I'm a winner!

Though I don't feel much like one.

So I did it. It is by no means a complete story - in fact, I'd be hard pressed to call it a story at all. There are characters, true, but that's about all it has going for it and that's not much. I hate absolutely everything about it and will never let anyone read it. I'm not even sure that I want to be able to read it ever again. In fact, I just might decide to delete the legible copy and keep only the scrambled one. Next year is going to be better!

But at least I did it. And I get to put in my new earring, which after all, was the whole point this year. :)

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ

It's there on the horizon

My plan for the weekend since I wasn't going to be driving to Indiana was to finish by tonight. I hadn't quite reached 30,000 on Tuesday when I decided this, but after spending Wednesday afternoon at the coffee shop writing I hit the 30,000 mark. So of course I thought to myself that writing 5000 words/day over the four day weekend wasn't an impossible goal.

But then I didn't write much of anything on Thursday; I didn't write anything at all on Friday and suddenly I was faced with writing 20,000 words in just two days. Still, that task didn't seem impossible either. I would just take it in stages: write 5,000 words, take a break, write another 5,000 words, take another break, etc. Except, of course, that that didn't happen quite the way it was supposed to. My muse seemed to hit me just an hour or so before I was going to leave to go to Jeff City and watch the Mizzou/Kansas football game at Jennifer's. So I stayed home and watched the game by myself.

I have now managed to write just over 11,000 words in two days. I didn't meet my 10,000 word goal yesterday and have been playing catch-up all day today. Of course I know that I don't have to finish by the end of today - I still have the rest of this week. But I want to wear my new earring dammit! It's been sitting on the floor in the Kay Jewelers bag since Ang and I came home with them two weeks ago. I haven't looked at it since then. Tina suggested that maybe I should take it out and look at it for inspiration. Yesterday I took it out of the Kay Jewelers bag and opened the box up. I touched it, admired it and watched how it sparkled in the light. And then I put it away again.

And so, despite the seemingly insurmountable task of writing another 9,000 words tonight I am going to press on. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel however fuzzy it may be and I am determined to reach it or fall asleep trying.

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ

Tennis elbow sucks!

Just thought I'd mention that. Because it really does. Marathon writing sessions are all well and good except that a few days after they end the gremlins take up residence in my elbow again and start stabbing me with hot pokers. Which is not as much fun as it might sound.

Anywho ... I took a few days off from writing and while my elbow doesn't feel much better, my focus is much improved. I sat down at lunch today and wrote 1000+ words in about 40 minutes, and some of that time was spent eating my lunch so it was actually less than 40 minutes. The words just seemed to flow and if I hadn't had to stop to go back to work I'd probably be done by now. Yeah, right.

Came home tonight and wrote another 1000+ words, although not in 40 minutes or less. (Strange how I seem to write so much faster and better when I'm not at home. Ok, so maybe not so strange.)

Ang and I already bought our congratulatory "You wrote 50,000 words in 30 days!" diamond solitaire earrings so I have to finish. Ang is practically done already (I hate her for that, btw) and here I am slacking at only ~27k. Bad me.

I'm sticking around Columbia for Thanksgiving this year due to a whole number of factors which I won't get into here. We get out of work early on Wednesday and I'm going to park myself at the coffee shop for the remainder of the afternoon and into the evening ... until I get hungry, that is. And there will be plenty more opportunity for me to write during the 4 day weekend. I'd like to be done by the end of the weekend. Think I can manage it? I'm at 27,551 so there's only 22,449 more words to go in 4 days. We'll see if my muse (and my elbow) cooperate.

For now though, I think I'll call it a night with what I have. I'm getting distracted very easily and I think it might be time for some more ibuprofin and ice.

Comments:
kira_may: yay! go jude!!!! you'll get there yet. *hands you ice cream with the ice and ibuprofin* need anything massaged?

ang: J. asked me the other day if it was really possible to turn off one's inner editor. Well, my grammar/spelling editor is ALWAYS on (I think I corrected someone's grammar in a dream the other night), but the 'this novel sucks' editor, the 'you're creating another giant plot chasm' editor, the 'your dialogue is trite and stupid' editor, the 'there's too much narration and not enough action' editor, and the 'no one cares about the inner thoughts of your characters' editor - yeah, I cancelled my subscriptions to those editors this month.

