NaNo is a pretty large monster of a word count to tackle. 50,o00 words in one month. I'm not even writing my actual book. I'm writing a book about my book. The back story and character sketches . . . if I get that far.
It helps me to break down those mongo-freaky numbers into smaller parts. Let's see . . .
There's 5 weeks in November. That = 10,000 words per week.
week 1 has 5 days = 2,000 words per day
Week 2-4 has 7 days =1428.57 words per day
Week 5 has 4 days = 2,500 words per day
OK. I think I can manage the daily word averages. All that will take is discipline to make useless time into writing time. (buh-bye facebook games)
This is what I need, though. I need to get back into a regular writing schedule. Dump my brain-numbing down time and make it productive again.
Let's see . . . what other numbers will this month of NaNo Wrimo hold?
at least . . . .
30+ cups of coffee
29 time of scolding myself for checking facebook
8 pens
7 pencils
26 sticky notes that I misplace
25 late nights
24 more times of scolding myself for checking facebook
3 scones
22 cups of tea
21 new songs on the i pod
10 crumpled pieces of loose leaf paper
50 times pushing my cat off my keyboard
and a partridge in a pear tree. . . . . (squawking at me for checking facebook)
But it's not really about the numbers . . . is it? It's about setting a goal and reaching it. It's about getting your backside nice and comfy in your seat of choice for the long-haul.
Even if you're not doing NaNo this month, what kind of goals do you have and how do you set yourself up to meet them?
I did NaNo WriMo (for those of you not familiar with the term NaNo WriMo stands for National Novel Writing month) about two years ago. It was fun, but the story ended up being a flop. That was a huge disappointment. I may try it again another year. For now, I'm just trying to figure out how to fit "writing" into my schedule. I miss it. It's my "ME" time. My "therapy" time. My FuN time. Plus, I HAVE to write. If I get out of story writing for too long it makes me feel all wOnKy.
So . . . instead of diving into writing a whole new novel this November, I decided to set a goal that was more doable for my current situation. I'm taking 2 hours 3 mornings a week where I wrap myself up in my cozy local coffee shop while the kids are at school in order to dedicate time to finish my current novel. Hopefully it will become a habit and I can keep it up beyond November.
I only have about 5 more chapters left in my current novel, but it feels like much more. Wish me luck in trying to tackle that goal and being able to stay true to my scheduled writing times. It has felt so good to get out and write (and drink coffee) again.
So, how about you? Are you doing NaNo or another variation of it? Or, has the craziness inspired you to set another type of goal?
In other Critter news, you HAVE to HAVE to HAVE to
read Angela's blog re: Critter's Halloween. He got to try on all kinds of costumes. It's Adora-sterical! (I just made that word up. I think I like it.)
That busy time is here again. It's making it harder to work on NaNo (and everything else), but I'm doing it. So far I've NaNo'd in the doctors office, in the waiting room at the girls dance class, in the car pool line while I'm waiting, at the coffee shop, library and late at night after the kids have gone to bed and I need tape to hold my burning, red eyes open. Why do I do it? Because next to the kids doing and saying cute things, it's the best part of my day. :0)
I only have a little over 10,000 words til I hit the 50,000 word count goal, but I want to do more than that, because when december gets here, I need to put the new idea's on the back burner so I can send out my current WIP out in early 2009.
On another note. Here's a shout out to my critique buddy and friend Ian Sands. His new book How to Milk a Dinosaur is now available on Amazon. What happens when a middle school boy meets with an accident in his eccentric uncles lab? Read this funny, light-hearted book and find out! Here's a link to the interactive book site.
Indiana Christy and the Plot of Doom: The Great Book Giveaway!
My plane nears the ominous land of NaNo WriMo. I know my task. To hunt, collect and conquer 50,000 words. Mix them together and soak the skeleton of Thestoryinmymind in the brew. It's that simple. It's that hard.
I turn to my mentor, Big Bertha Binkleschnitz (BB for short), and say, "This is a daunting task. Almost too much for one person. What if I lack the strenght to carry on?" I sigh.
"There are two things you can do." BB informs me. "First, each morning you must go to the cave of wonders. The cave know as Starbucks. There you will ask for my the Mixer of Potions: Barista. Barista will provide you with an invigorating drink. But use it well, my friend. It will cost you dearly."
I nod with a hint of relief and ask, "and what is the second thing?"
"Look into this glowing box." BB says as she leads me to peculiar contraption with a picture of an apple on the outside.
