Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related NaNoWriMo 2007 - Let's get this party started!

I have one character who seemed funny when I imagined her, but she isn't coming out that way, so I don't like her very much. I've going to have to go back and rework her in the next draft.

How's the word count coming? I didn't reach my goal last night of 7000 But I did get to 6239. I hope to get a lot more in today.

So here is the next NaNo Question:

What is your single most favorite line/paragraph so far?

(If this is going to cause you to edit because you have to go back and look don't do it!)

I have to think about my answer today. I think it may be the part where my main character rants about office work and how she is sure that paperwork is what killed all the unicorns and everything else magical.

Yeah it makes no sense but it makes me giggle.

Will be back with my answer, but...

I don't care if that's your favorite line or not jojo - you have to paste it now!
Carol

Okay - this is Missy's favorite so it's what I'm going to go with...

"So, Lois, what cabin are you in?"

She looked at her piece of paper and made a face. "I'm a wombat. What's a wombat?"

Clark laughed. "It's an Australian marsupial. They're about 3 feet long when they're full grown. They are the favorite food of Tasmanian devils." He grinned at her. "I'm in the Tasmanian devil cabin."


I contemplated posting "Lois, will you marry me?" but I do like this better .

I am up to 10009 words and I am trying to reach 13333 by the end of the day.

My favourite line/paragraph is:

Still at the 12something mark... been having computer issues... If I can't get em fixed I may just get desperate to try to write on this laptop... *pout*

However, I think that my favorite line so far is:

"Don't come near me! I know where that tongue has been!"

Do I want to know what that means, Cat?

Anyway, and to everyone who's NaNoing for the such a high level of courage and insanity to take on such a task. You keep on writing; I'll wave the pom-poms.

I liked these lines from my heroine's POV:
I'm sitting at 11,400 words right now and plan to make at least 900 more before quitting for the night.

I noticed you're over 12G sheilah - that's awesome! Cat - I dunno how you hit that mark so fast!

My own little personal goal the last few days has been to keep up with sheilah - not because it's a competition or anything but when I went to put my number in the other day I noticed she was only a couple words ahead of me . Unfortunately, RL [no not Roger ] has been a bear.

Two sick kids [DD6 is still not 100% from the weekend, DD2 is 102* at the moment after being 103*+ last night and shaking to the point she almost couldn't take her medicine. That's on top of DS3mos probably going in to the hospital after our doc appointment tomorrow. So writing fell down the list .

However, today is my birthday and I'm going to do schoolwork and then I'm going to write my little heart out! And we're going to be on TV tonight! And DH got a present for me all on his own and helped DDs pick something out [$1 each said they did good - but DD6 didn't think I'd want a candle b/c all you can do with it is blow it out ].

I'm at 10968 at the moment.
Carol [off to do schoolwork so she can write guiltlessly later]

Excuse me for my ignorance, but what is DD? Oh wait, I answered myself. Dear Daughter, right? and the number on the end is their age? For a second I thought you had six kids. :rolleyes: at my original conclusion.

Oh, and Happy Birthday.

I'm at word count: 8112. Still behind but I'm still doing enough each day that it is doable.

I wanted to post up last years week two encouragement from Chris Baty. If you did NaNo last year you've read it before but the rest of you who haven't it is worth a read. I'm pretty sure he doesn't send out the same one each year so this year's will be different.:

Dear NaNoWriMo Participant,

Hi there! It's Chris Baty again. And if you accepted the challenge in last week's email, you opened a comfortable word-count lead right out of the gate, increased that lead in the first weekend, and are now sailing far ahead of pace, preparing to plunge into the 20,000s.

You are looking good, feeling great, and your back is slowly accumulating an array of "kick me" signs, placed there by your fellow participants as you sprinted past us. A few signs, though, are a small price to pay for victory. And you *are* going to be victorious. If you are a day or less from 20K, you have everything it takes to win, and win big. Keep it up. Don't slow down. We admire you, even if you made us feel so bad about ourselves that we had to put those signs on you.

But this email is not for those doing exceptionally well. It's for the rest of us---authors with underdeveloped word counts, overdeveloped novel-guilt complexes, and sensational procrastinating abilities. Because we are the ones who are going to begin having serious misgivings about this whole escapade in the next seven days.

Why?

Because it turns out we are too busy to do this.

Or because a crisis has brought some novel-eating turmoil into our lives.

Or because our stories are really, really bad, and we're wondering why we're sacrificing so much of our time to produce a consistently crappy book.

It all adds up to the fabled Week Two Wall---a low-point of energy, enthusiasm, and joie de novel that strikes most NaNoWriMo participants between days 7 and 14. This is when our inner editors, who largely turned a blind eye to our novel flailings in Week One, return to see how things are going. And their assessments are never kind.

The plot is draggy. The characters are boring. The dialogue is pointless, and the prose has all the panache of something dashed off by a distracted kindergartner.

If you're feeling any of these things---or find yourself starting to feel them this week---know that nothing is wrong. In fact, you're likely on track for a great NaNoWriMo. Just lower your head, pick up your pace, and write straight into the maw of your misgivings. If you are thinking about quitting, DO NOT DO IT IN WEEK TWO.

