This story is becoming a triathlon training, with me doing all sorts of different genres and ways to writ them. Police(chases and investigation, though brief), Fantasy, Sci-Fi, adventure... etc.
I just got in another 400 words or so before turning the light out to go to bed. But now I think I don't want to get into that particular chapter that way. So in the Land of NaNoWriMo, do I just leave those words and start the ones I really want after them, no deleting? (If that's the case, I'll change the font to redline to remind me they're in doubt/under review.)
I'm taking a mixed approach to situations like this. Generally I will: If a scene is structurally going in the wrong direction, rewind or start again from a blank slate and make sure things are going on track. If a scene isn't very good but structurally accomplishes what needs to be accomplished, it's fine. Leave it and rewrite in the revisions. In general, keeping moving. If you can't do a scene right at the moment, leave a comment for yourself and start on the next scene. So in short, move as quickly as possible in the right direction. Though it's really up to you. Everyone has their own style. The point of NaNo is to A) write stuff, B) produce a novel, C) write stuff, D) write stuff. So what's most important is that you gets words on paper so that you can get more practice.
I figure NaNo is mostly about writing words to hit the target, even if those words don't make it into the final book. If I decide I'm going to have to delete a chapter or a large part of a chapter, I move it to the 'OBSOLETE' section at the end of the document, and keep writing. If I'm just going to revise what I've already written, I revise that and don't keep any old bits. So far I'm 25,000 words in and haven't had to do that with any of the words in this novel, but I might have had a thousand or two words in there in some of the past attempts.
I feel you, though I am starting to think it's less about word count and more about writing a story. the 50k feels like a self goal, since it's up to you keep track, write and there is no difference between getting 50k or not. In my story, I am about 15k, and I am already in the third act (as it were) which means the next one is the final one... so I am aiming for 25k , that's a respectable novella size. and really with a strange book like mine, 25k seems about the right size for it. . Speaking of my book, it's starting to feel like a video game in book form, considering the odd sequence of events and things that wouldn't work in a normal story setting. . Of course, a lot of it is also explained by the plot of the book itself. at times, the Characters even reference they are in a book (or story)
In the NaNo spirit of Don't Edit This Draft, I've rendered the aborted chapter beginning in strikeover text but kept it in for the sake of the word count. I had a good day yesterday (Tuesday) and extruded over 4,000 words. I could have had just as good a day today, but I stayed up way too late last night reading a Quora thread that I can't justify as research. Managed only 2,345 words, for a total of 17,656. I'm finding I definitely feel more creative when I've had enough sleep. Funny how that works . . .
NaNo's not happening this year. I'm still at 622 words, and that makes me sad. I'd done a plan, changed my approach, the works. This was going to be the year it finally happened.
Finished Chapter 5 and I'm making good progress. I'm really enjoying writing this. So much world building and so many characters! Unfortunately I missed a day again so I'm about 900 words behind where I need to be. I'll have to make it up tomorrow or something. Sitting at 24,100 words right now.
I am starting to realize my book is in what could be considered the 3rd of 4 acts, sitting at about 17.5k so, I am going to aim for 25k, that's a respectable novella. And with the type/nature of my story that maybe good enough. Unless I can think of more to add without it being considered padding (aside from the one scene that is blatant padding, since it points itself out as padding. ) . But this story alone has already been a crazy, fun ride for me. Enjoyed writing freed of any and all rules, including my own. . No, world (My world) to hold me back, Histories to restrict me. Lore to follow.. It's kind of liberating. What makes it fun is how the personality of my MC changes to match the "scene they are in", of course there is a reason for this is revealed near the end with hints slapping you in the face through out. in fact... I think a character pretty much states it...
Came out of Thursday with 19,565 total words. I was hoping to break 20,000, but spent a lot of time doing research--- on cuckoo clocks. Something like this: I knew there was going to be a cuckoo clock involved, so why didn't I research it in September or October? Because that's how I write. I don't know exactly what I need about a topic until I need it. And when I research too far ahead of time, I forget what I learned or I can't find the link. I would like to "win" this NaNo thing, in terms of hitting the 50,000. But it may not be possible. I don't write well at night after my evening job slinging paint cans. Tomorrow with the work I have to do I may not get any writing in at all. Still, I am writing. The story is progressing. I'm working on the big explosive scene where my protags fight and might even break up, and if I could remember all the words I had in my head before I went to my job at the DIY store, I'd write them down now. But I can't, so I think I'll just go to bed.
Because somehow, I just never found the time or energy to sit down and write. We're more than halfway through the month and I haven't even reached the total you need on the first day.
You could still easily hit the 25K mark by the end of NaNo if you continue with the normal 1,650 words a night minimum. As per my writing habits, I personally type at 85 words per minute on average, yet despite that, I move slower on narrative works and usually type about 1,000 words in 45 minutes. So I only need an hour a day. Now it's going to be different for everyone, as everyone has different writing habits, but finding the time for 30 minutes here and 30 minutes there is relatively simple. Don't put in that extra episode of whatever you're binge watching and write instead for that episode length. Read one chapter of that book you're enjoying tonight instead of two. When five o'clock rolls around, I pour myself one tall glass of wine, sit down, and write for one hour or until the glass is empty. Sometimes I'll exceed that hour. It's not always about finding time. Sometimes you need to sacrifice some time. NaNoWriMo is really all about establishing good writing habits and getting to the groove of writing in normal, wieldy increments.
