Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related NaNoWriMo Party Thread

Let's get this party started!



Hey gang!

So who all's in?!

I am and so looking forward to starting in a couple hours.

Let's see...

A bit of a poll...

1. Are you registered at nanowrimo.org?
2. If so, what's your username so we can keep track of you?
3. How many years have you done Nano - or are you a newbie?!
4. Tell us a bit about your novel [if you want]. Is it fanfiction? Original?
5. Anything else .


For me:

1. Yes.
2. carolm
3. This is my third year. I completed my 50K words both of the last two years [Learning to Love and Unanswered Prayers/a big chunk of On The Other Hand once 50K was done on it]
4. I am writing Original Fiction this year. My synopsis on the nano website is:
But I'm not sure I like that as a description .

5. My ultimate goal is to write both this story and the sequel to it [which was my original plan until a friend convinced me that I needed to tell this story too]. I would *love* to get into the second one before Nano ends, but we'll see...

Who's next?
Carol

Wow Carol! You are ambitious! But I know you can do it, you are a writing-maniac!


1. Yes, I am registered
2. TaschaNH
3. never before
4. still no idea but definitely original fiction
5. I am still horrified at having signed up and wondering how many people get behind on the first day? I might set a new record or something <g>

Natascha

Edited: Oops, it's TaschaNH not TashaNH. See, I can't even get my name right! LOL

Good luck!

You can do it. Can't find you though...

TashaNH didn't show up :p .

counting down...

Hi all,

1. I'm signed up as...
2. QueenOfAces
3. Newbie. I have written one novel length piece for another fandom, but that took 3+ years and a lot of prodding. As a result, I'm having a few doubts about whether I can win this challenge.
4. I'm writing an original fiction piece entitled The Character. I'm not sure exactly where it's going, but the the premise is that the character is often its own entity that drives the creation and outcome of a story. We authors just think we're in charge!
5. I welcome writing buddies and encouragement! Thanks for taking the lead on this carolm!

There you are...

Forgot the c... :p

And so it begins...

Good luck, everyone!

How's everyone doing?!

I see both of you have some word count!

Am so proud of you, Natascha! Since you joined so late and had no idea what you were going to write about!!

I've had these particular characters percolating in my head for YEARS and writing them has been... freeing? Something and I'm doing much better so far today than I had expected.

Of course, I was up so late last night that I'm going to have to take a nap this afternoon, but that's beside the point .

Hi Carol,

I see you have a MASSIVE word count thus far! I have to say that I'm am a bit jealous of your ability to crank out stories (and great ones, at that) the way you do.

Still, I'm pleased with my progress. I have successfully chained my inner perfectionist (well, mostly) and have simply put my thoughts on paper. It's very freeing to write this way, but I do dread the process of revision.

Thanks for the encouragement, and keep up the good work on your novel.

Actually so far, even the grammar and spelling isn't that bad (I can fix it as I write <g>).

After talking to Shayne on the channel tonight, I realized I really needed an outline and figure out at least a general idea of where I want to go with this story. And I have come a long way already but there is one thing I am stuck on. And to make it worse, it is basically the reason why my main character is doing what she is doing.

Please check out my dilemma

here .

I would greatly appreciate any ideas! For now I can write around it with vague references but I have a feeling that potential readers will want to know the reason eventually...

Natascha

1.Yup, I'm registered as
2. thethirdtroll
3. This is my first year
4. Its an original story about a group of kids that discover that their teacher is really a troll that eats children. There is a better summary on my nano page.
5. I'd really like some writing buddies. I'm kind of nervous about not getting done in time. Hope to see you on nano.

I just wanted to pop in and wish you all luck. I also wanted to say how jealous I am that you guys are having a ball with NaNo! I'm just too exhausted to participate this year. Less than five weeks until my little one is born and my blood pressure has risen a little, so I had to make the decision not to participate this year.

I really wish I had the energy, though. Good luck, everyone!

At 5,670 words I am proud of what I have achieved so far. But I also realized that I am only about 1/9th done. That in a way is good since I don't really know to end it. But there is an awful lot left to be filled in.

