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Chit-Chat: Random Writing Nonsense

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Misheard Whisper

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Er, at this stage, whatever comes spilling out through the keyboard. I was going to use it to continue Champion Game (which somehow is not dead) but I think I'll wait till December for that.
 

Crux

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Ooho, well, I'm pulling for ya' Thomas!
I don't think I'd have the guts to enter NaNoWriMo, haha.
 
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I tried entering NaNo a few years ago. Almost made it with a story that hit 35,000 words. The reason why I stopped writing that despite being so close was because the plot seriously exploded into an uncontrollable mess. There were three different plot threads I was trying to juggle, and I had no idea how to bring them together. That was the closest I ever got to winning NaNo.

Though I'm tempted to try again this year.
 

Misheard Whisper

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I was actually considering posting it here as it comes along (though slowed down a bit), just out of curiosity. I mean, it is rough, as is the nature of a draft, but I always make certain the quality is acceptable as I go. I feel it might motivate me to continue a bit more if I have somewhere to actually put it.

I tried entering NaNo a few years ago. Almost made it with a story that hit 35,000 words. The reason why I stopped writing that despite being so close was because the plot seriously exploded into an uncontrollable mess. There were three different plot threads I was trying to juggle, and I had no idea how to bring them together. That was the closest I ever got to winning NaNo.

Though I'm tempted to try again this year.

doooo eeeet
 
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I'm considering it. :x

I have the biggest burst of inspiration right now. Pretty much right from November 1st, I had some ideas for a story in my mind, and I prepared myself to switch from my current project to something new. Though back then, I wasn't expecting how much inspiration I'd get, and now I have so many things to rewrite.

Since the weekend was so busy, I just started writing today. Got 2600 words in an hour, and I want to hit at least seven hours of writing time this week. We'll see how that goes for a goal for NaNo this month. Especially since I want to finish one chaptered fic, start a new one, and then work a little on my pet project during the course of this month.
 

Cutlerine

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Misheard Whisper said:
Time is definitely a difficult thing to come by. I've only just started writing again after a dry spell of a year and a half - namely, the last six months of high school and the first year of university. I've had a fair amount of time this year, to be fair, but I've just been so drained with the amount of work I've had that it's tricky to get anything on paper.

Hey, it's Misheard Whisper! I'm probably the last person to notice that you've reappeared - you may blame the vicissitudes of life for distracting me, or perhaps just me for being absent - but it's nice to see you back. It's also good to hear that Champion Game isn't dead; I always liked that.

I've never been able to do NaNo, because it's in the second-worst month of the year for anyone in full-time education other than June. Not that I don't have time to write in November, but I never quite feel that I have enough time to commit to a target number of words. Whether that's true or not is open to debate; I certainly don't know. Still, good luck to anyone who is doing it.

Also, since I see other changes have occurred in my absence: congratulations, Slayr and Astinus. You both seem to have risen in the world.
 
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I've never tried to participate in NaNo but seeing all the hype every year makes me pretty excited. It's something I've really been considering but each time my laziness gets the better of me and I don't even get many words in much less an actual story idea. :( Also agreeing with the above; November is too busy of a month for me to properly sit down and write. By the time I complete that 10-paged essay I usually don't want to think of writing for at least another month, ha.
 

Nolafus

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I told myself I was going to do NaNo, but I don't think I'm doing it again. I just can't sit down and write without worrying about quality. I'm a bit of a perfectionist in that sense. I can't write something that I'm not proud of without editing the heck out of it. Unless it's an essay for school, then I just don't care. So in short, I pretty much failed this year's NaNo, and I'm probably not going to try again. November is busy for me as well, and I don't like putting the extra pressure on me to write.
 
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I've heard about NaNoWriMo but never participated or understood it fully. I can't find any information that really explains more in detail what it's about before you have to sign up, on their website. So what is it really? National... Is it only for americans?
 

txteclipse

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I've heard about NaNoWriMo but never participated or understood it fully. I can't find any information that really explains more in detail what it's about before you have to sign up, on their website. So what is it really? National... Is it only for americans?

NaNoWriMo is a writing event that takes place every November. The idea is to write a novel in 30 days, with a word goal of 50,000 words. The only thing you have to do to participate is make an account on the official NaNo website and submit your novel for word counting on the last day. The experience can be much deeper than that, however, as the community is absolutely ginormous. You can make writing buddies, participate in word wars, get help with your writing or help other people, etc. It's a blast!

And no, it's not only for Americans. You can join the site from any country and participate in the forums, though they are in English.
 
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There is Camp NaNoWriMo, which is exactly like November's experience but it takes place during April and July. Those months tend to be a little better for people when it comes to finding free time, but Camp NaNo doesn't get as much excitement as the regular NaNo in November.

I've been kind of slow on counting words for a NaNo goal. Since I'm writing some stories by long-hand, it gets difficult to count words. What I do for those stories is at least try to complete a chapter. So far, a chapter has been completed for two different stories (one getting a second chapter and the other getting a prologue). Earlier today, I put on my headphones and decided to finish the last two chapters of another story. This one was typed directly to the computer.

9699 words in one night.

Never again.
 

Percy Thrillington

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9699 words in one night.