Good luck, Judeldoo! You and your tennis elbow can do this! :)

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ

Just over half-way!!

I went to It's A Grind right after work tonight because I knew it would be easier to write here than at home. I wanted to get to at least 25,000 today (which is actually tomorrow's word count goal) and I did it.

I still have no plot. I still don't really like my characters. But I've managed to write just over 25,000 words about them. I'm getting to the point where I need some good inspiration to strike because trying to pull another 25,000 words out about these characters with no storyline is going to be really difficult.

I've been good and have been wearing my elbow brace whether I'm writing or not, but my tennis elbow is acting up anyway. So since my elbow really hurts tonight I'm going to quit earlier than I'd planned and go home, take some ibuprofin and put some ice on it.

Comments
ang: Congrats on the 25k! :) It's good to be caught up. Keep it up!
You don't need a plot... just keep making your characters do stuff. When you get stuck, add a new character. I hear there are plenty o' good specimens at It's a Grind. Then you can pretend that they're all going to come together in the big grand finale scene.

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ

Weekend o' writing

Ang is down this weekend for our Second Annual Nano Writing Weekend. This year is much more successful for me than last year's was. I'm already ahead of the game word count-wise both compared to where I was last year and where I'm supposed to be for today so things are looking good.

This is our second day at the It's A Grind coffee shop, home of the world's best white chocolate peppermint mocha drink. It's really a good thing that not only are mochas expensive, but they are also SO not good for you, otherwise I'd probably be here every day drinking one.

Yesterday a guy came in to the coffee shop wearing a green shirt and one of those thin, white headbands on his head. I think those headbands look ridiculous on girls, but it looked absolutely ridiculous on him. Especially considering that he had short, curly hair which in no way, shape or form needed to be held back with a headband. I believe he's going to make an appearance in my novel because how can I not write about that? His name shall be Keaton Michael Namtab - a name I came up with courtesy of Jordan, Jay, Sarah and Jennifer. Thanks, guys!

I had a very productive day yesterday, but now of course I'm stuck. I think I'm going to read Chapters 1 and 2 of Chris's No Plot? No Problem! which I haven't picked up at all this year and see if I can't get more inspired. I probably need to switch characters and write from my male character's POV although I don't have a good grasp of his character as evident by the fact that I've changed his name three times now. Maybe the third time's the charm?

And I really must find a way to work English sheep into the novel somehow.

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ

WOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

I'm all caught up! And then some.

*breathes sigh of relief*

I feel so much better now. Of course, it's complete crap, what I've written, but I don't honestly care. I'm writing again and it feels GREAT!

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ

Reason #55 why I love Chris Baty

This is what he just posted in the "Breaking News" section of the website tonight:

"Okay, so I'm a little behind. But crossing into 5,000 words yesterday with a story I'm starting to like felt pretty dang good. I started over three times this year, which is a new record for me.

The story that I'm going with just started budding in my brain two days ago. And you know what helped me flesh it out? Borrowing a question from one of Tavia's Young Writers Program exercises. Namely: What do each of my characters want more than anything else in the world?

It's not something I've ever really thought about before. But I have six characters, and I sat them all down yesterday and asked them that question. They said...

Character One: "I'd like to finally have a best friend."
Character Two: "I'd like to open the nation's finest ferret-racing facility."
Character Three: "I want to raise enough money to get the heck out of America and go back to the South Pacific and marry my one true love, Mallo."
Character Four: "I'd like to find a place where I fit in, where my friends aren't all such jerks."
Character Five: "I want to fall in love. And move out of my parents house (again)."
Character Six: "I want to get revenge on somebody who has done something to me that Chris hasn't figured out yet."

Having each of my characters answer that question really helped me start thinking about possible ways that their lives could collide in plotastic ways. I'm hoping I can help Character Six a little bit tonight.

I hope your noveling is going well! A new WrimoRadio will be up in a few minutes, and a Pep Talk from Naomi Novik will be going out by email tomorrow night. It's a great one."

Originally posted in writing_is_fun on LJ