If you have to quit, do it in Week Three.

I'm serious.

Because if you quit in Week Two, you're going to miss an amazing moment---the moment when your novel begins to click. You'll miss a genius plot twist you can't foresee right now that will suddenly elevate your book from a distressing mess to a sort-of-tolerable mess. And then you'll miss the euphoric breakthrough that follows that twist, when your book improves itself all the way to not-half-bad.

Not-half-bad will make you scream, it feels so good.

And you know what? The more you write, the better it gets. So make it a priority to write in torrents this week. Allow your characters to change, and have change forced upon them. Follow your intuition, even if it leads away from where you thought your book was heading. And know that writing a novel is like building a car. Your only job this month is to create a clunky machine that will eventually move people from one place to another. If your beast rolls at all at this point, you're doing great. Pretty prose, snappy dialogue, brilliant metaphors---they're all part of the high-gloss paint job and finishing touches we put on *after* the body is built.

In December, we'll have nothing but time for adding flames to our hoods and airbrushing a majestic eagle or pair of sunrise stallions on the sides of our new rides. For now, the 20,000s are calling, and we can't get distracted by the small stuff if we're going to get there. In the challenging confines of Week Two, our books will truly be built. Characters will evolve. Plots will unfold. It's going to be difficult at times, but once we make it into (and out of) the 20,000s, everything gets much easier. And envious tales of our literary feat-in-the-making will begin circulating amongst our friends, family, and co-workers.

At which point, we'll probably find a note or two on our backs as well.

It'll be awesome.

Keep plowing onward, brave writer! Good things are coming. I'll be back next Wednesday for some thoughts on Week Three.

Dreaming about my airbrushed eagle,

Chris
NaNoWriMo
8400 words and counting

LOL - yes dear/darling daughter, age 6 . Not 6 kids at this point! I do know some people who do birth order - so DD6 would be DD#1 or DD1.

And thanks!
Carol

LOL, carol! My goal for the past few days has been to stay ahead of you and aromassa because I noticed that you were either right behind or even ahead of me. I'm so sorry your kids are sick, and frankly, I don't know how you're doing any writing at all, but my hat is definitely off to you.

I didn't really have any excuse, but Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I fell way short of my daily goal, and now I'm almost 2000 words behind where I need to be to finish by the end of the month. Thank goodness the Thanksgiving break is coming. Maybe I can do some catching up then.

Off to catch Catherine before I go to work today.

Okay - I know it's a bit early but if anyone has a chance to nag Missy about next year's nano... She's got a FABULOUS premise she's talking about outlining for next year .

Carol [who has done a bit of schoolwork but who is going write anyway even though its not done]

WOOO!! I hit 10,000!! *runs around screaming*

Okay so here is the next question:

As we should all be settling right into our plots right about now, this is a big one: What is your book about??

I have a plot... kinda. I'm trying to think of a way to word it though that isn't one long ramble.

My plot is still what I originally posted. But I'd describe what I have so far as:

Caleb Pries and his parents are attacked by a (para?)military unit, the leader of whom insists that Caleb is some kind of elf and poses a homeland security threat. The three Prieses are rescued by one of Caleb's 'imaginary friends,' an incorporeal being who communicates with Caleb telepathically.

After they escape, Caleb hires Lindsey Walker, a female private investigator, to help him find his father, presumably the source of his strange abilities and possibly the reason the military whackos appeared on his doorstep. Having apparently lost his pursuers, Caleb has deliberately chosen not to tell Lindsey that men with guns are after him or that he has a number of ... unusual abilities.

So far, Lindsey has tracked down his mother's roommate, who remembers his father, and Caleb and Lindsey are about to visit her and hear her story. But Caleb's lack of openness will soon result in their both being on the run.

Hmm... my plot... I have one... er kinda...

Vala is really Aeryn but she doesn't remember and John somehow finds her and tries to convince her of this all the while they're trying to figure a way to destroy the Ori.

Oh shoosh, it's been circling my brain for literally over a year

Um... plot...? We're supposed to have a plot? I thought it was 50000 words of unadulterated fluff...

Okay...

Um, Lois and Clark meet, stuff happens. Aunt Louise turned out to be wonderful [love of her life died on Iwo Jima had no idea he did, but she told me the other day ], there's Lucy and Luthor and Jimmy and Perry... There's some flying involved... I'm sure Sman will show up at some point... There's a wedding at some point... and a honeymoon... Daily Planet...

Does that help? *g*
Carol

Don't forget she's a Wombat and he's a Tasmanian Devil!!!

Tasmanian Devils PREY on Wombats!!!

----> wombat?

Um, no. That's a chicken.

And you still HAVE to write that fic next year or I will send the Tanzmanian devil after you... And not in that 'oooo clark is a tanzmanian devil' way...

CoughTOGOMrewriteCough

Carol

I notice JoJo always starts the new "topic" but she rarely leads by example. JoJo?