My current word count = 22,223 I’ve been hanging out around 3,000 - 5,000 behind the goal for a while, though I think I’m still in the gane. 8,000 words spread across three days will get me back on track. I know what’s going to happen for those 8,000 words. I just need to write them. On the bright side, everything is going well so far. I like the story. I feel like I can take this story as planned to 100,000+. That itself makes me wonder whether it will end up too long, but I have some excitement in the middle that could make a good splitting point if needed. 22,000 words, and I’m still in the boonies, haha. But I have laid the groundwork for character motivations and am leading in to the alien invasion pretty well. My protagonist is doing well, development-wise. I have two characters that need some attention though. I’ll probably split my chapter two into two chapters, focusing on two different characters respectively.
My best and only advice; screw the darn word count. The only reason it's 50K is because that's a high enough daily target to reach to keep people writing without having time to edit, plot etc. At the end of the day it doesn't matter one bit. NaNo is about writing because we like writing, love telling stories and think it's something worth while doing. Take advantage of this year's NaNo while there's still time, find a chat room with lots of sprints or find a crawl that's fun and motivating. Whatever it takes, just start writing. That's what NaNo is supposed to be about, not hitting 50K (in my opinion). I'm in a very different situation because I've already passed 50K but in a way its similar. I still have a story to tell so I'm still writing. 50K is useless unless I'm able to finish a first draft and I'm still not halfway there. So I have to come up with ways of motivating myself to keep going because it's very easy to think I've already 'won' and that I can now play videogames or watch movies instead. So right now I'm taking advantage of the great NaNo community with lots of words sprints, I make up my own goals and challenges and I'm even doing a Harry Potter themed crawl (and I don't know much about Harry Potter). I hope you keep going and if nothing else you can always use this year's NaNo as a learning experience that will help you figure out how to prepare better for the next one, what kind of word challenges you like, find some friends in the community etc. Anyway, don't think it's 'failed' just because you don't reach 50K. See if you can use NaNo for something positive
I think for me the best thing about the experience will be getting into the habit of writing something every day, whether it's the suggested 1,667 words or not. There's no way my novel will be completed in 50,000 words, but if I use NaNo to build momentum, I might have a completed first draft by the end of December, first week in January. And considering I've been faffing around with this idea since 2016 or so, finally pushing it out will be a very big deal. I guess for you, a lot depends on how much the novel idea you have wants to get out. If it does want out, even fifteen minutes of writing a day will mount up in time. Go get 'em!
Decided I didn't want to let a day go without writing anything on my novel at all, so I produced a token amount so I could break the 20,000 word barrier (20,016 total for Friday). The scene isn't going the way I envisioned; it's gone flabby on me and will need to be rewritten. But, I Wrote. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I have to-have to write around 1,900 words tomorrow, but that's for a sermon I'll be preaching for a pulpit supply gig on Sunday, and I can do that in a hour and a half if I focus. Something for Thanksgiving. If I can work on Strong as Death after that, that will be gravy.
Got a question for you all, then maybe I'll go to sleep at a decent hour. (Maybe.) On the NaNoWriMo site, up to a couple-three days ago, on the left side of the page that has the graph of how well your output matches up with daily par, you could find a column of useful statistics. Things like the number of words you'd added that day, your average daily rate, how many words you needed to write daily to hit 50,000 by midnight on the 30th, and what day you'd finish the 50,000 if you kept up your current pace. But I can't find it anymore. I thought maybe it was My Dashboard, but the lefthand column there is all fundraising and ads. Anybody know what page those stats are on? Or are they not running that feature anymore?
I'm at 25,838 words as of last night. Used a word sprint to get me started (nothing "official" - just set my alarm clock for time +30mins and wrote). Got 600 words that way, but spurred me on to write further, and finished the day with 1,893. Going to try to do the same again today. Top right hand corner | My NaNoWriMo | My Novels Brings up your novel page, and right at the bottom, is the Stats link. Not sure if there's a quicker way.
Since I'm struggling for motivation after hitting 50K, I'm making myself challenges that will (hopefully) keep me writing until I'm done with the first draft. One I think I've already mentioned is the 45 minute challenge where I try to hit 2,000 words in 45 minutes, which I haven't completed yet but all my failed attempts have resulted in quite a lot of words. Tonight I came up with a new one which is more of a word marathon than a sprint. It's based on a new live album just released by a metal band called Amon Amarth and I cleverly named it 'The Amon Amarathon Challenge' The album is 2 hours 36 minutes long in which I'm trying to write 6,000 words. The album is a double cd so I'm allowed a short break in-between cd's. No idea if 6,000 is too little or too much yet but will update you once I've completed it (if anyone's interested). Anything to stay motivated right?!
27,517 words. (That's my total word count - not today's) Mentally drained. On the plus side, I've stopped at such a point in my writing that I know where I'll be starting off when I pick up my pen again. Normally, I write myself into a block and struggle for days to come up with the next scene/chapter, so it makes a nice change.
Yeah, I'm gett'n pretty drained as well.. thankfully like you, i'll know where to pick up. . i'm currently at 18k, but i'm not aiming for 50k anymore, my story is going pretty well, close to the end, and I feel any forced writing will just be padding.
So, the first Amon Amarathon done (I wrote the previous post during the short break in-between cds) and it turns out, at least this time, that 6,000 words was too few. Writing for that long really got me into a zone - and the music helped as well - and during Part 1 I wrote 3,379 words. In Part 2 I wrote 3,592 for a grand total of 7,331. That's about 47 words per minute. So, the next time I do it I should probably just try to beat that I think. Now I'm thinking I need to make a longer marathon challenge...
