OctNoWriMo 2015

I'm having a hard time focussing on writing this week, so setting some mini-goals for the week to keep me focussed.

• Add a scene to my latest completed MS and send it to beta reader.
• Outline my current persistent plotbunny.
• Begin rewrite of a very old manuscript that's asking to be brought back from the dead.

Brain cells are fun. I don't have them anywhere near often enough.

I decided to do a little editing on the second chapter (well, it's the sixth in the book) yesterday, and ended up adding over 1000 words to it. It was nice to write lots (then I played more game). Hopefully I'll do some more work on that later. Got more rejections, sent some out, but still have a few sitting I need to place. I think I've done as much planning as possible for the NaNo novel. At this stage every time I open my document, I want to actually write it, but I can't do that yet!

Read Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island. Next up is A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J Maas.


1. Plan Red Dress (NaNo novel) Lots of plans!
2. Edit two chapters of UF Book 2 1/2
3. Resubmit stories that came to me bearing a cloud of rejection Done some, haven't done others
4. Read six books 5/6
5. Maybe add to the agent list. I looked at it and got no further

Computer problems have halted any progress for the last four days. Graaahhh.

So, er, how's everyone's plannering comin' along?

I think that pretty much sums up mine.

ElaineA said:

I think that pretty much sums up mine.

Click to expand...

*lecture voice*
And here we have a beautiful example of stories told through smilies! Look closely at the choices made by the author here: 'E2drown' sets the stage, giving us an idea of what the writer was feeling when she chose that particular emote. Pay close attention now to the triple repetition of 'headbang', which tells us not only of the headaches our author surely felt at the time of inscription, but also the walls that stood in her way, and finally, the strength she shows in breaking through those walls to bring us this extraordinary piece of work!

Lastly, 'E2chain', an emote that can give chills to those of you who do not understand its full context. To the unenlightened it is simply a slasher-fic ripoff, an expression of fear and danger. But to us, who know what we look at, it says so much more. 'E2chain' tells us of destruction, yes, and fear, yes, but also of glee, manic, maniacal joy, cathartic release of pent up inner feelings, and, in the end, success! Our author has swum through the depths of tedium and melancholy, smashed through the walls of hard work, perseverance, and just plain donkey-like stubbornness, to, at last, come out on top, the victor over her work, the creator over her created!

Dream to be this author, fight to replicate even a tenth of her emotional depth in five simple smilies. Good luck, Padawans.

I named my main character: PIPER OBERT. Bad handwriting will cause her to be admitted to prison under the name PIPE, ROBERT.

And then...shit, how many more days do I have to figure out a plot?

meowzbark said:

I named my main character: PIPER OBERT. Bad handwriting will cause her to be admitted to prison under the name PIPE, ROBERT.

And then...shit, how many more days do I have to figure out a plot?

Click to expand...

Tell us some more about this Pipe, Robert please!? By the way, if she's in prison, wouldn't it be 'Robert, Pipe'? I think Robert Pipe is a great name for a character, and you should be proud of yourself! Also, if you ever have problems plotting, just hop on over to the Plot-In 2015 thread, I'm sure there'll be plenty of people willing to tell you how to do your job there.

mrsmig said:

Plannering? What the...

Click to expand...

This.

I'm avoiding planning by working at home on the weekend.

The current "plan" is two years earlier than the initial idea, and switching the MC to the original MC's daughter. Only, I understood the mother's character and arc (more or less), but I'm not sure what the daughter wants or her character or what her arc is.

And it looks like I'm completely scrapping my initial idea for Nano. A crazy idea popped into my head today and it won't leave me alone. I've actually started working on my outline.


Update: This is turning out to be a 'real' sequel to book one. I wasted way too much time with MS Paint creating a map that makes sense to no one except myself.

Things are still going well here, though I still haven't been doing much daytime writing.

I'm going to have to get that figured out this week, though. My evenings are pretty well booked, and I don't want to be staying up ridiculously late to finish

Did a trial run, yesterday, on typing straight thru. Got up to 1558 words in one sitting (I have RA & can't sit for long durations anymore). Not too shabby. I'm looking forward to NaNo returning me to those days where I just wrote--NO EDITING!

I have been transferring my story submission log to the Grinder. After that exercise in depression, I think I might go cry in a corner.

I finished a chapter. I did a little agent list poking. I will probably not get the last book read as I'm meandering around it. Hopefully once I've finished my transfer above I'll sub my final sitting stories. Or I might decide there's no point


1. Plan Red Dress (NaNo novel) Lots of plans! (well, for me)
2. Edit two chapters of UF Book 2 2/2
3. Resubmit stories that came to me bearing a cloud of rejection Done some, haven't done others
4. Read six books 5/6
5. Maybe add to the agent list. A little bit.

Ugh, look at you guys! So talented and making progress big and small on your writing, while I'm sitting here doing actually nothing because I've hit the first wall in my current WIP at the worst possible time!

meowzbark said:

Update: This is turning out to be a 'real' sequel to book one. I wasted way too much time with MS Paint creating a map that makes sense to no one except myself.

Click to expand...

No worries! I STILL have maybe a hundred hand drawn maps from the days in which I made maps, back before I decided Earth was good enough for now Anyway, tons of maps! Loads. Maps are great, though, they give you a place to put your characters and that sort of thing. So good job you, progress-maker!

Inky said:

Did a trial run, yesterday, on typing straight thru. Got up to 1558 words in one sitting (I have RA & can't sit for long durations anymore). Not too shabby. I'm looking forward to NaNo returning me to those days where I just wrote--NO EDITING!

Click to expand...

