Am I really here? My internet service hasn't been working all week and did I ever miss it! The tech adivsed us it may go down again however because our modem needs to be updated. Terrific.
Since Thursday was my day to post at Prairie Chicks Write Romance, I went into the local library Wed afternoon and used their computer to submit my post.
It's the last day of October which means National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow. In the coming month, you'll see me refer to it as
NaNoWriMo or even NaNo.
I've signed up as a Nano participant at eHarlequin so I'll be reporting my progress there as well as here. Plus, I've been invited to report my progress on Michelle Levigne's blog Living Proof.
So, my Thurs Prairie Chick post was Nanowrimo Tips and it's all those things I've found and used for getting the most writing out of Nanowrimo.
I've spent October working on Emma's Outlaw and it will be my Nano project this year. My goal is to have Emma's Outlaw complete and submissions started to my critique partners by the end of Nov.
My writing cave is still in the converted garage we call the rec centre. After I switch the furnace on in the morning, it only takes 15 mins and the whole room is heated nicely. It's so peaceful out there, with my Wyoming maps pinned to the drywall beside me, and it's fired me up. I've made so much progress on Emma's story and am excited that it's my Nano project this year.
I thought I was over the lung infection which burdened me for the last month but I'm stuffed up with a sore throat again. I bought some licorice herbal tea when Nelson and I went shopping in the city last week so I'll be sipping that today. Licorice is an excellent expectorant. I do not want to get sick again. It's such a waste of time!
In case you're wondering, there has been NO progress on my living room/bathroom wall. *sigh. I don't want to start nagging the contractor because at least we still have the bathtub and toilet which they'd originally wanted to take out. And since the insurance company will have to dish out over $7,000 for our new 'makeover' I'm willing to wait. Oh no, just had a thought...what if they want to come in Nov while I'm doing Nano? Yikes!
Over at Inkwell Inspirations this month we'll be talking about our alter egos or personas. These are females, either real or fictional, which we feel an affinity toward or can really relate. Mine is Annie Oakley and I'll be posting about her in a couple weeks. Check out the Inkwell for the fascinating variety of personas from both the Inkies and guest authors.
And what have you been up to this month?
Since Thursday was my day to post at Prairie Chicks Write Romance, I went into the local library Wed afternoon and used their computer to submit my post.
It's the last day of October which means National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow. In the coming month, you'll see me refer to it as
NaNoWriMo or even NaNo.I've signed up as a Nano participant at eHarlequin so I'll be reporting my progress there as well as here. Plus, I've been invited to report my progress on Michelle Levigne's blog Living Proof.
So, my Thurs Prairie Chick post was Nanowrimo Tips and it's all those things I've found and used for getting the most writing out of Nanowrimo.
I've spent October working on Emma's Outlaw and it will be my Nano project this year. My goal is to have Emma's Outlaw complete and submissions started to my critique partners by the end of Nov.
My writing cave is still in the converted garage we call the rec centre. After I switch the furnace on in the morning, it only takes 15 mins and the whole room is heated nicely. It's so peaceful out there, with my Wyoming maps pinned to the drywall beside me, and it's fired me up. I've made so much progress on Emma's story and am excited that it's my Nano project this year.
I thought I was over the lung infection which burdened me for the last month but I'm stuffed up with a sore throat again. I bought some licorice herbal tea when Nelson and I went shopping in the city last week so I'll be sipping that today. Licorice is an excellent expectorant. I do not want to get sick again. It's such a waste of time!
In case you're wondering, there has been NO progress on my living room/bathroom wall. *sigh. I don't want to start nagging the contractor because at least we still have the bathtub and toilet which they'd originally wanted to take out. And since the insurance company will have to dish out over $7,000 for our new 'makeover' I'm willing to wait. Oh no, just had a thought...what if they want to come in Nov while I'm doing Nano? Yikes!
Over at Inkwell Inspirations this month we'll be talking about our alter egos or personas. These are females, either real or fictional, which we feel an affinity toward or can really relate. Mine is Annie Oakley and I'll be posting about her in a couple weeks. Check out the Inkwell for the fascinating variety of personas from both the Inkies and guest authors.
And what have you been up to this month?
Hey, I hope you do well with NaNo. I am only doing edits and the thought process for me to figure out word count with edits takes too long.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're all better very soon!
I'm so glad you're back up on the web. You seemed so far away when you couldn't be reached by e-mail or by comment on a blog that you could not access (as it suited your fancy without driving somewhere!)
ReplyDeleteI have signed up for NaNoWriMo (soon to be abbreviated to Nano in my jargon lexicon, too). I have spent the afternoon so far (while I watched a dismal snowfall land in my yard and an even more dismal football game play out on my TV screen) ... anyway, I have made my tracking chart (I couldn't open the file you sent, don't have Excel, but have made it in Word, so that's okay). Then I re-read all the FAQs on the website, and your tips from Thursday.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems the word count can include the preliminary work done on character profiles, plot synopsis, etc. but not any actual written prose. I know that you are signed up through eharlequin so you can set a different goal. But I have signed up on the official site, so I have to start from scratch, with the above exception. I think.
