total words written: 63,670

Scenes edited today: 0

Total scenes edited: 15

P.S. I suppose I should have added something about my story, like what’s going on at the moment to my characters, but it’s such a chaotic mess that it’s not worth mentioning. Maybe tomorrow, if things improve/get more exciting.

P.P.S. I forgot to mention that I validated my novel, and I’m now an official winner! Badges will at some point be added to my blog. 🙂

NaNoWriMo 2013: Day 24

I am really, really sad that this is the last week of November. I’m not ready for this event to be over, nor am I ready for the upcoming holidays. Why does time have to go by so fast when you’re having a good time?

9:55 PM-11:20 PM: I almost skipped writing tonight, feeling tired after the busy day I had. But when I realized that there were only six more days left in November, I had to write. I can’t afford to miss anymore November writing days! I know I would regret it later.

So, six 10 minute word wars brought me to over 3k. Not bad for a day’s writing session! In the first three wars, I got over 500 words (in one, I got 562 words, so close to my record!), but in the last three, I couldn’t make it that high again. You want to know why? It’s because I’m really bad at writing fight scenes. I tend to not add enough detail, which confuses me later on, so I tried as hard as I could to add lots of detail.

Detail does not come naturally to me. It’s slow to write and slows things down. Dialogue, on the other hand, is much easier to write, especially with characters that don’t shut up (you can then guess what those first three more productive wars consisted of ;)).

Anyway, so the story is getting really confusing. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, I’m rambling and stumbling around more than I’d like to, and I have a bad feeling that the novel won’t get anywhere near 75k. Which I guess isn’t a bad thing, since I tend to add words during revisions, but I feel like something is off. The final battle is beginning to happen already, which is way too soon. Yet rambling and blindly making my way to the climax for the sake of adding words doesn’t sound like a very good idea, either.

Characters, if you are reading this, please do something interesting. Something that will delay the climax for a little while longer. We need to build more suspense, more conflict before we launch ourselves into the final battle. Or else I may have no other choice but to kill you for the sake of keeping me interested.

Words written today: 3,030

Total words written: 61,020

Scenes edited today: 0

Total scenes edited: 15