The Official NaNoWriMo 2007 Thread - important notice on last page

If I fall behind, I'll probably just be in a lot of trouble. Although I will have a week off from school for Thanksgiving break so that may help!
Hopefully I'll be ahead so that if I do get a few days that I need to study I'll still be OK!

 

I have an added challenge in this, as my carpal tunnel syndrome has started acting up this past week. I bought a brace and hopefully it'll be better by November!

 

Alexis, whatever you do, wear that brace!

I have severe carpal tunnel, due in no small part to one insane Novemeber day two years ago when I typed about 12k. Not only did getting a brace save my wrist, it has also helped lessen the strain on it, so it's actually improved somewhat. Now whenever I sit down to type something, the first thing I do is put on my braces (one for each wrist). It saves them and protects them from further strain- so wear them whenever you type. Your wrists will thank you. Trust me.

As for falling behind in word count, try not to. Seriously, if you do fall behind, sprint and word wars work. Also, find the next large chunk of free time (cancel a social outing if you must), but just have a large block where all you do is write. So does upping the daily word count.

 

What are these 'social outings' of which you speak? :-\

 

QFT. Use of a combination of hard and soft braces is the only reason I was able to complete my Computer Science degree (I have nasty tendonitis- both wrists). Today I bought two snazzy new hard braces, because I wore the old ones out. They are my best friends when doing a lot of computer work.

Also, a suggestion from a R&D programmer at Weta Digital- get those gloves that have no fingertips, and if you can, get the kind that are extra fuzzy on the inside. The warmth helps calm the muscles and keeps everything happy. Failing that, keep a heating pad on hand.

 

Would such things be useful for someone who doesn't have any noticeable problems?

 

Thank you, LadyLunas. Yeah, I'm wearing it now. I'll get another one for my other wrist as well when I get paid next... on the other hand they are on sale now where I work and won't be when I get paid.

Do you use the soft or hard brace when you type? This hard brace really slows me down... not that I'm a fast typer anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions, Commander-DWH. I didn't see the soft braces on sale, so those will definitely wait 'til I get paid

 

I really like the Futuro soft braces that look like gloves- not the thumb splint ones, just soft gloves with the bandage that wraps around the wrist. I need to replace mine, as they finally died last year. I replaced them, but I didn't like the replacements as much (I had to try a different brand, and it didn't work out). The ones I'm talking about are the ones I'm wearing in this picture, to give you an idea of what you're looking for.

I tend to wear the soft braces when typing. I found that the hard braces held my wrists at an uncomfortable angle, and that generally just made things worse. But I wore the hard braces the rest of the time. Also, for carpal tunnel, it's beneficial to wear braces while you sleep, since it will prevent your wrists from being bent in strange ways at night.

I am a major advocate of prevention. Always be sure to stretch your arms. Take 10 minute breaks every hour. If your arms aren't hurting, you don't need to bandage them- but at the first sign of pain, take care. Find some soft braces. Find some way to be active- I took dance classes my senior year of college, and it's amazing how much it helped my arms (as I have problems in my shoulders, elbows, and wrists- just a whole bucket of giggles!).

If there's interest, I can do a tutorial of good stretches to do if you're going to be typing a lot. I know a lot of 'em, and they've helped me immensely.

 

I use those soft braces as well. Normally when I'm handwriting or for wrist protection when I'm sleeping. They are very comfortable; I just can't use them to type- not enough protection. The hard braces afford me that.

Alexis, don't worry about typing speed at the moment. It takes a little bit of time to adjust to a brace. It took me several weeks to adjust, but it got back to normal soon enough. If it doesn't seem to improve, try a soft brace, like Commander-DWH suggested. See what works for you.

Moosemouse, noticable problems? If you type differently than normal, have had wrist problems before, or even suspect you'll have wrist problems because of the amount of time you spend on the computer, it wouldn't hurt to invest in them.

Commander-DWH, I'd love to "see" some of those stretches. It definitely wouldn't hurt any of us to know them.

 

Okay ~duck the men in white jackets~ I'm in.

I found this contest at the end last year and kicked myself for not seeing it earlier.

I have a (correction several) question(s) do we post our stories somewhere? Can we post them? Are there any problems if we are posting original fiction? If you post it does that mean you can't sell the story later?

 

All copyright remains with the author. You can post an excerpt of your novel in your profile (assuming the software is working). I forget how long the excerpt can be.
When you validate your novel (for wordcount) it is uploaded to the website to update your word count and then it is removed, so no copy remains on the NaNo site. If you want people to be able to read it either post an excerpt on the site or upload it to webspace and post a link in your signature.
Original fiction is welcomed, as is fan fiction.

 

I don't think you can post them on the boards, but you can put them on the internet. One of the first posts is an index post, so just PM me a link to you finished book and I'll add it to the index.

 

You only post them if you want to post them. There is an excerpt area, I think for 10,000 characters, so about 2000 words. That's the only place on the Nano site for your story.

Most Nanoers write original fiction. A very small minority write fanfic. As for problems for later publishing? YES! If you eventually want to sell it to a traditional publisher, you cannot publish it online. It is then counted as previously published fiction and considered to be a waste of money. The only way you can post it online is if it is behind a locked area that requires all viewers to have a password to view it. If you want to use vanity/print-on-demand publishing, I don't think it matters if it's online.