I am writing in the past tense. But most of what I am including happened even earlier and the whole "had been" is driving me crazy. There is just too much of it and I am afraid it is going to get too boring. Yet, writing in present tense doesn't seem much better. What am I to do??

Also, thank you all for your idea regarding my dilemma. I decided to change my story idea a little bit as you can see in the other thread. I couldn't write about something I am not comfortable with...

Natascha (off to the casino tonight and wondering if she could include that somehow in her story... <g>)

How is everybody doing? I was so proud of yesterday's finish but didn't get any writing done today. At least not yet.

I am no longer writing linear, which seems to inspire my muse more. But it will be a lot of work to tie everything together.

What are your achievements/fears so far? Come on in and share. It is fun to procrastinate!

Natascha

Go Natascha!

I've written a little over 1000 today and worked on my chapter outline in more detail. Yesterday was just under 1000 I think.

However... /sigh/ DS spilled milk on my laptop on Monday [which - ACK! - is why I haven't posted more BIII yet] and while it still works [albeit with an external keyboard only], it's slow and sluggish and driving me CRAZY which is affecting my writing. Am going to be getting a new one as soon as my neighbor [who recently sold his computer store but still can get me stuff for wholesale etc] finds me a good deal.

Back to it!

Carol [who will post BIII tonight!]

It looks like you both are doing well, overall. I'm so sorry to hear about your laptop misadventures, Carol. That must be frustrating!

I was right on target until I hit a point in the story where I realized that I needed to do serious research on quantum theory and consciousness in order to realistically pull off the story (neither one even close to my area of expertise). So, instead of writing my quota last night, I spent the time doing research. I actually like how the draft is shaping up...it's just not long enough.

Quick Whine: Can't we move NaNoWriMo to June? I'm a teacher, and I'd have plenty of time then. Right now, I'm having trouble keeping up. I could definitely use some encouragement.

With ya there!

We could always do our own in June .

If nothing else, you've got the holidays and everything in November [at least in the US which is where it's based so you'd think they'd take that into consideration a decade ago when they started it :p ].

But hey - sometimes you have to do that. I've spent several hours this week looking up calendars and baseball games and stuff.

You're doing great!

Great job everybody!

I am glad I haven't had to do any research yet but I am sure the time will come.

Carol, you don't seem to be able to catch a break with NaNo. But I am impressed with your ability to deal with everything that's thrown your way and your word count!

I am just realizing that I might be better suited for shorter fiction. LOL 50,000 are a lot of words. In order to reach that I have to include a lot more in the story, reaching back farther than I was planning on. Oh well, we will see what happens.

I am pleased with my word count so far because there will be days I won't be able to write as much. I do need to spend more time job hunting unless I want to be a homeless artist come December. <g>

Natascha

PS. Have any of you ever been at a write-in that your regions are hosting? Hoping to see one in Vancouver, I might go.

I am not feeling inspired today...

I must enjoy talking to myself since I keep coming in here.

I crossed the 13,000 word mark today! It's an incredible feeling to be 1/4 done. But the remaining 3/4 are a really daunting prospect. I am afraid my story is if not almost than at least halfway done... Oh well I will figure something out.

It would be great if my job search showed such rewarding results. I had to buy snow tires today and they set me back by almost $500. Seeing how I have been living off my savings for the past 3 months, the situation is getting desperate. And I don't want to go home yet.

Hoping that something will come up soon, I am writing as much as I can now while I still have the time.

Natascha

PS. Happy (early) Birthday Carol! Hope you have a wonderful day!!

I hope things work out for you and the job search!

I am very happy with my current job, but it is preventing me from keeping up the correct pace for NaNo. Unless some miracle occurs, it doesn't look like I'll finish in the time allowed. However, I'm pleased with the start I've made, and I'm glad to be writing again.

Is anybody else having problems accessing the nanowrimo.org page? I haven't been able to open it all afternoon.

It's quiet in here! Anybody else having motivational problems? So far I did write every day but lately I don't even start till 11 pm and then I just do it to get the word count up.

No sure if I have any motivation tonight to even open the document. I can't stay up late because I am heading to Whistler tomorrow and want to leave early...

