|
kaom posted:Genuinely no idea why this is happening for you. It looks like I was supposed to get a confirmation email that never arrived, and the site gives me an error when I try to get them to re-send it. EDIT: Nvm. Figures two seconds later that I try turning my adblock off and it worked. I can see everything now. Since I'm going to have a hideous work schedule this November, I got an early start on my project. I work the types of factory shifts that give me three days in a row off, which allowed me to finish 4 chapters and 11,996 words. The first draft for these chapters were originally very heavy on the world building, so I decided to write a snappy prologue that introduced a major character earlier, as well as promise the tone earlier. I also tried to give the early scenes more momentum and establish goals and obstacles for my protagonist. Coquito Ergo Sum fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Oct 25, 2021 |
#
?
Oct 25, 2021 01:15
|
|
I made sure my profile is public and checked that I could view others… and I also see that we’re buddies! Is it possible you were logged out when trying to check? It’s the only thing I can think of.
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 23:56 |
|
|
Opinions time: does outlining count towards your word count? Not looking for a definitive answer, just want to know your opinions. Personally I think it does.
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2021 04:07
|
|
|
I count outlining. I waffle back and forth on counting world building.
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2021 05:49
|
|
|
HIJK posted:Opinions time: does outlining count towards your word count? As I understand the spirit of NaNo, any words written during November counts, including outlines!
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2021 06:52
|
|
|
I would personally only count the actual words written to be part of your nano project. But it's not like there's a very tiny nano police to crack down on people for including whatever they like in the word count
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2021 17:26
|
|
|
You wrote 'nano police' and now I'm imagining very tiny police officers with nanowrimo badges pushing half full coffee cups over bc of word counts
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2021 00:42
|
|
|
well last year was my first time and I fell flat on my face, but I want to try and get my first draft of this philosophical sci-fi book thing done. this should be fun. good luck everyone!
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2021 05:33
|
|
|
I'm not counting outlining but that is because I did it in October. I think if I have to take a day in November to re-outline or write a lot of notes, I'd count those words because otherwise I'm just giving myself more work to do on subsequent days.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2021 09:25
|
|
|
I did it. I did the job I was dreading and crunched four chapters down to two and I think it reads pretty well (for a draft).
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2021 00:31
|
|
|
Somebody mentioned this, and it seems like fun, I haven't written anything in years, and nothing for other people, so this might be good for me! https://nanowrimo.org/participants/nettle_soup
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2021 11:35
|
|
|
Feeling a little burnt out on drawing after working on a long visual arts pet project, so I decided to shift gears to prose writing and give nanowrimo a shot this year. https://nanowrimo.org/participants/plum-night I've had an idea milling about in my notebook for about a year now that can basically be summed up as "queer Fire Emblem about a trans boy who self-actualizes through his found family, but the group risks being torn apart by their obligations to family and country when open conflict arises and a century-old injustice comes to light." Toss in a Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind kind of setting, with mysterious ecological magic, all of which is still barely sketched out yet. I love fantasy comics, movies, and video games, but I almost never read fantasy novels, so this is kind of an exercise in seeing what will come out when I try to synthesize my normal reading habits with some of my other interests. Definitely not going to count all the outlining and character sketching notes toward my wordcount. The whole sketching ideas out in a notebook thing is something I started doing a while ago, and it's gotten me a ton of raw material, but I'm really curious to see how well that actually enables me to write the story itself.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2021 04:18
|
|
|
Someone mentioned how to plan a piece and I gave kind of a half-hearted answer, but these are some guiding thoughts I've learned over the years that help me out: The David Mamet letter to the writers of the unit is a famous crash course in writing drama that helps to keep me focused: https://2fvqxa3fxpfi2sm7tt1oe5ln-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/David-Mamet-Memo.pdf. Bringing the memo up has become a bit of a meme to the point that some people are tired of bringing it up. It also comes with the caveat that screenwriting is different from novel writing in that novel writing does need to convey degrees of information, but the overall guidance of creating characters with acute goals and putting obstacles in their way is a good guiding principal for writing engaging stories. So, whenever I'm writing, I'm trying to figure out what any given character's goals at any given time are, and how they are trying to achieve them. Usually, when I can answer those questions, my plans really come together and words fly onto the page. A lesson I learned from a teacher that helps me to just keep writing is to understand when the language I'm using should be specific, and when it should be concise. Have you ever gotten driving directions from someone who laboriously gives you moment-to-moment guidance on how to get to your destination? e.g., "Okay, take a left out of here, then a right on, then get on 220 to exit 22a, then..." That is being specific. Specificity is helpful, but other times you wish that they'd just said "You know the McDonald's by the truck stop? Yeah, there's the road behind it where you see that baseball field- the place you're looking for is that white house. Yeah, that's the one" That is being concise. It is understanding that the person being given the directions has a baseline knowledge of where things are and relating information from there. pecific language is useful for when I generally want a reader to not mistake important details for their own sake, whether that's a mood, a setting, or a character's feelings or appearance. Concise language is for when I want the reader to know that there is a mountain range in the distance and that they are rocky and snow-capped without having to detail each and every peak and slope. Maybe that shopkeeper doesn't need to be described as anything other than portly and dark-haired. Does it really matter if your reader imagines this one-time character as a different height, skin color, or wearing glasses? No? Then try keeping it concise. This helps uncomplicate my plans and sort them into relating information that needs to be absorbed versus information that is needed to keep the story moving. I could be wrong about a lot of these, but they help me I like discussing this kind of stuff with people. Coquito Ergo Sum fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Oct 30, 2021 |
|
#
?
