NaNoWriMo

[GypsyV]

I am at a point where I don't know what I want to do next. *sighs*

[changed]

I have a baby for the weekend.
And every time I start to get in the flow.. He starts crying.

[.Arrow.]

@musicgurl333~ That's awesome to hear, and a great way to look at! ^-^

@GypsyV~ You could try having your MC change rooms. Someone suggested that, and I think it was in one of the NaNo emails, but I couldn't quite remember. Simple things like that can help get things moving again, though. Hopefully you can get back moving again ^-^

@changed~ Oh geez, that's too bad :(

[aberrant.]

I really want to try this, but I have such a hard time committing and finishing one plot thing. Ugh, I have so many ideas for plots that I really want to dooooo >.<

[musicgurl333]

I really want to try this, but I have such a hard time committing and finishing one plot thing. Ugh, I have so many ideas for plots that I really want to dooooo >.<

That's what NaNoWriMo is so great for! It forces you to pick a plot and stick with it. If you start writing one story and want to take a break and work on another one for a bit, I think that would be fine. Although it might slow down your word count. You should definitely give it a try, though. After all, if you never write your story all of those great ideas will never be more than that...ideas.

[aberrant.]

I really want to try this, but I have such a hard time committing and finishing one plot thing. Ugh, I have so many ideas for plots that I really want to dooooo >.<

That's what NaNoWriMo is so great for! It forces you to pick a plot and stick with it. If you start writing one story and want to take a break and work on another one for a bit, I think that would be fine. :) Although it might slow down your word count. You should definitely give it a try, though. After all, if you never write your story all of those great ideas will never be more than that...ideas.

Well, I mean, I'll start a story and go for a page or two then I drop it for, like, ever and I never finish it.

[musicgurl333]

Well, I mean, I'll start a story and go for a page or two then I drop it for, like, ever and I never finish it.

Ah...I can relate. Well maybe NaNoWriMo could be the push you need! I suggest signing up on the site so you can chat with people there, read pep talks from published authors, participate in word sprints, and just generally get motivated and inspired. Even if you still don't manage to finish a story, maybe you'll get farther than you would have otherwise!

[.Arrow.]

I really want to try this, but I have such a hard time committing and finishing one plot thing. Ugh, I have so many ideas for plots that I really want to dooooo >.<

That's what NaNoWriMo is so great for! It forces you to pick a plot and stick with it. If you start writing one story and want to take a break and work on another one for a bit, I think that would be fine. :) Although it might slow down your word count. You should definitely give it a try, though. After all, if you never write your story all of those great ideas will never be more than that...ideas.

Well, I mean, I'll start a story and go for a page or two then I drop it for, like, ever and I never finish it.

I can completely relate. The number of stories I've started and that are now collecting dust in my files is saddening. The story I'm working on for NaNo is a complete rewrite of one I started a few years ago, and I'm already much farther into it than I ever got before and I actually have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with it.

I completely agree with musicgurl333, NaNo really could help you with that! And if you don't try it you'll never know how it could have gone.

Also, you might find it useful, regardless of whether you do NaNo or not, to do a lot of plotting before you start writing. Prior to this, I only ever did very basic plot stuff, but I actually spent around five days plotting for the story I'm currently working on (and I have a lot more plotting left to do for the latter part of my story, to be honest). If I hadn't I would probably have gotten stuck and stopped the way I normally have in the past.

The Snowflake method could be worth checking out if you are interested in plotting. It's fairly simple, but it actually does work and you can adjust it to suit your own preferences.

Best of luck with whatever you decide, though ^-^

[aberrant.]

I can completely relate. The number of stories I've started and that are now collecting dust in my files is saddening. The story I'm working on for NaNo is a complete rewrite of one I started a few years ago, and I'm already much farther into it than I ever got before and I actually have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with it.

I completely agree with musicgurl333, NaNo really could help you with that! And if you don't try it you'll never know how it could have gone.

Also, you might find it useful, regardless of whether you do NaNo or not, to do a lot of plotting before you start writing. Prior to this, I only ever did very basic plot stuff, but I actually spent around five days plotting for the story I'm currently working on (and I have a lot more plotting left to do for the latter part of my story, to be honest). If I hadn't I would probably have gotten stuck and stopped the way I normally have in the past.

The Snowflake method could be worth checking out if you are interested in plotting. It's fairly simple, but it actually does work and you can adjust it to suit your own preferences.

Best of luck with whatever you decide, though ^-^

Well, I'm fairly good with plotting as is considering I often think about my stories while in school (bad habit, but whatever). And I can typically plan them down to a basic plot line, but the hard part for me is just getting through those few 'boring' parts. And, yeah, I know to skip them, but then I just lose my muse.

[Lady Aime]

I can completely relate. The number of stories I've started and that are now collecting dust in my files is saddening. The story I'm working on for NaNo is a complete rewrite of one I started a few years ago, and I'm already much farther into it than I ever got before and I actually have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with it.

I completely agree with musicgurl333, NaNo really could help you with that! And if you don't try it you'll never know how it could have gone.