Any words of encouragement?

Natascha

PS. I kicked myself in the behind and wrote another 1,000 words tonight. Off to bed now that I have earned my right to sleep. <g>

Go Tascha!

I wrote all of 108 words yesterday :p . That was either on my iPhone or Google docs at school. Was just one of those days and I'm afraid today is going to be as well. I have a ton of laundry to fold and a kitchen to clean and 4 kids to take to get their H1N1 vaccines and... /sigh/

And the stinkin' characters [the bad guy ex mainly - not a Lex type bad guy, more a Lana type bad guy] did something about 3 weeks [and 3-4 chapters] before I wanted him to /more sighs/.

Am moving the rest of my info from my old laptop to my new one at the moment. Then need to clean the LR, fold those clothes and then maybe I can write for a bit. I could do the dishes while the kids eat lunch. I have about 2.5 hours before I need to leave. We'll see what I can get done in that time... /sigh/

Only two weeks to go! Who is still with us?

Thanks to Laura's help with my picture I now I have a tentative book cover. You can find it here:
One Day at a Time

I needed an incentive to keep writing and it seems to work.
I will never catch up to Carol but I am proud of my progress.

Natascha

Nice!

I don't even have a title, much less a cover! Though I have thought about trying to find a couple of kids with at least sort of the right looks to take some pics of but... None of my kids fit the bill so... Well, one did until last spring when I had her hair cut... Maybe I can find a picture of her from last spring... Though the story is mostly about the girl after she grows up...

Anyway...

Go Tascha!!! I love the pic!

Think I'm done writing for today though. Hopefully tomorrow...

Crossed the 31,000 word mark tonight!

Now I know why people say to let your characters do something totally unexpected. Mine just baked a cake! I could even use some LnC references for that occasion. It was pretty funny.

Still no clue how to tie it all together but I guess I can still do that in December as long as I reach that word count.

Go Tascha!

It's amazing how little control we really have over our characters isn't it ?

I hit the 40K mark tonight. I would LOVE to have it done this week but am way behind on my betaing and know I will have little brain power tomorrow. Probably enough to beta but not enough to be creative if that makes sense. I'm thinking the whole novel will be a total of about 52-55k words so not too much past the goal of 50K. I'm on the downslope and they keep wanting to say something about how they feel but I've managed to keep them from doing that so far [random power outage as one of them opened his mouth for instance ]. Need them to hold off for another chapter or two.

Tomorrow, I do want to finish the chapter I'm on [about half done] and would LOVE to get another one done, but...

Current official count: 40312

Edit: Guess this didn't post last night...

Ugh.

A friend of a friend has hit 50K. She's 'won'.

However, I happen to know that she had 20K before the month even started and she wants to finish the novel. Well, technically, that's against the rules. To 'win' Nano, officially, it has to be all new. In the grand scheme of whether you can tell others you 'won' or not, I'm perfectly okay with working on a WiP as long as you ONLY count NEW words.

But the thing is... She did not. She counted the 20K towards her total of 50K. It's really kind of annoying me. I really wanted to beat her, fair and square, as I had nothing written on Nov. 1, but when I saw her at 48992 yesterday I knew she'd beat me.

Yes, I'll reach 50K new words before she does, but for some inexplicable reason it's rubbing me the wrong way.

Last year, I did write part of OTOH and counted it towards my total word count but NOT until AFTER I wrote nearly 80K on Unanswered Prayers [which was entirely new] - it didn't count towards my initial 50K.

All that said... I'm over 41K right now . Outline has prologue, 26 chapters, epilogue. I am currently about 300 words into Chapter 21 [goal for each chapter is 1800 or so]. Of course, we all know how my outlines can be way shorter than what it will eventually turn out to be [once I finally sat down and outlined the rest of OTOH, when I was on about chapter 80 or so, I had 125 chapters outlined - when I finished it was 145 [and then I added 3 more to the archive version] - so there's not telling how long it will end up being :p .

Anyway... Had to vent my frustrations . Never mind that this lady is retired, while I have a 2, 4, 6, 8yo and am working 3 days a week [plus schoolwork at home - though I'm way ahead on that]. Am hoping to do another miniwrite in [or go to the one with the folks from my area] on Saturday and finish this puppy up on Saturday if I don't get it done tomorrow .