I have made several starts on the novel I propose to write in Nov. but it is an entirely new story that I have not used in any of our writing exercises. I will just start again, another beginning, probably an entirely new scene. December will be interesting! It should be just fascinating to edit all the versions into one, hopefully it will get better and better all the time!
Good luck with Nano, the internet, and look forward to seeing you next Sat.
Deb, I'm only doing edits as well but I can't miss the opportunity. I always right more during Nano and I know it's the accountability factor.
ReplyDeleteI've decided I'm going to count my words as if I was starting from scratch. This came about during the last week when I realized I'm spending more time revising my previously written words than I took to write them in the first place. If I could count them before, I can certainly count them now since I'm now re-reading and balancing every sentence against those around it.
During my first draft, I write what comes to mind. For revisions, I stop, think, check for synonyms, write it, read it aloud for effect, etc.
My word count at the end of the day will reflect those words left standing after this process. It may be lower than my usual Nano count but I will have earned every count.
Also, my supportive family helps out more during Nano because they consider NaNoWriMo official time spent writing as opposed to me choosing to do it. Heh.
Hey there Helena, yeah, I really missed the web, too.
ReplyDeleteYou said, Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems the word count can include the preliminary work done on character profiles, plot synopsis, etc. but not any actual written prose.
Okay, YOU ARE WRONG. You cannot count any character sketches or other prep work on any Nano site incl'g the eharl one.
This is the 1st Nano I'll be starting at 28% completion. My word count when I start will stand at 25427 but my report will always reflect that I'm working on an ongoing wip so as not to confuse the others.
An offical Nano project is for a 50,000 word first draft novel.
Considering that I still need approx 65,000 quality words to complete my novel, no one is going to quibble that I'm starting at 28% done. At least they aren't on the eharl site because I've registered under the 'Build Your Own Project' on the Nano board there.
I never get over to the official Nano site so I'm hoping you and Prairie Chick Karyn and Honorary Chick Silver will post your updates on FB and I'll do the same.
As well as giving reports on the eharl Nano board, I'll be updating my word count meter daily here on my blog plus giving occasional updates on Michelle Levigne's Living Proof blog at http://michellelevigne.blogspot.com/
Phew! Nothing like working under pressure. Ahar matey!
Oh and Helena - what's the working title of your Nano project?
I re-checked the official site, and I think it is VERY AMBIGUOUS, tho my instinct is that you are right. Here is what I found on the FAQ page under "How NaNoWriMo Works (in Ten Easy Steps)" under #10, 2nd bullet: 'Start from scratch. None of your own previously written prose can be included in your NaNoWriMo draft (though outlines, character sketches, and research are all fine, as are citations from other people's work)."
ReplyDeleteIn the FAQ section itself, under the question about starting from scratch, the answer is that all those other preparations "are encouraged" (whatever that means) but "Previously written prose is punishable by death."
So you see why I was a little confused? Anyway, as I said, I will be starting from scratch, tho referring to the same kind of stuff that you recommended to have done beforehand.
And, I confess to a 'duh' moment: what is FB? I'll be using the official site to record my count, where else should I go to be in contact with you guys? I have selected Saskatoon as my home region, but I doubt that I'll get too involved with chats or forums because I would rather use my time to write. If you do go there, my username is 'helenwatt' and title of my novel is Until but I haven't filled in any info in that section of my profile yet.
Like you, I am 'revved up and rarin' to go' even tho it may not quite sound like it!
Helena, you're right...it does sound ambiguous when they say it that way. It doesn't make sense when they say you can include the prep work in your draft because normally it wouldn't count for your word count anyway.
ReplyDeleteFB is Facebook. Sorry, I thought you were 'one of us'. There are 5 SRW mbrs on Facebook that I'm aware of. It's a whole lot easier to send a 10 second update on Facebook that it is to send an email.
Good luck. 3 hrs and counting.
Double 'duh' -- sorry, Anita, that was a real brain freeze, but no, I'm not on Facebook. I'm barely beyond Luddite status with one foot in the blogosphere, but just barely moving by baby steps toward a platform of my own. Wouldn't know a tweet if I heard one! Should have attended the session Susan went to at SiWC on platforms, I'll pay attention to her notes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your patience and for answering my questions. I don't think I really believed they meant you could count that extraneous stuff (not ms content by any means) but I do like clarity!
If I'm still awake at midnight, I'll be making a start.
Go ANITA!!! Stay healthy and good luck on NaNoWriMo!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tina. I'm itchin' to get over to the Seekers but I'm having trouble just making time for the Chicks and Inkies.
ReplyDeleteNice to know it's in good hands. I'll check in when I can.