That's incredible! I've been working on an anthology of short stories over the last few months - if I could have written that many words in a single night, I'd have finished the first draft in about two weeks.
 
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9699 words in one night.

Never again.

Goodness, that's quite a lot! Back in the day (as in a couple of years ago) I'd manage 4-6k words per day.. anything beyond that would probably kill my poor hands and wrists. I'd really like to get back in the habit of writing more, though. :'<
 
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If I did become a proper writer at some point, I'd want to be a children's book author ^^ Or at least for young adults. I've read so many fascinating children's books, the most entertaining being supernatural in one way or another. I can still pick up books for children or teenagers at the library and read just because I love the mood such books put me in.
 

Bay

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There is Camp NaNoWriMo, which is exactly like November's experience but it takes place during April and July. Those months tend to be a little better for people when it comes to finding free time, but Camp NaNo doesn't get as much excitement as the regular NaNo in November.

I've been kind of slow on counting words for a NaNo goal. Since I'm writing some stories by long-hand, it gets difficult to count words. What I do for those stories is at least try to complete a chapter. So far, a chapter has been completed for two different stories (one getting a second chapter and the other getting a prologue). Earlier today, I put on my headphones and decided to finish the last two chapters of another story. This one was typed directly to the computer.

9699 words in one night.

Never again.

I can never write that many ones in one night, haha. The most I did in one day was around 2K.

My NaNo goal this year is 20K, though unsure if I'll be able to make it. Been averaging 600 words everyday (saved for one day I skipped), so at least I'm writing a little each day. It's the research and planning my plot that I got sucked into the majority of the time, haha.
 

Percy Thrillington

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It's the research and planning my plot that I got sucked into the majority of the time, haha.

That's not always a bad thing though! I know your post was pertaining to the challenge itself, but I don't think many a great novel has been written without a substantial amount of time invested into planning for it. My go-to for this is J.K. Rowling, who spent around six years fleshing out every detail of the Harry Potter universe before commencing work on the first book.

That's what I've read online, at least. I could be very wrong.

But yeah, quality > quantity, just so long as you don't think it's a good idea discontinuing the project after November passes, I suppose.

Edit: Also, hi, Bay, I don't think I've talked to you in years, haha.
 

Zeffy

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I apologize for suddenly changing the topic--but I am desperate for help. I used to be able to write relatively okay, but I seem to have lost that ability entirely. I know it sounds absurd, but it is true. I could produce considerably acceptable poetry within minutes--my past English teachers told me it was my 'forte'--but I really want to write stories again.

Several ideas pop in my head for a story, most of which are not part of a fandom, and I immediately put them away for later use. When I start developing it, I always end up in a stump. I start writing the first few sentences, then redo them because I feel it is unsatisfactory. Basically, that is my current dilemma--it is an endless loop of revising the first few sentences that I end up losing interest in writing the rest of it. I feel that everything I write is unsuitable to be read by the public. I guess one could blame lack of imagination, but I would like a more concrete reason.

So, any advice? :(
 

Nolafus

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I apologize for suddenly changing the topic--but I am desperate for help. I used to be able to write relatively okay, but I seem to have lost that ability entirely. I know it sounds absurd, but it is true. I could produce considerably acceptable poetry within minutes--my past English teachers told me it was my 'forte'--but I really want to write stories again.

Several ideas pop in my head for a story, most of which are not part of a fandom, and I immediately put them away for later use. When I start developing it, I always end up in a stump. I start writing the first few sentences, then redo them because I feel it is unsatisfactory. Basically, that is my current dilemma--it is an endless loop of revising the first few sentences that I end up losing interest in writing the rest of it. I feel that everything I write is unsuitable to be read by the public. I guess one could blame lack of imagination, but I would like a more concrete reason.

So, any advice? :(
Considering the last post in here was six days ago, I think I can let the sudden change of topic slide. :P

To be honest, I'm still not satisfied with the way I opened my story. It was the best scenario I could come up with, and I just decided to go with it. I wasn't really concerned about creating the perfect hook to catch my readers, I just wrote what I wanted to get across. If you're stuck on the introduction, just think about what you want to get across. Once you have that figured out, start thinking about how to get that across. Start writing it out and don't look back to revise until you feel like you got the information across. Then you may go back and revise. Don't get caught up in the beginning couple of sentences because I'm not sure if anybody is finally satisfied with theirs.

Since sticking with stories until the end was a huge weakness of mine, I'm going to share what helped me stay with one story for so long. I had previously tried to write two other stories. Both of them didn't make it past the second chapter. I think what made the story I'm currently working on different wasn't the idea that this idea was somehow more meaningful to me. I spent a ton of time planning it out. I spent about a full year planning it out and just waiting. I was going to wait until I graduated college to write it because I didn't want to screw it up. However, one day I just couldn't wait anymore, so I began writing. I think because I didn't start writing it out immediately, but rather let the idea sit and brew in my head, I didn't lose interest while writing it out. If an idea can sit in your head for that long and you still want to write it, I think that greatly increases your chances for finishing it.

The final piece of advice I can give you is post it here. I can't really give you much help if I can't base my advice off of your writing. For all I know, none of this is helping you, but if I read your writing, then I can tell you what's working and what's not. So post it here!
 
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