Thanks for letting me vent! Because you know you had a choice =D.

Carol

Don't forget... if you 'win' you get a FREE proof copy of your book!

If you choose the cheapest shipping, my understanding is that it is free anywhere in the world .

Check it out.

Carol

I just signed my 8yo up for the Young Writer's Program. I know it's late in the month but she has a project she's been writing for several weeks. She MAY have started it in October but I'm not sure. I don't think so. She's writing a chapter book about a bird family and the new baby brother .

She's even illustrating it!

As a 2nd grader, her word count goal is only 2000 words and while she's not home so I can't look at her notebook, it would surprise me if she's not close to halfway there already.

She loves to read and write and I'm going to talk to her as soon as she gets home about whether or not she wants to do it. If so, she gets to go with me tonight when I go to a local restaurant and have my own mini-writein [though she may get brought home early as I'm planning on staying till 10 =D - or I could bring an extra laptop, a movie and headphones for her if she gets tired of writing]. She doesn't type but as I should be done in the next couple of days, typing it up for her real quick shouldn't be much of an issue. You can enter your word count manually but you only get the cool prizes if you validate with their validator and for that it must be typed.

She could even get a free copy of her book too . And I could set it to sell on Amazon . Okay, probably not, but I could get a few copies for grandmas and grandpas for Christmas!

Anyway... I'm off to write for about 40m before she gets home, then clean the LR, then make dinner etc, then go to my own little write in .

Well, she had about 500 words when she got home.

She now has 897!!

I am so proud of her!

We went to a local restaurant [not fast food but not sit down either] and stayed for about 3-3.5 hours. She wrote about 20% of her goal for the MONTH. That's like 10K for us! I wrote about 4K today total but only about 1600 while sitting there [for a variety of reasons].

And now... bedtime .

Go Carol! You are sooooo close! And your daughter is awesome too! Congratulations.

I should be writing now and I am wiped after packing and cleaning all day. It is only 5:45 here but feels much later! Heading back over the Rockies tomorrow since I couldn't find a job here either. That means I will be on the road for the next two days. Let just hope the road conditions aren't bad...

Maybe I should take a power nap now and continue writing later?

BTW, I too think that your friend was cheating! How uncool is that? Would bug me too.

Yes, it would be great to get a free copy of the book, which is one reason why I am already designing covers.

Natascha who needs 15,372 more words

I'm doing NaNo for the second year. I wrote a romance last year and it got requested and rejected by Harlequin. Great experience though.

This year I'm doing more of a women's fiction. I'm currently at 45000 words. This rough draft will be much rougher than last year's. I have written chapters out of sequence and I know I have contradictions and discrepancies. But that's what the revision process is for.

I feel your pain, Carol, about the woman who counted the 20K she already had written. But she's only fooling herself and you know you've written all of your story during November.

Yay Tasha! Keep going!

We can all celebrate together when (not if) we win!

YAY!

I hit 50K last night! And I finished the book to boot!

Okay - still just a rough draft and I know, like Marilyn, that there's inconsistencies and stuff [like I changed one guy's job halfway through, etc], but it's a ROUGH draft.

I also started the sequel last night. The sequel is what I set out to write in the first place and then a friend convinced me that no, I had to write this one first. Which kinda stinks as I like my female romantic lead from the first one and she sort of um, dies, before the second one. Before she was just the guy's late wife, you know?

Makes me almost want to not write it. ALMOST .

DD8 wrote with me for a while yesterday. Not as much as she did the other night but she's at 1375 out of her 2000 word goal. She can so do this! That's closing in on 70% done . Next year, we'll do it right and plot it out and all that. Am sure my now-6yo will want to give it a shot too but at this point in first grade... Writing isn't their thing yet - in fact the minimum goal for a 1st grader is only 300 words. I'm not sure why - maybe because they don't write much yet? I'd think it would be a lot of transcribing on my part - or rather dictating on her part you know?

I'm so proud of DD8!!!!!!