Oct 29, 2021 02:17
|
|
|
I'm back and going for Win #13, with some good ol' fashioned Lesbian Content. https://nanowrimo.org/participants/pikestaff I am also once again plugging 4thewords which is a really fun word count based RPG if you're into gamification. It's really helped me a lot these past couple of Novembers. https://4thewords.com/
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2021 15:56
|
|
|
Looks like I'm going to be job hunting and possibly preparing to move countries next month, so I'm not confident I'm going to be able to do it this year.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2021 16:33
|
|
|
Devorum posted:Looks like I'm going to be job hunting and possibly preparing to move countries next month, so I'm not confident I'm going to be able to do it this year. I'm basically in the same boat. I made a stressful career pivot that in 1 year has etched lines into my forehead worthy of a chronically dehydrated alcoholic sea captain. I'm routinely going into overtime. I'll be happy if I hit 20K words, tbh. If I hit 50K, I am taking a week off work regardless of what's happening there.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2021 20:32
|
|
|
Well my hero has become a heroine to stick to the cozy supernatural mystery genre conventions. But I am still making her a professor at the HBCU of magic and wizardry. And figuring out how to do a murder mystery in a small town Louisiana.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2021 20:52
|
|
|
White Chocolate posted:Well my hero has become a heroine to stick to the cozy supernatural mystery genre conventions. But I am still making her a professor at the HBCU of magic and wizardry. And figuring out how to do a murder mystery in a small town Louisiana. I want to read this.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2021 21:08
|
|
thunderdome winner
|
White Chocolate posted:Well my hero has become a heroine to stick to the cozy supernatural mystery genre conventions. But I am still making her a professor at the HBCU of magic and wizardry. And figuring out how to do a murder mystery in a small town Louisiana. I think this is a wise choice. And, yeah, it sounds great!
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2021 23:38
|
|
|
I will post the edited version at the the month? Or first draft?
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2021 03:09
|
|
|
After all these years and what visible progress I made, I'm still awful, and I mean just absolutely dogshit, at past perfect/progressive/habitual in my first drafts and it shows like crazy in everything I write.
Coquito Ergo Sum fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Oct 31, 2021 |
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2021 15:00
|
|
|
I was gonna write a story about a big derpy dragon who delivers letters, but now that I've made a world, I've realised he's rubbish at actually interacting with it... This may end up as a series of short stories. Also all of my dialogue is incredibly Northen English. How did this happen. Nettle Soup fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Oct 31, 2021 |
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2021 15:47
|
|
|
Nettle Soup posted:I was gonna write a story about a big derpy dragon who delivers letters, but now that I've made a world, I've realised he's rubbish at actually interacting with it... This may end up as a series of short stories. I would read the heck out of this.
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2021 23:41
|
|
|
Spooky season is over, now we're in spookier season! Strap in!