"ohhhhh! pretty!" I say
"On the other side of this box are the all-knowing, all powerful Givers of Inspiration. As a matter of fact, they are reading about your adventure on their side of the box right this very moment."
"No way!" I exclaim.
"Way," Big Bertha continues. "Type a plea into this box and ask the Givers of Inspiration to grant you power and encouragement. Perhaps, you may even want to offer a token of gratitude as well."
I nod my head in agreement and begin to type:
Dear All-knowing Givers of Inspiration who dwell on the other side of this glowing Box. Greetings.
I ask of you to grant me words of encouragement, advice, inspiration or whatever you deem necessary to impart strength for my journey.
I offer to you, in return, an offering of books. For every 5,500 words that I gather, I shall give away one of you a book of your choosing. Please indicate your book of choice in the comment section along with your gift of encouragement. You may enter comments as many times as you like. I don't care if you comment 100 times. I unashamedly admit that the more encouragement that I receive, the more pumped up I become. For every comment you leave, that gives you all the more chances to be drawn for the book offering of gratitude.
Here are your choices:
Airy Fairy Magic Mistakes by Margaret Ryan
Skinny Bones by Barbara Park
Great-Grandpa's in the Litter Box (The Zack Files) by Dan Greenburg
Moose Crossing by Stephanie Greene
The Secrets of Droon City in the Clouds by Tony Abbott
The Secrets of Droon Search for the Dragon Ship by Tony Abbot
Katie Kazoo Switcheroo A Whirlwind VAcation by Nancy Krulik
American Gril A Felicity Mystery Peril at Kings Creek by Elizabeth McDavid Jones
Holbrook: A Lizard's Tale by Bonny Becker
See you in 5,500 words. updates to come! You can also check my Nano word counter listed on the sidebar to the right.
. . . . and . . . keep your eyes open for a Bonus book giveaway and interview w/ author Kathleen Duey of Skin Hunger. I don't have a day planed yet. There's a good chance I'll be able to run it this month. Stay tuned . . . . . .
Now, go ahead and leave a comment and when I reach 5,500 words, I'll drawn a name!
Sincerely,
Indiana Christy
Custom Countdowns &
MySpace Layouts
It's just hours away until NaNo WriMo starts so I'm going to fit in one more idea generator. This works weather you have an outline or not. It can even work for any project, not just NaNo.
I must admit, those of you who don't have a plan make me nervous. Not becuase I don't think you are capable of it. I realize some people work better that way. It's just the VERY thought of looking at 50,000 words in 30 days w/o a plan makes me ~twitch~ and my eyeballs go all cattywhompus; one big, one small, mouth open and drooling. (note to self: look into therapy for control issues) See the guy in the countdown ticker above? That's what I look like.
The only way I can get my eyeballs back to normal is to blog about writing plans.
So, w/o further ado . . . . Here's one more way to create an idea roadmap for your manuscript (NaNo or NotMo):
1) Find a book that you love and that you have already read.
2) Skim through each chapter (or selected chapters) and note the general story components that occur in that chapter.
Example:
The Hunger GamesChapter 1*Introduce two characters that bring out two extreme sides of the protagonists personality (such as her mother brings out her tough, angry side, while her sister brings out her softer nurturing side)
* Show backstory that shows us the relationship w/ these characters and examples of the extreme dualilty of protagonists personality.
etc. etc.
or in chapter 13 of the Hunger Games there is an unexpected source of help for the protagonist. That made me think hmmmmmm. . . . "Is there a person in my story that can be an unexpected source of help in my story?"
I'm not sure yet, but as I'm writing, I'll keep that mysterious "unexpected source of help" in mind.
You never know what you may come up with. Your "favorite" book doesn't even have to be the same kind of book as the one that you are writing. I broke down The Hunger Games, which is sci-fi, but the book I"m working on is a current day slice of life type-of-story. I'm surprised at how much I was able to adapt to my outline despite the difference in genre's.
Good luck!
I'm going to go see if my eyeballs are straight now.
6 and 5/8th seconds. That's all I had before the booby traps set off. I picked up the skeleton from its freshly dug grave. Not just any skeleton. It was the Skeleton of Thestoryinmymind. Yes. Shocking. I know. (But I'm Indiana Christy. I can get anything. well . . .except for a big mac at Burger King.)
Crack.Rumble. The walls shook. Chunks of stone fell to the ground in plumes of dust.
I was out of time. I had to get out of there. Run! But I would NOT, COULD not leave without the skeleton.