I look at that work count of yours and see nothing but clouds between me and it. I am a jealous bunny.

Tamlyn said:

I have been transferring my story submission log to the Grinder. After that exercise in depression, I think I might go cry in a corner.

I finished a chapter. I did a little agent list poking. I will probably not get the last book read as I'm meandering around it. Hopefully once I've finished my transfer above I'll sub my final sitting stories. Or I might decide there's no point

1. Plan Red Dress (NaNo novel) Lots of plans! (well, for me)
2. Edit two chapters of UF Book 2 2/2
3. Resubmit stories that came to me bearing a cloud of rejection Done some, haven't done others
4. Read six books 5/6
5. Maybe add to the agent list. A little bit.

Click to expand...

There's always a point, everything is pointy! Never give up! I mean, I did give up submitting to agents, but I don't think you should. You're a great writer to judge solely by the stuff in your signature!

Damoclian said:

Ugh, look at you guys! So talented and making progress big and small on your writing, while I'm sitting here doing actually nothing because I've hit the first wall in my current WIP at the worst possible time!



No worries! I STILL have maybe a hundred hand drawn maps from the days in which I made maps, back before I decided Earth was good enough for now Anyway, tons of maps! Loads. Maps are great, though, they give you a place to put your characters and that sort of thing. So good job you, progress-maker!



I look at that work count of yours and see nothing but clouds between me and it. I am a jealous bunny.



There's always a point, everything is pointy! Never give up! I mean, I did give up submitting to agents, but I don't think you should. You're a great writer to judge solely by the stuff in your signature!

Click to expand...

Never give up; never surrender!
When I was a kid, my 5th grade teacher used to have us journal for 15 minutes, following lunch. As a 5th grader, you don't edit. You just write. You might cross/scribble out a misspelled word, but you'd keep writing until that 15 minute timer went off. Hand would cramp. Some kids complained--not too loudly, kids in the 70's didn't dare complain when Gods teachers commanded!
My point in this is, just write. Pick up a book, turn to any page, read a sentence, expound on it. Sometimes, THAT'S enough to get the ball rolling. Don't try to think up some fantastic something to write about. Maybe a current event has struck a chord with you, and you can turn it into horror/fantasy/romance/espionage...treat it like that long ago journal I spoke of...no correcting, just typing. dunno, maybe this helps.

Inky said:

Never give up; never surrender!
When I was a kid, my 5th grade teacher used to have us journal for 15 minutes, following lunch. As a 5th grader, you don't edit. You just write. You might cross/scribble out a misspelled word, but you'd keep writing until that 15 minute timer went off. Hand would cramp. Some kids complained--not too loudly, kids in the 70's didn't dare complain when Gods teachers commanded!
My point in this is, just write. Pick up a book, turn to any page, read a sentence, expound on it. Sometimes, THAT'S enough to get the ball rolling. Don't try to think up some fantastic something to write about. Maybe a current event has struck a chord with you, and you can turn it into horror/fantasy/romance/espionage...treat it like that long ago journal I spoke of...no correcting, just typing. dunno, maybe this helps.

Click to expand...

Thanks Inky. My problem isn't writer's block though, it's more like trying to go for a nature hike in a Supermax prison. Exceedingly difficult, no possibility of hitchhiking, and lots of mean men giving me funny looks while I sing to the birds that aren't there... Maybe complaining about my problems will help, it has in the past, but I hate feeling like a burden on anyone. I think today will be a reading day...

The 3 days left in October are being spent throwing together a loose outline of my idea for NaNoWriMo (just came to me like 20 mins ago), shifting plans in Nov around to fit my expected furious writing schedule, and refilling my Rx for anti-anxiety pills.

Another month of failing to finish my edits, but I finally got new Microsoft office on new computer and a loose ending planned out for NaNo book. So at least I'm half a failure this month.

I also wrote a new chapter seven that I now have to edit. I did not read a final book. I dunno. I succeeded at having a nice lazy month, that's for sure.


1. Plan Red Dress (NaNo novel) Lots of plans! (well, for me)
2. Edit two chapters of UF Book 2 2/2
3. Resubmit stories that came to me bearing a cloud of rejection Almost everything has been rejected again in the last few days, but I HAD completed the goal -_-
4. Read six books 5/6
5. Maybe add to the agent list. A little bit.

End of the month update is a little late. I lost track of things this weekend

bdwilson said:

I've been slacking off on goal-setting lately, so I'm going to try to ease myself back into it.

• Complete daily writing plan

Click to expand...

Done. I wrote every day, and met the shifting time goal. I didn't have a set project, and I didn't do any editing at all, but I'm pleased with my output. I still need to work on getting things done earlier in the day, though. That way I can, like, still do other things I also have to figure out the weird quirk in my brain that doesn't like to write on my breaks at work, but doesn't mind doing things like checking AW.

As a fun data point for myself, I also learned that my writing speed doesn't change much between no background noise, and background noise of movies/YouTub shows I have seen before (which is how I usually write). It does, however, take a huge hit if it's something I haven't seen and actually find interesting. Probably not a huge surprise there.

It also takes a HUGE hit if I write in the morning. I've heard this changes the more you do it, so I may keep trying. It's is really, really hard to motivate myself to do that one, though

bdwilson said:

And, just so it stays at the front of my mind, I need to add a goal:

• Finish short story revisions and return to editor.

Click to expand...

Technically I did that one November 1st, but I'm still counting it

Another boon to participating in NaNoWriMo...I'm FINALLY learning Scrivener!
Yeah, don't be impressed.
I've owned the bloody program for a few years now & have several herky-jerky files where I threw in the towel & returned to Microsoft Word!