#nanowrimo update

[full-of-malice]

what a lovely day i bet everything on the nanowrimo forums has been resolved and there's no wild new information that's going to make me hate the staff even more...

[trigger warning on the last two images for bombing and terrorism]

here's some screenshots of brand new info and a testimony that came straight from the nanowrimo forums. this is only one part of the testimony. there is so much more.

each day the staff is revealed to be more and more corrupt. we're not gonna go down silently.

i'm going to spread the word as much as possible because everyone who has been part of nanowrimo deserves to know

[i will be updated this with text version for each image later, i'm currently unable to but i will later]

[rivenantiqnerd]

Finished NaNoWriMo!

It’s my first year doing NaNoWriMo, and I’m busy with school and stuff, so my goal was only 10k words, but I reached it!

Since I finished early, I’m aiming for 11,000 by the end of the month and to write everyday.

If anyone wants to be buddies as we finish this novel writing month, my username is WriteKS.

[at-thezenith]

DONE DONE DONE DONE

[lerefugedeluza]

Coucou ♡ 

Une petite vidéo bilan du Nanowrimo de cette année. Ce mois était plutôt chaotique mais j’ai quand même réussi à écrire presque tous les jours. Si vous voulez en savoir plus, n’hésitez pas à regarder la vidéo ! Si vous avez participé au Nano 2023 vous pouvez aussi me raconter comment ça s’est passé pour vous ! 

Bonne journée ♡  (et désolée pour les problèmes de son, j'ai fait tout ce que j'ai pu mais il n'est toujours pas net)

[krokuswrites]

I did it 🥳 

I won Nanowrimo 2023 🥳

I ended this session with a little over 50k words 🥳

I had to stretch it to the last day because I learned that participating in something like this during a month where I'm not home on the weekends because of conferences and work was not the best idea buuut I managed anyway 🥳 

The one thing I figured out for me personally though is that Nano is amazing for me when it comes to 1st drafts but not much else lmao I never would've hit that goal if I had been editing/writing a 2nd or 3rd and so on draft. So unless I have another project ready for its 1st draft by November next year I won't participate again.

Now back to writing and finishing the 1st draft of this project (I expect around 10k-20k more words), which I aim to finish in December 🥳 

[isnt-it-pretty]

Morning!

Today is day 17 of NaNoWriMo and I'm starting it with 32,245 words. For those of you who don't know, my original goal was 30k since this is my first NaNoWriMo and I wasn't sure I could do 50k. Well, I'm on my way to it, so we'll see if I make it! Even if I don't, I'm very happy with what I've accomplished, and on a fic I've always wanted to write no less! (Okay, some of those words for on another work, but whatever. It still counts).

It lost the 1,667 badge (writing 1,667 words per day everyday) on the 11th, but I didn't expect to hold onto it as long as I did, so I'm really happy about that.

I hope NaNoWriMo is doing well for the rest of you doing it and that even if you don't meet the goal to be gentle with yourself. Any writing is good writing right now. I always encourage creativity because I think any creativity is good.

Time to get back to writing, wish me luck!

[prettylittlelyres]

Ladies Don't Write Music - 15th November 2023 - update

I'm on track for NaNoWriMo because I hit 25,000 words for the month today! I'm so pleased. Attempting NaNoWriMo at all this year was a huge gamble because I haven't written over 25,000 words since February 2023, and even then I only managed just over 37k... but I've written 25k in the last two weeks and a day!

I also finished writing Chapter Twelve today, and brought it in at 5,000 words exactly. That's both immensely satisfying, and a point of pride; it's the fastest I've finished a chapter on this manuscript since I started drafting it at the end of July. The full manuscript is now just over 60,000 words long, and I want to do some more writing before I go to bed.

Below the cut: a celebratory excerpt, my NaNoWriMo 25k badge, and the cover I designed at the start of November, because I'm proud of that, too.

I clapped the right tempo, and counted Fräulein Schneider in.

She began, halting here and there, but, in general, playing very well.

“I’m not sure if you need a teacher,” I said, as she came to the end of the first page, “You sight-read just fine, and your sense of rhythm is strong.”

Fräulein Schneider beamed at me. “Thank you!” she said, “But it’s… it’s the pitch that I struggle with. Did I really…” She looked down at her hands. “Did I really play that correctly? I keep thinking I was pressing the wrong keys, but I don’t like to look at my hands when I’m sight-reading, or I lose my place in the music.”

I shook my head. “There was nothing wrong with the notes you played,” I said, “Considering it was your first time with the piece, actually, it was excellent.”

Louisa raised her eyebrows, and looked from me to the sheet music, and then back again. “That’s… That’s a surprise,” she said, “I’ve always thought I was, well… quite bad at the harpsichord. I practise, but the music never makes any more sense than it does when I start learning a piece. My last two teachers gave up on me, but I keep playing anyway because Papa and Mama said it would be a good way to entertain my husband one day.”

“Doesn’t it sound good to you, at least?” I asked, “I mean, do you like the way it sounds, even if it’s a little confusing?”

She smiled. “Yes, very much… but I worry that it doesn’t sound so good to other people. Full of wrong notes… Who would enjoy hearing a piece they recognise mangled out of shape?”

