Wednesday, December 1, 2010

I Survived NaNo

Better yet, I finished NaNoWriMo, though it was a close thing.  Now I have a cute little badge for the blog.

I didn't manage to write every day, though that was my goal.  Came down with a bug early on that laid me out for three days.  Le sigh.  ;-)   I forgot to add words to the counter until the next day a few times.  But overall I'm pleased with my output. 

It needs editing of course, but first it needs finishing - I expect the first draft to clock in between 90,000 and 100,000.  I'll need to cut or condense the boring stuff that currently contains nuggets I want to mine for characterization.  I surprised myself with the information that popped out of my subconscious when my characters were chattering away.  And that's one point of first drafts.  The writer can't fix a story until it's on paper or in a file.

I'm a layered editor, so I know I'll need several passes to add description and internal characterization, to clarify emotions, and generally add the sparkle to the story.  All of that has to wait for the completed draft and the cooling-off period.  Getting to close to a work makes it impossible to edit.

For now, I'll breathe one sigh of contentment, and dig back into my novel.

On a different note, I'd like to remind you that today was Laura's post for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog: Social Media Confessions.  This is a topic I'll need to think about!

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finishing, Deb! I finished as well and have just a mere skeleton of a story. I guess I'll be fleshing it out after I take a little break. Good luck! :D

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  2. Hi Brenda! Congrats to you, too! I'd rather come in short - I hate deleting scenes. Have fun adding lovely new clothes to your novel!

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  3. That's great Deb! I don't know if I'll ever be able to do nano, I'm such a slow writer. Feeling a bit envious right now ;)

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  4. Hey Danielle! Create your own NaNo. Decide to write 50,000 words in two months, or in three. Just create a goal, say 500 words a day, and do your best to stick with it. As long as you don't quit, you've won!

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  5. Yay! Congrats on finishing NaNo. My NaNo ended as a NaNoReMo, but I did finish my last wip 3 days before NaNo started. lol. Next year, next year...

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  6. Congrats on finishing NaNo! *hugs* Especially since you were sick. First drafts are my favorite next to the finished final draft. I love my subconscious! Isn't it amazing what it comes up with?

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  7. Hi Lindsay! Hey, ReMos are just as important as WriMos. Congrats on finishing another WIP!

    Hi Danyelle! Thanks! Hurray for the power of the subconscious mind!

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  8. Woot woot! Go you! Congrats!

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  9. Huge congrats! Every word is a victory. :)


    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

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  10. Congratulations! How are the edits going?

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  11. Hi Theresa! Alas, I'm still working on the first draft. It's a fantasy, and I'm aiming at 100K words - I have a way to to yet.

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  12. Well done Deb! It's something I have wanted to do for years but it just looms like a giant mountain that I am too afraid to face. Very inspiring to see you do it -great work.

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  13. Thanks, Sophia. One nice thing about Nano -- it's a personal challenge, so it's worth a try.

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