Have a sick 6yo home today - just sick enough to not be at school not sick enough to be glad she's not at school :p .

I really want to get a good start on the next one. I've got a week... let's see what I can manage... And if I can actually manage to convince myself that I'm insane enough to submit it to publishers someday...

Woohoo! I just passed the 40,000 word mark! And that's despite driving more than 700 miles in two days and very little sleep these past two nights.

I am back in Alberta with my brother and at least here I won't have to worry about coming up with the rent money for next month. That's a relief.

Congratulations Carol for finishing (even if it is just the rough draft). You did it!

Go Marilyn, I am rooting for you too! I would like to add you as a writing buddy but can't find you on nanowrimo.

7 days to go and I still have so many loose ends and no idea how to time them up. Where should she meet her future-husband? At her new office? Could he be the electrician? Too many choices and I can never decide. ;P

Carol, I can totally understand about having to go back for revision. I am pretty sure I keep using wrong names all the time because I can't remember the ones I used! Pathetic!

Natascha (who is not giving up)

Natascha - there is no rule that it HAS to be done in 50K words. That's just what it takes to 'win'. And you've done great given everything else!!!! Go you!

A discussion in IRC just now seems to indicate that once you get past Harlequin/Mills and Boon etc., books tend to be much longer anyway [which is a bit depressing as mine finished up at about 51.5K - while I'm sure it's going to be a bit longer once I'm done and do a better job describing things [like a skirt and nice sweater needs a bit more ], but it' still not going to be LONG. But the story is done. To try to stretch it out would destroy it I think. IF something comes to me in the editing process, great. If not, oh well.

I did get the prologue and first chapter of the sequel finished tonight. My DD8 is up to 1462 of 2000 .

Ugh - am feeling like blech so am going to bed...

Just passed 45,000! I am babysitting my very active 11 months old niece tomorrow who doesn't like to take naps anymore, so we will see if I get anything done then. If I could get her to take a nap, chances are I might reach the goal tomorrow. But I wouldn't be surprised if this project ended up being closer to 60k.

Does anyone here know anything about a company opening an office abroad? The legal ramifications must be complex and I have just been skimming over it. Maybe my character should have taken them up on the franchise idea instead of becoming employed by the company and expanding to another country...

Off to bed now.

Happy Thanksgiving to all American FoLCs. Enjoy the turkey and sent left overs my way, please! I especially love gravy!

Natascha

Just past 25K last night. On the one hand, I know I'm probably not going to win this time (my 3rd year writing L&C fanfic novels). On the other hand, I'm going down kicking and screaming. This is the first year that James isn't writing with me and it makes all of the difference in the world. I've also had out-of-town company for more than a week. James' Dad will be staying with us until Sunday and my Dad will be in town (he spent a week in my house and now he's at my sister's) until December 3.

Both of my kiddos are set to win young writer's program nanos. I'm proud of watching their growth over the last several years. This is the first year they haven't dictated everything but have instead started each day by writing on paper. While that may not seem like a big deal it is to my LD daughter.

In the past I've also always won Nano but not actually finished the book. (Translation, more than 50K words but not at the end of the story) This time I'd like to see it all of the way through.

Anyway, I logged onto the boards just to congratulate Carol since I noticed yesterday that she finished. Well done, sista!


Elisabeth

BTW, Natascha, since practically nobody knows international law it's okay to make up your own. This is just fiction after all.

Elisabeth -

How old are your girls again? My 8yo is set to win as well. Can she friend them? She doesn't know anyone else doing it. I found them and buddied them but I think they have to approve it... I haven't transcribed what she wrote last night but she was less than 300 words away from her goal.

We've missed you two around here - at least I have and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Been wondering how you guys are doing .

Carol [who has only been up about 15m and needs to feed the kids then get them down for naps then write]

ETA: after transcribing what she wrote last night, she has 231 words to go .

She can friend them, but I'm not sure how much screen time the girls will get with me slamming as many words in as possible. Full0grace is my 3rd grader, who is writing a Trixie Belden story. Full0faith is my 2nd grader, who is writing original fiction which is a mystery set during Trixie Belden's time with grandpa starring as the bad guy.

