NaNoWriMo 2009- Over for another year!

25,207. Day's not over, but I have to go to work and this is all original, so I've got to toss my fedora aside and call it quits. For NaNo, anyway. The story isn't anywhere near over, and I actually really like it a lot, so I'm going to be continuing with it.

Considering the craziness that has been my month (moving in the first week, my wrists rebelling the second week, and switching to ten hour workdays halfway through), I feel like getting halfway through isn't so bad. It's certainly farther than I've made it in past attempts. So, not half bad for a months' work. Maybe next year I won't be going quite so crazy.

 

Since it was my first time, I set my count to 13,000. I finished the story today five hours before the deadline!
15,002!
But that was the first part of my grand tale!

 

Ouch! I really mucked up here. I really underestimated DRL this month. But I still got myself up to 2150 word count. I'll finish that one...eventually.

 

I finished today with 50,041!!!!! What an awesome ride!

The best part by far is that I'm only halfway through my story, which is good beacuse I love writing it so much!!!

Congrats to all the other Wrimos and good luck to those in other time zones still finishing up!!

~Celeste

 

Fwew! It's over. I still have this feeling that I need to be writing. My final word count was 108,609. The only trouble with writing 190 pages... is that now I have to revise 190 pages.

 

My final word count wound up being 51,406 words according to the official site count

 

Final word counts have been update! It is finally over!

Post Nano Discussion Questions:
Have you learned anything? What do plan to do with your novel now? Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?

 

Now that NaNo is well and truly over, I'd like to congratulate the winners. You all did really well and achieved something fantastic. You should feel proud.
I'd also like to congratulate those who took part but didn't win. You tried something that most people won't. Kudos for trying.

Have you learned anything? What do plan to do with your novel now? Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?
Nope, I can't say I learnt much, other than to not trust the cyberpunk wikis when it comes to the names of guns.
I plan to edit mine and publish it. I'll probably go with create space as I'll get the free proof copy from them. I'm not going to get the proof copy until it's completely finished and as I'll get an ISBN I might as well keep it up.
YES! I'll definitely be doing it next year. I'm getting way better at this whole novel writing thing. My first attempt barely made sense and was generally rubbish, and last year was better but had a lot of bad points too. This year seems to be solid, or at least a lot better. I'm reading it now and I'm enjoying it.

 

Have you learned anything? Yes. I didn't have the time to do my novel justice, but that means it's just another project for when I have time. And that my chair is too low and my desk too high for comfortable typing for more than a couple of hours. And that I'm crazy.

What do plan to do with your novel now? Let it be. I need to do some serious research before I can write much more, finish it, or fill in the plot holes. So there shall be some cooling-down while I catch up on fanfic and then a massive edit later.

Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you? Oh yes. I'm still in. Though since I'm planning to write a thesis next year, my survival will be even more doubtful...

*throws confetti made from shredded schoolwork* Congratulations to all the winners/survivors/people who participated in this insanity!

 

SithGirl: I have an epic project report due this Friday and I still took part.

 

Have you learned anything?
I learned just how much I was capable of. I learned to, on those days when nothing was coming, just to write crap and know that I would revise later.

What do plan to do with your novel now?
Well, I'm going to have to revise them (I had two stories) and get them ready for online consumption. My Sailor Moon fic will get fed through a beta reader first before it winds up on my web site, while my KOTOR fic gets lots of love with my own revisions before I post it here.

Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?
Oh, I'll certainly do this again, but I'm not going to push for 100K next time. That was a bit too insane.

 

I plan on doing it again.

I'm NOT getting a CreateSpace novel though. This was a mere draft of what I want, but as of last night, I decided to change it. I'm going to start on this new idea next year.

 

Have you learned anything?

Yes. I learned that I am mad. I learned that typos do not matter. I have learned that removing all contractions of words from your novel can get you a hundred or so extra words.

And, I learned that iTunes offers you a lot of free radio stations with ambient music that's good for writing.

What do plan to do with your novel now?

I'll continue with it -50,000 words was definitely not enough. I'll also start editing what I have done soon -and trust me, it needs it. Since it isn't done, I don't think I'll go for the CreateSpace offer, as generous as it is.

Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?

Oh, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Or maybe in a year.

 

Have you learned anything?

Among other things, I did learn that emotional meltdowns are not good when you're trying to start. And, despite school and life (this year, at least...not so sure about next year) I am capable of writing 50,000 words in a month. If I don't allow myself to get too distracted, that is.

What do plan to do with your novel now?

