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Someone wrote over 500k words..
- Thread starter Sassee
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16.6K words per day is a bit much, don't you think? Makes you wonder if ctrl-c, ctrl-v is part of their typing skills.
I missed this thread before. I was taken aback by some of the comments, here.
They may have, but it seems a very harsh thing to say about someone. I know that I can do 1500 words in a 30-minute word war when I'm not censoring myself, and have done for several word wars in a row, so if that person writes first drafts in a similar way, then 16.6k words per day isn't impossible. I've word warred with many writers who write more quickly than me, so it's not a big leap to accept that these were all new words every day. If all the writing posts we read mention a slower writing pace than this, then I can definitely understand that 16.6k a day would seem unlikely.
Well, what if she didn't? There's nothing wrong with choosing to throw yourself into something. Perhaps they don't have other obligations, or are very good at organising their family and work lives?
I don't think this is cynical, so much as, frankly, vicious. I know I don't produce gems during NaNo, although there usually are some things every now and then that work really well and come as a nice surprise. The rest is first draft material that will be edited later. Letting yourself let go of your inner editor and just write is one of the aims behind NaNoWriMo.
There's no way I'd be able to write as much as these writers, but if I did, I know I wouldn't like it if I thought that other writers here would be making disparaging remarks about me and my work. High word counts can be difficult to be positive about, particularly if your own work isn't going well, but it's better to take it as inspiration and be happy for someone than be negative, I think. And if your own work is going well, then spreading the positivity can only be good.
They may have, but it seems a very harsh thing to say about someone. I know that I can do 1500 words in a 30-minute word war when I'm not censoring myself, and have done for several word wars in a row, so if that person writes first drafts in a similar way, then 16.6k words per day isn't impossible. I've word warred with many writers who write more quickly than me, so it's not a big leap to accept that these were all new words every day. If all the writing posts we read mention a slower writing pace than this, then I can definitely understand that 16.6k a day would seem unlikely.
Well, what if she didn't? There's nothing wrong with choosing to throw yourself into something. Perhaps they don't have other obligations, or are very good at organising their family and work lives?
I don't think this is cynical, so much as, frankly, vicious. I know I don't produce gems during NaNo, although there usually are some things every now and then that work really well and come as a nice surprise. The rest is first draft material that will be edited later. Letting yourself let go of your inner editor and just write is one of the aims behind NaNoWriMo.
There's no way I'd be able to write as much as these writers, but if I did, I know I wouldn't like it if I thought that other writers here would be making disparaging remarks about me and my work. High word counts can be difficult to be positive about, particularly if your own work isn't going well, but it's better to take it as inspiration and be happy for someone than be negative, I think. And if your own work is going well, then spreading the positivity can only be good.
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See, and I took this as a light-hearted comment, since one of the basics of NaNoWriMo is to turn off your internal editor--so most Nanos are going to be of questionable quality, at least until they've been edited later. In my understanding, one of the main ideas is *not* to go for high quality, but for a completed, if very rough, first draft.
Of course, I may not understand anything. It wouldn't be the first time
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Lazette Gifford who runs Forward Motion does NaNo every year. She is such a prolific author (meaning published, not just written) regularly that she ends up doing 250k or better each November (she hits roughly that same number no matter the month).
To each their own. Some people need to write a lot because their internal editor is quiet (oh for that peace) and then they chop when they have a pile of pages in front of them.
I'm not as prolific but I tend to write almost a third more than I use. But at least its out of my head---and into the trunk
To each their own. Some people need to write a lot because their internal editor is quiet (oh for that peace) and then they chop when they have a pile of pages in front of them.
I'm not as prolific but I tend to write almost a third more than I use. But at least its out of my head---and into the trunk
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I discussed the high writing count with the woman I linked to above. She told me that she writes for herself only, has no intention of ever publishing anything, does it for fun, and never edits.
As for whether or not the high word counts are possible, as far as I'm concerned, absolutely. Doing word wars, last year, I was consistently getting 1500+ words per half hour, or 3000+ words per hour. To reach 500,000 words in 30 days, the math boils down to 16,667 words per day. My top writing day was 16,250 and I wrote for less than 8 hours. Difficult? Brain bleeding? Yes. Possible? Also yes.
You know, NaNoWriMo is not just for writers seeking publication. It's for any kind of writer, regardless of their end goal.
As for whether or not the high word counts are possible, as far as I'm concerned, absolutely. Doing word wars, last year, I was consistently getting 1500+ words per half hour, or 3000+ words per hour. To reach 500,000 words in 30 days, the math boils down to 16,667 words per day. My top writing day was 16,250 and I wrote for less than 8 hours. Difficult? Brain bleeding? Yes. Possible? Also yes.
You know, NaNoWriMo is not just for writers seeking publication. It's for any kind of writer, regardless of their end goal.
In the Salem, OR region, last year we had a guy write 147k i think on his palm pilot.
I would love to hit 60-65k, but another win will tide me over.
I would love to hit 60-65k, but another win will tide me over.
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Yea I admire the high word counts - amazing really to me how someone can have that much to say about their story means either they spent a lot of time thinking thru their story ahead of time or like to use a lot of adjectives either way, to be able to put something together that long about one story, amazing. I will be happy to be at 70,000 when all said and done!
either way, to be able to put something together that long about one story, amazing. I will be happy to be at 70,000 when all said and done!
That's probably just as well. The cringe factor for me in thinking of writing 500K words would be the prospect of going back and trying to edit that. Heck, 100K is a long haul in edits.
unless it was actually multiple books in a series... honestly what publisher would actually take on a 500k book?
It seems like overkill in my opinion unless they finished one story, and moved on.
It seems like overkill in my opinion unless they finished one story, and moved on.
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Well heck, I came in third in The Great Tea Debacle during NaNo last year and I hit 116k. JeanneTGC won with some ungodly amount--200k or so, but I would have caught her if I hadn't gone into the hospital for a while.
You have to realize that some people--like me--don't really have a life outside of writing. I have the time and if the story is driving me, I can write upwards of 12-15k per day. No one ever said it was good but it's all there.
You have to realize that some people--like me--don't really have a life outside of writing. I have the time and if the story is driving me, I can write upwards of 12-15k per day. No one ever said it was good but it's all there.
Wow!
If I can do even a fifth of that, I'll be doing some serious writing. 518,000+ words? Good grief!
To be honest, I call bullshit. He just wanted the attention of having such a high number of words - its was probably all done before hand. Call me a cynic, but I don't buy it.