I tapped the page she had just played. “You certainly didn’t mangle this,” I said.

“Oh,” she said, covering her face with her hands, “That’s a relief!” Then her eyes widened as she dropped her hands to her lap. “Goodness me, how embarrassing it would have been if I’d played it badly in front of its composer.”

“Badly, not at all,” I assured her, sitting down next to her at the bench, “A little slowly, perhaps, but…” I played the first few bars as they should have been played. “That’s what it’s meant to sound like. And what you played was close enough. Honestly, Louisa, if you practise for even half an hour every day, I think you’ll have the first page fluent in less than a week. Your hands will learn it, even if your ears don’t.”

I decided a while ago that Johann Schneider's character would be tone-deaf, and would enjoy watching music performed for the movement. He has a younger sister and I thought it would be interesting to explore her having the same difficulties. Johann isn't a musician (yet), but Louisa plays the harpsichord and has a lot of trouble feeling confident in what she's playing because she's never sure she's got the right pitch. Luckily, her proprioception is excellent (as is Johann's, which is why he can dance so well), so she can put her fingers on the right keys without needing to see them. This is what Katharina's trying to help her see here, in this ad-hoc music lesson; she doesn't need to hear what she's playing to be able to play it well.

I'm quite enjoying playing around with parallels between Johann & Louisa Schneider and Katharina & Hans Schmidt. In both pairs of siblings, you have the older, more serious one having trouble meeting people's expectations, in contrast with the younger, more humourous one having very little trouble at all. The pairs also mirror each other in their strengths and weaknesses: Katharina and Hans have audiovisual projective synaesthesia and perfect pitch, so can hear and see the music they're making; Johann and Louisa are literally tone-deaf (Johann completely, Louisa almost completely) and music for them is a much more visual thing than it is for most people. Then there's Katharina, whose coordination is so bad it causes problems, being the opposite of Johann, whose coordination makes him an excellent dancer who then has problems because he finds constant poorly-veiled requests to dance at parties very tiring.

[oneiric-somnolence]

Happy December: Writing Diary #1

December 1, 2023

My chaotic and nontraditional version of NaNoWriMo was wonderful, and helped me get a fantastic start to my story. It is now December and I no longer feel like I am being forced by anyone but myself to write, and while I thought that might be a bad thing due to my lack of self-motivation, I do feel much better.

The problem lies in the fact that I am now experiencing the most true aspect of being a writer. It isn’t a gimmick or something to pass the time anymore. The story is now much realer than it was this time last month. The characters are now people in my head who are demanding this story be told. I have gotten to the point where I feel like I am no longer writing, rather I am transcribing the experiences of these characters in my head. I’ve gotten down all the bones, the outlines. I understand what happens and who these people are. I’ve done all the fun bit of thinking that up, and it is now too real to ever let go. Now, I am just to tell it.

This, frankly, fucking sucks. It’s wonderful and beautiful and magical or whatever but it sucks. I know what happens. The problem is that no one else does and I have to change that. It’s an awful drag. Needing to finish the first draft is the worst thing that could happen to anybody. It’s so terribly fun to get a start writing, to begin making it real and seeing your story come to life. It’s so lovely and satisfying to clean up and rewrite the first draft into the best story you could make. 

It is sick and awful hell to finish your first draft. But it must be done.

[purelysymbiotic]

NaNoWriMo is officially over, but I'm not done!

In the month of November, I managed to write 102,179 words for Purely Symbiotic. This is 204.36% of the 50K goal NaNo sets out!

I'm so proud of this progress. It looks like that November 20th and 21st were my biggest writing days. 16,685 words over two days!

I also hit all of those writing badges which was very satisfying to do. Updating 1,667 words a day is not easy when you work better in spurts instead of consistency.

The personal achievement badges were fun too. Fun fact, I cried twice over my novel, and they both consisted of gender moments!

So.......... what now?

We still are aiming for 240K words and 80 chapters, dividing into three 80K, 20 chapter parts. Right now, I'm in the depths of part 2. I've also started a new goal on the NaNoWriMo website.

The novel will *tentatively* be done by the end of January. If it takes me about 1 month to write 100K words, then it will be done sometime in mid-January. To avoid burnout and to give some leniency for myself, I just rounded up to January 31st. From there, February will be all reviewing and editing, and then finally.... FINALLY we will be posting to A03!

Why not post part 1 now?