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 00:04
|
|
|
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON for Euro friends it has already begun
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 04:52
|
|
|
And over here in Aus, I'm calling it for today at 5,084 words. I could probably go for more, but I kind of need to stop and work on other stuff, plus ponder a few things in my outline. I am livestreaming everything as I write over on my YouTube channel if anyone wants to drop in and write in real time with a buddy (or just  while I string terrible words together in a terrible mess) https://www.youtube.com/c/PaperTigerProductions
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 06:55
|
|
|
I can only write on half my days in November (I work twelve hour shifts, so I literally have no time on those days), so I kind of cheated and did four days of writing in October to get 11,942. I did 3.5k yesterday, but I need to do some snipping before I'm comfortable throwing it into the count.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 15:43
|
|
|
https://nanowrimo.org/participants/idle-amalgam Let's rock.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 18:08
|
|
|
Friend me goons: https://nanowrimo.org/participants/beddoe
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 20:35
|
|
|
Not sure if this is the best place to ask, but anyone have recommendations for resources on medieval combat techniques and tactics? The characters in my story are training to become knights, but I don't really know very much about ancient warfare lol. I know a little bit of kendo technique, and vanishingly little about spear, shield, archery, or western swordsmanship techniques, and I'd love to remedy that for the good of my creative output. The first thing that comes to mind for me is just youtubing HEMA videos and things like naginata-do tournaments and using those for inspiration, but I'm sure there must be some good books or other resources out there that are handy for creatives.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 21:02
|
|
|
There are actually some really great brief swordsmanship tutorials on TikTok of all places.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 21:04
|
|
|
Cephas posted:Not sure if this is the best place to ask, but anyone have recommendations for resources on medieval combat techniques and tactics? The characters in my story are training to become knights, but I don't really know very much about ancient warfare lol. I know a little bit of kendo technique, and vanishingly little about spear, shield, archery, or western swordsmanship techniques, and I'd love to remedy that for the good of my creative output. The first thing that comes to mind for me is just youtubing HEMA videos and things like naginata-do tournaments and using those for inspiration, but I'm sure there must be some good books or other resources out there that are handy for creatives. You could always see if there is a HEMA teacher near your location, and ask them/interview them. All the HEMA organizations I have been a part of are super enthusiastic, and open for questions.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 22:21
|
|
|
1705 words written today! Today's plot twist is that a TV Detector Van will be used to fight against the Commodore 64 sprites invading London.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2021 22:31
|
|
|
Hit 2000 on day one, it's a little bit lower than I usually like to aim for at the start but I'm feeling pretty good about my pace. I may or may not have taken several Minecraft breaks.limaCAT posted:1705 words written today! oh I love this. I hope it's set to Monty on the Run music.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 01:44
|
|
|
5K, but that's anticipating I won't be able to write for a few other days.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 02:48
|
|
|
2000 words down about a movie production assistant meeting a hunky stormwater management expert in a picturesque mediterranean cliffside village. Will they uncover the dark secrets behind the mysterious erosion threatening the town???
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 03:58
|
|
|
Well my story is about Hell’s pantler (the person in charge of the pantry) getting roped into babysitting an irresponsible demon prince who sets out to solve a commoner’s mystery ills - possibly just in a bid to shirk his royal duties. Basically RIP to me as I contend with five million fantasy names and non-human descriptions in my first 1k words. Why did I do this.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 05:19
|
|
|
6102 for Day 2! I now understand how the peeps doing monster word counts last year were getting there...or at least, I've worked out what works for me. Apparently that's share my screen on a livestream so I know internet strangers are watching and therefore I have no option other than to keep writing. As long as I give myself permission to use placeholders in the prose and write insulting notes about my own writing in the margin, my brain can apparently keep going. Brains are weird. Cephas posted:Not sure if this is the best place to ask, but anyone have recommendations for resources on medieval combat techniques and tactics? You need Shadversity: https://www.youtube.com/user/shadmbrooks He's a medieval weapons/culture/life geek, an author in his own right and he acted as a historical consultant on Brandon Sanderson's Rhythm of War for all of the stuff with Adolin and swords and general combat stuff.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 06:01
|
|
|
Thanks for the feedback! I'll be sure to check out that channel. I think the nearby university has a HEMA club too, so maybe in the future I can try to chat with them. I got a bit of a head start, but on the other hand I'm also mostly working on a typewriter for fun so I don't know what the actual word count is yet. Finished page 9. Introduced some queer fantasy teens, showed off their magic powers (protagonist can control wind from his hands and feet, another character has power over biomineralization and can create crystallized forms of minerals found in the human body), and quickly got them to a position where they have to enter a military skirmish against a band of bandits holed up in the nearby village. Right now I'm mostly operating under the presumption of "if I'm not bored by what's going on, then maybe the reader won't be bored either" and just trying to keep the momentum going. I have a loose sketch of where the story will go eventually, but it's kind of like working from the beginning and the end to try to fill in the middle.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 06:04
|
|
|
2634 words for day one of my weird rear end sci-fi novel that is best described as "It's Dune meets Stalker but from the perspective of the guild navigators and everyone is disabled and high on noise music." Wrote a super rough draft of the ending because it came to me in a flash of inspiration as I was taking my daily walk to the grocery store. Good luck on day two everyone!
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 06:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 23:56 |
|
|
3003 day 1 words, going to try and build a reasonable buffer for my inevitable faceplant later in the month
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2021 10:58
|
|