Also, you might find it useful, regardless of whether you do NaNo or not, to do a lot of plotting before you start writing. Prior to this, I only ever did very basic plot stuff, but I actually spent around five days plotting for the story I'm currently working on (and I have a lot more plotting left to do for the latter part of my story, to be honest). If I hadn't I would probably have gotten stuck and stopped the way I normally have in the past.

The Snowflake method could be worth checking out if you are interested in plotting. It's fairly simple, but it actually does work and you can adjust it to suit your own preferences.

Best of luck with whatever you decide, though ^-^

Well, I'm fairly good with plotting as is considering I often think about my stories while in school (bad habit, but whatever). And I can typically plan them down to a basic plot line, but the hard part for me is just getting through those few 'boring' parts. And, yeah, I know to skip them, but then I just lose my muse.

I understand you perfectly well. I actually just slogged through a part that was dragging on a lot. It set me back a day and a half, but suddenly I broke out of it.
I was explaining to my Girlfriend (who encouraged me to do the story I am this year) that It's a "Writer's Mud" You're not blocked, you see things, and see up ahead, but you're sunk knee deep in some place that just does not want to move. You climb out of it. To her, who does not like writing much, this actually made sense.

In regard to half done Novels/Stories/What have yous: There is this recent peptalk by Patric Rothfuss if you have not seen it.
Hello there everybody,

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I should write here. Though I’ve known about NaNoWriMo for ages, I’ve only done it once before.

But this is supposed to be a pep talk, so I get the impression that I’m supposed to cheer you on. Inspire you. Encourage you keep NaNoWriMo-ing for all you’re worth.

So. You’re awesome. You know that, right? We’re all writers here. We’re awesome by definition.

Consider yourself cheered.

Now, I’m going to encourage you to break the rules.

I’m not talking about the little rules—grammar stuff like avoiding sentence fragments and ending sentences with prepositions. (Though I encourage breaking those rules, too.)

I’m not even talking about the bigger rules that pretty much everyone agrees on, like Write What You Know, Avoid Adverbs, and Don’t Use The Passive Voice. (Though I can take or leave those rules, as well.)

No. I’m going to encourage you to break the rules of NaNoWriMo itself.

I know what you’re supposed to do here. You’re supposed to start from scratch. Start a new novel and blaze a trail, always moving forward. And most importantly, never ever go back and revise.

And these aren’t bad rules. They encourage you to learn the one true rule of writing. The rule which is absolutely inviolate and true:

1. Yay, Verily. You Must Sit Down and Write.

1a. Thou shalt not go see a movie instead. Or watch reality TV. Thou shalt write. No. Stop. You don’t need to clean out the fridge right now. Neither dost thou need to sort the recycling. I’m not even kidding. Go and write.

1b. Thou shalt not just think about writing. Seriously. That is not writing. The worst unpublished novel of all-time is better than the brilliant idea you have in your head. Why? Because the worst novel ever is written down. That means it’s a book, while your idea is just an idle fancy. My dog used to dream about chasing rabbits; she didn’t write a novel about chasing rabbits. There is a difference.

1c. Thou shalt not read, either. I know it’s book-related, but it’s not actually writing. Yes, even if it’s a book about how to write. Yes, even if you’re doing research. You can research later. Sit. Down. Write.

NaNoWriMo’s rules are useful because they force you to attend to that one singular Platonic Truth, as outlined above.

That said, I’m going to encourage you to break those rules.

NaNoWriMo is great at teaching you to blaze a trail, but you can have too much of a good thing. I’ve known people who start from scratch every year because that’s part of the rules, and they’ve ended up with a string of half-finished, 50,000-word novels.

So I say unto you: You don’t have to start entirely from scratch. (But you can’t count previously written words in your word count. Obviously.)

NaNoWriMo says you shouldn’t go back and revise. But honestly, writing is all about revision. So if you realize you need to change something three chapters back, go and do it. Sure it means you aren’t constantly churning out words, but it makes your story better. Writing good stories is why we’re all here, right?

So I say unto you: Revise sometimes.

NaNoWriMo says that you shouldn’t switch between projects. When I did NaNoWriMo a couple years ago, I moved back and forth between my start-from-scratch project and the third book in my trilogy. Why? Because I had a brilliant idea for a scene in Book Three. Something that I was excited to write.

Why would I ignore that impulse? When you’re enthusiastic, the writing comes quick and easy. And do you think my editor cried any tears that I’d broken that particular rule? Do you think my readers were pissed? No. No they weren’t.

So I say unto you: Follow your enthusiasm.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I lost NaNoWriMo when I did all these things. I only wrote about 35,000 words. I did not get bragging rights, the special icon on my profile, or a cool T-shirt.

But I learned some things, and I improved my craft.

Is there a moral to this story? Not really. I’m just a contrary person by nature, and I like encouraging people to think about all their options.

As a writer, considering your options means thinking about what part of your craft you’re looking to improve. So if you’re the sort of writer who needs practice getting words down (like me), maybe the strict NaNoWriMo ruleset is for you. But then again, maybe not…

Either way, the most important thing is to get in there and do it. Sit. Down. Write.

Pat