The answer is that I'm a perfectionist, and I love foreshadowing. Just recently I found a quite big plot hole in the middle of writing part 2 and had to go back and fix some sections in part 1. I would not have been able to do this if part 1 was already uploaded. I can't imagine this not happening when I reach part 3, ESPECIALLY since I'm at the point where I no longer have a draft to reference because I'm so far into the story. Additionally, there are some heavy editing and proofreading needed. I might post snippets to gauge interest and get people excited for the drop date once we get closer to the end. I've even been thinking about making a video trailer too because... why not? It be fun. :)

[dragon-swords-prophecies]

NaNoWriMo 2023 Day 26: Herald At Dawn

***I'm doing half a nano (25k not 50k) cause I have too much other shit to do (school)***

Today's Word Count/Today's Goal Word Count: 967/835

Total Word Count: 21,813/25k (87%)

Goal Word Count: 25k

Snippet:

“It’s true,” said James. “It isn’t nice, but it is true.” “That doesn’t mean he should call you one,” said Asa. “Yes, but—” “Who got insulted the worst is not a competition,” said Leo. “You both were. It is fine that you are both hurt by it.” James and Alex didn’t say anything, agreeing that Leo was right but they were both just a little unwilling to admit it. Asa and Leo shared a look, one that said what they all agreed on. Bill was doing this next time. He had far, far less that Aubdurn could find issue with. There were still things, but the fact that his uncle was one of those ‘nice gentlemen at the Volimere Daily' would do a lot for Audburn actually speaking to him.

Notes: Today was really good! I made up for the missed words yesterday and also have gone back and tried to hint at the Amelia is Alex's sister thing eralier in the story when she first shows up, to make it make more sense and be less weird to happen out of nowhere. Also, I have the first game in a city of mists campaign I haven't played since July (& before that, january) in about three and a half hours, which I am so fucking excited for and cannot wait (*knocks on wood to ward of accidentally cursing myself*), which makes today extra good, not just with the words!

Taglist (ask to be +/-): @thelaughingstag @gr3y-heron @another-white-void @amethyst-aster

[bethisblogging]

I’m probably not going to “win” this NaNoWriMo, and that’s okay. This is the ninth year in a row I’ve participated, and for me it’s less about hitting the word count or making a daily habit that continues (because for me December has always been even more insane to try and continue writing every day). Honestly, I’ve never won, and only hit over 40K words once. Instead, I just look at it as time to spend with one of my favorite hobbies that I don’t always make time for anymore.

I’m 2014 when I started NaNoWriMo the first time because a professor assigned it, I was writing a little bit most days. Sometimes it was fanfiction. A lot of times it was original. My brain has always loved putting characters in scenarios. Over the years, though, fiction writing has taken a backseat to other things. NaNoWriMo is a time for me to get back to the things that 12 year old Beth and 17 year old Beth loved about writing, while also having the perspective of a college degree to influence writing style and answering whys that I used to just ignore. More than anything, it also gives me an excuse to talk about my writing, which helps keep me more accountable and motivated.

All of this to say, I fully believe you don’t have to have to use NaNoWriMo to finish a novel to be successful. You don’t have to use it to start a new habit. I don’t do NaNoWriMo because I want to be a published author. I do NaNoWriMo because I like putting characters in situations and having a month to focus free time on writing works for me.

[seven-stars-in-his-palm]

fuckin nanowrimo progress (i'm strugglin') (day 14)

WE'RE GETTIN BACK ON THE TRACK. YIIPIE!!!!! ONE MORE DAY AND WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!!!!!! WE ALSO FINISHED CHAPTER 5 SOOOOOOOOO!!!!! WAHOAOJSJSISHDSHSBBS

words written: 1480

writing sessions had: 1

percentage of manuscript completed: 46% !!!!

goal reached?: nah BUT WE'RE GETTING CLOSE!!!!

scenes/chapters worked on: 2, and chapter 5 :>>>

interactions written: 1. more a/c, hehe.the one bed trope thing but On The Ceiling. the tender . the argueing. the married couple energy. the reading to pass the time the crowley hating tea but makikg jt for aziraphale anyways JGHFHGGHGHG

curse words/nicknames (in-world and otherwise) used: crowley says "shit" twice :^

amount of breaks had in between: none!

random thought of the day: literally summarized two points befoee this. THEM

[writingamongther0ses]

Nano update! I’m at 39542 words now. 10458 words to go. And a fun snippet below!

“Why, you-” No. He took a deep breath and let it out. Loki sighed as he released her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter.” If he pushed, he could push her to the breaking point. A pact couldn't work with a broken host after all. A thought popped in. “Let’s test you.” 

“Eh?” 

Loki chuckled, leaning back. “I’m going to give you a riddle.” Siv rolled her eyes and he tapped her nose. “It’s relaxing.” 

“Yeah, for you.”

He would ignore that. Loki leaned forward. “ Okay, smartie-” Siv raised a brow. “I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish.” He turned back to the staircase. “What am I?”

He heard Siv hum. And he fought back a chuckle as he returned to his nail polish.

Hopefully, that would distract her for the time being.

[at-thezenith]

i am at 9k/10k words! think i can make the final push for the finish this weekend and then i'll have reached my nano goal for this month :)))

[indigoinka]

NANOWRIMO WINNER!

Woohoo! After being behind by about 10k last week, I really didn't think I'd get here, but this happened tonight.

[spacecat-studio]

NaNoWriMo Day 19

I honestly have no idea how many words I wrote today because I spent half the day poking at the last three chapters because plot things and no I can’t just subtract today’s total (129,779) from yesterday’s because I cut two giant chunks so it would be way off. But! The Plot has been ironed out! I was looking at my plot synopsis and I am always shocked at how bad I am at following them it’s def time to reorganize my notes and update my encyclopedia but maybe after NaNo is done tho