I'm up to 27K words now. I've been chatting with my FIL, making eye contact and smiling, while I nonchalantly type a sentence here and there. It's rude, I know, but I'm getting desperate. He's in ill health and will be taking a nap in a few minutes, during which time I hope to crank out another 1K words.

James and I are faring well. He's been unemployed since April. He cannot get health insurance unless he's part of a group, so we are opening up a business together. I've been doing secretarial work as an independant consultant for an insurance company (only about 4 hrs a week, since I already have a full-time non-paying job). Now he's licensed to sell health and life insurance. This is the busy season since it's open enrollment for Medicare, the area he's tentatively looking at specializing in. He's been training over the last month and finally, as of Monday after work, is contracted with GHP and Essence to sell Medicare supplements, advantage plans, and Part D. Since then sales have been going very well (the way that they only can during open enrollment), but mostly that's because he's still working closely with the trainer. I have every confidence that he'll get past the huge learning curve soon and will be able to work on his own.

Once I get the business up and running, I'm hoping that I'll be back in more often. Up until now I just haven't had the mental energy to hang out.

Break time is over and I'm back to writing.


Elisabeth

Look at all the D8as go!

I think DD8 could have done more than 2000 but I didn't realize she was old enough [and might be interested] until way too late and I didn't want to set her up for failure so I stuck with the minimum guideline for 2nd grade.

If I can get her to sit down and just do it, she might finish tomorrow. If not, Sunday.

I got 4,475 words in today, which is shy of the 5,974 that I needed to catch up but not bad considering that I also played hostess all day. James' dad and I chatted all day long. I made eye contact and kept up to speed while I typed with him, although I did finally fess up that I was writing.

The kiddos were supposed to write today, but they were happily climbing trees and in general staying out of my hair so I didn't push it. They'll have plenty of time to finish up tomorrow and Monday. Both have the end goal in view.

Thanks for the encouragement.


Elisabeth

I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So proud to be a winner... Not that close to being done but I can do that as well. I can do anything! Right? <g>

Off to bed,

Natascha

Go you!

I'm off to bed [again :p not breathing derailed the last attempt].

But YAY!!!!

Congrats, Natascha!

Surely I can find 21 hours over the next few days to knock out the rest of my novel, right?

Elisabeth
32,254 words

Sure ya can! You're doing great!

Go Elisabeth!

Great job Elisabeth! You can do it!

I didn't write anything today until half an hour ago when I felt guilty. Plus I missed something. Not writing for the first time in 28 days felt wrong! And with the pressure off I manage to add another 1,100 words in those 30 minutes. And I am getting closer to the end!

Of course I also introduced this really cute guy. So I am off to bed. He might show up in my dreams after all.

Natascha

Just passed 35K words. I've felt lousy for the last few days, so they aren't coming easily, but I'm still trudging along.

Go Elisabeth!

You can do it! You can sleep on Tuesday .

Good luck! Keep plugging away!

Nooo! I just found out that my dad is leaving town one day earlier than I thought. It isn't Tuesday that I spend the day with him, it's tomorrow. Which means that neither me nor either of my girls will probably win this year. He's traveled 2K miles, he has to be the priority.

I'm ending the night at 36K. With the 5100 word cheat that I've been holding in reserve that would have put me in a good position to win.

Maybe I can help the girls pull off a win. I dont' know.


Elisabeth
who is unwilling to give up sleep for it when I'm not feeling well
I suppose I'm finding out my priorities and am bummed that I'm not shallow enough to do whatever it takes

Sorry it's a day early than you thought but glad you'll get to spend a day with your dad.

Good luck to your girls. I'm starting to wonder if DD8 is going to make it or not - and she only needs 200 words. Her... enthusiasm has tapered significantly . She's mad at me for not starting on Nov. 1 with her [it honestly didn't even occur to me that she might be a. old enough and b. interested]. DH suggested that maybe she and I can go write at the same restaurant we did last weekend for a bit tomorrow night and see if that jump starts her.

Wish I could give you a bunch of my words...

Have you ever posted the others you wrote, Elisabeth? Wasn't 'No, In Any Language' [or something like that] your Nano project one year?