Well, first there's editing... And since I ended up with fanfic, it'll get sent off to the beta as I finish writing the middle.

Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?

Oh, I'll be back. And next time, I'm actually going to write an outline, too. And maybe do research.

 

A belated congratulations to all the participants

 

Have you learned anything?
That this one is getting again big after editting

What do plan to do with your novel now?

Editting and publishing it on the before the saga board and doing some fanart for it

Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?

Again if I have new ideas

 

Is anyone reading their novels? I'm reading through mine and I'm actually enjoying it. I am so going to publish it when I've edited it.

 

Have you learned anything? What do plan to do with your novel now? Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?

I've learned a month and 50,000 words is a lot!

I've also learned how to turn off my inner editor to get the story out and then go back and re-write/edit. I've always pressured myself to get each part of my story just right before moving on and I hope the new process will allow me to finish everything I start.

I'm thinking I probably will try again next year. Oh...uh...I mean I will do or do not next year I had a terrible back injury just after Nano started this year and while it didn't hinder me as much as it could have, I want to see if I can do better when I'm pain and medicine free.

I will finish the story and it is currently being posted in the Saga.

 

Hey, congrats all around, whether you finished or not! My dedication crashed and burned around 10,000 words, but I think I'll gradually try to finish it. Or start up where I left off next year.

Have you learned anything? What do plan to do with your novel now? Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?
I learned that 50,000 words is a TON of writing. I'd done short stuff before, but this was beyond anything I could've expected. It wasn't too insane for me, as I usually tried to leave some time for writing before I went to bed, and then catch up when I had a day off. I think the size of it just overwhelmed me. I'll definitely try again next year!

 

Have you learned anything?

I learned that with a good plot outline, setting aside a consistent time slot everyday, and lots of encouragement from a good friend goes a long way towards helping achieve the 50,000 word goal! Especially the plot outline. I did a lot of research and had some incredible help on fully understanding the complexity of the characters I was working with. It made it so much easier to connect with my characters and to just 'let them speak' as it were. As it was, at 50k I only got to the half-way point in my story line, so I think this'll be one of my longest stories ever. Already it's 92 pages in Microsoft Word!

What do plan to do with your novel now?

For now I am taking a break until finals are over. Someone has graciously offered to beta what I have written, which I think will be good to have done before I tackle the last half. That way I'm sure that I've got all my ducks in a row before I get to the climactic ending and start tying off threads. After that, will come the polishing and then posting here on the Beyond the Saga boards. I am going to get a proof copy from CreateSpace. It'll be cool to have it in book form!

Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?

Oh, I'll absolutely do it again! It was a bit crazy with school and all, but with the proper time management things went well. Although my house cleaning was a bit neglected and the hubby started to complain by the end, but all's well that ends well!

~Celeste

 

I got sick in the first week, and am still sick... didn't write any beyond the first week. I've come to the conclusion that I write better and more with my inner editor on. I don't think me and NaNo are for each other.

 

Have you learned anything?
Yes, many things, in fact:
1. Writing at a fast pace makes for iffy story quality.
2. Writing at a fast pace & making it as far through the plot as possible allows me to see where the story is likely to go.
3. Writing at a fast pace gives my characters more, er... freedom as far as what they want their personalities to be like. This can be both a good thing (one of my FMCs actually developed a much more interesting & realistic personality), and a bad thing (one of my minor characters decided to go from being just a plain old jerk, to being a complete perv... and then he was going to have his throat ripped out by a wolf... yeeaahh. ).
4. Write or Die is a NaNoWriMo NECESSITY (for me, anyway)!!!
5. Writing upwards of two thousand words per day easily & quickly wears out my writing muscles & drains my creativity reservoir.
6. Best friends are the BEST motivation for NaNo. EVER.

What do plan to do with your novel now?
Well, first I decided to actually go through and establish a good, solid setting. I'm pretty much done with that part now, and have moved on to writing out a very detailed plot just so I can see exactly where my story will go & end up. And yes, I am very aware that my plot is likely to change as I start writing (it's happened multiple times already...), but I'd still like to have everything nice & laid out so I know how everything is going to be connected, etc.

Then, once I'm all done actually writing it & making it all nice & prettyful, I'm going to start working on getting it published.

Do you plan on participating again or was this too much insanity for you?
Oh, heck yes!!! This was a blast!! I think I already have an idea up for next year, too!!

Thanks for having this thread! It was really nice to have somewhere to post my progress & read about the toils of fellow NaNo-ers.

See y'alls next year!