 

There are also some agents and editors whose response is along the lines of "What kind of arrogant moron thinks we care about his blog?" -- but the safe assumption is that it doesn't count as publication if that would help you, but does if it would hurt you.

 

It's that time again! Somehow a week has passed and I have another discussion topic. Seeing as we can't write anything it's still only a planning discussion, but hopefully it might help some people.

This weeks topic:
With all sort of new gadgets and ways to communicate, writing anywhere and everywhere is getting easier. For those who can afford them there are ultra-portable laptops, normal laptops and not-so-portable laptops, there are also portable writing machines, PDAs, and smart phones. There's also the stationary option of a desktop computer. Traditional methods can't be forgotten as well, good old writing paper and pens, pencils, quills, and so on. The discussion topic in a concise way: the various merits and disadvantages of various writing methods and which ones you'll personally use during November.

If anyone has any topic suggestions, feel free to PM them to me.

 

I'm a traditionalist- pen and paper all the way.

For one, I write better than I do on the computer (save for fanfic- that's computer written). I just find it easier to collect my thoughts and get them down on paper. This means practically everything I write, from essays to full-length novels, is done at my kitchen table with pen in hand.

I've tried writing my novels on the computer. First NaNo- fanfic, therefore no problem. NaNo 2- original, and gave myself severe carpal tunnel. NaNo 3- handwritten. This year - handwritten.

Also, handwriting actually lessens the strain on my wrist. I wear a soft brace for the support, but it doesn't bother me nearly as much as if I'd spend the time on the computer.

Third, I write just as fast handwriting as I do typing. Two hours generally generates roughly 2,000 words. So it doesn't necessarily slow me down. For verification purposes, I generate a document of randomness (thank you, Lorem Ipsum) and upload that.


So this year I will be using a Pentel RSVP fine tip black ink pen and two Ampad five subject notebooks with blue covers.

 

I'm usually old school about writing and write everything out by hand... I can get things on paper faster than I can type them and if I don't get them down fast, they are gone (I have the attention span of a gold fish!). Also I'm an awful speller and when I hand write there isn't a big blaring red underline laughing at me saying "ha ha, you can't spell worth beans!!!"

Ok, so it really doesn't say that, but that is how I feel! I know you can turn it off, but then I think things are spelled correctly when they aren't.

But for NaNo I think I'm going to type on my laptop (a MacBook to be exact) so that I don't waste time that I could be writing by moving it from paper to the computer. Except for when I'm at class and/or at work... that will have to be done by hand.

I wish voice recognition was any good, I would probably do the best talking to my computer, I could get everything out that I wanted before I forgot it! But I don't know if that be considered cheating?? Not that it really matters.

 

The first year I did NaNo (2005) I tried using the laptop/Word to compose. I found that hitting problems in Word badly interrupted the creative process. So last year I handwrote each day and then typed it into Word. It took longer but the end result was better. As I typed it into Word I took care of obvious grammatical errors and spell-checked at the end of each day before I checked the word count. I found that 14 pages handwritten is about 1700 words so that's what I strive to do at each sitting. Obviously if I am 'on a roll' I will finish before ending the session.

 

I guess I'm in the minority here. I write exclusively on my iMac. I type far faster than I handwrite, and it has the added benefit of being legible. If I'm not at home on my desktop, I'm using my AlphaSmart 3000. For those who don't know, it's basically a new-fangled typewriter (consisting of a tiny screen and a keyboard). It holds about a hundred pages of text, and lasts for about 700 hours on three AA batteries. It can transfer the text to either a PC or a Mac. On very rare occasions (and not during Nano), I'll use a notebook to write something. I find that if I handwrite, I have to slow down my thought process to my writing speed. I don't like doing that, so I type.

 

I'll write by hand for finese only. My inner editor is on high gear when I type in Word what I've previously written. I don't edit as well if I start writing in word. For NaNo I'm probably going to stick to typing in word, just because I can get more down, and I have the bonus of the word count to keep track of my progress.

 

I almost always use Word. It's just faster for me, and my handwriting is horrid. It looks neater and keeps me more organized and focused. But when I'm not at home, I use a spiral notebook and a pencil.

 

I'll mostly do it in word, but I'll have a notebook too for when I'm away from my computer (such as at the pool) or if I get a scene idea at work and want to make sure I remember it.

 

I'll probably use a combination of Word, wordpad, notebook and google docs. My handwriting is barely legible at best and I can't write joined up either so it takes ages to write anything. You can't use Word document to verify as Word does weird things, if I copy certain characters from Word into here they just appear as html codes, which is why I'll be using wordpad. Google docs will be useful for when I want to move around, I can just upload the files to there, work on them somewhere else and then download the new work when I get home. I also have two computers so using something online makes it easier to switch between the two and still be able to write without having to swap anything over.

I had a notebook for writing random things in, I can't seem to find it though, which really sucks. It was pretty and pink and had lots of pages.

 

Two more weeks . . . .

And I still have a fair amount left to research. Where's the time gone?

 

I just bought a portable word processor (alphasmart 3000) off ebay last Friday and am waiting for it to arrive. If it works right, then I'll be using that while on my breaks at work and uploading it to Word on my desktop when I get home. Right now, when writing my fanfics, I use the traditional paper notebook and pen. I'm excited about using the alphasmart, as it will reduce waste. Plus, right now, w/ the carpal tunnel syndrome acting up, my printing is atrocious!