Never posted a nano project because I always quit writing on Nov 30. I would win nanowrimo without finishing the story. I'd really like to finish my first year's project, but I'm not so sure about my second year's.

I'm writing as much as I can right now, knowing that Dad takes longer to get going in the morning than I do.


Elisabeth
who isn't dead yet

The 2nd grader just won and is happy dancing around the schoolroom. The 3rd grader needs some screen time so I can verify how close she is. I'm at 37K without my 5100 word cheat.

Definitely not dead yet.


Elisabeth
who is off to play hostess

Go D8as!!!!

We'll throw a big ole bash for you when you hit it! You can so do this!!!

Okay, okay, it's really kinda technically cheating but I will say that two years ago when I had a really bad month [that was the year my DS was in the hospital and had surgery and DH had a kidney stone on Nov 28 etc...] I contemplated changing my time zone further west. While, yes, it would have been cheating, I would have only felt a tiny bit bad about it given everything else . Especially as I didn't take them up on the free book offer, it wasn't hurting anything but still gave me the feeling of accomplishment I so needed at that time. As it was, I managed to eek it out at about 11:59:50 my time... Think I wrote about 15K in those last two days... [could look up the old thread but...]

DD8 and I are probably going to go eat at McAlister's tonight as soon as DH gets home. That would give us about 2h. I'm not going to push her too hard, but I am going to push her some. She needs 198 words or so. I'll see how much, if anything, she wrote on the bus/at school today before I decide how hard to push her. I think getting her away from here to just write would work but we'll see...

She did it!

DD8 finished her book with 2039 words .

So proud of her!

How are things going in D8a land E?

Elisabeth, you rock! I have watched your word count and am amazed how much you managed to get done already! Don't give up yet!

I might just have to do it again next year...

Natascha

Wow! Look at that jump Elisabeth! I checked a little while ago and it was still at 37ish. You can do it!

The third grader just won. I told her she could finish the actual story tomorrow since she's really tired and looking forward to going to bed.

I'm at 38591 legitimate words, which translates into 43650 when I have the machine count it for me. (There's no way to remove the 5100 word cheat now.)

Elisabeth
who is still writing and is proud of our 3 little girls

Go D8as!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm proud of the girls too! There's no rule that says the book has to be done in that many words - DD8's is but her chapters are each kind of mini stories you know? Maybe 2 chapters per...

You can do this Elisabeth!!!!

Go Elisabeth! You're getting there!

GO ELISABETH!!!!

Carol [who is not post padding but cheering every time she sees Elisabeth's post count go up even if she probably won't see it till later cuz she's so focused on her word file and who should be trying to pound out another 2k or so words herself to reach her [reduced] self-imposed goal of 65K but is watching 'The Rookie' instead for... research. Yeah. Research.]

I threw in everything that I wrote this month, kept the 5100 word cheat (which I wrote during nanowrimo 2yrs ago but never counted--it became a part of this story), uncontracted contractions, called every person and city by their full name, and wrote like the wind. I've decided that it's okay to come up 2300 words shy. I'm sleeping for two these days and am going to go hit the hay.

Elisabeth
who is proud of myself knowing that even if I don't win I'm finally going to finish one of my nanowrimo novels

BTW, Natascha, you should definitely come back again next year.

I'm proud of you Elisabeth, even if you were just shy of winning [and even without changing your time zone ].

I did get a bit closer to my [lowered] self-imposed goal and would have hit it if I'd been working a little harder earlier today. I finally skipped ahead and am totally wincing at the number of typos and everything else in those last few hundred words but...

That's okay . I'm looking forward to reading what you cranked out Elisabeth and everyone else - whether it's on the boards or in paperback or a really big .rtf file .

Great job FoLCs!!!

I especially want to congratulate those who had never written a novel in a month before. Following through is a mighty feat.

And slightly off-topic, but I love teaching language arts in December and January. I ditch all of the worksheets and print out the kids own writing. That way, when they need to circle all of the nouns they're circling their own nouns. I especially like teaching antonyms, because then they get mixed up stories that are tons of fun.


Elisabeth