Cradled like a wee babe in my arms, the bones of Thestoryinmymind clacked against each other as I bolted. I knew what was coming. The horror of all horrors. The wearwolves of Youkantdoothiz emerged, loathesome and angry from their stonewall tombs.
The most punishing odor filled the cave that put me in mind of egg salad. You know, like when you walk into the house and wonder "whoa! who isn't feeling good?" But it turns out that somebody just made a fresh batch of egg salad and even though it stinks you know it will taste really super good on fresh white bread, the kind of bread that is still soft and mushy and not stale in the least but the eggs still stink anyway. That kind of smell.
shoot. now I'm hungry.
anyway.
Inch by inch, stone by stone, the wearwolves shook themselves free. Thriller played in the background as they moonwalked through the dank hallows of the cave; howling, prancing, breakdancing.
"No! No!" I cried as the Michael Jackson Lyrics caused a pounding in my head like a jackhammer on an alabaster egg.
"Must. . . get . . . skeleton . . . out . . . . of . . . cave" The light in the distance, no doubt from the open air, afforded me the strength to press on.
Wow! those wearwolves can moonwalk fast!
I looked ahead, where the forest trees kissed the mouth of the cave and as I reached my leafy sanctuary, the light of day caused my enemies to stagger and howl in retreat.
Safe. Safe at last! Now, I can find out if the Legend of NaNo WriMo is true. Legend says that the skeleton of Thestoryinmymind will come to life . . . if. . . If only I complete my task.
I have escaped the wearwolves of Youkantdoothiz. I am prepared. I have tools on hand. My plane is waiting. I shall now be on my way. . . on my adventure to the land of NaNo WriMo. . . . I will arrive on Saturday.
To Be continued . . . .
I want to give a shout out to my critique buddy, Janelle. She is doing a series of planning for NaNo tips on her blog at http://Writermorphosis.blogspot.com
Janelle has done NaNo several times and she was also a Cybils judge last year for the fantasy/sci-fi category.
Click here to go directly to Janelle's blog.
Have you been doing PlaNo WriMo for NaNo WriMo? or are you more of a No Plan-i-mo for NaNo WirMo? OR if you don't do NaNo, how do you prepare for writing a new work in general.
The bigger the goal, the tiner the steps. That gets me started.
I like dicing the 50K into tiny chunks too! My writing pal and I were going to meet at the library starting today (why not?) but my oldest came down with a cold and fever. Argh! Good luck with your writing goal!
Good luck to you, Christy! I'm doing Nano for the first time, but changing it to fit my needs. :) I'm finishing a book that's about 1/4 done, so my goal is under 50K but still lofty!
Christy,
I've never done Nano, officially, but last January a friend and I made the same goal for ourselves. I didn't make it through the entire month, but even what I did do was huge in terms of daily word counts. And it had me thinking in numbers all month. I remember emailing my friend a list much like the one you posted. When you break life down into numbers it really is amazing how much can be done in a day.
I'm not doing NaNo this month because I'm deep into revisions. But my goal for the month is to actively revise every single day.
I think you're being very smart planning everything before you start your goal! Including the scones. Yum!
I'm working on a faux nano at the moment, trying to finish a novel draft in October and November. Wishing I had done a bit more prep (like telling people I would be slower answering emails!).
Mirka, ohhhh, I like that! :0)
Nandini, that's great that you have a NaNo buddy to meet with. So sorry your oldest came down with something. Here's hoping it's short lived and it doesn't get passed around!
Good Luck Kelly! I'll be cheering you on!
Hi Inluvwithwords! (not sure of your real name yet) Thanks for stopping by. Good luck with your revisions!
Anne, Good luck with your faux NaNo! :0) Thanks for stopping by.
I'm rooting for yo Christy!
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
I tried it one year but Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping and life somehow got in my way. I'm going to be popping by to cheer you on to the finish line. I'm sure you'll do better than I did :)
Thanks Angela and Kim! :0)
I hope you not only make it but also enjoy it! It sounds like a great way to spend more scheduled time with your characters.
My goal? To finish revisions on the last third of my current WIP.
Numbers intimidate me, but I do like the 22 cups of tea and the 21 new songs. My goals are usually focused on time with fingers on keyboard.
Good luck meeting your goals!
Thanks Angeala! Good luck with your WIP.
Thanks Cynthia! :0)
Wow, that's a lot of words in a day. I guess that's why I've never committed to NaNo. 1k is about my limit. Good luck, and most of all have fun with it!
Thanks MG!!! :0)